The Passing of a Yogi

A Number of Indian and Western Satsangis recently accompanied the Master to Rishikesh to pay their last respects to Maharishi Raghuvacharya Ji at his cremation beside the sacred River Ganges. At the age of 115 years, the well-known yogi had taken his last breath; he had left the body serenely reposing in sitting posture, as if in meditation. Raghuvacharya Ji was the Spiritual Head of Darshana Mahavidyala Ashram and Sanskrit School; and as President of the same Trust, the Master on arrival gave orders for the funeral arrangements.

In a brief talk before the procession began, the Master spoke of Raghuvacharya Ji as one of the few great yogis, able to rise above the body. He mentioned the time in 1948 when He Himself spent some months in Rishikesh, after Baba Sawan Singh Ji had left the world, and how Raghuvacharya Ji came to see Him, having learned of the Master’s arrival spiritually, from within.

He was the only one rising above body consciousness at that time,

said the Master, and went on to explain that Raghuvacharya Ji had chosen the difficult path of Patanjali, through which, if one is successful after many years of austere perseverance, one leaves the body at the sixth centre.

The Master continued:

He was greatly respected by everyone here. He had Love for me and would sometimes dance and clap his hands with joy on meeting me; I have Great Love and regard for him. We should all learn to rise above the body and be able to die at will – daily. Learn to die so that you may begin to live. You can learn by the natural method, which is not so arduous. We all have to leave the body some day, and what a great blessing if we are proficient at leaving it daily, and if we know where we are going by visiting that place every day. Every Saint has His past, and every sinner a future, so we should make the best use of this human form while we have the golden opportunity.

The Master, and well-known yogis and Rishis of Rishikesh, led the funeral procession through the streets to the riverside, where the slight form of Maharishi Raghuvacharya Ji was consigned to the flames. The piercing bright eyes of this grand Yogiraj will be long remembered.

Pictorial Report