Guru Siyag Bio

Early Life – Guru Siyag was born in the village of Palana, 25 kilometers to the north of the city of Bikaner in the state of Rajasthan (India) on November 24, 1926. Guru Siyag graduated from high school and took up a job as a clerk with the Indian Railways when he turned 18. He soon got married and started a family. In the years that followed, he eventually had five children — a daughter and four sons.

Divine Transformation

The winter of 1968 proved to be a watershed in Guru Siyag’s life. His humdrum life was suddenly upset when he was seized by an inexplicable fear of death though he wasn’t down with any illness. A local soothsayer told Gurudev that he was under Mārkesh Dashā — a constellation of planets casting a spell of death. The only way to escape imminent death, some local Hindu clerics told him, was to invoke the blessings of Goddess Gāyatri through a special ritual. Gāyatri, the Goddess of cosmic light, alone could rescue him from the clutches of death, he was told. He was advised to perform a Havan — a sacred purifying ritual that involves a fire ceremony — and to chant the Gāyatri Mantra during the process. For the invocation to be complete and divine protection to be received, he was told, he would have to conduct the ritual every day until he had finished chanting the mantra 125,000 times.

In the October of 1968, Gurudev began the ritual in earnest during Navratri, a 9-day festival dedicated to the feminine divine, Shakti. He would wake up in the early hours of morning every day and chant the sacred Gāyatri Mantra over Havan. The pressure of illogical panic that had seized him was so intense that he performed the daily ritual with utmost sincerity and concentration. It took him three months to complete the ritual. Recalling those days, Gurudev was to comment later that it was as if a divine transformation force had propelled him into an artificial state of fear only to change the mundane life that he had led until then and to goad him onto the spiritual path. The day he finished the ritual; Gurudev went to bed that night thinking he would wake up during the normal morning hour the next day now that he was through with the arduous Gāyatri worship. However, having got used to rising early, he woke up early the next morning. Just as he opened his eyes and sat up in bed, he felt the inside of his body light up with an immensely bright white light. It was a kind of bright light that he couldn’t compare with any other — not even with sunlight. He noticed that the light illuminated his body from within. The light was neither warm nor cold; it just brought a wave of soothing peace. He was soon immersed completely in a state of joy and bliss that he had never known to exist. The light gave him an inner vision. Gurudev saw that despite the clear bright light that illuminated his body from the inside, he couldn’t detect the presence of his organs, as if his body were a mere empty shell!

Having worked occasionally as a helper in the railway hospital’s morgue, Gurudev knew the placement of internal organs, muscles and bones in a human body. And yet he could see none of it inside his own body!

He soon became aware of a buzzing sound like that of a swarm of bumblebees. When he focused on the sound, he realized it was emanating from the center of his navel. As he concentrated, he noticed to his astonishment that the buzzing was nothing but the Gāyatri mantra being repeated at an amazingly high speed, making it sound like the drone of bumblebees! He was to learn much later that the Gāyatri Mantra that he’d previously chanted through willful efforts had now become established as a non-stop, self-run process, linking him permanently to the divine force. The divine light brought another discovery for Gurudev. He realized that behind the façade of his identity and existence in the material world, he was a very different entity altogether. He was neither bound by his physical limitations nor was his personal awareness restricted to the physical world that he inhabited. He felt as if his personal being had expanded so vastly that he could embrace the whole universe. In fact, he felt he was the universe and he could feel the vibrations of all the animate and inanimate beings as if they were his own. He realized too through this unique experience that he had was indeed what the ancient Vedic seers had called Brahma, the absolute, all pervading, changeless and amorphous divine force.

Just as Gurudev was marveling at this extraordinary experience and was afloat on waves of joy, peace and love; the fantastic vision broke off as suddenly as it had occurred. The gurgling sound of water suddenly gushing out of an open tap in the bathroom had disturbed the trance-like state he was in.

When he consulted some pundits (wise men) well-versed in the holy scriptures about this particular experience, he was told that he had indeed been blessed by the Goddess Gāyatri with a Siddhi — special divine power.

Meeting with Baba Gangainathji

During his spiritual pursuits in the ensuing months, Gurudev came upon the philosophy propounded by Swami Vivekananda, one of 20th century’s greatest spiritual figures, who led the revival of the Vedic spiritual heritage not just in India but also in America and Europe. Vivekananda strongly advocated practice of Vedic philosophy through the restoration of Guru-disciple system which alone, he believed, could lead to spiritual evolution around the world. Heeding Swami Vivekananda’s advice, Gurudev began search for a Guru in right earnest. One of Gurudev’s relatives suggested he go to Baba Shri Gangainathji, an ascetic yogi who lived in the village of Jamsar, 27 kilometers to the north of Bikaner. In April 1983 Gurudev visited the ashram.

There was nothing extraordinary about this first meeting – a group of people had gathered to meditate in Gangainathji’s presence. Gurudev sat at the back of this crowd simply observing. While there was no interaction between the two in this meeting, something prompted Gurudev to visit Baba’s ashram a few days later again. It was during the second visit, when Gurudev bowed and touched Baba’s feet that the master touched Gurudev’s head by way of blessing. The moment Baba touched Gurudev he felt a tremendous energy, like a bolt of lightning passing though his body. This was Baba’s way of giving Diksha (initiation) and also passing on the mantle of ‘Siddha Guru’ to Guru Siyag.

Gangainathji takes Samadhi

December 31, 1983 at 5 a.m., the entire North-West of India was rocked by a severe earthquake. Gurudev was to learn later that it was precisely the moment when Baba Gangainathji had left his mortal body. In a conversation with his disciples many years later Gurudev said this about the incident, “Sometimes when an enlightened being leaves his mortal body, even earth is shaken by his departure and this (earthquake) is how it expresses its grief.”

A few days after this incident, when Gurudev was walking down the road, a local youth called out to him. What he told Gurudev sounded very strange. The youth said Baba Gangainathji had been pestering him to get Gurudev to visit his Jamsar Samādhi site (type of funerary monument or mausoleum). When Gurudev countered that Baba was no longer alive and that he could not therefore have met him, the youth said Baba had been appearing in his dream to give him the command. Taking this for a divine call, Gurudev visited Baba’s Samādhi and offered prayers there.

A cardinal principle in Vedic thought is that the soul is eternal, and that it is the body that perishes when a person passes away. While an unenlightened person dies due to a culmination of his karmas, an enlightened being consciously and intentionally leave their body at a particular time and place. Such a Siddha Guru continues to guide his disciples even after leaving his mortal body. The Samadhi site of a saint is therefore revered as the fount of divine blessings.

Surrender to Guru Gangainathji

I experienced a complete change when I surrendered to my Guru Gangainathji. You too, can experience this change. All of mankind — men and women — can experience this change. For this, you only need to understand who you are. I will introduce you to your real self so that you understand who you are. You are not this body. You are the soul that is immortal. Sanatana Dharma says that liberation is not possible without an enlightened Guru. But liberation is not simple. It is not a toy that the Guru hands you when you meet him. The Guru only shows you the way and tells you that if you walk on this path you shall reach your goal. …And the way is chanting of the divine mantra. In his aphorisms Goswami Tulsidas says that in Kali Yuga (the current Age of Falsehood) one can be freed from suffering only by chanting the divine mantra.

Surrender to Guru Gangainathji Guru Siyag, 2007:

I experienced a complete change when I surrendered to my Guru Gangainathji. You too, can experience this change. All of mankind — men and women — can experience this change. For this, you only need to understand who you are. I will introduce you to your real self so that you understand who you are. You are not this body. You are the soul that is immortal. Sanatana Dharma says that liberation is not possible without an enlightened Guru. But liberation is not simple. It is not a toy that the Guru hands you when you meet him. The Guru only shows you the way and tells you that if you walk on this path you shall reach your goal. …And the way is chanting of the divine mantra. In his aphorisms Goswami Tulsidas says that in Kali Yuga (the current Age of Falsehood) one can be freed from suffering only by chanting the divine mantra.

Prophetic vision

In the year 1984 Gurudev was visited by yet another strange happening, whose implications could impact humanity in the years ahead. One night after he had retired to bed, Guru Siyag had a vision in a dream. In the vision, he was shown a passage from what he could vaguely perceive to be a holy book and a voice pronounced, “Thou art that; thou art that.” The next morning, Gurudev mulled over the strange vision and tried to understand if what he saw in the dream was a vision or just a strange dream and what the words “Thou art that” meant. Since the passage was in Hindi, Gurudev could recall some words in the passage, but they made no sense to him.

A couple of days later, Gurudev’s youngest son, Rajendra, brought home an old dog-eared book. While walking home from school, the young boy felt a strange urge to pick up the book when he noticed it lying abandoned in a house by the roadside. As Gurudev turned the pages of the book with no particular interest, he was jolted to attention when he noticed a passage in one of the pages. It was the same passage that he was shown in the dream. He read the book over and over for a few days, but couldn’t fathom what it was about. All he could gather was that the book, meant for children, was illustrated with pictures to explain to them in simple terms the Christian faith. Not being very religious himself, Gurudev was not conversant with the Hindu scriptures, much less be aware of philosophy of other faiths. For further queries email gssyworld@gmail.com or call (+91)8369754399

Gurudev asked around in his social circle if Christians followed any holy book like the Hindus did the Bhagwat Geeta. It was then that he learnt about the Bible. He was told that the passage from the holy book, which was shown to him in the vision, formed a part of the gospel of John, and that what he had seen in the dream were chapters – 15:26-27 and 16:7-15. Later a friend presented Gurudev with a Hindi abridged version of the Bible. This gave Gurudev some idea about Christianity.

He managed to borrow a copy of the Bible in English from a friend who was a lecturer in a local law college. Reading the Bible in English didn’t prove to be of any help either; he didn’t find the passage he was looking for. Giving up, Gurudev returned the book and dropped the subject once again, thinking it was the end of the episode. But that was not to be. The inner urge returned now with greater intensity. Making queries once again, he learned something that surprised him; Christianity was divided among many sects, two main among them being Catholicism and Protestantism. While the Bible he had read earlier was followed by Catholics, the one followed by Protestants contained the passage from St. John’s Gospels that he was shown in the dream.

Gurudev managed to get a copy of the Protestant Bible and read the Gospel that he was being constantly goaded to. The relevant part of Gospels contained a prophesy made by none other than Jesus himself of the advent of the Comforter, who, He prophesied, would save only the truly faithful from certain death while the rest of humanity faced terrible divine retribution in a global calamity brought on by war and famine in the 21st century! Gurudev was to learn later that the Old Testament contains similar prophesies made by prophet Malachi about the advent of the Messiah, whom He describes as E-li’jah. Reading prophesies from the Holy book made Gurudev realize that they were somehow linked to the teachings offered by Lord Krishna in the Geeta thousands of years ago before the birth of Christianity and Judaism.

Life as a Siddhaguru

A couple of years later Gurudev received an Ä€desh (divine command) from Gangainathji instructing him to quit his job in the railways and dedicate himself fully to the spiritual mission. Gurudev quit his job through voluntary retirement on June 30, 1986, nearly seven years before reaching his superannuation age. Gurudev was to comment later, “I was serving the railways earlier; now I am serving my Guru. This is a lifelong job that I can never quit. I have left the worries of the material needs of my family entirely to Him (Gangainathji). I am my Guru’s faithful servant; whatever I may gain or lose in this mission will be according to His wish.” For further queries email gssyworld@gmail.com or call (+91)8369754399

Baba also directed Guru Siyag to initiate people into Siddha Yoga as his disciples. Gurudev started initiating people into Siddha Yoga in 1990 through Diksha programs organized initially in Jodhpur and a few other cities in Rajasthan. Those who came to Gurudev and became his disciples, experienced an amazing positive change in their lives; they found their diseases/ chronic ailments cured, and felt spiritual awakening by chanting the divine mantra that Gurudev gave them during these programs and the meditation they did along with the chanting. As word about Gurudev’s unique Siddha Yoga and healing powers spread like wild fire, Gurudev was invited to other cities and towns to conduct Diksha programs. Gurudev has since then traveled to different cities in India and also to Israel and the United States of America and put thousands of people on to the path of Spiritual Evolution and good health. However, Gurudev says that he is only half way through his mission. He believes that until he reaches out to people across the globe in the western hemisphere to motivate them to join the spiritual path that Baba Gangainathji has shown, there will be no real peace and prosperity in the world. “Spiritualism of the East needs to join hands with the materialism of the West, without which the world will never see the end of conflicts and discord. It is this spiritual union of the East and West that I have set out to accomplish to usher in lasting peace in the world,” says Gurudev.