He calls himself a “78- plus young man” and has the stamina to prove it — he has won several gold medals in state and national events and runs 10 kilometres a day even now. From the corporate corridors of Tata Steel to meditation halls in the Himalayas, the journey of Swami Bhishmananda Chaitanya Bharathi is extraordinary. He learned pranayama directly from Swami Rama, the yogi who once amazed scientists with his mastery over body and mind. He now teaches different techniques depending on the requirements of the people. Among his students are doctors and upcoming athletes. Excerpts from an interaction with TNIE team:
How did you get into this Hatha Yoga practice and Pranayama and how did you meet Swami Rama?
Way back in 1975, after completing my degree in Kolkata, I wanted to become the first chess grandmaster of India. At that time, India No. 2 Nasir Ali was in Kanpur. He asked me to be with him. So I went there. At that time, there were no grandmasters. Only Manuel Aaron was there. One morning in Kanpur, I went for my run. Two or three miscreants were trying to steal from a lady doctor. I helped her. After one week, a chauffeur-driven car came to my house. ‘Doctor amma is calling you.’ I was told that I had helped her at this place. So I went there. Swami Rama was sitting there. I didn’t know him then. All I knew was that a saintly person was sitting, he had a captivating face. Then she introduced me to him.
He spoke to me in Hindi and asked me if I would like to learn yoga and meditation. I was not interested. I don’t need it, right? I am a chess player. I have to spend about 8 to 10 hours on a chessboard. Then I have to do some work also at the office for my bread. He said, no, it will be very good for you.
Actually, they were looking for somebody who knew English and could translate his teachings for the six foreigners who were already there. Somehow I agreed to it. So for six months, I was directly with Swami Rama. He taught me pranayama, yoga and all that. But at that time, I did not know the importance of Swami Rama. He was just a yoga guru. Then when I came for summer holidays to my house in Kolkata, I went to the National Library. I went to the Telugu section with one of my cousins. She was looking at the books. Swami Rama’s book was also there, Living with the Himalayan Masters. I said he is my guru. She laughed and said, ‘What nonsense are you talking? Do you know who he is?’ She thought I was bluffing.
Then I read the book. I came to know the significance of Swami Rama. I met him again two or three times — for one or two days. He was an entirely different personality, we meet such people only when we are destined to. There was a magnetic attraction.
Since then, from 1975 till 2025, I haven’t gone to a doctor. Doctors have come to me. That’s the secret of meditation and yoga. But that meditation was different. At that time, I learned Hatha Yoga and Pranayama. It gives you speed, stamina and strength. Our Indian Vedic system, that’s the basic wisdom. They know what life is, how to lead life.
What is the purpose of human life? I’m a minister. I’m a doctor. These are all cock and bull stories. The primary goal of a human birth is Moksha Sadhana. It is not just earning money, fame. Anybody can do it. Dharma, Artha, Kama, even animals are also doing all these. So what’s the difference between an animal and a human? Only humans can go to the higher levels of consciousness due to their prefrontal cortex.
Many are conducting experiments, particularly in the West, on breathing. There are several books, YouTube channels. There are so many practices. Many people do follow them after watching them on YouTube. What is your view on that?
As long as it does good, anything can be accepted. It may not be right for each and everybody. As long as it works for you, it is good for you. The same thing applies to our social customs. One country will have something which may be taboo elsewhere.
In yoga and meditation, you are conserving energy. You are not consuming it. The first difference between an exercise and an asana is — still and busy. In one, energy is conserved. In the other, it is consumed. Say you play football or cricket, you can do it for certain hours. After that, you get tired. But meditation, you can do it for 24 hours.
How do you stop thoughts? It’s like a train of thoughts. They keep coming. As you said, there are many types of meditation. Some people focus on the breath. Some people just focus on the body.
What is meditation? Generally, there are three varieties of meditation. One is mantra meditation. If you take one mantra, speak it loudly at a particular frequency, you develop one-pointed concentration. If the body is not still, the mind can never be still. That’s why for any meditation, you have to sit comfortably without movements. In Padmasana, you can sit for hours at a stretch. In another type of meditation, they concentrate on something else, say inhalation and exhalation. The third one is transcendental meditation. You transcend the thought process. …
In meditation, we are closing all these senses. Once you have closed them, what happens? The mind, the nervous system, it’s got a peculiarity. It goes on finding happiness. Everybody does something because he’s happy doing that. The mind has got the innate quality of finding what is happiness.
You need a guide or a guru for this?
You need a guru for that. We put you on the rails. But once you start going inwards, you are yourself becoming a guru. The gurus will come on their own.
Of late, a small percentage of people have become health conscious. They are slowly turning towards yoga and meditation. Instead of spending lakhs of rupees in hospitals.
We are advertising yoga. But are they really doing yoga or aerobics? They think yoga means asanas, that if someone knows the difficult asanas, they are a very good yogi. No, it is not that.
I don’t think we even require that in this generation. You have to use your limbs. How many steps are you walking every day? Most people are not moving around enough. Calf muscles are called the second heart. And if the calf muscles are not strong, it can increase the risk of heart problems.
You have to walk at least 10,000 steps per day. How many people are doing 10,000 in a month? How often do we use vehicles or the lift?
I always advise everybody, please run. All your problems go away. But they will run away. So now what we require is not yoga asanas.
But meditation is required. Because most of the time you are dumping something unnecessary inside. So we require peace and calmness.
What do you suggest one should do at work?
Suppose your office is only 2–3 kilometres away, please do not use a vehicle. Come on foot, use your legs. As simple as that. Age starts from the legs.
Someone who has to work eight hours a day and has to take care of the family, say he is practising meditation daily without the help of a guru. How to check his progress, if he is going in the right path or not?
Such a person’s attitude will be different. They will be cool and calm. Even if you abuse them, they won’t bother. The way they react, their way of talking to you, the humility, acceptance and large-heartedness.
TNIE team: Kalyan Tholeti, VV Balakrishna, S Bachan Jeet Singh, Siddhardha Gattimi, Vennapusala Ramya, Chithaluri Revanth