Brahmanand Swami

About Brahmanand Swami

Brahmananad Swami (1772-1832) was a saint of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and one of Swaminarayan's Paramahamsas.

Biography

Brahmanand Swami was born Ladudan to Gadhavi Shambhudanji Aashiya and Laluba Charan in Khan village, at the foot of Mount Abu, in sirohi district of Rajasthan in 1772.

At a young age In the royal court he sang poems in Gujarati. The Rana of sirohi, impressed with him, directed to be taught Pingal (science of constructing poetry) to the child at the cost of the state, hence Ladudan was well educated and later became a part of King of Udaipurs court. Ladudan learnt pingal and Sanskrit scriptures from Ladhaji Rajput of Dhamadka, becoming a scholar in Pingal, poetry and scriptures. Ladudan earned fame and wealth by visiting stately courts of Jaipur, Jodhpur among others, which were impressed by his poetry.
Initiation as Sadhu.

Ladudan was in Bhuj where he had heard about Swaminarayan and went to meet him. Swaminarayan was addressing a gathering in Bhuj. Ladunan was attracted to him. Swaminarayan returned to Gadhada with poet Ladudan. Ladudan lived a majestic and royal life befitting a courtier. He was always clad in most precious attires and was adorning jewellery befitting royalty. Swaminarayan did not like such luxurious life style but instead of preaching directly he changed Ladudan. He did so and became an ascetic. On the way from Gadhpur to Siddhapur, there is one small village named Gerita. Swaminarayan stopped at Gerita and administrated Bhagwati Deeksha (initiation as sadhu) to Ladudan by giving sainthood name 'Shrirangdasji.' After some time, he renamed him as Brahmanand Swami. Brahmanand Swami used to sing bhajans and also created a mimic character and used to please swaminarayan bhagwan apart from these he was very sharp in memory ,he was called shatavdhani means one who can answer 100 questions in the same sequence at the same time.

Swami Abhedananda

About Swami Abhedananda

Swami Abhedananda (2 October 1866 – 8 September 1939), born Kaliprasad Chandra was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. Swami Vivekananda sent him to the West to head the Vedanta Society of New York in 1897, and spread the message of Vedanta, a theme on which he authored several books through his life, and subsequently founded the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Darjeeling.

Early life and education

He was born on 2 October 1866 as Kaliprasad Chandra in North Calcutta. His father was Rasiklal Chandra and his mother was Nayantara Devi. In 1884, at the age of 18, while studying for the school final examination under the University of Calcutta, he went to Dakshineswar and met Sri Ramakrishna. Thereafter in April 1885, he left home to be with him, during his final illness, first at Shyampukur and then at Cossipur Garden-house near Calcutta.The writings and speeches of Swami Abhedananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, were spread over a long period of spiritual ministration both in America and in India

Abhinavagupta

About Abhinavagupta

Abhinavagupta (950 – 1020 AD) was one of India's greatest philosophers, mystics and aestheticians. He was also considered an important musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logician a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture. Abhinavagupta was strongly influenced by Buddhist logic.

He was born in the Valley of Kashmir in a family of scholars and mystics and studied all the schools of philosophy and art of his time under the guidance of as many as fifteen (or more) teachers and gurus. In his long life he completed over 35 works, the largest and most famous of which is Tantrāloka, an encyclopedic treatise on all the philosophical and practical aspects of Trika and Kaula (known today as Kashmir Shaivism). Another one of his very important contributions was in the field of philosophy of aesthetics with his famous Abhinavabhāratī commentary of Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata Muni.

Life

"Abhinavagupta" was not his real name, rather a title he earned from his master, carrying a meaning of "competence and authoritativeness". In his analysis, Jayaratha (1150-1200 AD)  — who was Abhinavagupta's most important commentator — also reveals three more meanings: "being ever vigilant", "being present everywhere" and "protected by praises". Raniero Gnoli, the only Sanskrit scholar who completed a translation of Tantrāloka in a European language, mentions that "Abhinava" also means "new", as a reference to the ever-new creative force of his mystical experience.

From Jayaratha, we learn that Abhinavagupta was in possession of all the six qualities required for the recipients of the tremendous level of śaktipāta, as described in the sacred texts an unflinching faith in God, realization of mantras, control over objective principles (referring to the 36 tattvas), successful conclusion of all the activities undertaken, poetic creativity and spontaneous knowledge of all disciplines.

Abhinavagupta's creation is well equilibrated between the branches of the triad knowledge, action; his works also include devotional songs, academical/philosophical works and works describing ritual/yogic practices.

As an author he is considered a systematizer of the philosophical thought. He reconstructed, rationalized and orchestrated the philosophical knowledge into a more coherent form, assessing all the available sources of his time, not unlike a modern scientific researcher of Indology.

Various contemporary scholars have characterized Abhinavagupta as a "brilliant scholar and saint", "the pinnacle of the development of Kasmir Śaivism" and "in possession of yogic realization".

Akhandanand

About Akhandanand

Akhandananda Saraswati (called "Maharajshri" by his followers) (1911–1987) was an exponent of Bhagavata Purana and a scholar of diverse spiritual traditions including Vedanta, Bhakti, and associated Shastras(scriptures).

Early days

He was born on Friday, July 25, 1911 in Pushya Nakshatra (Shravana Amavasya v.s. 1968 per Vikram Calendar) in the village of Maharai in the district of Varanasi. According to the lunar calendar, it was the Amawasya of the month of Shravan, in the Samvat 1968. His Saryupaarine Brahmin family named him "Shantanu Behari", since he was born by the grace of the Lord Shantanu Bihari. According to the book "Shri Gita Rasa Ratnakar", astrologers predicted at the time of his birth, that his lifespan was only nineteen years. Fear of death made him move towards the path to spirituality.

He was ten years old when his grandfather made him read the original Bhagwat in Sanskrit. Since then the Shrimad Bhagwat stayed by him like a faithful companion.

Prior to his Sanyas, from 1934 to 1942, He was a member of the editorial board of "Kalyan" at the Gita Press and published a number of books and articles. He translated Bhagavata Purana in Hindi for the Gita Press.

Anandamayi Ma

About Anandamayi Ma

Sri Anandamayi Ma (30 April 1896 - 27 August 1982) was an Indian saint from Bengal. Swami Sivananda (Divine Life Society) described her as "the most perfect flower the Indian soil has produced." Precognition, healing and other miracles were attributed to her by her followers. Paramhansa Yogananda translates Anandamayi as "joy-permeated". This name was given to her by her devotees in the 1920s to describe what they saw as her habitual state of divine joy and bliss.

Biography

Early life

Anandamayi Ma was born Nirmala Sundari on 30 April 1896 to Bipinbihari Bhattacharya and Mokshada Sundari Devi in Kheora, Brahmanbaria District, British India, in what is now Bangladesh. Her father, originally from Vidyakut in Tripura, was a Vaishnavite singer known for his devotion. They lived in poverty. Nirmala attended the village school for approximately two years. Although her teachers were pleased with her ability, her family thought she was dullminded because of her indifference and constantly happy demeanor. When her mother once fell seriously ill, relatives remarked with puzzlement about the child remaining apparently unaffected.

In 1908 at the age of thirteen, in keeping with the rural custom at the time, she was married to Ramani Mohan Chakrabarti of Vikramapura, whom she would later rename Bholanath. She spent five years after her marriage at her brother-in-law's home, where she was in a withdrawn meditative state much of the time. It was here that a devout neighbour considered insane, Harakumar, developed a habit of addressing her as "Ma", and prostrated before her morning and evening in reverence. When Nirmala was about seventeen, she went to live with her husband in Ashtagram. In 1918, she moved to Bajitpur, where she stayed until 1924. It was a celibate marriage—whenever thoughts of sexuality occurred to Ramani, Nirmala's body would take on the qualities of death. On the full moon night of August 1922, at midnight, twenty-six-year old Nirmala enacted her own spiritual initiation. She explained that the ceremony and its rites were being revealed to her spontaneously as and when they were called for. She later stated, "As the master (guru) I revealed the mantra; as the disciple (shishya) I accepted it and started to recite it."

Bhagawan Nityananda

About Bhagawan Nityananda

Bhagawan Nityananda (November/December, 1897 – August 8, 1961) was an Indian guru. His teachings are published in the "Chidakash Gita". Nityananda was born in Quilandy (Pandalayini), Kerala, South India.

Biography

Guru

As a guru, Nityananda gave relatively little by way of verbal teachings. Starting in the early 1920s, his devotees in Mangalore would sit with him in the evenings. Most of the time he was silent, though occasionally he would give teachings. A devotee named Tulsiamma wrote down some of his teachings and his answers to her specific queries. Later, these notes were compiled and published in the Kannada language and came to be known as the Chidaksha Geeta.

Some believe that Nityananda had the power to transmit spiritual energy (shaktipat) to people through non-verbal means. He could also be extremely fiery and intimidating in his behaviour, even to the point of throwing rocks on occasion. This was his way of deterring people who were not serious in their spiritual aspirations, or who came to him with ulterior motives.

In 1936, he went to the Shiva temple in the village of Ganeshpuri and asked if he could stay there. The family that looked after the temple agreed and built a hut for him. As his visitors and followers increased, the hut expanded and became an ashram. To the people around him, he was an avadhuta: one who is absorbed in the transcendental state.

Final samadhi

Nityananda died on August 8, 1961. His samadhi is located in Ganeshpuri at the Samadhi Mandir. There is also a shrine dedicated to him in the Gurudev Siddha Peeth ashram at Ganeshpuri. His ashram, tourist hostel, and other buildings associated with his life in Ganeshpuri are preserved by the Shree Bhimeshwar Sadguru Nityanand Sanstha Ganeshpuri. This trust is also responsible for his samadhi shrine in Ganeshpuri, which is a pilgrimage site.

A trust at Kanhangad looks after the Ashram and temples located there. The trust also runs a few educational institutions and a dharmasala.