Maharshi Mehi Paramhans

Maharshi Mehi Paramhans
Born	28 April 1885(1885-04-28) Khokhsi Shyam, Saharsa District, India
Died	8 June 1986(1986-06-08) (aged 101) Bhagalpur, India
Resting place	Kuppaghat, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Mehi Das, Ramanughrah Lal Das
Known for	Eminent Exponent of Santmat Propounding the philosophy of Sant_Mat and Advaita Vedanta His main motto: "The utmost & the most solemn goal of human birth is to attain, forsaking all worldly desires, complete liberation of all transmigration. The purpose of Santmat is to provide a system which fulfills the desire of attaining absolute Peace or total liberation."

Introduction

Maharshi Mehi Paramhans (Hindi: महर्षि मेंहीं परमहंस ) is revered as a great sant in the illustrious tradition of Sant Mat. Maharshi Mehi has a unique distinction of enriching the glorious lineage of Santmat especially as he very diligently strove to bridge the hiatus that had developed over time not only between the Scriptures on the hand and Santmat on the other, but also between different sects of sants that came to be formed by the overzealous followers. He made an in-depth study of Vedas, main Upanishadas, the Bhagvad Gita, the Bible, different suttas of Buddhism, the Quran, saintly literature and established beyond any iota of doubt that the essential teaching contained in all of these is one and the same and that the differences that appear to be seen are but superfluous and, therefore, worthy of rejection. Maharshi Mehi was a direct disciple of Baba Devi Sahab of Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India who had special blessings of Sant Tulsi Sahab of Hathras, U.P., India.

Maharshi Mehi was born in 1885 in a small village of Bihar, India. He displayed signs of a true yogi right since his childhood days. From very early age he was a seeker of truth and had an intense thirst for inquiry - inquiry about Self, the true purpose of human life, liberation from the unending travails of transmigration etc; this thirst made him restless to search for a true guide, a true Guru who could provide satisfactory answers to his queries. His search which was wide and far lead him, after a lot of wandering and tribulations, finally to the feet of his teacher, Baba Devi Sahab in 1909. As directed by his teacher Maharshi spent many years in intense meditation on the inner light and sound and eventually located at Kuppaghat on the banks of the Ganges near Bhagalpur in the state of Bihar.

Maharshi Mehi Paramhans taught all sincere seekers but was especially fond of the poorer villagers. There is a story of a lower caste old woman who was quite devoted to Maharshi. Once she came to give prasad (usually a food item meant as a gift for the teacher). She had in her hand a laddu which is a simple sweet which she had herself prepared. She was so poor that although the ingredients were common it was a considerable expense for her. As she waited in a line with others who were also giving prasad she must have thought her gift to be so small as to be unworthy. And for good reason - in front of her were persons of considerable means bearing expensive and ample prasad. Maharshi typically took prasad and gave a blessing and the prasad gift was later distributed to other devotees. He himself rarely ate these gifts and it was considered a great blessing to have him eat an individual prasad. Although in line and with considerable devotees in front of her Maharshi suddenly, looked up at her. He said: "Come here O devotee of God". As she came forward she clutched her gift still certain that it was altogether unworthy. "Give me the prasad" demanded Maharshi. Obediently she obliged her teacher. Maharshi commented "oh, what a fine gift!" and ate a good deal of it. Everyone was quite surprised that the great teacher would eat the prasad from a low class woman. But such was the heart and mind of Maharshi. Not only did he know the true heart of those who came to him but he especially respected the humble.^[1]

True to Baba Devi Sahabs' prophecy he lived to be over 100 years of age and left the body in 1986. Maharshi says:

“Stillness or steadiness is the essence of Shanti (Supreme Peace).

The one who has attained Shanti is a sant (saint).

Santmat encompasses the thoughts and the Way of Sants.

The desire for attaining a state free from suffering and to attain happiness of Shanti (absolute Peace) is natural in human beings. The purpose of Santmat is to provide a system which fulfills the desire of attaining absolute Peace.”

Topics

Sl No	Topic
1	Brief Life Sketch
2	Philosophy & Teachings
3	Meditation Technique
4	Literature
5	Travels
6	Gurus
7	Main Disciples & Lineage
8	Ashrams
9	Bridging the gap between Scriptures & Santmat
10	Reconciling Other Saintly Literature
11	Felicitations

Life Sketch

Maharshi Mehi Paramhans was born on the fourteenth day of the Shukla Paksha (brighter half of the lunar month) of Vaishakha, corresponding to the 28th April 1885, at his maternal grandparents’ home in Khokhsi Shyam village in Saharsa District, Bihar, India. His father, Mr. Babujan Lal Das, a deeply religious man, was a resident of the village named Sikligarh Dharahra, a place that was soon to become immortal and sacred in the hearts of millions of devotees of Maharshi Mehi and which now houses an Ashram which is regarded as amongst the holiest of places associated with Santmat. Sikligarh Dharahra comes under Banmankhi police Station in the District of Saharsa in the state of Bihar, India.

The family astrologer had christened him as Ramanugrah Lal Das based on his astrological charts, a name that is also found in Maharshi Mehi’s school records. However, because of his strikingly lean physique Mr. Bharat Lal Das (Das was a surname adopted by many from the Kayastha caste of the area), the uncle of his father, would lovingly call him “Mehi” (meaning lean & thin and also sharp or subtle). About two decades later when Ramanugrah La Das came into contact with his Guru, Sant Baba Devi Sahab, the latter, impressed by his exceptionally sharp intellect, also started calling him “Mehi” and that is how the name “Mehi” became much more popular than his childhood or formal name that is, Ramanugrah Lal and came to stick since.

As the old adage “the Morning Shows the Day” goes, Mehi showed traits of a true yogi right since his childhood. Unlike other kids of his age, the child Mehi, as recounted by his sister Ms. Jhulan Dai, was unusually calm & composed. Quite interestingly, he had seven locks of hair, formed spontaneously over his head. Every morning as he was given a bath, recalled his sister, all the locks were meticulously undone and lo! They formed again, automatically, in a matter of few hours – an indication of what was to come soon! The extraordinary shine on his face cast a magical effect on anyone who saw him.

The child Mehi got the first jolt of his life very early as he lost his mother, Ms. Janakwati Devi, when he was barely a kid of four years. His elder sister was very kind to him and she and his father took a very good care of him. He was admitted to the village school, when he turned eight. At this school learning was imparted in the local Kaithi script. At home he saw his father reciting regularly from the great epic the Ramcharitmanas composed by the poet sant Goswami Tulsidas ji. His father often turned very emotional while reciting and at times burst into tears. This made Mehi curious to know the contents of the epic. As the epic was printed in the Devanagari script he could not read it at first. However, he labored to correlate the alphabets of Devanagri from those of Kaithi and soon he could learn Devanagri script as well. The Ram charit manas left a deep impact on his mind and several of its quartets and couplets became known to him by heart. He also learnt English, Urdu and Persian languages at the secondary school.

In his childhood days Mehi was a worshipper of Lord Shiva, but his method of worshipping was unique: he would drive a nail into the ground, make it an offering of water and then sit in its front in meditation. As a teenager, he was a very good player of soccer. Impressed with his skills at dabbling the ball, his friends made him the team captain. However, very soon he began to lose interest in playing as well as formal studies even as he developed an intense fondness for study of religious scriptures like the Sukhsagar and the Mahabharat apart from the Ramcharitmanas. He would very often retire into solitude while his friends were busy playing and study these books. His disinterest for schooling and formal studies kept waxing progressively and reached its climax on the momentous day of the July 3, 1904. Half yearly exams of Class X were on and it was the second paper – English. The first question read: “Quote from memory the poem ‘Builders’ and explain it in your own English.”Bold text Answering the question, he quoted the first four lines, as reproduced below, and began to explain these. The lines of the poem were:

"For the Structure that we raise; 
Time is with material’s field;
Our todays and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.”

While explaining the central message of the above lines he got overwhelmed with such a strong surge of emotion of renunciation that he stood up and asked the invigilator, “May I go out, Sir?” Thinking that he wanted to go to toilet, the invigilator granted the permission but little did he know that this young lad was not merely going out of the examination hall briefly but had decided to bid adieu to the very household life for good. In fact, Mehi had made already three unsuccessful attempts to flee home, but this time his determination was rock solid and he was never ever to look back again.

• 

  Sant Tulsi Sahab of Hathras (U.P.), India, who blessed Baba Devi Sahab

• 

  Baba Devi Sahab, Guru of Maharshi Mehi Paramhans

• 

  Maharshi Mehi Paramhans Ji Maharaj

• 

  Maharshi Santsevi Paramhans, Immediate Successor of Maharshi Mehi Paramhans

Literature

List of Books Authored by Maharshi Mehi

1. Santmat-Siddhant aur Guru-Kirtan
2. Satsang Yoga (Part I - IV)
3. Ramcharitmanas Sar Sateek
4. Vinay-Patrika Sar Sateek
5. Bhavarth-Sahit Ghat Ramayan Padavali
6. Maharshi Mehi Padavali
7. Satsang Sudha, Part I
8. Satsang Sudha, Part II
9. Shri Gita Yoga Prakash
10. Veda Darshan Yoga
11. Ishwara Swaroop aur Usaki Prapti
12. Moksha Darshan
13. Santvani Sateek
14. Jnana Yoga Yukta Ishwara Bhakti

References

1. ^ http://thewayosages.com

• Singh, Dr. Maheshwar (2000). "Sant Kavi Mehi: Vyaktitva aur Krititva" (second ed.). Bhagalpur, India: Akhil Bharatiya Santmat-Satsang Prakashan. pp. 42-291. 

• Sah, Dr. Satyadev (2009). "Maharshi Mehi-Charit" (fifth ed.). Bhagalpur, India: Akhil Bharatiya Santmat-Satsang Prakashan. pp. 1-209. 

• Chaturvedi, Pt. Parashuram (1964). "Uttari Bharat ki Sant Parampara" (second ed.). Allahabad, India: Leader Press.