Shri Kali Kamli Wale As if this was not enough, Baba Kali Kamliwala also started a dispensary, library, water fountains, Sanskrit College, Spiritual guidance center and Cow-shelters. On an average about thousand plus Sadhus use these facilities daily and 500 plus people use the raw material for their food. During the Yatra days, these numbers increase manifold. He is the author of numerous publications, and several Professors of the Universities and other prominent personalities around the world, esteem him as an intuitive philosopher, a versatile genius, a profound scholar of universal knowledge, a brilliant writer and a charismatic and inspired orator. One more noteworthy contribution by Baba Kali Kamliwala of which most of the people hardly have any knowledge, Is the reconstruction of the Laxman Zoola bridge. During those days the famous Laxman Zoola bridge was made of strings and was very difficult for the tourists to cross as the force of Ganges is tremendous at that place. Baba Kali Kamliwala decided to improve the bridge and at the same time he met a rich person namely Soorajmal Zoonzoonwala who wanted to donate some money. Babaji told him that the best use of his money was to build a permanent bridge across the Ganges. The Seth Soorajmal agreed and the Laxman Zoola Bridge, as we now know it, came into existence. In the year 1880, he traveled to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yanunotri. He saw lots of people facing hardships. His heart melted and at once he decided to do something for them. He traveled to big cities like Meerut, Delhi, Calcutta and asked rich people to donate generously. As a result of Baba Kali Kamliwala’s efforts, enough funds were collected. He used it to build guesthouses, libraries, food distribution centers and solitary places for spiritual aspirants to stay. Later on this activity spread to Haridwar, Ramnagar, Kurukshetra, Praygraj, and Kankhal etc. Baba Kali Kamliwala was born in 1831. His original name was Biswasinh. He was married but when he was 32, he decided to renounce the worldly duties and devoted his remaining life for the benefit of the masses. He was named as Vishuddhanand after sanyas. He used to have black shawl around his shoulder so he became popular by the name of Baba Kali Kamliwala.  One can get immense inspiration as a karma yogi from his life. Source: swargarohan ,

Paramhansa Yogananda After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Mukunda took formal vows as a monk of India’s venerable monastic Swami Order, at which time he received the name Yogananda (signifying bliss, ananda, through divine union, yoga). His ardent desire to consecrate his life to the love and service of God thus found fulfillment. Beginning of a World Mission Yogananda began his life’s work with the founding, in 1917, of a “how-to-live” school for boys, where modern educational methods were combined with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. The Maharajah of Kasimbazar made available his summer palace at Ranchi (about 250 miles from Calcutta) as the site for the school. Visiting the school a few years later, Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “This institution has deeply impressed my mind.” One day in 1920, while meditating at the Ranchi school, Yogananda had a divine vision showing him that now was the time to begin his work in the West. He immediately departed for Calcutta, where the next day he was invited to serve as India’s delegate to an international congress of religious leaders convening later that year in Boston. Sri Yukteswar confirmed that the time was right, saying: “All doors are open for you. It is now or never.” Shortly before his departure, Yogananda was visited by Mahavatar Babaji, the deathless master who revived in this age the ancient science of Kriya Yoga. “You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West,” Babaji said to Yogananda. “Long ago I met your guru Yukteswar at a Kumbha Mela; I told him then I would send you to him for training. Kriya Yoga, the scientific technique of God-realization, will ultimately spread in all lands, and aid in harmonizing the nations through man’s personal, transcendental perception of the Infinite Father.” The young swami arrived in Boston in September 1920. His first speech, made to the International Congress of Religious Liberals, was on “The Science of Religion,” and was enthusiastically received. That same year he founded Self-Realization Fellowship to disseminate worldwide his teachings on India’s ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its time-honored tradition of meditation. The first SRF meditation center was started in Boston with the help of Dr. and Mrs. M. W. Lewis and Mrs. Alice Hasey (Sister Yogmata), who were to become lifelong disciples. For the next several years, he lectured and taught on the East Coast; and in 1924 embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Reaching Los Angeles in early 1925, he established there an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship atop Mt. Washington, which became the spiritual and administrative heart of his growing work. From 1924 to 1935, Yogananda traveled and lectured widely, speaking to capacity audiences in many of the largest auditoriums in America — from New York’s Carnegie Hall to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium. The Los Angeles Times reported: “The Philharmonic Auditorium presents the extraordinary spectacle of thousands….being turned away an hour before the advertised opening of a lecture with the 3000-seat hall filled to its utmost capacity.” Yogananda emphasized the underlying unity of the world’s great religions, and taught universally applicable methods for attaining direct personal experience of God. To serious students of his teachings he taught the soul-awakening techniques of Kriya Yoga, initiating more than 100,000 men and women during his thirty years in the West. Among those who became his students were many prominent figures in science, business, and the arts, including horticulturist Luther Burbank, operatic soprano Amelita Galli-Curci, George Eastman (inventor of the Kodak camera), poet Edwin Markham, and symphony conductor Leopold Stokowski. In 1927, he was officially received at the White House by President Calvin Coolidge, who had become interested in the newspaper reports of his activities. In 1929, during a two-month trip to Mexico, he planted the seeds for future growth of his work in Latin America. He was welcomed by the president of Mexico, Dr. Emilio Portes Gil, who became a lifelong admirer of Yogananda’s teachings. By the mid-1930s, Paramahansaji had also met quite a few of the early disciples who would help him build the Self-Realization Fellowship work and carry the Kriya Yoga mission forward after his own lifetime was over — including two whom he appointed to be his spiritual successors as president of Self-Realization Fellowship: Rajarsi Janakananda (James J. Lynn), who met the Guru in Kansas City in 1932; and Sri Daya Mata, who had attended his classes in Salt Lake City the previous year. Other disciples who attended his lecture programs during the 1920s and ‘30s and stepped forward to dedicate their lives to the SRF work were Dr. and Mrs. M. W. Lewis, who met him in Boston in 1920; Gyanamata (Seattle, 1924); Tara Mata (San Francisco, 1924); Durga Mata (Detroit, 1929); Ananda Mata (Salt Lake City, 1931); Sraddha Mata (Tacoma, 1933); and Sailasuta Mata (Santa Barbara, 1933).

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu His instructions to Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Sanatana Gosvami, His discussions with Ramananda Raya, the debate with the Mayavadi sannyasi Prakashananda Sarasvati and the Vedanta Sutra, the discussion between Him and Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya are excellent sources through which we understand His teachings in detail. The Lord left only eight slokas of His instructions in writing, and they are known as the Siksastaka. All other literatures based on His teachings were extensively written by the Lord’s principal followers, the six Gosvamis of Vrindavana, and their followers. Lord Chaitanya’s Mission – The Universal Religion His mission was to preach the importance of chanting the holy names of the Lord in this age of Kali (quarrel). In this present age quarrels take place even over trifles, and therefore the shastras have recommended for this age a common platform for realization, namely chanting the holy names of the Lord. People can hold meetings to glorify the Lord in their respective languages and with melodious songs, and if such performances are executed in an offenseless manner, it is certain that the participants will gradually attain spiritual perfection without having to undergo more rigorous methods. At such meetings everyone, the learned and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the Hindus and the Muslims, the Englishmen and the Indians, and the chandalas and the brahmanas, can all hear the transcendental sounds and thus cleanse the dust of material association from the mirror of the heart. To confirm the Lord’s mission, all the people of the world will accept the holy name of the Lord as the common platform for the universal religion of mankind. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj encapsulates this profound philosophy in his kirtan: Mahāprabhu Chaitanya Hari avatārī, āpuna bhakti kare āpu murārī He says that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is an incarnation of Shree Krishna, who appeared as His own devotee. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was Shree Krishna embodying the divine sentiment of Radharani. Shree Chaitanya had Radharani’s complexion and the physical attributes of Lord Krishna. Radha is the epitome of Krishna-Prem. She is Krishna’s divine Energy and Her love provides divine bliss to the Lord. While Shree Krishna descended as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to disseminate pure, unadulterated devotion to God, He had other reasons to appear. He was thoroughly intrigued by the nature of Radhaji’s love for Him. Though He is the Knower of everything, He did not know the depth, nature, and ecstasy of Radha’s selfless love (nishkam prem) because He was the object of Her devotion, and that devotion resided in Her alone. Thus, if He descended imbibing the devotional sentiments of Radharani in His heart, He could experience Her bhav and relish it. Further, Shree Krishna wondered about the sweetness and happiness that Radhaji experienced in Her love for Him. And third, He wished to know, which divine qualities induced such ecstatic devotion in Her. So, Bhagavan Shree Krishna appeared in this world as Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to taste the divine love of Radharani and distribute it to all living beings. In his earthly manifestation, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immersed Himself in divine ecstasy as an ardent devotee lost in Krishna’s glories. Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya: Transformation of a Vedic Scholar to a Bhakt.

Sri Trailanga Swami ji Classical Advaita Vedānta emphasises the path of Jnana Yoga, a progression of study and training/ Inquiry of truth to attain moksha. It consists of fourfold qualities, or behavioral qualifications. A student in Advaita Vedānta tradition is required to develop these four qualities Life and Biography of Sri Trailanga Swami ji Sri Trailanga Swami ji was born in Kumbilapuram (now known as Kumili of Puspatirega Tehisil) at Vizianagaram District in Andhra Pradesh, with the name of Shivarama. His biographers and his disciples differ on his birth date and the period of his longevity. According to one disciple biographer, Sivarama was born in 1529, while according to another biographer it was 1607. His biography has been written by Biruduraju Ramaraju as one volume of his six volume project Āndhra yōgulu. Sivarama’s parents were Narashingha Rao and Vidyavati Devi, who were devotees of Shiva. After the death of his father in 1647, at the age of 40, he gave up wealth and family responsibilities to his half brother Sridhar. His mother then shared with him the fact that her father at the time of death expressed desire to be born to her and continue his Kali sadhana for the benefit of mankind. She told Sivarama that she believed that he was her father (his own grandfather) reincarnated and that he should take up Kali sadhana. Upon the initiation of a Kali mantra from his mother, Sivarama carried out Kali sadhana in the nearby Kali temple and Punya Kshetras, but was never far away from his mother. After his mother’s death in 1669, he saved her ashes (chita bhasma). He would wear her ashes and continue his Kali sadhana day and night (teevra sadhana). During that time, Sivarama lived the life of a recluse in a cottage, built by his half-brother, near a cremation ground. After 20 years of spiritual practice (sadhana), he met his preceptor swami, Bhagirathananda Saraswati, in 1679 from the Punjab. Bhagirathananda initiated Shivaram into monastic vows (sannyasa) and named him Swami Ganapati Saraswati in 1685. Ganapati reportedly led a life of severe austerities and went on a pilgrimage, reaching Prayag in 1733, before finally settling in Varanasi in 1737 A member of the Dashanami order, Sivarama became known as Sri Trailanga Swami ji after he settled in Varanasi, living the monastic life.In Varanasi, till his death in 1887, he lived at different places including Assi Ghat, the Vedavyas Asharama at Hanuman Ghat, Dashashwamedh Ghat. He was often found roaming the streets or the ghats, stark naked and “carefree as a child”.He was reportedly seen swimming or floating on the river Ganges for hours. He talked very little and at times not at all. A number of people became attracted to him upon hearing of his yogic powers to ameliorate their sufferings. During his stay in Varanasi, several prominent contemporary Bengalis known as saints met and described him, including Lokenath Brahmachari, Benimadhava Brahmachari, Bhagaban Ganguly, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Mahendranath Gupta, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Swami Abhedananda., Bhaskarananda, Vishuddhananda, and Vijaykrishna and Sadhak Bamakhepa. After seeing Trailanga, Ramakrishna said, “I saw that the universal Lord Himself was using his body as a vehicle for manifestation. He was in an exalted state of knowledge. There was no body-consciousness in him. Sand there became so hot in the sun that no one could set foot on it. But he lay comfortably on it.” Ramakrishna also stated that Trailanga was a real paramahansa (lit:”Supreme swan”, used as an honorific for a spiritual teacher) and that “all Benares was illuminated by his stay there.” Trailanga had taken the vow of non-seeking (ayachaka)—remaining satisfied with whatever he received. In the later stage of his life, as his fame spread, crowds of pilgrims visited him. During his last days, he took up living like a python (ajagaravritti) in which he sat still without any movement, and devotees poured water (abhisheka) on him from early morning till noon, looking upon him as a living incarnation of Shiva.

Paramahamsa Omkarananda Saraswati In the same year in which Jagadguru Swami Sivananda gave him Sannyasa-Diksha, his first book (The Story of an Eminent Yogi, 1947) was published and internationally appreciated and valued. He is the author of numerous publications, and several Professors of the Universities and other prominent personalities around the world, esteem him as an intuitive philosopher, a versatile genius, a profound scholar of universal knowledge, a brilliant writer and a charismatic and inspired orator. He was the right hand of Swami Sivananda for over a decade and wrote among other works on Sivananda two monumental publications dealing with Sivananda Literature. The renowned Mahapandita SRI VISHNU VASANT SHASTRI PANSHIKAR, Leicester, England, the Chief-Acharya of Omkarananda Ashram, adores, as thousands around the world do, Swami Omkarananda as an Incarnation of God, and in adoration of his Divine Nature composed on him highly inspiring and immortal Bhajans, Hymns, Stotras, Aratikyams as well as the Srimad Omkara-Atharvashirsham. Many are the Saints of India who pay their Homage to Swami Omkarananda. Among them, His Holiness SRI SATYAMITRANANDA, the builder of the Grand Bharatmata Mandir in Hardwar and a spiritual leader with a vast following both in United Kingdom (Great Britain) and in India, visited Omkarananda Ashram in Switzerland. He was enchanted by what he saw, and with reverence and awe exclaimed: “This is the Benares of Europe!” The opulent literature of Swami Omkarananda on Sivananda bears rich evidence that Omkarananda’s own spiritual realisations enabled him to verify and describe by a direct personal inner knowledge the most luminous states of divine Consciousness that informed and inspired the phenomenon of the covert and overt life of the great Saint Swami Sivananda and the Light of the divine Knowledge in him. A magazine published from Madras, the Call Divine portrayed with deep insight the relationship between these two spiritual giants: “What sweetness is to sugar and what fragrance is to a flower, Swami Omkarananda is to Swami Sivananda; because, the former is as wonderful as the latter.” Our lineage, our Guruparampara, runs in this Order: Lord Narayana, Brahma, Dakshinamurti, Dattatreya, Four Kumaras, Vyasa, Vasishta, Gaudapada, Shankaracharya, Sivananda, Omkarananda. Our roots are in the Vedas and the Upanishads. Our Heart is Srividya; the Soul of our Being is Sri Yantra. Our Ishta Devata is Parabrahmaswaroopini Sri Mahatripurasundari. We are at the same time Siva Bhaktas and Vishnu Bhaktas because Siva and Vishnu are two of the many Faces of Parameshwari Tripurasundari. And because of our deep spirituality which is the quintessence of all religions, we belong to all religions of the world. We appreciate them, serve them, unite them and further the growth of the inner light in them. From Sri Sadgurudeva Paramahamsa Omkarananda, sincere seekers of the Divine, no matter to which creed, caste, colour, race they belong, can obtain, if they earnestly so desire, Shuddhi- and Nama-Karana, Upanayana Sacrament, Mantra- and Sannyasa-Diksha, practise Yoga of Synthesis, belong to our lineage, become universal personalities of intense Devotion, divine Wisdom and experience the ultimate Truth, the goal of all great religions of the world. Over 170 disciples have received Sannyasa-Diksha. Be it in the Himalayas or in the cities of Western Europe, Omkarananda Saraswati lives his life in seclusion, solitude and silence, far removed from publicity and propaganda. While Maharshi Ramana rarely engaged in abstract philosophy, his teachings naturally aligned with the principles of Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism). Some of his core ideas include: How detached he is even from persons staying closest to him can be seen from the fact that he never during the entire period of thirty-one years of his total absence from Himalayas wrote a single word, or phoned, or sought any kind of contact with the wonderful Swami who is taking care of his Kutir in Sivananda Ashram adjoining Omkarananda Ashram in the Himalayas. In consonance with this feature of his life, his Austrian Ashram on the top of a Hill with its own forests on three sides, and a valley down, commanding a view of the snowy Alps, affords him sceneries identical with the interior Himalayas. In spite of this fact, he is in the very midst of the multifarious activities of his Ashram. Notwithstanding his activities,