Lahiri Mahasya

Who was this well-known, affectionate, and kind-hearted guru who had a profound impact on everyone’s life? Many people regard Lahiri Mahasya as a highly advanced and enlightened human who helped to disseminate the teachings of Kriya Yoga throughout the world.

Fun Fact: Lahiri Mahasya never liked to be photographed, and there are few rare pictures of him. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Mahasya, which means 'large-minded,' was his beloved name. He brought kriya yoga's teachings to the West. He was the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda's parents, and he even affected the life of the renowned kriya yogi himself by appearing to him in visions. His power was so strong that his disciples saw miracles as a result of his grace.

Mahavatar Babaji came into his life at the age of thirty-three as he was strolling in the Himalayan foothills nearby Ranikhet one fine day. In a beautiful moment of reunion, two souls who had known one other for many lifetimes came together again; Lahiri Mahasaya was enveloped in an aura of divine knowledge that would stick him for the rest of his life and define his contributions to the world.

Lahiri Mahasaya has been likened to a divine kitten, abiding in whatever location the Divine Mother has assigned him to do his work. The ultimate Self-realization that he desired was attained by giving up everything – even his loincloth which had been obtained as he obediently acted the role of a worldly man.

Paramahansa Yogananda, who’s parents were his disciples, writes in “Autobiography of a Yogi”: “As the fragrance of flowers cannot be suppressed, so Lahiri Mahasaya, quietly living as an ideal householder, could not hide his innate glory. Devotee-bees from every part of India began to seek the divine nectar of the liberated master… The harmoniously balanced life of the great householder-guru became the inspiration of thousands of men and women.”

Mahatvar Babaji founded Kriya Yoga, in which a Yogi mentally guides his life force to circle around the six spinal points. The practise of Kriya Yoga is said to purify the blood, allowing the life energy to retreat into the spine. Kriya Yoga is a simple technique for converting excess oxygen into life current and rejuvenating the brain and spinal systems. The yogi can reduce or prevent tissue degeneration of the body by preventing the buildup of stagnant blood.

Mahavatar Babaji advised him to impart the divine method on all earnest students after initiating him in the knowledge of Kriya Yoga. To complete this objective, Lahiri Mahasaya returned to Banaras. The yogic gurus chose Lahiri to spread the ideals of yoga across the globe. He was a unique holy person, generally Indian holy men live in temples or monasteries, but he was a householder, having married, had a family, and worked as a government accountant in Varanasi, rather than the typical austere life. His extraordinary way of living was as an "ideal yogi-householder.”

He predicted the growth of Kriya yoga, and fifty years after his time, in America, it came true when a growing interest in yoga in the West, pioneered by Paramahansa Yogananda (who published Autobiography of a Yogi), spread the wisdom first propounded by Mahatvar Babaji. ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ includes a wonderful description of Lahiri Mahasaya's life and his divine grace on his disciples. On September 26, 1895, Lahiri Mahasaya entered the state of Mahasamadhi at Banaras.