Forward for English Translation
We, as young children, used to visit Yoga Swamigal at his Ashram in Columbuthurai, Sri Lanka, along with our father. Swamigal usually sits quiet, but at times would give religious instructions (Upathesam), providing advice for the disciples. All the disciples including our father patiently wait to hear these “Golden Verses”, and consider these occurrences as high-point of their visits. At times, at the request of our father, we sing Thevarams (religious songs). Yogaswami always shared the prasatham brought by His disciples or cooked for Him by the disciples, and we always looked forward for this time. We did not pay much attention to Swamigal’s teachings at that time, but started to understand them as we grew older. We now feel fortunate to have associated with the great Saivite Siddhar Yoga Swamigal.§
As we have left Jaffna to pursue higher studies, we never got the opportunity to visit Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, Gurudeva, who was ordained by Yoga Swamigal as His successor in the lineage, at his Ashram in Alaveddy, Jaffna. However, we have been associated with Gurudeva, and later his successor, Bodhinatha Veylanswami, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (AS) and Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (AB), respectively. We strongly believe that it is our association with Yoga Swamigal that guided us to settle down in Edmonton and Cincinnati, and to get involved in the temples at these places. We are fortunate to have got the blessings of three Swamis of Yoga Swamigal’s lineage.§
One of us (AS), as the President and longtime volunteer, took an active role in the development and daily management of the Edmonton Maha Ganapathy Temple. This temple, where poojas are done in strict Tamil Saiva Agamic traditions, was built with the blessings and support of Gurudeva. It should be noted that Gurudeva, during his 1991 visit to Edmonton, placed a Ganesh Deity in the temple garden, which later became the site for the new temple. In 2000, Gurudeva actively participated in the inauguration of Maha Ganapathy Temple and blessed the devotees. Two Ganesha Deities presented by Gurudeva are installed in the main shrines of the new temple. Since then, Bodhinatha Veylanswami has been frequently visiting this Ganapathy temple, and this gave the opportunity for the devotees to associate with him and hear his discourses.§
One of us (AB), as the member of the Executive Council, took an active role in the construction of Hindu Temple of Greater Cincinnati. A single letter by him to Gurudeva explaining our connections to Yoga Swamigal led to the gift of five-foot deities of Palamuthirsolai Murugan, Valli and Deivanai, and establishment of Murugan Wing at this temple. This sacred miracle and Gurudeva’s foresight is continuously fulfilling the spiritual needs of ever expanding Murugan Devotees. In 1995, Gurdeva, on his way back after participating Murugan Temple Festivals in Germany, was transiting in Cincinnati and requested us to meet him at the airport. He blessed us, and gave the blessings for the successful construction of the Murugan Wing. Bodhinatha Veylanswami was the Chief Guest at the Cincinnati Murugan Kumbhaabhisekam Festival in 2004.§
Once again it is our association with Yoga Swamigal’s lineage that led to the translation of our father’s Tamil Book into English. This initiative began after the visit by one of us (AS) to Kauai Hindu Monastery. During our visit, a copy of the second edition of the Tamil book, Yoga Swamigal, was presented to the Swamis at the Monastery. We had the opportunity to place the book in Yoga Swamigal Shrine in the Monastery. At the time of our visit, Swamis at the Monastery were writing a book on Guru Lineage of Kailasa Parampara including Subramuniyaswami, his guru Yoga Swamigal and five preceding Gurus. As there was limited information about the latter part of Yoga Swamigal’s life, Swamis at the Monastery were interested in getting our father’s book translated into English. Brahmanathaswami from the Monastery contacted Professor Manickavel from Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India and requested him to undertake the enormous task of translating the book into English. Dr. Manickavel kindly agreed to Brahmanathaswami’s request to translate the book in a timely manner so that the contents of our father’s book could be referenced in the book “The Guru Chronicles: The Making of the First American Satguru.” We were very pleased to note that our father’s book was not only referenced at several places in the book, but also several paragraphs from our father’s book were directly quoted in The Guru Chronicles.§
We are delighted that our father’s book has been translated into English. The translated book will allow readers from all over the world to learn about the life and teachings of the Hindu Saint, Yoga Swamigal, who lived all His life in Jaffna, Sri Lanka.§
Our father had close association with Yoga Swamigal from his school days until Swamigal attained Samadhi. As noted by our father in the forward of the Tamil book, he wrote the Tamil book at the request of several Yoga Swamigal’s followers.§
We would like to thank the Kauai Hindu Monastery for taking the initiative to translate our father’s book into English. We are delighted to receive the blessings from Bodhinatha Veylanswami for the English translation.§
It would not have been possible to get Yoga Swamigal’s book translated into English without the commitment and hard work of Dr. Manickavel. His profound knowledge of Hinduism literature in both Tamil and English is evident from the translation. We are also thankful to Professor Sivaganesan, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA for proof reading the translated book.§
We have tried utmost to make sure that there are no errors in the translation and apologize for any errors.§
Ambikaipakan Senthilselvan Ambikaipakan Balasubramaniam §
| Professor | Professor |
| School of Public Health | Department of Surgery |
| University of Alberta | University of Cincinnati |
| Edmonton, Alberta | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Canada | USA |
Yogaswami During Meditation§