Swami Turiyananda
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Swami Turiyananda or "Hari Maharaj" as he was popularly known as, was a direct monastic disciple of
Ramakrishna Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...
, the 19th-century Hindu mystic from Bengal. He was one of the earliest missionary to be sent by his leader and brother disciple
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...
to the United States of America to preach the message of
Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
to the western audience from 1899 to 1902. He established the Shanti Ashrama in California, United States. He was a monk of the
Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a spiritual and philanthropic organisation headquartered in Belur Math, West Bengal. The mission is named after the Indian Hindu spiritual guru and mystic Ramakrishna. The mission was founde ...
. He died in
Varanasi, India Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
.


Biography


Early life

Turiyananda was born as Harinath Chattopadhyay, the youngest of six children, in an affluent Bengali middle-class family in Calcutta on 3 January 1863. His father, Chandranath Chattopadhay, an orthodox Brahmin who lived in the
Bagbazar Bagbazar (also spelt Baghbazar) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. The area, under Shyampukur police station of Kolkata Police, has been, along with neighb ...
area of Calcutta, was well respected by the people. Harinath lost his parents at a very young age and was brought up by his eldest brother, Mahendranath. His mother Prasannamayi died while trying to save young Harinath from a wild jackal when he was three years old. His father died when he was just twelve years old. In school, Hari paid close attention to all his studies, but his special interest lay in religion and athletics. His ambition was to lead an austere life, observing all the orthodox rules and traditions. After finishing his studies in the Bengali Institution, Hari went to the General Assembly School (now
Scottish Church Collegiate School The Scottish Church Collegiate School is a school in north Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the ...
), run by Christian missionaries. However, he was never swayed away by the doctrines of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
taught by the missionaries. At a very young age he was inclined towards the study of philosophy and scriptures like the
Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...
,
Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...
and works of
Adi Shankaracharya Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in hi ...
. He was attracted towards the teachings of Advaita Vedanta, and strove sincerely to live up to that idealThe Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, published by Advaita Ashrama, Mayawati, year 1943 One notable incident that depicted his adherence to the principles of Vedanta was his fearlessness upon a chance encounter with a crocodile. One day while taking a bath in the
Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
, he saw the creature approaching him. Despite warnings from passersby, he did not turn back, and instead, faced the crocodile. He was adhering to the principle of Vedanta that says the same divinity is manifest in all living organisms, and therefore one soul should not be afraid of another.


Influence of Sri Ramakrishna

Harinath first met Ramakrishna when he was about fourteen years old, when the latter had come to visit a neighbour's house. Harinath went to
Dakshineswar Dakshineswar is a neighbourhood in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Autho ...
temple two or three years later (c.a 1880) and became Ramakrishna's devotee. Harinath's favourite book was the Rama Gita, an Advaita treatise. Harinath had an aversion and horror of women and always avoided them, even if they were little girls. One day he told about it to Ramakrishna. He chastised him, saying "Look down upon women! What for? They are the manifestation of the Divine Mother. Bow down to them as to your mother and hold them in respect. That is the only way to escape their influence. The more you hate them, the more you will fall into the snare." The Master had a very high opinion of his disciple.
Sri Ramakrishna Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...
said about Harinath, ''He comes of that transcendent region whence name and form are manufactured''. Hari Maharaj's opinion about his Guru was that the bliss he received in the company of his master more than compensated for all the sufferings in his life. Ramakrishna also taught him to overcome lust and desire, along with various other spiritual disciplines. Gradually, under his influence, Harinath transformed into a devotee rather than a steadfast monist.


Relationship with Swami Vivekananda

During the five or six years he was with Ramakrishna, Hari had many opportunities to meet the other disciples of the Master. Early in this period he met
Narendranath Dutta Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figure in th ...
(more familiarly called Naren), who later became
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...
who was his close friend and who from the very beginning had made a very deep impression on his mind. Naren too developed a great liking for him and called him brother Hari, or Haribhai. Both lived in Calcutta and often came to see Ramakrishna together. This relationship lasted till the end. When
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...
implored Swami Turiyananda to come to America to teach the message of Vedanta, at first he refused, but then his love and respect for the leader prevailed, and he set off on his mission.
Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda () (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindus, Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. Vivekananda was a major figu ...
wrote in a letter from America in 1895, ''Whenever I think of the wonderful renunciation of Hari, his steadiness of intellect and forbearance, I get a new access to strength''.


Monastic life

After the death of his Master, Hari went to
Shillong Shillong (, ) is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in India, 330th most populous city ...
in Assam for about six months. Afterwards, he returned to Calcutta and stayed with his brother disciples in the "
Baranagar Math Baranagar Math (Baranagar Monastery) or Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar was the first monastery of Ramakrishna Order. In September 1886, after the death of Ramakrishna, when his devotees stopped funding, Swami Vivekananda (then known as Narendranath ...
". In 1887, he took
Sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihast ...
, or the pledge of renunciation, and adopted the name Turiyananda (Turiya – transcendental, Ananda – bliss). He then left the monastery and travelled by foot all the way to the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
. While leading a contemplative life there, he was reunited with Swami Vivekananda and several other brother disciples in Rajpur. Then they travelled together to
Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in the Indian state Uttarakhand. The northern part of Rishikesh is in the Dehradun district while the southern part is in the Tehri Garhwal district. It is situated on the right bank ...
. After Swami Vivekananda left his brother monks, Turiyananda and Brahmananda travelled further north into the Himalayas. During these days of wandering, he survived on the barest of necessities in the extreme cold weather. He visited the holy shrines of
Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86.5 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarters. Kedarnath is the most remote ...
and
Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu holy place, and is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage. It is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage c ...
and stayed for some time in Srinagar (Garhwal).Later he met up with Swami Vivekananda in Bombay and Mt. Abu when the latter was preparing to depart for America in 1893. During his travels in Punjab, he heard about Swami Vivekananda's success in the "Chicago Parliament of Religions". Swami Turiyananda came back to the
Ramakrishna Math Ramakrishna Math is the administrative legal organization of the Ramakrishna Order, of Daśanāmi Sampradaya. It was set up by sanyasin disciples of Ramakrishna Paramhansa headed by Swami Vivekananda at Baranagar Math in Baranagar, a place ne ...
in Alambazar before Vivekananda's arrival in India. At "Alambazar Math" Swami Turiyananda took up the task of training young recruits to the Ramakrishna order, and began taking classes in Vedanta in Calcutta.


In America

In 1899 when Vivekananda started for America the second time, he requested Turiyananda to accompany him to preach the universal message of
Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; , ), also known as ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six orthodox (Āstika and nāstika, ''āstika'') traditions of Hindu philosophy and textual exegesis. The word ''Vedanta'' means 'conclusion of the Vedas', and encompa ...
. At first the latter refused as he was averse to preaching and active life. But finally he relented. He reached New York via England in August 1899. He worked at first in the
Vedanta Society of New York Vedanta Society of New York (VSNY) was the first Vedanta Society founded by the Indian Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda in New York in November 1894. In 1897, Swami Abhedananda, another disciple of Ramakrishna, came to the United States and took ch ...
and took up additional work at Mont claire. His main interest was in character building based upon principles of Vedanta and this he strived to achieve with a group of young students in Shanti Ashrama, a Vedanta retreat in the San Antonio valley of California, which was set up in an isolated area, far away from any human habitation. From New York, Turiyananda first went to Los Angeles and became quite popular there. From there, he went to San Francisco and worked with students from the Vedanta society of San Francisco. He finally established the Shanti Ashrama with about a dozen students. In Shanti Ashrama the group had to face many hardships and hurdles because of the remote and uninhabited nature of the place. However, this experience was life changing for many of his students, one of whom wrote, '' To think of Turiyananda is an act of purification of mind, to remember his life, an impulse to new endeavour'' To many of his students Turiyananda was a living example of Vedanta. Turiyananda had a very strenuous life in Shanti Ashrama and his health broke down. He therefore returned to India in 1902 and heard the tragic news of the passing away of Vivekananda on 4 July 1902.


Life of an Ascetic

After the death of Vivekananda, Turiyananda left the newly built
Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located in Belur, West Bengal, India on the west bank of Hooghly River. Bel ...
and went to
Vrindaban Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of the ...
and
Uttarkashi Uttarkashi is a town and the headquarters of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Geography Uttarkashi is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographics India census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is t ...
. He built an ashrama in
Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ') is a municipal corporation and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...
together with
Swami Shivananda Swami Shivananda (1854–1934), born Tarak Nath Ghosal, was a Hindu spiritual leader and a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, who became the second president of the Ramakrishna Mission. His devotees refer to him as Mahapurush Maharaj (Great Sou ...
, another brother disciple. He later developed diabetes and was operated upon for a curbuncle, without the use of chloroform or any anesthetic. The last three years of his life were spent at the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashram in
Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
, where he died on 21 July 1922. Turiyananda spent the next several years practicing intense contemplation in Vrindavan, in different places in the Himalayas, in Dehra Dun, Kankhal, Almora, etc. He finally settled down in Varanasi in February 1919. During the last few years he suffered much from diabetes. He died on 21 July 1922 at Varanasi. Moments before dying he repeated the Upanishadic mantra 'Satyam, Jnanam Anantham Brahma' meaning 'God is Truth, Wisdom and Infinity' along with his brother disciple Swami Akhandananda after which he was heard muttering in Bengali 'Brahma Satya, Jagat Satya; Sab Satya. Satye Pran Pratishtitha' which means `God is Truth, the World is also Truth, Everything is Truth. Life is based on Truth'. This was radically different from the orthodox 'Brahma Satyam Jagad Mithya' meaning God is Truth and the World is false. These unorthodox last words, which were spoken impromptu, has generally been taken as the vision seen by an illumined sage who sees God everywhere.


Character and legacy

Turiyananda was renowned for his fearlessness. Once, when was harassed by the British police in Northern India, a high ranking police officer asked him whether he was afraid of police. He responded, ''I do not even fear death, why should I fear any human being?" Later on, the police officer became an admirer and devotee. His method of teaching was through conversation with quotations from holy scriptures. "There are two ways of answering a question," he said. "One is to answer from intellect, the other is to answer from within. I always try to answer from within''. Even though he was not actively involved in philanthropic activity of the
Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a spiritual and philanthropic organisation headquartered in Belur Math, West Bengal. The mission is named after the Indian Hindu spiritual guru and mystic Ramakrishna. The mission was founde ...
, he held it in high regard. He used to say, ''If one serves the sick and distressed in the right spirit, in one single day one can get the highest realisation''. He sympathised with the masses, and encouraged philanthropy and work for the poor and distressed. Turiyananda cared not so much for public work and organisation as upon working personally with a smaller number. His work was based upon individual character building. He preferred the style of an inward, meditative and contemplative life. He seemed to be of the opinion that with large organisations, spiritual work is apt to suffer. "Lectures," he used to say, "are to reach the public, but the real work can be done only through close personal contact, yet both are necessary."


Quotes

* "Troubles exist as long as we live in the domain of thought. There is no peace until we transcend thought itself. When one kills the mind, the senses come under control. What does it mean to kill the mind? It is to detach it from sense objects. The enlightened person has their senses under perfect control." * " As long as one expects happiness, one stays restless. But the enlightened soul 'knows bliss in the
Atman Atman or Ātman may refer to: Religion * ''Ātman'' (Hinduism), meaning "Self", a philosophical concept common to all schools of Hindu philosophy * ''Ātman'' (Buddhism), ''attā'' or ''attan'', a reference to the essential self ** ''Anattā'' ...
he Self withinand wants nothing else. Cravings torment the heart; he renounces cravings. I call such a person illumined.' Craving for happiness brings suffering in its wake." * "God and mammon cannot be served at the same time. Those who try to compromise are still very much attached to the world. If you want to realize God, renounce all worldliness." * "Why should you care about public opinion? Good people never criticize others. It is only the wicked who speak ill of their fellow men. Ignore them! The idea of doing good to other people! First help yourself! The illumined souls alone are the true benefactors of this world. They know what is good for mankind. Having attained knowledge, they work for others." * "You must struggle to meditate and to become deeply absorbed in Him. Try to develop intense devotion to God throughout your life." * "To preach religion is to give something tangible. it is not like teaching a class from the pages of a book. Religion is something that is transmitted. Hence, before you can give you have to earn." * "Can God be attained by a little cursory study or meditation? One must have intense yearning for the Lord! Life must seem unbearable without his vision!" * " Be always sincere, and be yourself. Be true! Have no axe to grind, go always straight for the goal and be strong.With Swamis in the West, page 44, published by Advaita Ashrama, Mayawati * "Have you seen people play chess? The players sometimes overlook a move because their minds are set on winning the game. But the looker-on will see the move, because his mind is calm, not disturbed by the desire to win. We become ambitious, and thus lose clearness of vision. Ambition sweeps us along, and all prudence is thrown to the winds. Our desires make us blind."


Gallery

File:Monastic-disciples-9-1-swami-turiyananda.jpg File:Swamiji077 en.jpg


References


External links

* God lived with them, By Swami Chetanananda
Swami Turiyananda on RKM Fiji



Conversations with Swami Turiyananda

With Swamis in America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turiyananda, Swami Scholars from Kolkata Indian Hindu missionaries 1863 births 1922 deaths Bengali Hindus Scottish Church Collegiate School alumni University of Calcutta alumni Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission