Commemorations of our divine masters are considered special occasions to receive their blessings on the spiritual path, where devotees come together to meditate in satsanga of the spiritualfolk. The Mahasamadhi anniversary of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri was celebrated on March 9, 2018 at YSS Noida Ashram, Delhi Kendra and Gurgaon Kendra which brought together devotees for seeking inspiration from the stories of the divine Paramguru.

On the evening of March 9, Swami Lalitanandaji conducted satsanga in the basement Dhyana Mandir of YSS Noida Ashram. The programme began with a prayer and chanting, followed by around half-an-hour of meditation. Thereafter, Swamiji gave satsanga in which he led devotees through the various events which had been recalled by Gurudeva Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda in the period before the Mahasamadhi of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri.

Starting from the day in 1936 when Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri had called Guruji to Serampore for conferring on him the title of ‘Paramahansa,’ to Guruji’s return from the Kumbha Mela back then, and later the specific events before the Masamadhi day, right upto his journey to Puri were referred to by Swami Lalitanandaji. Discussing the resurrection of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, he reminded devotees of the event where a lady devotee had met our Paramguru during his morning walk and her visit to Karar Ashram to learn in disbelief that Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri had already departed a week before.

The programme was concluded with pushpanjali, following which Swami Lalitanandaji distributed prasad to all those present. Around 120 devotees participated in the commemorative programme that evening.

On the occasion of Mahasamadhi of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, satsanga was conducted by Swami Sadanandaji at YSS Gurgaon Kendra on the evening of March 9. He shared excerpts from Gurudeva Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda’s best-selling spiritual classic ‘the Autobiography of a Yogi’ from the chapter 'Last days with my Guru'. He spoke about the Guru-disciple relationship and the unconditional love and blessings showered by a Guru on his disciples. “Our Guru has promised that he will not leave us even if we err. If the disciple surrenders all his desires and actions at Guru’s feet and follows him implicitly all the time then the Guru takes the responsibility for his deliverance to God,” shared Swamiji. He concluded the satsanga by highlighting the key points for being a loyal and faithful disciple and practising Gurudeva's teachings.

The satsanga was followed by pushpanjali. Over 70 devotees attended this programme.

Simultaneously, the Mahasamadhi commemoration programme was also conducted at YSS Delhi Kendra, where Brahmachari Sheelanandaji led the group meditation and guided devotees towards the inspiring facets of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri's life in his satsanga. Explaining 'Mahasamadhi' as the conscious exit of a realized soul from body, Brahmachariji suggested a selection of nine days ahead and nine days following such special days of commemoration to make special efforts in our sadhana.

"We should select one quality of the great one and try to inculcate it throughout that period. In this way, most of the days we can remain in the consciousness of God. As we inculcate divine qualities, automatically the negative traits will go away from us," he explained, adding that it may may not be easy, but can be achieved through determination and will power, eventually giving us a lot of happiness and a sense of achievement.

The satsanga was followed by aarati, pushpanjali and the distribution of prasad by Brahmachariji. About 175 devotees attended the function.