A new perspective of life

As a person from Mumbai who travelled a great deal, Thanawala had a problem of breathlessness that simply didn’t respond to any type of treatment. His doctor finally recommended SSY. After the initial training, he went through the advanced courses and also trained as a teacher. Now both, he and his wife, teach at SSY. He has himself taught in many centres including Bangalore, Madras, Bhavnagar.

The SSY programme, which comes under the Rishi Sanskruti Vidya Kendra – a non-religious public trust, primarily conducts a two-week course. Along with the 14 days there is also a four-day retreat. After the initial training, follows the Advanced Meditation Course (AMC) and Teacher Training Course (TTC). The four-day retreat is where one can be by themselves and nature. It is usually a place of abundant natural beauty where nature predominates over man. These retreats are near valleys, lakes (like Shantivan at Khanapur). It is at these retreats that yogasana is also taught as an addition to meditation. The cost for the entire SSY training is Rs 450 which includes the stay at one of the retreats. The SSY also runs a programme for children. It is specifically targeted to the age group of seven to 14 years. This 10-day programme is called the Fun Club. The children are taught the basic principles of leadership. This programme gives them an insight into the SSY way of life.

The SSY programme was started in 1975 but came into its present form by 1979 after certain modifications. Guruji Rishi Prabhakar, the founder, is a highly educated man with M Tech and an MBA degrees. Inspite of the high level of education that he received he still felt some vacuum in life. It was at this point in time that meditation entered his life in a serious way and he started to study it in an earnest way. Over years he gradually evolved the SSY programme and then modified it to its present form for greater practical use. Says Thanawala, ``Guruji, for me, personifies utter simplicity and humility. He can heal with his mere presence. He believes in the philosophy of asking people who have gone through the programme to train others. The teacher training course is designed in such a way that any person can do it.” Guruji’s basic philosophy which underlines everything is that all individuals are great and each must realise his/ her greatness.

SSY has 300 centres in India and over 10 centres in Canada and the States. The very active centres like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore graduate about 100 to 150 people per month. There are also about 300 to 450 active teachers. An interesting aspect is that there are people training at all times to be teachers.

The programme is based on ancient Vedanta practices. In the ancient days, the Siddha Samadhi Yoga programme was known as `Brahmapdesam’ which altered one’s outlook to life and allowed the individual’s life to blossom. `Siddha’ means something which is proven or accomplished.

`Samadhi’ – a state of equanimity. Yoga means union with one’s higher self. SSY is the technique to gain yoga by means of elimination of the normal discriminating function of the intellect. It teaches one to clean the five sheaths or bodies of our being. The five bodies are the physical body (Annamaya kasha), the pranic or aural body (Pranamaya kasha), the mind body (Manomaya kasha), the intellectual body (Vigyanamaya kasha) and the bliss body (Amandamya kasha). By leasing all these bodies, long standing diseases disappear, the mind settles down and one is at harmony with the world.Another important aspect is pranayam. Breath is the connection between body and mind and proper breathing increases the amount of pranic energy and hence the body is fitter. SSY also recommends eating raw foods in plenty. It shows one a completely different type of lifestyle with a new diet and a new philosophy of life.

SSY not only benefits one physically, mentally, but also in terms of energy. It has a history of curing like diabetes, asthma, insomnia. According to Thanawala, the SSY programme is a very different type of personality development course. He said that personally from being a shy, timid person, he has become a more outgoing person who doesn’t mind speaking in public.

The SSY training is also used to increase the efficiency of workers in industries. The relationship between the workers and the management also improves. SSY teaches you to accept the fact that you cannot change the situation around you. It is up to you to make the best of it.