Krishna

Karin Schalander (1920-2009)

For some thirty years, Karin Schalander was one of Shyam Sundar Goswami’s closest pupil. Their first meeting occurred at a time when Sri Goswami was invited to lecture at the 1949 World Congress on Physical Education at Lingiaden, Sweden. It was on this occasion that the Yoga master was expressly asked by a medical delegation to establish his Yoga institute in Sweden. However, accepting this proposal was not without entailing administrative difficulties.

Enthusiast as she was about the perspective of having access to a unique teaching, Karin Schalander offered her spontaneous support to Sri Goswami in dealing with Swedish officials for a residence permit. Her effort were eventually successful and the requisite permit granted which beside included an authorization for the Indian citizen to teach Yoga in Sweden beside carrying out his research work.

The eager pupil would then assist her spiritual guide in many ways, in particular by setting up Yoga courses and demonstrations in various places located in the Swedish capital.

Grateful, the teacher proposed after some time that Karin Schalander should start under his supervision to conduct on her own asana courses for beginners. These courses were, until 2007, to be her main occupation in life.

Karin Shalander was an assiduous, successful pupil with a remarkable body development and control. She learned e.g. to master vasti, an advanced method for inner cleansing (colonic auto-lavage), that is rarely controlled by Western female practitioners.

She was initiated in the Yoga tradition by her teacher Sri Goswami in receiving a personal mantra selected by Ma Santi Devi.

Karin Schalander retired a couple of years ago to her parental home at Gräsmark, Sweden.

On the  7th of December 2009 she left her body peacefully, after having dedicated the largest part of her life to Yoga.

In memoriam

From the ceremony on the 29th of Dec

in the church of Gräsmark, Sweden. 

                     Vishuddhananda Giri

                     Basile Catoméris (1930-) 

Among Goswami’s earnest pupils was Basile who, at that time, was perhaps an unusual westerner that for more than two decades would receive, patiently and uninterruptedly, invaluable knowledge at the feet of an authentic Yoga master.

As a parallel to an international career as con-sultant in Intellectual Property, his long yogic apprenticeship would bring him closer to the centre of the Goswami Yoga Institute giving him occasionally not only the privilege of leading his Master’s own Yoga classes but also assist the man whom a maharajah of lore had christened “The Lion of Bengal”, proud to stand by the side of an exceptionally dedicated man who devoted his entire life to the science of Yoga while teaching thousands of pupils from all parts of the world.

Soon before his Master’s demise in 1978, at the age of 87, the patient and hard-working disciple would be initiated after 21 years of continuous studies and practice of the “science of man”, a scientifically revised Yoga tradition.

Some years later, Basile went to India to visit his late Guru’s spiritual mother, Ma Santi Devi, a God dedicated Bengali householder and yogini who followed the the laya- and bhakti yoga paths.

On the meeting day she addressed him: “Virachari (Basile) You didn’t come here to great your demised Guru’s spiritual mother but to get the Brahma mantra diksha I previously bestowed your Guru along with the spiritual name Jñanananda Giri. No one is entitled to initiate others pupils without it “.

It is that exceptional woman, Ma Santi Devi who gave Basile the final initiation she had previously bestowed her beloved Shyam Sundar (Goswami). The new disciple was henceforth formally empowered to initiate other chelas and transfer the theoretical and practical knowledge he had acquired under his long apprenticeship in exile.

It is these two remarkable Yoga personages who expressly asked Basile to convey the knowledge and insights he acquired under his long spiritual quest.