Mahaguru Phalgunanda () also known as "Mahaguru Phalgunanda" or Phalgunanda Lingden (1885–1949) was a leader of the Kirat religion for the

Kirat people The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirat or Kirant or Kiranti, are Tibeto-Burman ethnolinguistic groups living in the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

Early life

Falgunanda Lingden was born on 10 November 1885 in

Ilam district Ilam district () is one of Districts of Province No. 1, 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. It is a Geography of Nepal#The Hill Region, Hill districts of Nepal, district and covers . The 2011 Nepal census, 2011 census counted 290,25 ...

of eastern Nepal.

Career

He is known as Mahaguru (the great teacher), especially among the Limbu, Rai, Sunuwar, Yakhkha, Lohorung, Dhimal, and Jurel Kirat people. He is credited with the continuation of the ancient Kirat religion on puritan principles, which include vegetarianism, a ban on alcohol, and following

Limbu Limbu may refer to: * Limbu people, an indigenous tribe living in Nepal, Sikkim (India) and Bhutan ** Limbu language, their Sino-Tibetan language *** Limbu script **** Limbu (Unicode block) * Rambahadur Limbu Rambahadur Limbu, (; 8 July 1939 � ...

traditions and scripts. He is remembered for his socio-cultural and religious messages. His main messages included calling for a ban on

animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Chris ...

, since it raised social expenditures on celebrations such as births, weddings, and funerals. He also called for the elimination of social orthodoxies and supported running a school for children, especially through their mother tongue.

Beliefs

He believed that education brought knowledge to wash one's heart clean, which he considered was the only key to emancipation. For Falgunanda, emancipation is the Ultimate Truth to realize God. His philosophy emphasizes love and

non-violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

. He built many shrines. He died in 1949. The Nepal Postal Services Department issued a

postal stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

in his honor as part of its Distinguished Personalities Series in 1993. He is the 16th luminary of Nepal.

References

1885 births 1949 deaths People from Ilam District National heroes of Nepal {{Nepal-bio-stub