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Lahiri Mahasaya

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Shyama Charan Lahiri
Lahiri Mahasaya in the lotus position
Personal
Born
Shyama Charan Lahiri

(1828-09-30)30 September 1828
Ghurni village, Bengal Presidency, Company Raj (Present day in Nadia district, West Bengal, India)
Died26 September 1895(1895-09-26) (aged 66)
Benares, United Provinces, British Raj
ReligionHinduism
NationalityIndian
SchoolKriya Yoga
Signature
Organization
PhilosophyYoga
Religious career
GuruMahavatar Babaji
Disciples
HonorsYogiraj, Kashi Baba

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]

Early life

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. In 1851, he began working as a clerk and tutor.[1]

Teacher of Kriya Yoga

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

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jones, Constance (2008). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Internet Archive. New York : Checkmark Books, an imprint of Infobase Publishing. pp. 255–256. ISBN 978-0-8160-7336-8.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Yogananda, Paramahansa (1998). Autobiography of a Yogi (13th ed.). Self-Realization Fellowship. p. 292.


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