Lahiri Mahasaya
Shyama Charan Lahiri | |
---|---|
Personal life | |
Born | Shyama Charan Lahiri 30 September 1828 |
Died | 26 September 1895 | (aged 66)
Nationality | Indian |
Honors | Yogiraj, Kashi Baba |
Signature | |
Religious life | |
Religion | Hinduism |
Philosophy | Yoga |
School | Kriya Yoga |
Religious career | |
Guru | Mahavatar Babaji |
Shyama Charan Lahiri (30 September 1828 – 26 September 1895), best known as Lahiri Mahasaya, was an Indian yogi and guru who founded the Kriya Yoga school. He was a disciple of Mahavatar Babaji.[1] According to the book America's Alternative Religions by Timothy Miller, Lahiri Mahasaya's life was described in Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi as a demonstration of the spiritual attainment that could be achieved by a householder "living fully in the world".[2] A part of Lahiri Mahasaya's face is pictured on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[3]
Biography
[edit]Lahiri Mahasaya was born to Gourmohan and Muktakeshi Lahiri on 30 September 1828, in village Ghurni, Dist. Nadia, West Bengal, India, according to Yogananda.[4] In 1832, a flood killed his mother and destroyed their home, after which his family moved to Varanasi, where he received education in philosophy, Sanskrit, and English. His father arranged for him to be married to Kashimoni in 1846, and he taught her how to read. In 1851, he began working as a clerk and tutor.[1]
On 27 November 1861, Lahiri Mahasaya met Babaji in Ranikhet.[1] Babaji taught him a meditation technique called Kriya Yoga,[2] which Lahiri Mahasaya then taught to many others, including his wife,[1] Paramahansa Yogananda's parents, and Sri Yukteswar Giri, guru of Yogananda.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Jones, Constance; Ryan, James (2008). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Internet Archive. New York : Checkmark Books, an imprint of Infobase Publishing. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-0-8160-7336-8.
- ^ a b c Miller, Timothy (1995). America's alternative religions. Internet Archive. Albany : State University of New York Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7914-2397-4.
- ^ "Who Are All Those People in SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Spacious Planet". Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ Yogananda, Paramahansa (1998). Autobiography of a Yogi (13th ed.). Self-Realization Fellowship. p. 292.
External links
[edit]
- 1828 births
- 1895 deaths
- 20th-century Bengalis
- 19th-century Bengalis
- Bengali Hindus
- Bengali Hindu saints
- Indian Hindu religious leaders
- 19th-century Hindu religious leaders
- Hindu ascetics
- Indian Hindu yogis
- Hindu mystics
- 19th-century Indian monks
- Indian Hindu monks
- Indian yoga gurus
- Kriya yogis
- Paramahansa Yogananda
- People from Krishnagar
- Religious pluralism
- Scholars from Varanasi
- Spiritual practice