Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati was born in Rajnandgaon (India) in 1960. Guided by his guru, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, from birth, at the age of four he came to live with him at the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger where he received training in yogic and spiritual sciences through yoga nidra. In 1971 he was initiated into Dashnamisannyasa, and thereafter for eleven years he lived overseas, mastering skills in varied areas, acquiring an understanding of different cultures and helping propagate yoga in Europe, Australia, North and South America.
At the behest of his guru, he returned to India in 1983 to guide the activities of Bihar School of Yoga, Sivananda Math and the Yoga Research Foundation at Ganga Darshan. In 1990 he was initiated as a paramahamsa sannyasin and in 1995 anointed spiritual preceptor in succession to Swami Satyananda Saraswati. He established Bihar Yoga Bharati, the first university of yoga, in 1994 and the Yoga Publications Trust in 2000 in Munger. He also initiated a children’s yoga movement, Bal Yoga Mitra Mandal, in 1995. In addition to inspiring the activities at Munger, he travelled extensively to guide seekers around the world.
In 2008 he relinquished the presidency of the Bihar School of Yoga and all institutional responsibilities were handed to the next generation of yoga sevaks. Before his Mahasamadhi in 2009, Sri Swami Satyananda gave Swami Niranjanananda the mandate to explore the sannyasa lifestyle and to revive and expound the classical yoga vidya. Author of many classic books on yoga, tantra and the upanishads, Swami Niranjan is a magnetic source of wisdom on all aspects of yogic philosophy, practice and lifestyle. He ably combines tradition with modernity as he continues to nurture and spread his guru’s mission from his base in Munger town.
In 2017, he was awarded the third highest civilian award of India, the Padma Bhushan, by the President of the Republic of India for meritorious work in yoga.
