Heeding such persuasions, India has proved herself not witless
against the thousand cunnings of time. Self-realized masters in
every century have hallowed her soil; modern Christlike sages, like
Lahiri Mahasaya and his disciple Sri Yukteswar, rise up to proclaim
that the science of yoga is more vital than any material advances
to man's happiness and to a nation's longevity.
Very scanty information about the life of Lahiri Mahasaya and his
universal doctrine has ever appeared in print. For three decades
in India, America, and Europe, I have found a deep and sincere
interest in his message of liberating yoga; a written account of
the master's life, even as he foretold, is now needed in the West,
where lives of the great modern yogis are little known.
Nothing but one or two small pamphlets in English has been written
on the guru's life. One biography in Bengali, SRI SRI {FN32-6}
SHYAMA CHARAN LAHIRI MAHASAYA, appeared in 1941. It was written
by my disciple, Swami Satyananda, who for many years has been the
ACHARYA (spiritual preceptor) at our VIDYALAYA in Ranchi. I have
translated a few passages from his book and have incorporated them
into this section devoted to Lahiri Mahasaya.
It was into a pious Brahmin family of ancient lineage that Lahiri
Mahasaya was born September 30, 1828. His birthplace was the village
of Ghurni in the Nadia district near Krishnagar, Bengal. He was the
youngest son of Muktakashi, the second wife of the esteemed Gaur
Mohan Lahiri.
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