Who is Yogiraj Siddhanath SatGurunath?
A “Yogi” means a person who practices Yoga. In my guru’s case, it happens to be Kriya Yoga. This is not a type of Hatha Yoga, like Iyengar or Ashtanga yoga. Although Kriya Yoga involves some bending and stretching, it is primarily a pranayama practice which involves moving the breath with concentration and intention up and down the spine. Yogiraj’s mission is to spread this type of “Raj Yoga” or “Royal Yoga.” In fact, his name means “Royal Yogi” or could be better translated as “Expert Yogi.” Raj is the suffix for “royal.” He is also a descendent of the royal family of Ikshavaku Rama. Hence, he calls himself “Yogiraj.” The rest of his name links back to his heritage as a “Nath” yogi and as a “Siddha.” Nath is type of branch of yogis from India, and siddhis are spiritual powers one gains from many, many lifetimes of intense meditation and other spiritual practices.
He was born on May 10, 1944 in Gwalior (Northern), India. By the age of three, he was going into deep meditative states as a young lad. His family was bemused by his golden hair, and prophecies which stated he would be traveling to far lands to share the ancient yogic techniques. During his childhood, he met many spiritual giants who still live in India. They advised him on his life and his upcoming mission. After completing college, he put his British education to good use. Although he is fluent in many languages, he has spent a great deal of time giving lectures, classes, interviews and satsangs to English-speaking audiences.
He has spent the last four decades globe-trotting around the world: in the US, Canada, England, Ireland, Germany, Australia, Singapore, and of course in his home country of India. He and his wife, started a family and ashram in Pune, India about forty years ago. There are devotees from around the world who come each year to celebrate MahaShivratri (a holiday dedicated to the Hindu God, Shiva) and go on Himalayan temple tours led by Yogiraj himself. It is a blessed place, located in a serene and forested area with historical ties to Sita and Ram. Each year, Yogiraj and his wife lovingly invest their time, money and efforts improving the facilities and welcoming guests as part of their own spiritual family.
Over the years, Yogiraj has authored many books. In 2011, his book Babaji: The Lightning Standing Still won an award as the Most Influential Book of the New Millennium by the American Authors Association. Some of his other books are poems which try to describe high states of consciousness that many advanced yogis experience like savikalpa and nirvikalpa samadhi. At events each year, he leads his audience members into a concentrated meditative state helping them to experience what it feels like to be in samadhi. Since he is a master guru, he is able to assist with people’s breathing, so that they can feel this change within themselves for a moment or two. He also initiates people into the kriya yoga practice by activating their kundalini energy up the spine vibrationally. On May 10, 2013, he was honored by the highest authority on the Sanatan Dharma in India, with the title of Yog Maartand (Supreme Sun of Spiritual Splendor) and Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Ratna (Precious Jewel).
My Miracle Summer of 2022
Soon after two scary near-death events, I had become more and more involved in learning about traditional Hindu holidays. Yogiraj wanted his teachers to be more educated about traditional Hindu culture, especially as it related to his yoga meditation techniques. There were times when I was unaware of something that might relate to my teaching and an upcoming holiday dedicated to a certain deity. I felt embarrassed and unprepared that I was not an informed as I needed to be since I was a yoga/meditation teacher representing my guru and his lineage.
Also around this same time, my boyfriend and I were scheduled to fly back to our home in California from New Jersey. The airlines had just lifted the Covid mask order. We were originally planned to fly out on the same flight number, but my boyfriend had to suddenly go back one day early because of business. I asked him to consider wearing a mask anyway. I had a bad gut feeling. He did not wear a mask, and he ended getting pneumonia on the flight back. I flew back home one day later to a sick live-in boyfriend laying on the couch shivering under blankets. Before long, we were both fighting over extra blankets.
I recently become aware that an upcoming holiday to the Hindu deity “Shani” or “Saturn” was approaching. This was always somewhat concerning as I had a badly-placed Saturn in my Jyotish/Vedic chart according to Hindu astrologers. I decided to double-check the date of Shani Jayanti (the Saturn birthday celebration date) on several web calendars. To my great alarm, Shani Jayanti was practically on my birthday. According to one calendar version, the date fell one day after my birthday which meant that the transit would be happening on my actual birthday since America was a half-day behind India! On another website, the Shani Jayanti was before my birthday in America. Either way, my birthday was book-ended by this important karmic holiday, especially for me! I immediately checked the local Hanuman temple in San Diego to see when and if they would have a Shani Jayanti event. Nothing was scheduled, but I had decided that I’d better go the next day on Sunday, just in case. It was already Saturday night, and the temple was closed. I had to wait until next morning. Th next morning came, and I felt extremely tired. My flu bug was getting worse. Wasn’t it just the flu?! Wasn’t it just a cold?! I should be over this already.
We had just found out that my boyfriend actually had walking pneumonia. Unfortunately for me, whatever I had was getting worse by the minute. I forced myself to drive down to the temple. There a gigantic statue of Shirdi Sai Baba greeted me sternly. I was surprised to feel a very hard glare from the eyes of this statue. Was I being warned of something? I bowed to the deity and made a small monetary donation. Still, a glaring and staring from this statue?! Well, I bowed again and left shaken, taking care to exit the proper way from the temple. I was perplexed because I had always found the energy from this statue to be loving and welcoming. In fact, Shirdi Sai Baba and my guru had a past life-connection.
The next morning found me unable to talk in complete sentences. I had to take a breath when I had to say my name. First name. Breathe. Last name. Breathe. My parents called concerned. They begged me to go to the hospital. Hmmm. Aren’t they over-reacting again? My boyfriend and I tried to have a conversation about going to urgent care. Finally after a strange series visits to urgent care offices which refused to see me even though I was supposedly allowed to go there, we end up at the hospital like my parents wanted. It was there I learned that I had viral pneumonia which developed into bacterial pneumonia on three spots on my right lung PLUS sepsis. Boy was I surprised! I did not feel dehydrated at all. Sepsis, as I understood, was the beginning of organ failure! I was admitted to the hospital immediately and had to stay for three days. And yes, my birthday was spent in the hospital because I had almost died from sepsis right around the Shani Jayanti holiday.
Talk about a birthday gift! I had seen my life flash before my eyes a THIRD time in THREE months, and I managed to slip from death’s grip each and every time, just like Yogiraj, our guru, told us would happen if we regularly practiced our kriya yoga meditation.
For more information about upcoming events, please visit: https://siddhanath.org/events/events-usa/
Yogiraj SatGurunath Siddhanath will be in Southern California for three different type of retreat events from July 27-July 30, 2023.
