Varanasi, 04 May (HS): Padma Shri Yoga Guru Baba Shivanand,
famous for his extraordinary practice and long life in the field of yoga,
passed away on Saturday evening. Baba, who lived a long life of 129 years,
breathed his last at Sir Sundarlal Hospital of BHU. He was admitted to the
hospital for the last three days due to age-related health problems.
His body was brought to the ashram of Kabirnagar Colony in Durgakund at around
11:30 pm on Saturday night. Baba Shivanand’s last rites will be performed on
Sunday afternoon at Harishchandra Ghat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the
state’s Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have expressed deep condolences on the
demise of Baba Shivanand. Paying tribute on ‘X’, he wrote that the demise of
Kashi’s renowned yoga guru Padmashree Swami Shivanand ji, who made an
unparalleled contribution in the field of yoga, is extremely sad. Your sadhana
and yoga-filled life is an inspiration for the entire society. Prayers to Baba
Vishwanath to grant salvation to the departed soul and strength to his
followers to bear this grief.
Baba Shivanand, born on 8 August 1896 in
Bengal (present-day Srihatta district of Bangladesh) of undivided India, was
awarded the Padma Shri in the year 2022. The then President Ram Nath Kovind
conferred this honor on him. While receiving the honor, he greeted Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries and prostrated himself to show his
humility, respect for the Padma award and the President. According to his
disciples, Baba Shivanand had given up food and made yoga practice the center
of his life. He not only remained engrossed in meditation himself, but also
inspired the society to adopt yoga. Dr. Devashish, a disciple of Baba’s ashram,
told that Baba’s followers living in various cities of West Bengal, Assam,
Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka
have left for Kashi to participate in the last rites. The last rites will be
held on Sunday evening on their arrival.
PM
Modi expressed grief over the demise of Yoga Guru Padma Shri Baba Shivanand: Along with Varanasi, the country’s
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed grief over the demise of Padma
Shri Baba Shivanand, who lived a long life of 129 years. The Prime Minister has
written on Twitter that he is deeply saddened by the demise of Yoga Sadhak and
Kashi resident Shivanand Baba Ji. His life dedicated to yoga and sadhana will
continue to inspire every generation of the country. He was also awarded Padma
Shri for serving the society through yoga. Shivanand Baba’s departure to
Shivalok is an irreparable loss for all of us Kashi residents and crores of
people who took inspiration from him. I pay tribute to him in this hour of
grief. The special thing was that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was a
fan of Yoga Guru Baba Shivanand. Baba lived anywhere in the country, but
whenever there was an election, he would definitely come to Kashi and exercise
his franchise. He had also taken a holy dip in the holy Sangam by reaching
Prayagraj Maha Kumbh earlier this year.
Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi
