Shyama Charan Lahiri (Bengali: শ্যামাচরণলাহিড়ী) (30 September 1828 – 26 September 1895), best known as Lahiri
Mahasaya, was an Indian yogi, guru and a disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. He was also popularly known as Yogiraj and Kashi Baba. He revived the
yogic science of Kriya Yoga when he learned it from Mahavatar Babaji in 1861. Lahiri
Mahasaya was also the guru of Yukteswar Giri. Mahasaya is a Sanskrit, spiritual title translated as 'large-minded'. He was unusual among
Indian holy people in that he was a householder- marrying, raising
a family, and working as an accountant for the Military Engineering Department
of the British Indian government. Lahiri lived with his family in Varanasi rather than in a temple or monastery. He achieved a substantial
reputation among 19th century Hindu religionists.
He became known in the West through Paramahansa Yogananda, a disciple of
Yukteswar Giri, and through Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogananda wrote
that Lahiri was chosen by Mahavatar Babaji to reintroduce the lost practice of
Kriya Yoga to the world. Lahiri's disciples included both of Yogananda's
parents as well as Yogananda's own guru. Lahiri Mahasaya prophesied that the
infant Yogananda would become a yogi, and "As a spiritual engine, he will carry many souls to God's
kingdom.’’Trailanga Swami, the famous saint of India, had praised Lahiri Mahasaya in the
following words, “Lahiri Mahasaya is like a divine kitten, remaining wherever
the Cosmic Mother has placed him. While dutifully playing the part of a worldly
man, he has received that perfect Self-realization which I have sought by
renouncing everything – even my loincloth!”
Lahiri was born into a Brahmin family in the Ghurni village (presently a
neighbour-hood of Krishnanagar town) in Nadia district of Bengal Province. He was the youngest son of Muktakashi, wife of Gaur
Mohan Lahiri. His mother died when he was a child - there is very little known
about her, except that she was a devotee of Lord Shiva. At the age of three or four, he was often seen sitting in meditation,
with his body buried in the sand up to his neck. When Lahiri was five, the
family's ancestral home was lost in a flood, so the family moved to Varanasi, where he would spend most of his life.
As a child, he studied Urdu and Hindi, gradually moving on to Bengali,
Sanskrit, Persian, French and English at the Government Sanskrit College, along
with study of the Vedas. Reciting the Vedas, bathing in the Ganges, and worship
were part of his daily routine.
In 1846, he was married to Srimati Kashi Moni. They had two sons,
Tincouri and Ducouri, and three daughters, Harimoti, Harikamini and Harimohini.
His two sons were considered saints. His wife became his disciple and was
affectionately called by Guru Ma. His work as an accountant in the Military
Engineering Department of the English government took him all over India. After
the death of his father, he took on the role of supporting the entire family in
Varanasi.
In 1861, Lahiri was transferred to Ranikhet, in the foothills of the Himalayas. One day, while walking in the
hills, he heard a voice calling to him. After climbing further, he met his Guru
Mahavatar Babaji, who initiated him into the techniques of Kriya Yoga. Babaji told Lahiri that the rest of his life was to be given to
spreading the Kriya message.
Soon after, Lahiri Mahasaya returned to Varanasi, where he began
initiating sincere seekers into the path of Kriya Yoga. Over time, more and
more people flocked to receive the teachings of Kriya from Lahiri. He organized
many study groups and gave regular discourses on the Bhagavad Gita at his
"Gita Assemblies." He freely gave Kriya initiation to those of every
faith, including Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, at a time when caste bigotry
was very strong. He encouraged his students to adhere to the tenets of their
own faith, adding the Kriya techniques to what they already were practicing.
He continued his dual role of accountant and supporter to his family,
and a teacher of Kriya Yoga, until 1886, when he was able to retire on a
pension. More and more visitors came to see him at this time. He seldom left
his sitting room, available to all who sought his darshan. He often exhibited the breathless state of superconscioussamādhi.
Over the years he gave initiation to gardeners, postmen, kings,
maharajas, sannyasis, householders, people considered to be lower caste,
Christians, and Muslims. At that time, it was unusual for a strict Brahmin to
associate so closely with people from all castes.
Some of his notable disciples included Panchanan Bhattacharya, Yukteswar Giri, Pranabananda, Keshavananda Brahmachari, Bhupendranath
Sanyal and the parents of Paramahansa Yogananda. Others who received initiation
into Kriya Yoga from Lahiri included Bhaskarananda Saraswati of Benares,
Balananda Brahmachari of Deogarh, Maharaja Iswari Narayan Sinha Bahadur of
Benares and his son.
Biographer and Yogacharya Dr. Ashoke Kumar Chatterjee, in his book
"Purana Purusha" depicts that Lahiri initiated Sai Baba of Shirdi into Kriya Yoga,
based on a passage in Lahiri's 26 secret diary. He gave permission to one
disciple, Panchanan Bhattacharya, to start an institution in Kolkata to spread the teachings of Kriya Yoga. The Arya Mission Institution
published commentaries by Lahiri on the Bhagavad Gita, along with other
spiritual books, including a Bengali translation of the Gita. Lahiri himself
had printed thousands of small books with excerpted passages from the Gita, in
Bengali and Hindi, and distributed them for free, an unusual idea at that time.
In 1895 he began gathering his disciples, letting some of them know that
he would soon be leaving the body. Moments before his passing, he said simply,
"I am going home. Be comforted; I shall rise again." He then turned
his body around three times, faced north, and consciously left his body,
entering mahasamadhi. Lahiri Mahasaya died on 26 September 1895, four days before turning
67. He was cremated according to Hindu Brahmin rites at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi.
The central spiritual practice which he taught to his disciples was Kriya Yoga, a series of inner pranayama practices that quickly hasten the spiritual growth of the practitioner.
He taught this technique to all sincere seekers, regardless of their religious
background. In response to many types of problems that disciples would bring
him, his advice would be the same — to practice more Kriya Yoga. Regarding
Kriya Yoga, he said:
Always remember that you belong to no one, and no one belongs to you.
Reflect that someday you will suddenly have to leave everything in this
world–so make the acquaintanceship of God now. Prepare yourself for the coming
astral journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception.
Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones,
which at best is a nest of troubles. Meditate unceasingly, that you may quickly
behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from every form of misery. Cease
being a prisoner of the body; using the secret key of Kriya, learn to escape
into Spirit.
He taught that Kriya practice would give the yogi direct experience of
truth, unlike mere theoretical discussion of the scriptures, and to:
Solve all your problems through meditation. Exchange unprofitable
religious speculations for actual God-contact. Clear your mind of dogmatic
theological debris; let in the fresh, healing waters of direct perception.
Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance; the Divine Voice has the answer
to every dilemma of life. Though man’s ingenuity for getting himself into
trouble appears to be endless, the Infinite Succor is no less resourceful.
Lahiri often spoke of the Guru-disciple relationship in the context of Kriya Yoga. He always gave the Kriya technique as an initiation, and taught that
the technique was only properly learned as part of the Guru-disciple
relationship. Frequently he referred to the realization that comes through
practicing Kriya as taught by the Guru, and the grace that comes through the
'transmission' of the Guru. He also taught that the grace of the Guru comes
automatically if his instructions are followed. He suggested contacting the
Guru during meditation, counseling that it wasn't always necessary to see his
physical form.
Regarding the necessity of the help of a Guru to deep yoga practice, he
said:
It is absolutely necessary for all devotees to totally surrender to
their Guru. The more one can surrender to the Guru, the more he can ascertain
the subtlest of the subtle techniques of yoga from his Guru. Without surrender,
nothing can be derived from the Guru.
The relationship Lahiri Mahasaya had with his own disciples was very
individual. He even varied the way he taught the Kriya Yoga practice to each
disciple, depending on their individual spiritual needs.
Lahiri taught that if one is earning an honest living and practicing
honesty, then there was no need to alter one's external life in any significant
way in order to become aware of God's presence. If a student neglected his
worldly duties, he would correct him. It was extremely rare for him to advise
sannyas, or complete worldly renunciation by becoming a swami. Instead, he
advised marriage for most of his disciples along with Kriya Yoga practice.
He generally eschewed organized religion, but he allowed at least one
advanced disciple, Panchanan Bhattacharya, to open the
"Arya Mission Institution" in Kolkata to spread Kriya teachings. Other disciples of Lahiri also started
organizations to spread the Kriya Yoga message, including Yukteswar Giri with his Satsanga Sabha.Generally, he preferred Kriya to spread
naturally.
Lahiri frequently taught the Bhagavad Gita. His regular Gita
assemblies, called Gita Sabha, attracted many disciples. He asked several of
his close disciples to write interpretations of the Gita by tuning in to his
own realization. Lahiri taught that the Battle of Kurukshetra was really an
inner psychological battle, and that the different characters in the battle
were actually psychological traits within the struggling yogi.This
understanding would later become the foundation of Paramahansa Yogananda's
commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita "God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita". He also
taught that the epic story of the Mahabharata showed the soul's
descent into matter, and its challenges in retracing its way back to spirit.
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