Life of the master Ramana maharshi was born as Venkataraman Iyer in 1879, in a village called Tiruchuzhi, near Madurai in Tamil Nadu. He was born into an orthodox Brahmin family, him being the second of four children, and his father was a court pleader. Both a paternal uncle of his father and his father’s … Continue reading 6. Ramana Maharshi (1879), Ramanasramam and his teachings
Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya(Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University or BKWSU), is the headquarters of the Brahma Kumaris worldwide spiritual movement. The movement, which began in Hyderabad of Sindh district in 1939, focusses almost exclusively on the Raja yoga path of spiritual advancement. The headquarters are located in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, and is also … Continue reading Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University’s activities in details
Sri Aurobindo’s organisations Continue reading Aurobindo Ashram and Related Organisations
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are twin organisations which flood the world with the teachings of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda. Ramakrishna Math began in 1886 as a monastic brotherhood of disciples of Ramakrishna, in a decrepit building in Baranagar, Kolkata. The math shifted places, first to Alambazar in 1891, then to the present site in Belur … Continue reading Ramakrishna Math, Mission and their activities
Uddhav sampradaya, the Vaishnava bhakti sampradaya, became known as Swaminarayan sampradaya after Sahajanand swami took over its leadership from Ramanand Swami, in 1801. Before his death, Swaminarayan (Sahajanand Swami) had established two seats of leadership or gadis in Gujarat – Nar Narayan Dev Gadi (Ahmedabad) and Laxmi Narayan Dev Gadi (Vadtal). He had installed his … Continue reading Swaminarayan Sampradaya’s Organisations and Activities
Life of the master The founder of Isha foundation, Sadhguru, was born as Jaggi Vasudev in 1957 in Mysore, Karnataka. His mother was a housewife and his father an ophthalmologist working in Indian railways. When he was 11 years old, he came in contact with Malladihalli Raghavendra, who inspired him to do yoga, and taught … Continue reading 21. Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev (1957) and Isha foundation
Life of the master The founder of Art of Living foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was born in May 13th 1956, in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu. He was born into a brahmin family with the name Ravi Shankar. At the age of four, he was able to memorise verses of the Bhagavad Gita and would be … Continue reading 20. Sri Sri Ravishankar (1956) and Art of Living
Life of the master Whom we know as the “hugging saint” today, was born as Sudhamani Idamannel in 1953 in a village called Parayakadavu in Kerala. Her father was a fisherman and their family was poor. She was devoted to Krishna since childhood and by the age of 5 she had composed beautiful hymns for … Continue reading 19. Mata Amritanandamayi (1953) and Mata Amritanandamayi Math
Life of the master Osho or Acharya Rajneesh was born as Chandra Mohan Jain in 1931, in the village Kuchwada of Madhya Pradesh. His father was a cloth merchant, and his family belonged to the sect of Taranpanthi Jainism. Rajneesh was a nickname given to him since childhood. Until the age of 7, he lived … Continue reading 18. Acharya Rajneesh (1931) and Osho International Foundation
Life of the master The famous Sathya Sai Baba, known for materialising objects and his radiating hair, was born as Sathya Narayana Raju in the village Puttaparthi in 1926.The village was a part of the Madras presidency of British India. Their family belonged to an OBC community of musicians and balladeers. As a child, he … Continue reading 17. Sathya Sai Baba (1926) and Sathya Sai Organization
Life of the master The founder of Bihar School of Yoga, is Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Satyananda was born in 1923 at Almora (Uttaranchal) into a family of farmers. He was educated in Sanskrit, Vedas and Upanishads from childhood, and he began to have spiritual experiences since the age of 6. Many sadhus and sanyasi blessed him … Continue reading 16. Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923) and Bihar School of Yoga
Life of the master Although his birth details are not clear, accounts suggest that the founder of Transcendental meditation, Mahesh Yogi, was born as Mahesh Prasad Verma in 1917 (Allahabad University says it’s Mahesh Srivastava, also the year of birth varies between 1911, 1917 and 1918). He was born in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh into a … Continue reading 15. Mahesh Yogi (1918) and Transcendental Meditation
Life of the master The founder of the now renowned Iyengar yoga is Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, also known as BKS Iyengar. He was born on 14 December 1918 in Bellur, Karnataka into a Sri Vaishnava Iyengar family. When he was 5 yrs old their family moved to Bangalore, and when he was 9, his … Continue reading 14. BKS Iyengar (1918) and Iyengar Yogashraya
Life of the master The life of Chinmayananda is very interesting and unusual than other famous contemporaries. Let’s begin. Chinmayananda was born as Balakrishna Menon in 1916 in Ernakulam. His father was a lawyer and his mother a homemaker. It was not a spiritual environment at all, to which he was born into. Receiving education in … Continue reading 13. Swami Chinmayananda Saraswati (1916) and Chinmay mission
Life of the master The founder of ISKCON, Abhaya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, was born on 1st September 1896 in Calcutta, into a Bengali Kayastha family. Since he was born on the day of Nandotsava, next day after Janmashtami, he was named Abhay Charan De, also fondly called Nandulal.His parents Gour Mohan De and Rajani … Continue reading 12. Srila Prabhupada (1896) and ISKCON
Life of the master Jiddu Krishnamurti is not known as a yogi rather more as a philosopher. His life is very interesting and fascinating in a way, among all the masters that we cover in the blog.So, Krishnamurti was born in 11 May 1895 in Madanapalle in Madras Presidency (modern-day Chittoor District in Andhra Pradesh). His … Continue reading 11. Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895) and Krishnamurti foundation
Life of the master Yogoda satsang society was founded by the one and only Paramahamsa Yogananda, who is famously known as the yogi-writer of the book “Autobiography of a Yogi”. Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh, in 1893 to a traditional Bengali Kshatriya family, in Gorakhpur, UP. His father Bhagabati Charan Ghosh, was the Vice-President … Continue reading 10. Paramahamsa Yogananda (1893) and Yogoda Satsang Society
Life of the master The founder of Satsang, Anukulchandra Chakravarty was born in Pabna (now a part of Bangladesh) in 1888, same year as Krishnamacharya. His mother Manomohini Devi was extremely devout since childhood. She was initiated into a holy name by a saint from the Radhasoami cult of Dayal Bag Satsang, Agra in her childhood. His … Continue reading 9. Thakur Anukulchandra (1888) and Satsang
Life of the master Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, often referred to as “the father of modern yoga“, was born in 18th November 1888 in Muchukundapura, Karnataka, to an orthodox Iyengar brahmin family. His father was a well-known teacher of Vedas. After his upanayana at the age of 6, he started learning Sanskrit and the Vedas from his … Continue reading 8. T Krishnamacharya (1888) and KYM
Life of the master Swami Sivananda was born in 1887 in a village called Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He was born as Kuppuswami Iyer, to PS Vengu Iyer, who worked as a Revenue officer in British India. Born in a spiritual environment, his father was a great devotee of Shiva and … Continue reading 7. Swami Sivananda Saraswati(1887) and Divine Life Society
Life of the master Lekhraj Khubchand Kripalani, also known as Dada Lekhraj, was born in 15 December 1884 in the city of Hyderabad in Sindh province of pakistan. At that time partition of India had not occured.He was born and brought up in a hindu family, and his father was a village schoolmaster. He started … Continue reading 5. Dada Lekhraj (1876) and Brahmakumaris
Life of the master Sri Aurobindo was born as Aurobindo Ghose in Calcutta,1872, to a bengali Kayastha family. His father was a surgeon and a former member of the brahmo samaj religious movement. His schooling began in a christian boarding school, Loreto Convent, in Darjeeling. There aurobindo was introduced to christian religious teachings and symbolism. … Continue reading 4. Sri Aurobindo (1872), Sri Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville
Life of the master Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendranath Dutta,in Calcutta, to a bengali kayastha family, in 1863. Narendranath was interested in spirituality from a young age and used to meditate before the images of deities such as Shiva, Rama, Sita, and Mahavir Hanuman. He was fascinated by wandering ascetics and monks and at … Continue reading 3. Swami Vivekananda (1863) and Vedanta Society
Life of the master Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was born as Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya on 18 February 1836 in the village of Kamarpukur about sixty miles northwest of Kolkata. His parents, Kshudiram and Chandramani Devi, were poor but very pious and virtuous. From early days, he was disinclined towards formal education and worldly affairs. He was, however, a talented … Continue reading 2. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836) and Ramakrishna Mission
Life of the master The inspiration of BAPS, Swaminarayan was born as Ghanshyam Pande into a brahmin family in the village Chapaiya, in modern day UP, in 1781. The boy was spiritually inclined from his childhood. When he was a toddler, his father decided to test Ghanshyam’s instincts. He placed the child in front of a … Continue reading 1. Swaminarayan (1781) and BAPS
This blog is all about hindu spiritual masters! Although there are millions of great humans who walked upon earth, I will write about a few major, famous ones. Those who had a great impact upon humanity through their teachings and their organisations. I offer what little I know, as I share what I discover in … Continue reading What is this blog all about?
Avadhoota Udyana 