- Paramahamsa Hariharananda
Swami Paramahamsa Hariharananda Giri (Bengali হরিহরানন্দ গিরী, *May 27 ,1907 – †December 3 ,2002 ), was anIndia n yogi andguru . He was born as Rabindranath Bhattacharya, into a family that strongly emphasized spiritual practice and education, in the hamlet of Habibpur, on the bank of the river Ganga, in the district ofNadia ,West Bengal , 65 km fromKolkata . [ [http://www.hariharananda.org/english/who_we_are/baba/nadia.html NADIA - The Land of Sages] Website by Swami Sarveshwarananda, personal disciple.]Biography
Paramahamsa Hariharananda known as "BABA" (Father) to his students, was known as a Kriya Yogi in the lineage of Babaji Maharaj, Shri Shyamacharan Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Shriyukteshwar Giri, and Paramahamsa Yogananda. He spent his life studying, teaching and fulfilling his mission to share the
philosophy and technique ofKriya Yoga with the people of the world. [Paramahamsa Prajnanananda in "River of Compassion: The Life of Paramahamsa Hariharananda", a biography of Paramahamsa Hariharananda, pp. 7-28]Baba's father Haripada Bhattacharya, an affluent community landlord was a
Brahmin , known for his integrity and self-discipline. He was as scholar ofSanskrit , the scriptures ofHinduism andAyurveda ,homeopathy , some modern medicine, and legal matters. He led a strict life with a deep love for God and had high ethical and moral standards. He was a respectedpriest ,astrologer , andhealer . He believed he had divined the special destiny of his tenth child, and called him "Sannyasi Thakur" (Lord monk). [Paramahamsa Prajnanananda in "River of Compassion: The Life of Paramahamsa Hariharananda", a biography of Paramahamsa Hariharananda, pp. 54, 56]Baba's mother, Nabin Kali, was a woman from the village of Birnagar, Nadia and came from a Brahmin family. Nabin Kali means Eternal Mother Divine. She helped the poor and needy in the community.Fact|date=August 2008 Nabin Kali and Haripada had eleven children, five sons and six daughters. Rabindranath (Rabi in short) was the youngest son and later came to be known as
Paramahamsa Hariharananda. [Paramahamsa Prajnanananda in "River of Compassion: The Life of Paramahamsa Hariharananda", a biography of Paramahamsa Hariharananda, pp. 58, 59]At four and a half, Hariharananda had already memorized all the
puja mantras of Hinduism by simply hearing his father, recite them a few times. By the age of twelve, he took initiation in the path ofJnana Yoga from the master Shri Bijoy Krishna Chattopadhyay, after visiting him a couple of times in the company of his brother Pareshnath and brother-in-law, both disciples of his. A disciple ofTrailinga Swami ofBenares , Bijoy Krishna Chattopadhyaya was known as "Howrah Thakur" because he lived in the Howrah suburb of Kolkata. [ [http://www.hariharananda.org/english/who_we_are/baba/early_training.html EARLY TRAINING OF HARIHARANANDA "BABA"] Swami Sarveshwarananda, personal disciple.]In 1932, he went to meet the Kriya master, Swami Shriyukteshwar Giri. Shriyukteshwarjee initiated him into Kriya Yoga, in his
Serampore ashram ,West Bengal , also taught him cosmic astrology, and entreated him to come and live in his Karar Ashram inPuri ,Orissa . [ [http://kriya.org/baba__kriya.php Meeting His Master] Website by the Kriya Yoga Institute founded by P. Hariharananda.] Due to professional and family obligations, Rabi was not able to fulfill his master's wishes until six years later.In 1935, he met
Paramahamsa Yogananda , and received the second Kriya initiation from him. In 1938, he renounced the material life and entered his Master's Ashram in Puri, Orissa, starting the life of an asceticmonk as Brahmachari Rabinarayan. [ [http://kriya.org/store_product_detail.php?id=14 Paramahamsa Hariharananda, Kriya Yoga] 6th edition.]He received the third Kriya initiation from
Swami Satyananda Giri in 1941, back then head of the Karar Ashram and childhood friend of Paramahamsa Yogananda.On May 27, 1959 he took formal monastic vows from the
Shankaracharya of Puri Srimad Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha (the Hindu equivalent to the Pope) and was namedSwami Hariharananda Giri. [ [http://kriya.org/store_product_detail.php?id=14 Paramahamsa Hariharananda, Kriya Yoga] 6th edition.]The year 1974 marked his first journey to the West, where he would return every year to spread the message of divine love through conscious awareness of God within. His travels took him all over
Europe ,South America , theUnited States , andCanada where he established centers and ashrams.Baba initiated his chosen disciple Brahmachari Santananda into monkhood and named him as Swami Yogeshwarananda Giri, to carry out his mission in the Karar Ashram. On March 22, 1983. He nominated him as president and Sadhusabhapati of [http://www.kararashram.com/ Karar Ashram] . The ashram was founded by Swami Shriyukteshwar Giri, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda who wrote the famous book, The Autobiography of a Yogi.
He initiated thousands of people into Kriya Yoga and remained extensively in the West after 1990 and his work continues. Paramahamsa Hariharananda's spiritual successor,
Paramahamsa Prajnanananda , [ [http://dankvart.dk/video?video=7 Dankvart Film] "Video-biography of a Yogi" Last chapter online, production by Thorsten Dreyer, Kopenhagen.] , who continues to spread his message, to teach Kriya Yoga and to develop ashrams all over the world.
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