My Spiritual Experiences with Yogi Nithiyanandam Swami (English Book)
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I assume that it was a god given opportunity that I had found ‘Satguru Brahmasri Nithyanandam Swami’ and visited his ashram several times.
His lifestyle, spirituality, and ethical qualities encouraged me to write this book.
I visited my Guru, Guru Brahmasri Nithyanandam Swami, in person for the first time in 2019, and I had received his blessings and yoga teachings.
Until I had met him, the meaning of spirituality was an enigma to me. In other words, I lived with the puzzlement of what spirituality actually was, similar to wandering in an unfamiliar forest not knowing which way to go.
My spiritual doubts were clarified when I visited Guru Brahmasri Nithyanandam Swami. My path to spiritual quest was initiated.
I was very impressed when my Guru explained to me, “Bhakti is seeking God externally, through your five senses. Spirituality is suppressing your desires, suppressing your five senses and seeking God within yourself.”
My Guru very beautifully told me, “Science is the search for creations, spirituality is the search for the Creator.”
For example, a devout Guru in devotional, is like someone who shows you scenes on TV. But in spirituality a Guru is the one who personally goes to see the scenes you have seen on TV, and guides you to see and enjoy those real events.
I considered him as a spiritual Guru until I visited him and received his blessings. He then became the Guru of my life when I stayed in Ashram for three days and learned his teachings and ways of life. I had never seen such a man, such a spiritual guide, such a scholar, such a sage in my life.
This is simply not just a book in praise of my Guru, but a book that shares his incredible teachings and ways of life.
Ever since I visited my Guru, I felt an urge to research him, his teachings, his ways of life, to know them thoroughly, and to make them known to others as well. It inspired me to write, and as a result this book was written.
This book is also my attempt to clarify my spiritual doubts.
In this book it is also my wish to share, which I learned from my Guru, the art of ‘Raja Yoga’, which helps us get rid of our ignorance and our sufferings, and frees us from the bondage of birth.
I am incredibly grateful to have had the rare chance of clearing my ignorance through my Guru while he was still alive
When I told my Guru I was thinking of writing a book, he advised me to write truthfully, write everything I saw and heard, and write in a way that can be useful to others, and he gave his blessing.
To my great fortune, from the day I started writing, I had the opportunity to converse with my Guru every day.
Guru would share many amazing things with me. As a blossom has many flowers, but we pick only a few for our needs, similarly, I have collected only some of the many interesting conversations I had with my Guru and written them here.
I have gathered Guru’s lifestyles and spiritual teachings, like collecting flowers and making a garland out of the fiber called Guru. It was only when I weaved, that I also realized Guru himself had taught me the method in a subtle way.
My Guru had told me fate didn’t allow me to go to school in the shade even in the rainy days, but my Guru’s creativity, encouragement and advice while writing this book made me truly realize that he is a great educator and a great gentleman.
I had the opportunity to visit my Guru BrahmaSri Nithyanandam Swami three times in person. Each time I had the opportunity to stay for a few days at his ashram and get close with him to learn his spiritual teachings, spiritual instructions and learn the daily activities in the ashram.
During each day and every moment I was there, I was able to learn a lot of lessons for my life and spiritual path.
Every day, I had the opportunity to meet and interact with many people who had visited the Ashram in search of spirituality. Among them, were sick, the crippled, the bereaved, the unmarried, childless people, the unkempt elderly and also those simply seeking enlightenment without any problems.
I also heard stories from people who lived wealthy and lost everything in a single day, people who lived well in families and lost multiple family members in a single day due to natural disasters, people who had become orphans, and people who had lost limbs due to terrible circumstances.
It was very clear that they were searching for a solution for their suffering and a release from their suffering.
Guru’s advice to all is that, “Now you are suffering from the sins you committed in your previous birth. Don’t keep committing sins. Do donations and erase your sins. Go to the path of enlightenment and get rid of birth and attain salvation”.
“When self-confidence diminishes, faith in God strengthens. Spirituality is the final and proper solution to the longing that arises when faith in God does not help.”
The ashram is like an open academy. Any spiritual seeker can come there and receive blessings from the guru free of cost and get rid of their ignorance. Food is also provided for free of cost. There are no restrictions or variations of caste, race, religion, gender, and wealth in the ashram.
Within the Ashram they are maintaining morality, holiness, purity, truth and devotion.
My opinion is that when we worship and get blessings from the saints and Siddhas directly, changes begin within us without realizing it.
There is always a question, a thought, a disposition in the minds of spiritual seekers of how we can find a great Guru.
My opinion is that it depends on their state of mind, their thinking and their knowledge.
When we receive what we expect from a Guru, he becomes our Guru.
When some people do not know how to solve their illness, suffering and life problems by themselves, they go to someone thinking that a preacher or a spiritualist can solve it, and perhaps if their problems are solved by the sacrifices, prayers or amulets given by that person, they become their Guru.
That is when one has their problems that they cannot solve themself, they look for a preacher, a magician or a spiritualist. Then the person who solves their issue becomes their Guru and from that moment they believe that their problems had been solved by them. In the long run, when their expectations are not fulfilled from the Guru they believed in, they feel that they have been deceived, and they attempt to change their Guru.
No one realizes that the reason for our birth and the joys and sorrows we experience are the sins we committed in our previous births. We think that through a preacher or a magician or a spiritualist, we can solve our sufferings and our diseases.
Some people take advantage of these people’s mentality and their weakness and deceive them. After a period of time the truth is revealed and they go and search for another Guru.
But a Guru is not like that in spiritual quest, he is a guide. He does not solve life’s problems but guides you on the path to solve them. He will not cure the diseases but he will show you the way to cure the diseases. He does not show you God but he shows you the path towards God. He does not give salvation but he will show you the way towards salvation.
That means reading books can increase knowledge but not attain wisdom.
Our Guru’s advice to us is that we will gain enlightenment only when we learn and practice Yoga exercises systematically through a Guru.
There is a saying, ‘a thirsty horse can be shown the water but the horse must be the one to drink to quench the thirst’. Similarly, it will be useful for us only when we follow the instructions given to us by our guru.
“It doesn’t mean that whatever we don’t know doesn’t exist.”
Our Guru would deliver his discourses in Tamil only. So his views cannot be understood by those who do not know Tamil. So he asked me to translate my books written in Tamil into English. I started the translation work in accordance with Guru’s request. My Guru attained a state of samadhi while the work of translation was going on.
I would also like to mention here a surprising incident that occurred to me during the translation. When I finished translating and writing the part of ‘Our Guru’s mausoleum Inauguration Events in 2019’ mentioned in the first Tamil book I wrote, the news reached my ears the moment that our Guru had reached the state of Samadhi. I felt a mixture of worry and surprise. I will never forgot it.
Chapter 1: “My First visit to see my Guru in 2019.”
The beginning chapter entails my first visit to my Guru in 2019, and my travelling experience.
Chapter 2: “Biography of Yogi BrahmaSri Nithyanandam Swami“.
In the second chapter, I have written the history of Guru’s life which I have learned as much as I can through conversations with Guru and others.
Although my Guru said that he received ‘Raja Yoga training’ from his first Guru at the age of nineteen, when I was aware of his childhood lifestyle and the immense talents he possessed from a young age, I believed that he had already attained enlightenment.
Chapter 3: “My Second visit to see my Guru in 2022.”
In this chapter I have compiled and written the daily routines of the Ashram and what I saw, known and heard during the nine days I stayed at the Ashram.
By sharing the miraculous events I have come to know and Guru’s incredible thoughts in this chapter, it should benefit those reading in many ways and stimulate their spiritual thinking. My intention is that Guru’s spiritual thoughts and ideas should reach everyone.
Chapter 4: “My Third visit to see my Guru in 2023.”
In this chapter I have written about the experiences of the third visit to my Guru in 2023. Knowing that my Guru’s health was failing, I went this time to visit him out of concern. This was the last time I visited my Guru.
Chapter 5: “My guru attained Samadhi State in 2023.”
I have compiled here the events that took place when Guru Samadhi was attained.
Chapter 6: “Some spiritual concepts taken from the Guru’s spiritual expositions.”
In this chapter I have mentioned some of the questions asked to my Guru and his answers as well as some of the spiritual explanations given by my Guru.
Chapter 7: “Few disciple’s experiences with our Guru BrahmaSri Nithiyanantham Swami.”
In the seventh chapter I have recorded the views of some of the Guru’s disciples. While talking to each one I got a chance to know their experiences.
My sincere thanks to the person who gave me inspiration and encouragement, my Guru Brahmasri Nithyanandam Swami, who openly shared his experiences to write this book.
Also my sincere thanks to Brahmasri Srinivasan iya, sons of my Guru Brahmasri Thiaku iya and Brahmasri Jeeva iya, and other disciples and devotees of my Guru.
I offer this spiritual garland written under the name “Yogi Guru Nithyanandam Swami’s Biography and My Experiences” at the feet of my Guru.
I believe that there is a destiny for attaining enlightenment.
Love is God
Gunaretnam Sivakumaran
