Swami Sai Premananda
Born on August 4th, 1972 with the birth name of Vinod Seepersad, Swamiji’s birth chart indicated that he would spend his life leading a spiritual mission. At the age of four, he migrated with his parents from his birth country of Trinidad, West Indies to Toronto, Canada, where he lives and conducts satsangs (spiritual gatherings). As a child, Swamiji was gentle and introverted by nature, grounded in non-violence and surrender from an early age. He loved the pujas (worship ceremonies) which occurred in the household, surprising even the priests with his naturally precise and delicately formed devotional offerings.
In his youth, Swamiji was beloved by one and all. Swamiji attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a B.Sc. Honours in Psychology. Throughout his life, he has experienced many higher states of consciousness, and the blessings and visitations from Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. Swamiji shares one such early experience which inspired his search for the truth: “As I stood on the doorway looking out into the landscape, the rain began to fall and in an instant, I felt this immense love flowing from all things—the chair, walls, trees, bees, clouds, sky, trash, grass, the clothes line down to the laundry pins and everything within my field of awareness. It was life-altering to know that all things, animate and inanimate, could exude the same love and be made of the same essence.”
At the end of his youth, Swamiji’s childhood devotion to deities such as Lord Shiva, the Divine Mother, and Lord Krishna became channeled towards a living Master, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi, India, through a dream on Christmas Eve in 1993. Since that dream, Swamiji was driven by a deep love and devotion to experience the truth of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Over a period of seven years, Swamiji would continue to visit and live in the ashram of his Guru, Sai Baba in Puttaparthi. He was devoted in his austerities, visited places of pilgrimage and kept the company of saints and Masters. As a young evolving Master himself, Swamiji always had the blessings and love of senior Masters, watching over him and guiding him throughout his travels in India. As his path continued, Swamiji’s practices intensified as did his resolve to merge in the Absolute.
To seek solace in his unending yearning, and to be with his Guru, Swamiji eventually left his home in Canada and moved to India. He gave up all of his belongings and in the year 2000, Swamiji lived permanently in the ashram of Sai Baba. During this period of spiritual intensity, Swamiji practiced many austerities such as intense, continuous repetition of the holy name (namasmarana), meditation, and utter simplicity in lifestyle. Most transformative of all was the deep yearning of his soul to unite with God and Guru. In time, he received initiations and ultimately experienced union with God and Guru Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
In 2004, Swamiji was directed by Sai Baba to return to Canada and, “Do satsang, satsang, satsang, satsang, satsang, satsang, satsang… speak about loving God.” Sai Baba further said to Swamiji, “To love me is to serve me, and to serve me is to leave me.” Thus, against his only desire to live in the presence of his Master, Swamiji returned to Canada to obey the wishes of his beloved Lord Sai.
Swamiji was led on this path of love by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, culminating in the raised awareness and awakened love which Swamiji manifests today. “Swami Sai Premananda” is Swamiji’s given name, and “prema” (love) is Swamiji’s defining attribute. Through his wisdom and living example, Swamiji continuously reminds seekers to strive towards realizing the divinity within and around them by practicing namasmarana, living a life filled with sacrifice, selfless actions, whole-heartedly loving God and serving humanity. He reminds those around him, “Practice love until you remember that you are love.”
Teachings
Swamiji’s teachings center around the practices of Namasmarana (constant remembrance of the name of God) and selfless service.
- Namasmarana: The chanting of God’s name leads to one-pointed devotion and meditative states of being. It does this in two ways: firstly, by lifting one’s consciousness to the highest realms of awareness, and secondly, by developing one’s attitude of no relationship to thought.
- Selfless Service: By developing an attitude of sacrifice through the practice of selfless actions, one is bridged along the path to transformation.