Rajaram Mishra, later to become Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, was born on Thursday, 20 December, 1868 in village Gana, which is close to the city of Ayodhya, in North India. He was enrolled at the Sanskrit Institute at Kashi at the age of eight and later became a student of Swami Krishnanand Saraswati of Utter Kashi.
[image: Inline image 1] Our Guiding Light One Endowed With Wealth The Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaj of Jyotir Math with all blessings from him both great and small Shankaracharya Brahmananda Saraswati http://youtu.be/5m77xHLoiHI He took the renounced order and became Chaitanya Brahmachari. He was well known and often referred to as 'Guru Dev'. By the age of twenty-five, it is said that Chaitanya had become fully established in Unity Consciousness and had completed a full study of the Scriptures. At the turn of the century, at age 34, at the Khumbha Mela at Allahahabad, Chaitanya was ordained by his master into the order of Sanyas, thus becoming Sri Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, and recieved the insignia of the Holy Tradition of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. On Tuesday, 1 April 1941, at the age of 72, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati was invested, with traditional rites, as the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, Badrikashram, Himalayas, and given the title Jagadguru Maharaj. [image: Inline image 2] Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Excerpt from Rocks Are Melting: 'We are told the"yoga" of stopping the fluctuations of consciousness The ultimate aim is this, that by the practice of having stopped the fluctuations of the inner self, to experience the Supreme form of the Self. Calm without a wave in any part of the pool of water, that manner a person can see his own face. That really is the method, stopping the fluctuations of the consciousness is really giving a clear reflection of the imperishable Self in the instrument of inner vision. This indeed is "darshan" (sight) of "atma" (self or soul).' - Shankaracharya Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Excerpt from Living With the Himalayan Masters: "He used to live only on germinated gram seeds mixed with a little bit of salt. He lived on a hillock in a small natural cave near a mountain pool. I was led by the villagers to that place, but I did not find anyone there and became disappointed. The next day I went again, and found a few footprints on the edge of the pool made by his wooden sandals. I tried, but I could not track the footprints. Finally on the fifth day of effort, early in the morning before sunrise, I went back to the pool and found him taking a bath. I greeted him saying, "Namo Narayan," which is a commonly used salutation among swamis, meaning "I bow to the divinity in you." He was observing silence, so he motioned for me to follow him to his small cave, and I did so gladly. This was the eighth day of his silence, and after staying the night with him he broke his silence and I gently spoke to him about the purpose of my visit. I wanted to know how he was living and the ways and methods of his spiritual practices. During our conversation he started talking to me about Sri Vidya, the highest of paths, followed only by accomplished Sanskrit scholars of India. It is a path which joins raja yoga, kundalini yoga, bhakti yoga, and advaita Vedanta. There are two books recommended by the teachers of this path: The Wave of Bliss and The Wave of Beauty; the compilation of the two books is called Saundaryalahari in Sanskrit. There is another part of this literature, called Prayoga Shastra, which is in manuscript form and found only in the Mysore and Baroda libraries. No scholar can understand these spiritual yoga poems without the help of a competent teacher who himself practices these teachings. Later on I found that Sri Vidya and Madhu Vidya are spiritual practices known to a very few-only ten to twelve people in all of India. I became interested in knowing this science, and whatever little I have today is because of it. In this science the body is seen as a temple and the inner dweller, Atman, as God. A human being is like a miniature universe, and by understanding this, one can understand the whole of the universe and ultimately realize the absolute One. Finally, after studying many scriptures and learning various paths, my master helped me in choosing to practice the way of Sri Vidya." - Swami Rama Works cited: 'Rocks Are Melting: The Everyday Teachings of Brahmananda Saraswati' (Draft) by L.B. Shriver 5/9/2003 http://bruceji.org/gurudev.html "Living With the Himalayan Masters" by Swami Rama Himalayan Institute Press, 1999 pp. 245-247 Read more: 'The Mystics, Ascetics,and Saints of India' by John Campbell Oman Unwin, 1905 'A Tradition of Teachers' Sankaracharya and the Jagadgurus Today by William Cenkner, Ph.D. South Asia Books, 1986 Notes: According to Mason, Swami Brahmananda Saraswati (20 December 1868 – 20 May 1953) was the Shankaracharya of the Jyotir Math monastery in India from 1941-53. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmananda_Saraswati Birthdate of Shankaracharya Swami Brahmanand Saraswati by Paul Mason http://www.paulmason.info/gurudev/GuruDevbirthdate.htm Maharaj Shri, Rajaram Mishra, was born on Thursday, December 21, 1870. in village Gana, near Ayodhya. [1] On Sunday, 20 December 1868 in the village of Gana close to Ayodhya, Rajaram Mishra was born. [2] Several different accounts agree that Guru Dev was born on Thursday, which was the 21st. December 29th 1868 was Sunday. [3] He was born on the 20th December 1868, but his hour of nativity claimed him for the recluse order and for that of the secular. (4) At age fourteen he became a disciple of Swami Krishnananda Saraswati. (5) 1. "Maharishi: The Biography" By Paul Mason Element 1997 Barnes and Noble A Critical Review of the man who brought TM to the West. p. 5 2. "The Whole Thing The Real Thing" By Rameshwar Tiwari Delhi 1977 The Biography of Sri Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, Shankacharya of Jyotirmath. Hardback. Illustrated. p. 11 3. "Our Spiritual Heritage" By Lynn D. Napper Hesperides Books, 1998 An informal history of the Shankacharya Tradition by an early adopter of TM, TTC 1968. Paper. Illustrated. Bibliography. p. 99 4. "Love and God" By Maharishi Mahesh Yogi SRM Publications, Oslo Norway 1965 Official Biography of Guru Dev by Maharishi - 'Our Guiding Light' pp. 5-9 5. "Strange Facts About a Great Saint" By Raj P. Varma Jabalpur, India 1980 Varma & Sons Pub. p.10
