Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (also written Sriyuktesvara, Sri Yukteshwar) (Devanagari: ) (10 May 1855 – 9 March 1936) is the monastic name of Priya Nath Karar (also spelled as Priya Nath Karada and Preonath Karar), an Indian monk and yogi, and the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda and Swami Satyananda Giri. Born in Serampore, West Bengal, Sri Yukteswar was a Kriya yogi, a Jyotishi (Vedic astrologer), a scholar of the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, an educator, author, and astronomer. He was a disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya of Varanasi and a member of the Giri branch of the Swami order. As a guru, he had two ashrams, one in Serampore and another in Puri, Odisha, between which he alternated his residence throughout the year as he trained disciples. Evans-Wentz felt him "worthy of the veneration which his followers spontaneously accorded to him...Content to remain afar from the multitude, he gave himself unreservedly and in tranquility to that ideal life which Paramhansa Yogananda, his disciple, has now described for the ages." A bright student, he passed the entrance exams and enrolled in Srirampur Christian Missionary College, where he developed an interest in the Bible. This interest would later express itself in his book, The Holy Science, which discusses the unity behind the scientific principles underlying Yoga and the Bible. He also attended Calcutta Medical College (then affiliated with the University of Calcutta) for almost two years. He was a vegetarian.

Spiritual career

He eventually was formally initiated into the Swami order by the Mahant at Bodh Gaya, where he received the monastic name Sri Yukteswar Giri. His disciple Satyananda writes that the Sri in his name is not a separate honorific but part of his given name: "...many follow the usual procedure (for writing or saying someone's name informally) and drop the 'Sri' and say only 'Yukteshvar', but this is not correct. If one wants to put a 'Sri' at the beginning as in the prevalent fashion, then his name would look as: 'Sri Sriyukteshvar Giri.'"

In 1884, Priya Nath met Lahiri Mahasaya, who became his guru and initiated him into the path of Kriya Yoga. Sri Yukteswar spent a great deal of time in the next several years in the company of his guru, often visiting Lahiri Mahasaya in Benares. In 1894, while attending the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad, he met the guru of Lahiri Mahasaya, Mahavatar Babaji, Mahavatar Babaji also bestowed on Sri Yukteswar the title of 'Swami' at that meeting. Sri Yukteswar completed the requested book in 1894, naming it Kaivalya Darsanam, or The Holy Science.

Spiritual life

Sri Yukteswar converted his large two-story family home in Serampore into an ashram, named "Priyadham", where he resided with students and disciples. In 1903, he also established an ashram in the seaside town of Puri, naming it "Karar Ashram". From these two ashrams, Sri Yukteswar taught students, and began an organisation named "Sadhu Sabha". He also wrote a book for Bengalis on learning basic English and Hindi called First Book, and wrote a basic book on astrology. Later, he became interested in the education of women, which was uncommon in Bengal at that time.

Yukteswar was especially skilled in Jyotiṣa (Indian astrology), and prescribed various astrological gemstones and bangles to his students. He also studied astronomy and science, as evidenced in the formulation of his Yuga theory in The Holy Science.

Regarding the role of the Guru, Sri Yukteswar said:

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

Author W.Y. Evans-Wentz described his impression of Sri Yukteswar in the preface to Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi:

<blockquote>Sri Yukteswar was of gentle mien and voice, of pleasing presence, and worthy of the veneration, which his followers spontaneously accorded to him. Every person who knew him, whether of his own community or not, held him in the highest esteem. I vividly recall his tall, straight, ascetic figure, garbed in the saffron-colored garb of one who has renounced worldly quests, as he stood at the entrance of the hermitage to give me welcome. His hair was long and somewhat curly, and his face bearded. His body was muscularly firm, but slender and well-formed, and his step energetic.</blockquote>

Yukteswar attained mahasamadhi at Karar Ashram, Puri, India on 9 March 1936.

The Holy Science

Sri Yukteswar wrote The Holy Science in 1894. In the introduction, he wrote:

<blockquote>The purpose of this book is to show as clearly as possible that there is an essential unity in all religions; that there is no difference in the truths inculcated by the various faiths; that there is but one method by which the world, both external and internal, has evolved; and that there is but one Goal admitted by all scriptures. which produced a documentary on the topic titled The Great Year, narrated by James Earl Jones.<!-- --> There is a Progressive Web App called UCÇ Çync (formerly 'calclock') that displays the Yugas and other aspects of the Great Year as per Sri Yukteswar's calculations.

The theory of the Sun's binary companion expounded by Sri Yukteswar in The Holy Science has attracted the attention of David Frawley, who has written about it in several of his books. According to Frawley, the theory offers a better estimate of the age of Rama and Krishna and other important historical Indian figures than other dating methods, which estimate some of these figures to have lived millions of years ago – belying accepted human history.

Noted disciples

  • Paramahansa Yogananda
  • Swami Satyananda Giri
  • Swami Hariharananda Giri
  • Swami Bhabananda Giri
  • Motilal Mukhopadyay
  • Sri Sailendra Bejoy Dasgupta
  • Sri Amulya Charan Santra
  • Swami Narayana Giri (Prabhujee)

Sri Yukteswar's face can be seen on the cover of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). He appears on the upper left of the crowd behind the Beatles.

See also

  • Astrological age
  • Axial precession
  • Great Year
  • Yuga

Notes

References

  • Translated from Bengali edition, copyright Yoga Niketan
  • 1997 Anniversary Edition.

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