Shri Yogananda Maharaj

(Yogendra Vigyani)

Shri Yoganandaji Maharaj was born as Daya Shankar in Junagarh, Gujarat, in the beginning of the 20th century to a deeply religious-minded family. His early life was quite hard. His father died when Yogendra was young; thus, the family was pushed into extreme poverty. He did not have an adequate opportunity to complete his education. The efforts of Daya Shankar to earn his livelihood in Bombay were unsuccessful early in life partly on account of his straight-forwardness and indifference about worldly matters.

As a child, Daya Shankar had been deeply attracted to spirituality and a real lover of the company of saints. So he gradually forsook the world and searched for an adept spiritual master. He started his spiritual search by contacting several saints and yogis. First, he was attracted to Shri Tri Vikram Swami near Prabhas Patan and Shri Atmanandaji Saraswati near Brahma Teertha along the Ganges, where he learnt something about yoga. He was not fully satisfied with what he learnt from them. 

Meeting with Shri Krishnanandaji Maharaj

A turning point in the spiritual life of Daya Shankar came when he met Shri Krishnanandaji Maharaj, a Bengali Brahmachari-a celibate seeker of God. Krishnanandaji was a great devotee, always chanting the Gayatri Mantra, and became a very close companion to Daya Shankar. While Daya Shankar's interest lay more in yoga and that of Krishnanandaji in devotion, the latter being the guru, they remained lifelong companions. And Krishnanandaji was anxious to get Daya Shankar before an appropriate Master who could lead him deeper into the practice. Their questing for a real spiritual teacher finally brought them to Swami Narayan Tirth Maharaj-the great Shaktipat guru of East Bengal. After many efforts, they finally reached the ashram of Swami Narayan Tirth Maharaj. He directly approached Swami Narayan Tirth and told him that if the Swami had something worth giving, he should bless Daya Shankar with his grace, but not confuse them further. The Swami assured Krishnanandaji with confidence that if Daya Shankar left unsatisfied it would indicate something fundamental about his own state of consciousness.

Shaktipat Initiation

Swami Narayan Tirth Maharaj initiated Daya Shankar into the sacred Shaktipat system, and the young man was thereafter known as Yogananda Brahmachari, later evolving into Yogendra Vigyani. Soon after the initiation, Yoganandaji started experiencing deep yogic phenomena in meditation, like automatic movements that were indicative of his deepening spiritual practice. Swami Narayan Tirth was pleased with the advancement of Yoganandaji and was ready to authorise Krishnanandaji to initiate others into the Shaktipat system. But Krishnanandaji, an essentially devotee-minded man, begged off the honour and instead recommended Yoganandaji as the one who should receive empowerment.

Until then, Swami Narayan Tirth agreed to it, and through his blessings, Yoganandaji had the ability to bestow that smoothening transformative spiritual practice on other people. While returning, with even more miraculous movements during meditation, their deepening strengthened in him the conviction to continue further in this line of spirituality.

Establishing Ashrams and Continuing the Work

After his initiation, Yoganandaji was transferred to various spiritual centers and eventually established a meditation center in Mandu, near the Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh. However, Krishnanandaji, after visiting the place, announced that it was "polluted by the affairs of money" and hence could not be used for Yoganandaji's spiritual work. Yoganandaji followed his guru's decree and left the center to seek refuge in Swargashram in Rishikesh. There, he founded the Vigyan Ashram-a place for doing spiritual practice and where he imparted the system of Shaktipat.

Legacy and Later Life

Yoganandaji, later known as Yogendra Vigyani, continued to initiate seekers into the Shaktipat system, spreading the blessings of spiritual awakening. Among his notable disciples were Swami Vishnu Tirth Maharaj and Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha. Yoganandaji was also an avid writer and wrote the influential "Mahayog Vigyan" in Hindi, a great contribution to the literature on yoga and Shaktipat.

Later on, Yoganandaji Maharaj continued the work of spiritual activity until he dissolved into the Absolute in 1959. The life he lived, devoted to the path of yoga, devotion, and Shaktipat, continuously inspires spiritual aspirants around the world. His teachings have given a lasting touch to the tradition of Shaktipat and yoga that has been continued further by his disciples.