128-yr-old Yoga Guru Baba Sivanand Passes Away

Padma Sri awardee Baba Sivananda passed away in Varanasi due to health complications. 128-year-old Baba Sivanand was suffering from geriatric issues for the last few months and was obtaining treatment at BHU Hospital in Varanasi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over Baba’s demise. Taking to social media platform X, the Prime Minister wrote, “It is extremely saddening to hear about the demise of Shivananda Baba Ji, a yoga practitioner and resident of Kashi. His life dedicated to yoga and sadhana will continue to inspire every generation of the country. He was also awarded Padma Shri for serving the society through yoga. Shivanand Baba’s departure to Shivaloka is an irreparable loss for all of us Kashi residents and millions of people who draw inspiration from him. I pay my tribute to him in this hour of grief.”

Baba was admitted to BHU on April 30 and passed away on Saturday night. His body has been kept at his residence in Kabirnagar Colony to facilitate people pay their last respects.

Baba was born on August 8, 1896, in Sylhet district of present-day Bangladesh. He lost his parents to starvation at a very young age of six years. Since then, he had led an austere life with discipline, eating only half a stomach of food.

His disciples said that after Baba’s parents passed away, he was taken under the care of Omkarnand, who was his guardian and mentor in spiritual education. Recognising his contributions to yoga and spiriuality, the government conferred Padma Shri on the Baba in 2022. His disciples credited his long life and robust health to his disciplined lifestyle. Daily, he would get up at 3 am and practice yoga and do all his chores by himself. He confined to eating only boiled food and sleeping on the mat. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid his tributes to the yoga guru.