About Paramahansa Srimat Swami Jogananda Brahmachari

 Yogananda Saraswati: The Magnanimous Paramhamsa

Yogananda Brahmachari always refused to give any detailed account of his precedent life. He believed in the Present and found his true identity in its unearthly delights. Guru Yoganandaji also warned his followers about the ignorance surrounding ‘pride of wisdom’, which inevitably gets associated with the thought of writing an autobiography. However, a few glimpses of his elusively variegated life are presented here, earnestly keeping in mind his words of caution. Guruji appeared as a mortal being on earth sometime around 1847 AD. His zodiac sign was Virgo. The Prophet’s father suffered a premature death before his birth. He was the eighth child in the family, and the only surviving one. The names of Guruji’s parents have got into historical accounts quite accidentally. In the present Yogananda Yogashrama premises, there’s a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva amongst others. Two of the asanas present there are named ‘Amriteshwar Shiva’ and ‘Sukhadeshwara Shiva’, which owe their roots to the names of Yoganandaji’s parents – Shree Amrita and Shreemati Sukhadabala. Guruji was born in a wealthy family. His father, a zamindar of moderate rank, was employed as a police inspector under East India Company. Sukhadabala Devi was a housewife and remained drowned in work from dawn to dusk.

After receiving primary education in the village pathshala and high-school, Yoganandaji came to Calcutta for getting admitted to a college. Though the name of the particular college in which he studied is not known, it’s assumed to be somewhere near Dover Lane, where the young learner resided to carry out his higher education. Thereafter, he completed graduation and obtained a degree in Law too. Afterwards, he became a teacher for some period of time attached either to Hindu or Hare School.

Guruji was initiated to yoga at the tender age of twenty-two under Shreemat Paramananda Saraswati Maharaj, cousin and direct disciple of the legendary demigod Shreemat Tailangaswami. Yoganandaji himself met Tailangaswamiji twice. Paramanandaji was a truly gigantic yogi. Divine pulchritude and unfathomed depth of vision were his principal characteristics. He lived in a secluded area near Manas Sarovar and descended to the plains only occasionally. Guru Yoganandaji didn’t leave home at that time, although he was keen to get a break from samsara. The true cause may be traced back to the untimely deaths of his father and elder brothers, leaving his mother in deep grief and loneliness, and he didn’t want to see his mother more miserable. However, slowly but surely, Guruji was getting detached from material pleasures. 

In the last part of the nineteenth century, Yoganandaji became associated with politics – both directly and indirectly. The sole direction of politics in those days was that of freedom fight. He too got involved in it. The Prophet met Swami Vivekananda, C.R. Das, Motilal Roy, Anne Besant, Shri Aurobindo, Sister Nivedita and many other luminaries in course of time. Some deep, philosophical conversations ensued between Swamiji and him, according to his own recollections. Guruji’s zone of activity included Dhaka, Maimansingha, Tripura, Chittagong, Chandennagore and Khulna. An active participator in early armed patriotism, Guruji later maintained a close but indirect linkage with swaraj through assisting clandestine societies like ‘Sannyasi Sangha’. He gave almost all of his time, labor and money to support the freedom movement during this period. Buying ammunition, hiding important revolutionaries, maintaining connections between various secret societies – all were parts of his agenda. Once he established a shop named ‘Wheeler and Co.’ with American collaboration and fed the ‘Anushilan’ and ‘Yugantar’ groups with its profits. Moreover, later he sold all his belongings in Bangladesh for a paltry rate of 3 lakh rupees and probably gave the money to facilitate freedom of Mother Nation.

Guruji was involved in the infamous Muraripukur (Manicktolla) bombing conspiracy along with Sri Aurobindo and others but escaped unscathed. He was hiding with a few comrades in Shree Gopal Mullick Lane. Therefrom, they went to Gowalanda for murdering Officer Allen. The mission was a failure. Yoganandaji fled to Nepal and started to live at the home of Professor Pashupatinath Bhattacharjee, a college teacher. During his exile, Guruji bought some land near Nepal-Bihar border. He also took possession of an area near Chittagong-Coxbazaar and Tripura (situated in undivided Bangladesh). His goal was to gain advantage in political strategies by acquiring lands in important sectors. Secondly, Guruji patronized small-scale industries and handicrafts to encourage self-employment and camouflage fellow patriots.

Next, Guru Yoganandaji went to Gorakhpur and spent two years in meditation with Gambhirnath Baba. Subsequently, he visited Kashi, Vrindavan, Hrishikesh and ultimately the whole of the Himalayas – from the foothills to the pinnacle points.

Meanwhile, in 1908, the Prophet went to Khshudiram Basu’s home on the very day of his death sentence to console his elder sister. A large share of Yoganandaji’s life has been limitedly accessible by historical accounts during this period. Five to seven years later, he is found to surface in Pondicherry. It was still early days for the Aurobindo Ashrama as Sri Maa didn’t lay her footsteps there till then. Guruji had Motilal Roy, Nalinikanta Gupta and many others as his co-workers in Pondicherry who were ready to put all their creative powers at work in order to firmly establish the famous shrine mentioned. But, his modesty barred him from coming into limelight as a principal contributor. Two years later, he left the place, searching for complete emancipation from the material world.

Guruji was literally a true seeker of truth by birth. Nirvana was his final destination. His character can be compared to a queer tree, in which fruits (Nirvana) appear before buds (Sannyas) blossom. Rajyoga, Tantrayoga, Vaishnavayoga – everything was at his fingertips. Moreover, he bathed himself in both Sufi and Christian philosophies. Achieving the apex in every form of meditation was his forte.

The practice or sadhana of a yogi can never be complete within a finite period of time. But, in order to serve the society, one needs to begin his work of spreading the gained wisdom from a time which he feels convenient. Guruji also believed in this philosophy. Be it in the dense forests of the then Punjab, the hills of Chittagong, the rocks of Kanyakumarika or the plains of Jahnavi, he carried on this work defying fatigue. But, he never forgot his responsibilities concerning the freedom movement and the welfare of the Nation. Guruji didn’t discern between these tasks. Instead, he viewed them as a complete whole. He was shocked at the news of separation of Bengal and went more than once in East Bengal to serve the needy.

Probably on the 18th of October, 1952, Yoganandaji left Bangladesh for the final time. In West Bengal, he always traveled centering Calcutta. Still, the soul of a pilgrim remained emblazoned in his mind. Thus, later too, he left Bengal quite a few times for visiting shrines all over the rest of India.

Upto the age of ninety, Guruji never weared gairik clothes. He hated to advertise himself as a sannyasi, but lived under even more hardships. Eventually, he was baptized as a sannyasi somewhere near Krishnanagar of Nadia district in ‘Paramhamsa Parivrajakacharya 1008 Shreemat Swami Vishwapranab Atyashrama’. At present, it’s situated at 25, Riverside Road in Barrackpore, North 24 Parganas.

Regardless of caste, religion or economic gradations, Yoganandaji took virtually everyone under his tutelage. Once, he was attacked by a Muslim dacoit on a silent night. When the attacker heard that his victim had no possessions except only one thing, he intended to grab that with alacrity. Guruji was ready to initiate him to his idealism. This dacoit was his first disciple.

The Mahayogi loved Halishahar. He always referred to the soil as holy – trod by greats like Ishwarpuri, Sadhak Ramprasad and Sri Gouranga. In Shankar Math, he lived for more than two and a half years before setting into pilgrimage again. He traveled by trains, buses or on foot and had been looted quite a few times by dangerous highwaymen while resting under trees. Nothing really mattered to him because he was elevated to the stature of a true Mukta Yogi by then.

Meanwhile, Yoganandaji was spreading invaluable sermons to his disciples all around Nadia district – be it at Halishahar, Ranaghat, Krishnanagar or Naihati. He was accessible to all. Guruji’s sole goal was to purify the heart of mankind, as directed by his master Paramanandaji Maharaj. He was like a kind father to his pupils. Thus, every single one of them wanted him to stay in his own residence. After much dilemma, he was established beside Vishalakshi Ghat in Halishahar Kona. Many of Guruji’s followers became annoyed at the poor condition of the room in which he decided to live. But to the Prophet, even that wretched room was like a part of Paradise. As time passed by, the detrimental desirability of the location slowly vanquished. Some unforgettable supernatural incidents occurred at this very place. In fact, in order to record all of them duly, it’s indispensable to write a book. But, in ‘Guru, Tadbhava o Bhavana’, writer Narendranath Ghosh has aptly captivated many of these in print.

Guruji’s followers were becoming quite eager to provide him a comfortable resting place. Curiously, he felt uneasy with such efforts. Following the footsteps of his guru, Yoganandaji also didn’t want shrines or ashramas in his name. The disciples became disheartened realizing this unwelcome truth. At last, after many hesitations, Guruji agreed. He kept in mind that a better establishment would provide his tired sons a place to repose. Soon, the chain of work speeded up. Some land was acquired, along with a few evacuated slums. On 19th November, 1964, all the hopes turned into reality as the cornerstone of the present Ashrama was laid.

Even after the construction of the Ashrama, Guruji’s lust for pilgrimage never ceased. Probably, the last words of his master flashed in the eye of his mind. He uttered – “Such a noble man passed away so quietly, even without leaving any symbol somewhere! Neither a temple, nor a monastery – he didn’t have anything bearing his name ….”  

According to Guru Yoganandaji’s wishes, the Ashrama became a divine pavilion of sanctity, atonement and meditation. It didn’t house a particular religion or belief. Assimilation of all ways of endowment of the soul was its morale. The Ashrama welcomed people of all communities.

Guruji didn’t keep any record regarding his work or the spread of his fragrant idealism. He compared himself with a mother-tortoise, which lays eggs generously, protects them and forgets their locations thereafter. It then has to repent sorrowfully. Likewise, he also didn’t keep track of the numerous places where he sprinkled his wisdom. But, he didn’t forget to mention the heavenly pleasure he felt on being surrounded by his devotees – much like the mother-tortoise when it sees its babies wriggle out of the eggs. He prayed earnestly to his guru for his “eggs to hatch” properly, by which he meant his followers to become ideal human beings.

Yoganandaji lived twelve years as a mortal after the erection of the Ashrama. He could have easily enriched our knowledge concerning his life during this period. On the contrary, he quoted Paramanandaji – “Establishment is another name of pig’s litter”, and kept himself away from it. He was not a miser. All his acumen was open to his disciples. It was their task to extract the quintessence from it.

Gradually, the Mahayogi was getting tired of purifying the impurities of his devotees’ souls. Fatigue imprisoned him as a result of prolonged work and pilgrimage. The disciples feared the worst. Inevitably, on the 24th of October, 1975, Guruji breathed his last as a corporeal in a hospital at Kalyani. As instructed by his sannyas-guru, he was put in eternal rest in his own bedroom posed in padmasana. His omnipotent soul continues to act as a pathfinder to his followers. 

Jayguru!