Shri Yukteshwar Giri
For a man of serious convictions like Priyanath, it wasn’t possible to leave his stand at any cost, and he left the class and the college for good.
Yogananda attributed Sri Yukteswar’s small number of disciples to his rigorous training methods, which Yogananda said ‘cannot be described as other than drastic.’
Sri Yukteswar Samadhi Temple.
Sri Yukteswar Giri samadhi mandir (burial place temple) in the garden of the Puri ashram.
Paramahansa Yogananda had his younger brother Sananda build this temple over the burial site of Sri Yukteswar’s body and supervised all the details of the construction through regular correspondence with his brother. Yoganandaji was highly pleased with his brother’s inspired design of the gleaming white marble structure topped with its golden lotus made of polished copper. Construction of the samadhi temple was completed in 1952.
‘The astral body is an exact counterpart of the last physical form. Astral beings retain the same appearance which they possessed in youth in their previous earthly sojourn; occasionally, an astral being chooses, like me, to retain his old age appearance.’ Master, emanating the very essence of youth, chuckled merrily.
‘Beauty in the astral world is known to be a spiritual quality and not an outward conformation,’ Sri Yukteswar replied. ‘Astral beings, therefore, attach little importance to facial features. However, they have the privilege of costuming themselves at will with new, colourful, astrally materialised bodies. Just as worldly men don a new array for gala events, so astral beings find occasions to adorn themselves in specially designed forms.
‘Joyous astral festivities on the higher astral planets like Hiranyaloka take place when a being is liberated from the astral world through spiritual advancement and is therefore ready to enter the heaven of the causal world.
Sri Yukteswar was originally initiated into the Swami order, later initiated by Sri Lahiri Mahasaya into Kriya Yoga.
Kriya Yoga
Sri Yukteswar dedicated his life to disseminating the practice of Kriya Yoga. He was followed by thousands of disciples and was known for his great sincerity and strict discipline.
Regarding the role of the Guru, Sri Yukteswar said, ‘Look, there is no point in blindly believing that after I touch you, you will be saved, or that a chariot from heaven will be waiting for you. Because of the Guru’s attainment, the sanctifying touch becomes a helper in the blossoming of knowledge, and being respectful towards having acquired this blessing, you must yourself become a sage and proceed on the path to elevate your Soul by applying the techniques of sadhana given by the Guru.’
‘All parts of creation are linked together and interchange their influences. The balanced rhythm of the universe is rooted in reciprocity. In his human aspect, man has to combat two sets of forces — first, the tumults within his being, caused by the admixture of earth, water, fire, air, and ethereal elements; second, the external disintegrating powers of nature. So long as man struggles with his mortality, he is affected by the myriad mutations of heaven and earth.
‘Astrology is the study of man’s response to planetary stimuli. The stars have no conscious benevolence or animosity; they merely send forth positive and negative radiations. Of themselves, these do not help or harm humanity but offer a lawful channel for the outward operation of cause-effect equilibriums which each man has set into motion in the past.
‘It is the spirit of God that actively sustains every form and force in the universe. The Lord has created all men from the limitless joy of his being.’
― Sri Shri Yukteshwar Giri
In his earthly manifestation, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immersed Himself in divine ecstasy as an ardent devotee lost in Krishna’s glories.
