Guru Nanak

Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji

Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji was born in 1469 in Talwandi, a village in the Sheikhupura district, 65 kms. west of Lahore. His father was a village official in the local revenue administration. As a boy, Sri Guru Nanak learnt, besides the regional languages, Persian and Arabic. He was married in 1487 and was blessed with two sons, one in 1491 and the second in 1496. In 1485 he took up, at the instance of his brother-in-law, the appointment of an official in charge of the stores of Daulat Khan Lodhi, the Muslim ruler of the area at Sultanpur. It is there that he came into contact with Mardana, a Muslim minstrel (Mirasi) who was senior in age. Guru Nanak`s father, Kalu consulted with the village pandit, Hardyal on the horoscope of Guru Nanak, soon after he was born and the pandit was overwhelmed with joy after finding what was there in Nanak`s future.

Hardyal told Kalu that Nanak will be revered by both the Hindus and Turks and he will worship and acknowledge none but One Formless Lord. Hardyal added that Nanak will also teach others to do so and consider every creature as God`s creation. Hardyal then named the new born as `Nanak`, which was a much common name of both the Hindu and Muslims. By all accounts, 1496 was the year of his enlightenment when he started on his mission. His first statement after his prophetic communion with God was "There is no Hindu, nor any Mussalman." This is an announcement of supreme significance it declared not only the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, but also his clear and primary interest not in any metaphysical doctrine but only in man and his fate. It means love your neighbour as yourself. In addition, it emphasised, simultaneously the inalienable spirituo-moral combination of his message. Accompanied by Mardana, he began his missionary tours. Apart from conveying his message and rendering help to the weak, he forcefully preached, both by precept and practice, against caste distinctions ritualism, idol worship and the pseudo-religious beliefs that had no spiritual content. He chose to mix with all. He dined and lived with men of the lowest castes and classes Considering the then prevailing cultural practices and traditions, this was something socially and religiously unheard of in those days of rigid Hindu caste system sanctioned by the scriptures and the religiously approved notions 

of untouchability and pollution. It is a matter of great significance that at the very beginning of his mission, the Guru's first companion was a low caste Muslim. The offerings he received during his tours, were distributed among the poor. Any surplus collected was given to his hosts to maintain a common kitchen, where all could sit and eat together without any distinction of caste and status. This institution of common kitchen or languor became a major instrument of helping the poor, and a nucleus for religious gatherings of his society and of establishing the basic equality of all castes and classes. As the end approached Guru Nanak would frequently test the devotion of his sons and nearest followers and in doing so demonstrate their state of mind to one another. There were numerous such occasions and one particular devotee, Baba Lehna, rose to eminence because he never faltered in his faith in Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad, meaning ‘one’s very own’ or ‘part of you’. Shortly after proclaiming Baba Lehna as the next Guru, Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, at the age of 70.

 

Through popular tradition, Guru Nanak’s teaching is understood to be practiced in three ways:

• Naam Japna: Chanting the Holy Name and thus remembering God at all times (ceaseless devotion to God)
• Kirat Karo: Earning/making a living honestly, without exploitation or fraud
• Vand Chakko: Sharing with others, helping those with less who are in need.

Saint Tukaram

 Saint Tukaram

The great Indian Saint Tukaram Born  on Dehu village eighteen miles away from Pune, Tuka or Tukaram (c. 1598-1649 A.D.) is the most popular saint of Maharashtra. His parents were poor agriculturists of Maratha community but of pious and charitable nature. Their family deity was Vithoba of Pandarpur. Married at the age of  fifteen, Tukaram lost his wife and son who died of starvation in a famine. His second wife Jeejabai was a capable but worldly woman who could not understand or appreciate her husband's spiritual aspirations, and took to nagging. They had two children. 

As a petty farmer and trader, Tukaram innocent of worldly ways, and was cheated and humiliated in dealings. His life is a favorite topic for Keertankars (reciters and story tellers in praise of God) as it is full of dramatic incidents of misadventures of an unworldly man. He spent much of his spare time in contemplation and studying works of Jananeswar,Namdev and Ekanth, other famous saints of his native land. One guru, Raghava Chaitanya provided spiritual guidance in dream. After a period of contemplation in isolation and sadhana of severe kind, poetry dawned on him. His abhangs reveal the great inner struggle he had to undergo. But they also provide 

insight into stages of God-realization through the medium of Bhakti or devotion. The separation of the soul from the God gives intense pain to the devotee. This is known as Viraha  to Hindu mystics and "Dark night of the soul" to Christian mystics. Tukaram expresses this condition in his abhang:

How can I know the right

So helpless am I

Since thou Thy face hast hid from me

O Thou most high! I call again and again at thy high gate None hears me, empty is the house, and desolate. He goes to the Lord as a beggar for alms--alms of divine love. He wanted to "taste sugar, did not want to become sugar". He wanted "bliss of communion with God; did not want to become one with him". This is the simplest interpretation of dualism in Bhakti cult.Tukaram was a great saint and devotee of Krishna, who raised the dead and fed the multitudes. Thousands of worshipers from distant villages journeyed to join Tukaram during his ecstatic religious celebrations. Before his death, in 1648, Tukaram exhibited dramatic signs of bodily transfiguration: on one occasion, 

when the gathering became so absorbed in devotional singing that the unattended oil lamps went out and plunged the celebrants into darkness, Tukaram's body glowed with a supernatural brilliance that filled the room with light. Soon thereafter he received foreknowledge of his pending death in a vision in which he was instructed to gather his devotees together. Tukaram sang late into the night, "I have seen my own death with my own eye. It was incomparably holy!" At the peak of their ecstasy a blazing pillar of light descended on Tukaram, temporarily blinding his followers. When they opened their eyes, he was gone. He lived for 41 years and left to heavenly abode in 1650. It is historic truth that saint Tukaram was taken, with his same body, to God’s abode on Heavenly Palanquin. Saint Tukaram has indelible place in the history of Maharashtra.

Trailinga Swami

Trailinga Swami

The Trailinga Swami was a naked yogi known throughout India for his miraculous powers and longevity. A latecomer to spiritual life, he was initiated by his guru at the age of 78 and thereafter began a long pilgrimage throughout India, during which time it is said that he showed no signs of aging due to 

his extreme austerities. Finally, he settled down in Benares, where he lived for the next 150 years as a renunciate. During this time he never spoke, rarely ate food, and wandered on the banks of the Ganges (or floated stationary in midstream). Sri Ramakrishna, another Indian saint, met Trailinga Swami shortly before his death in 1887 at the age of 247 years, calling him a true incarnation of Lord Siva himself.

Trailinga Swami born to Narasingh Rao and Bidayabati in 1601, was a great Indian Saint who did tremendous sadhana for over 250 years and attained to the heights of spiritual knowledge. Swami is said to be the incarnation of Lord Shiva. His initial name was Shivaram.Shivaram was always a profound and seriously introspective child. For the most part he avoided regular childhood past times, preferring instead to spend his time in solitude. He was quite indifferent to the demands of the society around him. Rather his great joy was to listen to religious stories told by his mother. He spent 52 years of his life serving his parents and at the age of 52 when his mother left her earthly body, Shivram moved out of his house and started his search for the guru. He started his sadhana in the local cremation grounds, where he remained seeking wisdom for 20 years. After that he went to many places including Nepal and finally settled in Banaras (Kashi) where he stayed for about 150 years.

The Swami, rarely eating earthly foods, was said to have gained a pound of body weight for each of his earthly years and finally reaching over 300 pounds.

The Swami was consistently seen to drink deadly poisons and remain unaffected by it. Thousands of people have seen Trailanga floating on the Ganges for days on end. Many who witnessed this are still living today. Swami was seen sitting on the top of the water and other times remaining hidden under the waves for hours and days. Frequently the Swami was seen on the extremely hot stone slabs at Manikarnika Ghat under 

the blistering heat of the Indian sun, yet no ill affect resulted to his body. 

Trailinga Swami was known to eat very little, often observing long fasts. A group of wicked men wanted to test his truthfulness and poisoned him with lime water, a concoction that looks like milk. The wicked men followed him to find out his reaction, which was not as they had expected. He urinated.

Rich visitors liked to decorate him with gold and gems. Attired like this he would lose consciousness and thieves would remove the jewels. For him, it was as if someone was giving and someone was taking. An incident occurred in which a King had beckoned him with beautiful jewels and robbers took away everything. When the robbers were brought to Trailinga Swami, he dismissed the whole incident saying, "I am still the same with or without the jewels."

 

Many Saints met him in his lifetime. One day he announced to his disciples that he would like to leave this world. The distressed disciples cried that they had no statue of him. He promised his disciples a memoir, a statue of himself prior to his departure, which they made. Then before leaving, he advised his devotees to make a sandalwood coffin and to put his body within, and then to throw it into the Ganges. He entered in to meditative samadhi and consciously exited from the body on the 11th day of the full moon.

Following his directions, they placed his body in the sandalwood coffin, circumambulated Kashi, and then lowered the coffin into the Ganges, beside which he had resided for so many years. The coffin sank to the bottom, but after some time floated to the surface. When the disciples opened the lid, they found that the box was filled with flowers, and there was no sign of the body.

Those are some of the details of the life of Trailinga Swami, who continues to remain an inspiration to saints and sadhus of all walks of life. Trailanga Swami took samadhi on the ekadashi (11th lunar day) of the bright lunar of the month of Pousha (December) 1881.

Akhanda Mandaleshwar Sri Sri Swami Swarupananda.

Om  or  the Pranava, would  be able  to  unify  people  from  all  walks  of life while taking them up the spiritual ladder, Swarupanandaji gave this Mantra to whoever approached him for initiation.

      - SWARUPANANDA PARAMHANSHA

Bankim Chandra Gangupaddyay (Nick name Boltu), Son of Satish Chandra Gangupaddyay and Mamata Devi, was born on 22th December 1885, Bengali 1294 (many disciples/followers believe that dob 26th December 1899) 12 Pous 1306 Tuesday at Chandpur, Dist-Comilla, Bangladesh. (It is reported that he was actually born on 2nd Tuesday of the Bengali month 'Poush', Bengali yera 1306)

The story of Babamoni’s birth is as miraculous as his life. After he was born, there was not any visible indication of life in the body of that newly born baby, which lay like a lifeless entity for as many as seven days at a stretch. On the eighth day, when the father of the infant became sure that his son was indeed alive, then only he told his relatives about the birth of his son. The wonderful and harmonious combination of Gyanyoga, Karmayoga and Bhaktiyoga that we find in the life of Babamoni lead us to imagine that as if God was equipping the little infant with all the armours of good qualities during those seven days in order to ensure his success. This extraordinary incident of his birth goaded Babamoni to take the pledge – before he started his life of divinely ordained activities – “ My life is for everyone. So long as I stick to this conviction, I stay in my true nature and I remain Swarupananda."

Since Childhood Bankim (nickname 'Baltu') was religious in nature and his favorite pastime was meditation. He used to sit motionlessly for hours underneath the trees at lonely grounds of Chandipur while his friends engaged in prankish activities. He was religious in nature  and  his activities were unique which differenciated him from ordinary people. Although his  parents thought him very strange, they  allowed because he was safe and not bothering them.After he passed with distinction from Pogos School in Dakha, he came to Calcutta and took admission in Surendranath College. However, the call to free the motherland from the subjugation of the British rule stirred young Bankim to plunge head-long into the freedom movement and he could not complete his formal education. The dreams that he always nurtured to see his young countrymen brimming with health, moral principles and spiritual inclinations led him to write numerous books in Bengali, his native language, and compose songs and distribute them free among the lads of the society.

His book "Karmer Pathe" and "Atmagathan o Brahmacharya Prasango" made tremendous impression amongst the freedom-fighters. Many of them used to keep these books for daily-reading and had equal reverence as they had for "The Gita". As a result, Baltu was arrested a number of times, but was ultimately freed from the custody of the British rulers, as the Government failed to ferret out anything unusual in those books.He soon realised the real Mantra "Om" and never looked back again.  He wrote ,"  Hari Om, Hari Om, Hari Om, Hari Om" should not only be uttered,  but should also be chanted.  Know it to be the mighty incantation for unification of all.  "Hari" means "God" and "Om" means "Yes", i.e. "Om" stands for "Being".  "Hari Om" thus means "God is".  The word "Hari" connotes 'one who gathers' , 'one who accumulates',  'One who culls'.  The great mystic syllable "Om" being about integration of all fragmental units into an integrated and indivisible entity.  For this reason alone, this mighty "Mantram" is otherwise designated as "Hari".  All the wisdom of the universe, all truth, all weal, all incantation, all symbols, methods, ways means theories and approaches lie gathered together and accumulated only in Omkar.  "Hari" means everything and "Om" means the mystic syllable. 

Mahaprayan - 21st April, 1984 ; Mahasamadhi - 27th April, 1984.

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om  Hari Om

       

Sree Sree Ram Thakur

Sree Sree Ram Thakur was a Hindu saint from Bengal, who had followers mostly from East Bengal now Bangladesh. He worked among people of various castes and faiths. He is also known as Shri Koibolyonath to his followers.

He was born in the famous Brahmin Bidyalankar family at Dingamanik, in Faridpur district, Bangladesh, in the month of Magha, 1266 B.S (2nd Feb. 1860) Thursday, the 10th of the New Moon with Rohini (Aldebaran) in the ascendant. to father Radhamadhab Chakravarty and mother Kamala Devi. Sri Sri Thakur had two elder brothers one twin brother and one sister.

Sreesree Thakur's mother-Srimati Kamaladevi was very pious, simple and generous. She was well-reputed for devotion and sincerity to religion. She was ever vigilant while observing austerity and other worships. She paid heed to peace and happiness of others brushing aside of her own. He also passed away in the month of Jaistha in 1310 Bangla, 1903.

 Sri Sri Thakur was from His early years different from others. He was since His boyhood liked to be being alone with Himself. His chief pastime was worshipping the gods and goddesses. His schooling at the primary institution was brief. As a boy He felt strongly attached to, and was deeply loved by His father's spiritual guided (late) Mrityunjoy Nyayapanchanan, who passed away one year after His father's death. Sri Sri Thakur was then only 8 years old. Soon after on the third day of the New Moon of Vaishakha, He was initiated by the Guru in a subtle and mysterious way. A few years after, He met the Guru in embodied form at Kamakshya, Assam. 

As a boy he felt strongly attached to his father's spiritual guide, Mrityunjoy Nyayapanchanan, who is said to have initiated him into the life of an ascetic at Kamakkhya. He toured the country and ministered to the spiritual needs of people affected by many famines, the World Wars and the communal riots that surrounded Partition.For more than a year He was on walking tours in the South, and returned home probably towards the end of 1907 or beginning of 1908.

From this time till His passing away, during various crises like the two World Wars, riots, famines, political movements, nuclear explosion and British repression, He stood by the suffering humanity giving them constant courage, hope and blessings while moving from door to door. He was adored and revered by both the Hindus and people of other religion, irrespective of their faith. Sri Sri Thakur used to stress constantly on the efficacy of the repetitions of the Lord's Holy Name as a spiritual discipline and penance for all ills which subsequently would lead to God and eternal peace.

During the last few years of His life, in spite of His frail health, the tempo of Sri Thakur's ministrations increased tremendously.

His grace overflowed and touched the lives of thousands of men. Sri Sri Thakur entered Mahasamadhi on the third day of the New Moon of Vaishakha 18, 1356 B.S (May 1, 1949) at Chaumohani, a town in the District of Noakhali, Bangladesh. His remains were laid to rest there at a hermitage named 'Samadhi Mandir'

Apart from the many minor prophecies Sri Ram Thakur made, on a winter evening in 1938 he suddenly exclaimed, "The stars that rose during the Kurukshetra War are rising again. Millions of people will lose their lives." A few months later Worldwar2 erupted. On the morning of 6 August 1945, Thakur, who was then in Feni, lamented "Alas! Alas! What a destruction!" A few hours later an atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. (Source: "Sri Sri Thakurer Sange", a Bengali article by Tulsidas Gangopadhyay)

On the afternoon of January 30, 1948, hours before Gandhi's assassination, Thakur all of a sudden said: "Gandhi will not take birth again!" (Source: "Prachchhanabatar Sri Ramthakurer Prasange", an article by Smt. Binapani Sengupta)

Sri Sri Thakur said :

Surrender to God empowers the soul to secure its deliverance from the worldly entanglements brought on by the revolving wheel of Fate. Whatever is your allotted portion in life in terms of material gains and mental riches should be accepted as God's merciful gift unto you. ( Vedavani, Part-II, No. 202).

 Some Messages of Shree Shree Thakur :

• The heart burns night and day in the fire of the faggot of desire. Have trust in God. All that rise and set are unreal. Know what is real and what unreal and you shall have done with your delusion.
• God and His Name are one - not different. To live by the Name is to abide in God. By uninterrupted abidance therein one is able to cross the bounds of dualistic knowledge and attain Peace and bliss.
• It is egoism in man that splits the unity of Being into kinsmen and strangers. In truth, no body in the world is other than your Self.
• No body can escape the consequences of his actions as determined by Fate, which should therefore be accepted as a matter of course. A man reaps as he has sown.
• Adore the God of Truth. He will always sustain and protect you. As fate wills it so are people encumbered by the experiences of life, which now give satisfaction, now discontent.
• Don't worry. Always try to live in submission to God. The world is a delusion which disappears as soon as the destined time series terminates. It is wrong to distress yourself over what fate has in store for you.
• Always bear with what fate offers you in the right spirit. So will you have God's mercy.
• This world of Ignorance revolves on the wheels of Time. No one can interfere with its course.
• Do not worry over God's dispensations. Truth alone is the ultimate Goal. Forsake It not, but exert yourself always to follow Its course.

Jagadguru Shankarachariya

 

 Jagadguru Shankarachariya

The greatest saint ever born in the history of mankind, the stage Shankara probably lived around 800 A.D. His teachings can be summed up in half a verse: "Brahma Satyam Jagan Mithya Jivo Brahmaiva Na Aparah-Brahman (the Absolute) is alone real; this world is unreal; and the Jiva or the individual soul is non-different from Brahman." This is the quintessence of his philosophy. 

The Advaita taught by Sri Sankara is a rigorous, absolute one. According to Sri Sankara, whatever is, is Brahman. Brahman Itself is absolutely homogeneous. All difference and plurality are illusory.

Jagad Guru Sankara is honored as Jagadguru, a title that was used earlier only to Lord Krishna. He was born in a very poor family in the year 788 A.D. in a village named Kaladi, six miles to the east of Alwaye, Kerala. Kaladi is a railway station, on the Kochi-Shoranur rail link. Sankara was a Nambudiri Brahmin. Rajasekhara, a Zamindar (a rich landlord), built a Siva temple in Kaladi and formed an Agrahara for Brahmins who were in the service of the temple. Vidyadhiraja was doing Puja (worship) in the temple. He had only a son named Sivaguru. Sivaguru studied the Shastras and married at the proper age. He had no child. He and his wife Aryamba prayed to Lord Siva to bless them with a son. A son was born to them in the Vasanta Ritu or the spring season at noon, in the auspicious Abhijit Muhurta and under the constellation Ardhra. This son was Sankara.

Sivaguru died when Sankara was seven years old. Sankara had none to look after his education. His mother was an extraordinary woman. She took special care to educate her son in all the Shastras. Sankara's Upanayana or thread ceremony was performed in his seventh year, after the death of his father. Sankara exhibited extraordinary intelligence in his boyhood. When he was only sixteen, he became a master of all the philosophies and theologies.

He began to write commentaries on the Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras when he was only sixteen years old. What a great marvel!
Sankara's mother was consulting astrologers about horoscopes of suitable girls for her son's marriage. But Sankara had a firm resolve to renounce the world and become a Sannyasin. Sankara's mother was very much grieved that there would be no one to perform her funeral rites after her death. Sankara gave full assurance to his mother that he would always be ready to serve her at the death-bed and perform the usual funeral rites. Even then his mother was not satisfied.

One day, Sankara and his mother went to take bath in the river. Sankara plunged into the water and felt that a crocodile was dragging him by the foot. He shouted out to his mother at the top of his voice: "O dear mother! A crocodile is dragging me down. I am lost. Let me die peacefully as a Sannyasin. Let me have the satisfaction of dying as a Sannyasin. Give me your permission now. Let me take Apath-sannyasa”.

The mother immediately allowed him to take Sannyasa. Sankara took Apath-sannyasa (the adoption of Sannyasa when death is near) at once. The crocodile let him go unharmed. Sankara came out of the water as a nominal Sannyasin. He again repeated his promise to his mother. He left her under the care of his relatives and gave away his little property to them. He then proceeded to find out a Guru with a view to get himself formally initiated into the sacred order of Sannyasa.Sankara met Swami Govindapada Acharya in a hermitage in Badrikashram (Badrinath) in the Himalayas and he prostrated at the teacher's feet. Govinda asked Sankara who he was. Sankara replied: "O revered Guru! I am neither fire nor air nor earth nor water-none of these, but the Immortal Atma (Self) that is hidden in all names and forms". He also said in the end: "I am the son of Sivaguru, a Brahmin of Kerala. My father died in my childhood. I was brought up by my mother. I have studied the Vedas and the Shastras under a teacher. I took Apath-sannyasa when a crocodile caught my foot while I was taking bath in the river. Kindly initiate me formally into the holy order of Sannyasa". 

Swami Govinda was very much pleased with the truthful narration given by Sankara. Having initiated him and invested him with the robe of a Sannyasin, Swami Govinda taught him the philosophy of Advaita which he himself had learnt from his Guru-Gaudapada Acharya. Sankara learnt all the philosophical tenets from his Guru Govindapada. Govinda asked Sankara to go to Kashi. Sankara proceeded to Kashi where he wrote all his famous commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Gita and successfully met all the criticisms levelled against them. He then began to propagate his philosophy. Sankara had the greatest esteem for his Guru Govindapada and his Parama Guru or the teacher's teacher, Gaudapada.

Summary of Shankara’s teachings
When Shankaracharya decided to enter ‘samadhi,’ Sudhanva, the foremost disciple of Shankara, requested that the essentials of his teaching may be summarized and given to them. Shankaracharya then said the Dasa Shlokas, or Ten Verses, which elaborated the omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence of Brahman – the core concept of Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma). 
1. The five elements do no express my real nature; I am changeless and persist forever.
 

2. I am above castes and creeds. I am seen when ‘maya’ is removed, and do not need concentration or worship as shown in Yoga Sutras.
 

3. I have no parents, I need no Vedas as proclaimed in the scriptures, no sacrifices, no pilgrimages. I am the eternal witness.

Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra

Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra

Anukulchandra was born on 14 September 1888 in Himaitpur village in the Pabna district of the eastern zone of Bengal in undivided  India, now in Bangladesh. His father was Shibchandra Chakravarty (Shandilya Gotra Kanyakubja Brahmin) and his mother was Manmohini Devi. From the very beginning, Anukulchandra was extremely mother centric. He accepted his mother as his guru throughout his life. The lover of the mankind, Anukulchandra set up an Ashram first at Pabna (later it was named satsang by his mother) and then at  Deoghar in India 1946, for fostering spiritual development. 

The Satsang-ashram at Deoghar has now become a major place of attraction in Deoghar. The four ideals of Satsanga are education, agriculture, industry, and good marriage. Actually Anukulchandra did not 'set up' any organization. The organization evolved around him. Schools, charitable hospitals, engineering workshops, a publishing house, and a printing press came up. He never wrote any book. Except one -Satyanusaran' (The Pursuit of Truth), but this was only a letter to one of his disciples Atulchandra. However, conversations of various people with Sri Sri Thakur was recorded, and his direct sayings were compiled. This has given birth to the vast literature of his direct teachings; noted among these are Satyanusaran, Punyapunthi, Anushruti, Chalar Sathi, Shashvati, Pritibinayak, Adarsh Binayak, Alochana Prasangeseries, Deeprakkhi series, The Message series, Vigayn Vibhuti, Who Thou The Revolutionary, Vivah PrasangeVivah Vidhayana volumes etc.

Anukulchandra was initiated (called 'Dikhsha') by his mother on behalf of Huzur Maharaj of Radhaswami Satsang, Dayalbagh, Agra. But he had been showing tremendous spiritual signs right from his advent. He used to do 'Kirton'/Naam-Kirton ("Hare Rama- Hare Krishna"). Sometimes during this, he would go into a trance . His utterances during these trances known as “messages” were later collected and published in a book called Punyapunthi. It was at this time that he started being addressed as “Thakur”.Mother Mata Monmohini Devi was deeply inclined to spiritualism namely prayer to the Almighty and her meditation. She was initiated by Huzur Maharaj of Dayalbagh, Radhaswami Satsang of  Agra. Her spiritualism consolidated in her initiator Huzur Maharaj Ji through whom she used to taste the nectar of Heaven almost in her everyday life. In 1946 Anukulchandra went to Deoghar in Bihar and an ashram came up there as well. He had proclaimed that unless the human society adopts the marriage rules of Varnashram, there will be no peace in the world and all development work will prove to be futile. He did not return to Pabna after the partition of India, but continued to live in Deoghar, where he left his mortal frame on 26 January 1969.

The degeneration of humanity began at that moment when the unseen God was made infinity and, ignoring the Seers, the worship of their Sayings began.Oh Mankind ! If you desire to invoke your good, forget sectarian conflict. Be regardful to all the past Prophets. Be attached to your living master or God and take only those who love him as your own. Because all the past Prophets are consummated in the divine Man of the present."

- Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra- Satyanusaran

His teachings range over almost all subjects of the world, including pure sciences. He had predicted & explained the dangers (in a scientific manner) in 1920s itself. He has given immense knowledge of the origin of the world, humans, history of the world & Indo-Aryans in particular. He spoke in details about quanta, atoms, and sub-atomic particles and has given detailed explanation on how all these created the cosmos. No one knows how he spoke on all these, many of which were discovered later by modern science. His explanations of Human Eugenics laws & dynamics of Varnashram is exhaustive. He has said that we must know the science of human breeding, to produce better quality people. All his principles are based on Ayurveda & other Vedic concepts. But his explanations are surprisingly modern.

According to Sri Sri Thakur, the Vedas were expressed at the North Pole itself. The Aryans were practitioners of the Varna system and had a proper science of marriage. This was based on genetics & eugenics.

Sri Sri Thakur said that the Supreme being (Ultimate GOD) is one & only one. All the Prophets are same and there is no difference. His ideology is based on three major concepts:

1. GOD is one and all Prophets are the same. The Latest Prophet is always the Fulfiller of all the previous prophets. He said Ram, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohammad, Chaitanya & Ramkrishna Paramahans have been the Prophets & we should respect them all. Blasphemy to anyone of them is blasphemy to all.

2. Living Ideal (Guru in flesh & blood/ a living Guru). He said that the abstract God can not be comprehended by humans. So, we need a living Guru who has the attributes (some, if not all) of God. This Guru is the living embodiment of all ideals of life. When a Prophet comes he is called Sad-Guru, the most perfect Guru, and blessed are those who get such a Prophet. This chain of Prophets will continue as long as the creation exists.

3. Marriage on the principles of Varna system. That is first marriage of a man in his own varna (Savarna Marriage), then he can marry females of the lower varnas (Anulom Asavarna marriage/ Hypergamous marriage). The former is to preserve the original genetic stock of the lineage, and the subsequent ones to breed new bio-diversities. But he warned against Hypogamous (Pratiloma) marriages, where the girl is from higher varna. Progeny of such marriages are distorted by birth, as, Sri Sri Thakur "inferior sperm destroys the nodules of a superior ovum". These people, however brilliant, are anti-existence, anti-life by birth, and can not be cured.

In his own words:

FIVE FIRES

— theDo surrender to and serve the Almighty One and unique;
do serve devoutly the solemn seers who fulfill the past;
be devout unto the forefathers who roamed on the route of eternal go;
do serve devoutly the grouping of the varieties of similar instincts (Varnashram), that specifically inhere in the being;
and do thou dedicate thyself to the present Fulfiller, the best— the adjusted abode and resurrected meaning of the past;
this superb and sovereign path of consummation; this—the Dharma of existence and this to follow eternally."

By the law of Nature the time of his demise crawled at the door of his existence till the early dawn of 27 January 1969 when his personifying human stature vanished from the front of our eyes only to take it eternal place into the frontal lobe situated above and in between the two eyes of this writer and billions of his followers throughout the globe never accept his demise.

According to them he has only changed his dwelling place from front of eyes to in-between the two eyes to recall the eternal memory that is Truth, narrated by Sri Sri Thakur:-

The booming commotion of Existence that rolls, in the bosom of the Beyond, evolves into a thrilling rhyme, and upheaves into a shooting Becoming of the Being with echoes that float with an embodiment of Energy- that is Logos, the Word, - the Beginning!

- Sri Sri Thakur

Baba Loknath Brahmachari

Baba Loknath Brahmachari

Trikaldarshi Mahayogi Baba Lokenath (1730-1890) 

"Whenever you are in danger, - whether in the middle of the ocean, or in the midst of the battlefield, or in the deepest jungle - think of me and I will deliver you to safety."

                                 ~~Baba Lokenath Brahmachari

These are the words from the very lips of that great Maharshi - the greatest yogi ever born - Yogavatar Baba Lokenath Brahmachari. He is the Living Gita; he is the Purnavatar; he is the divine synthesis of Jnana, Karma, Bhakti and Ashtanga Yoga. He is the Holy incarnation of the universal religion of love and compassion as preached by the Bhagvadgita. Born in the year 1730, Sri Sri Lokenath Brahmachari was the fourth son of Ram Narayan Ghosal and Kamala Devi. Ram Narayan was a deeply religious person and had decided that his first-born son would be dedicated to the life of austerity. But motherly love was too great a bond for Kamala Devi to break and she could give up neither her first born, nor the second born, not even the third born. At last, the divine scheme of things was at play when the forth son was born to her. With the baby in her lap, whose body was glowing with a divine radiance, she knew that at last the time was ripe for the fulfilment of her husband's greatest wish. She knew that she could not bind this child with the fetters of her own attachment, so she let him follow the path of spiritual awakening. In the neighbouring village lived Sri Bhagwan Ganguly, a householder (Grihi) sanyasi and a scholar of great reputation. Ram Narayan approached this great person to become the Acharya Guru of Lokenath and perform the sacred thread ceremony and to lead his son to the path of spiritual deliverance. So, when Lokenath reached eleven years of age, Guru Bhagwan chose the most auspicious day to initiate him as well as his bosom friend, Benimadhav. The three of them then left home to live in the jungles. Travelling for many miles, they came to Kalighat, near Calcutta (now Kolkata), a holy pilgrim site in eastern India, and the seat of Shakti. At that time, the place was full of sadhus and sanyasis, with long matted hair, and wearing loincloths. 

Lokenath and his friend started feeling at home right from the beginning in the midst of these holy men - who never told them anything even when they would disturb them in their meditation by pulling at their hair and their loincloths.Then one day, having learnt that they too were destined to become like these sanyasis, Lokenath asked his guru to take them away from this place immediately because he wanted to sever all ties with his family, who knew where they were and were still sending them money and clothes for them. So the three of them moved away from Kalighat and went into deeper jungles.

Like a loving mother did Guru Bhagwan prepare the two boys for the hard life of austerity and renunciation. Under his able guidance, the boys, in addition to the practice of deep meditation, also observed various fasting vows that lasted - starting from a single day - to two days, then for three, five, nine and twelve days and then a fortnight. When the fasting lasted for a full month, twice in a row, Benimadhav could not complete his vow the second time, while Lokenath could do it easily. During the long years that these vows were being observed, Guru Bhagwan took complete care of his two disciples, from begging alms, to preparing their food, and even attending to their calls of nature.

Afterwards, Baba Lokenath would always speak of his Guru with tears in his eyes and his voiced choked with emotion. In accordance with the injunction of the Shastras that a sanyasi should visit his native place of birth after practising meditation and renunciation for twelve years, Lokenath and Benimadhav returned to their birthplace with (ruru Bhagwan Ganguly. Now at his native place, Baba Lokenath found himself gradually being engulfed into the web of Maha-Maya and the scheme of sensual indulgence as arranged by the Divine Mother. Many a day passed and never once did Guru Bhagwan remonstrate Lokenath for his behaviour, neither did he ask him to break his attachment and come away.

Like the great teacher and proficient reader of the human mind that he was, Guru Bhagwan waited patiently for the time when Lokenath would have had enough of the test of the Divine Maya and would, of his own accord, tear himself away from his worldly attachments.When the time was ripe, the three mendicants were once again on the road, this time towards that heavenly abode of peace and tranquillity, the peaceful abode of the spiritual seekers - the Great Himalayas. It was here that Baba Loknath attained his Enlightenment, that state of being one with the universe and its Creator. After spending fifty years among the snows of the Himalayas, Loknath, along with his Guru and his friend, proceeded towards Mecca and Medina, wishing to study the Holy Koran under an able teacher. Walking all the way, they reached Kabul, where they stayed for some time with Mullahsadi, who was known for his poetry and his brilliant commentaries of the Koran. From Kabul, the three yogis went to Mecca and thence to Medina. While walking through the desert to Medina, they met with Abdul Gaffar who was himself a yogi of high attainment.

Baba Loknath would later say the following about this great man -

"I have travelled extensively all over the world and could find only two real Brahmans beside myself- one is Abdul Gaffar, and the other - Trailangya Swami."

He would also say about himself - "I am a MusalmarT, Such are the subtle ways in which Baba Loknath taught us the universality of all great religions."

While staying at Mecca, Guru Bhagwan decided it was time for him to leave his old and worn out mortal body behind and for that purpose, they came back to Varanasi, the holiest of all pilgrim sites, on the bank of the River Ganga. Here, Guru Bhagwan placed Ihe caring of Loknath and Benimadhav into the hands of Sri Hithlal Mishra, also known popularly as Trailangya Swami. Thus being free from his only worry in the world - that of placing his two beloved disciples under an able teacher and guide - Guru Bhagwan left his physical body while in deep meditation at Manikarnika Ghat. After Guru Bhagwan passed away, the great yogis - Loknath, Benimadhav and Trailangya Swami, went on foot to visit the western world. According to Baba Loknath, their travels to the west were only limited by the sea. They went through various parts of Europe, Persia, Arabia, Afghanistan and other places, only to return to the loving lap of the Himalayas. Now Baba Loknath had this urge to follow the route that the Pancha Pandavas took during Maha-Prasthan. The three yogis walked through the Himalayas, visited the Manasarovar and went still northwards,
crossing the borders of Siberia, until they reached the land of "no-sun". Here they stayed for a long time and then came down to the plains. It was at this time that first Trailangya Swami, in China, and then Benimadhav, in Assam, parted ways with Baba Loknath and went on their own separate ways.Baba Loknath was all alone when he walked into the village of Daudkandi in Tripura, where, through his divine grace, he rescued a man called Dengu Karmakar from the clutches of death. Dengu instantly became an ardent devotee of Baba Loknath, and it was he who was responsible for bringing Baba to Baradi, which was Dengu's home. He gave Loknath a place to stay in his home, despite the admonitions of his family members.

Baradi was destined to become the seal of Baba1 s divine play, because it was here that Loknath revealed his divinity and infinite grace to the people of the world, everybody in and around Baradi used to consider him a naked madman and would not take him seriously. One day, a few Brahmins were busily preparing the sacred thread and in the process, the thread became knotted, they could not untangle the knots and started to quarrel among themselves. Baba Loknath appeared before them and asked them if they were real Brahmins, then why do they not know the technique of untying the sacred thread. The Brahmins reacted sharply to this remonstration from someone whom they thought was a madman and wanted to dismiss him. But still, they felt the authority and divine radiance that glowed through his words and felt compelled to do his bidding. Two of the Brahmins began to pull at the ends of the entangled thread while Baba Loknath chanted the Gayatri Mahamantra in the purest pronunciation, and to everybody's amazement the thread unravelled itself completely, without a single knot.The news of this incident spread far and wide and the truth of Baba Loknath's great attainment and his spiritual power was at last revealed to the whole world. People in large numbers began to flock to Baradi to have a darshan of the great yogavatar.Baba stayed with Dengu at his home until the end of Dengu's life. When he died, his family members started once more to object to his staying in their home. Baba, in his usual indifferent and compassionate nature told everybody that - "the world is my home and I am at home anywhere in the world'", and would have left Baradi for some place else, had it not been for the Nag family.
They were the richest landlords of Baradi and very devoted to Baba. They came forward this time and wanted to build an ashram for Baba to stay permanently in Baradi, if only he would permit it. Baba gave his permission but on one condition - the ashram should be built on untaxed land. Such a place was found to the east of Baradi Market - it was untaxed because it used to the cremation ground at one time. The ashram was built there, modelled after the hermitage of ancient rishis. After Baba moved there, the Nags requested him to put on some clothing, and so it was that after almost a hundred and forty years of living as a naked sadhu, Baba put the sacred thread around his neck and attired himself with a saffron robe. He then took his seat in the ashram in his yogic posture of Gomukhasana and began to spread his divine grace and spiritual treasures to the people of the world.

"I am eternal. I am deathless." - Baba always said this to his devotees. He said, "After I leave this mortal body, I will live in the hearts of millions". So it was that in the year 1890, on the 2nd of June, (18th Jaisthya), Baba entered into Mahasamadhi, the final journey to the beyond.

Baba's body was carried outside and put upon the funeral pyre made of sandalwood. Hundreds of devotees gathered together to see the last rites of Baba and covered his body with their offerings. Then the pyre was lit and Baba's mortal body was consumed in the fire-

"I am the very existence. I will be always available to you. Have trust in my presence and you will always receive my grace."

I am Eternal. I am Deathless. I am.

Mahamantra :

JAI BABA LOKENATH

JAI MAA LOKENATH

JAI SHIBA LOKENATH

JAI GURU LOKENATH

JAI BABA LOKENATH

JAI MAA LOKENATH

JAI SHIBA LOKENATH

JAI GURU LOKENATH