SHILLONG: Sivananda Baba (120) is ‘the oldest living man on earth’ if one goes by his passport where his date of birth is mentioned as 8/8/1896.
The more fascinating fact of the life of the living legend is that Baba claims that he has “no disease, no desire, no depression and no tension or hyper tension”.
Sivanandaji who is currently camping at a private residence at Rynjah Bazar told The Shillong Times on Thursday that his simple life style has given him relief from all worries and hence he is free from all major diseases.
Sivanandaji revealed that he was born in a poor family in Sylhet, Bangladesh and he was handed over to a spiritual guru , Omkara-nanda Goswami in West Bengal at the age of 4 by his parents due to extreme poverty.
“My parents were beggars and they struggled to look after me and my sister”, Sivanandaji recalled.
At the age of 6 as directed by his divine master, Omkarananda Goswami, he went back to his village in Sylhet only to know that his only sister died of starvation and a week later, his parents too passed away –”father and mother died on the same day at different hours”.
Omkarananda Goswami whom Sivanandaji considers as his God and divine master taught him to carry out selfless service as it is the golden way for the realization of God.
By the special blessings of his Guru, Sivananda Baba has combined in himself the knowledge of medical science and spiritual science.
“I worship my Guru who is a component of Brahma, Vishnu, Maheshwara which means greater than God”, Sivanandaji said.
Sivanandaji said that he does not want to be known as a spiritual guru as his sole intention is to tell people to lead a disciplined life which will ensure that the person is free from illness.
“We spend our health to get our wealth, thereafter we spend our wealth to get our health” Baba said.
Sivanandaji, who is a pure vegetarian said that animal food is very detrimental to mankind.
“I do not eat fruits or drink milk, any kind of donation or money is not acceptable to me”, he said
Though he spends a few months at his Ashram at Benares, the rest of the time, he moves around many parts of India.
He also visited many foreign countries to popularize his way of life to the masses there.
Sivanandaji hates division and fight in the name of religion.
“When we see the earth from space we cannot find any division of state. Similarly, when we reach the highest platform of spirituality, we cannot find any division of religion”, he said.
The railway ministry has given him free pass to travel around the whole country and meet his devotees.
He will be camping at Rynjah till June 17 and the devotees can meet him any time during the period.
