Guru Nanak Dev Ji.. Founder Guru of Sikhism 🔱

Guru Nanak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539) was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Kartik Pooranmashi, the full-moon day in the month of Katak, October–November. Nanak travelled far and wide teaching people the message of one God who dwells in every one of His creations and constitutes the eternal Truth. He set up a unique spiritual, social, and political platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue.

Nanak's words are registered in the form of 974 poetic hymns in the holy text of Sikhism, the Guru Granth Sahib, with some of the major prayers being the Japji Sahib, the Asa di Var and the Sidh-Gosht. It is part of Sikh religious belief that the spirit of Nanak's sanctity, divinity and religious authority descended upon each of the nine subsequent Gurus when the Guruship was devolved on to them.

Nanak was born on 15 April 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Kī Talvaṇḍī village in the Lahore province of the Delhi Sultanate (present day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan), although according to one tradition, he was born in the month of Kartik (November).

Most janamsakhis - the traditional biographies of Nanak - mention that he was born on the third day of the bright lunar fortnight, in the Baisakh month (April) of Samvat 1526. These include the Puratan Janam Sakhi, Sodhi Meharban's Janam Sakhi, Bhai Mani Singh Janam Sakhi, and the Vairowalwali Janam Sakhi. The Sikh records state that Nanak died on the 10th day of the Asauj month of Samvat 1596 (22 September 1539 CE), at the age of 70 years, 5 months, and 7 days. This further proves that he was born in the month of Baisakh (April), not Kartik (November).

As late as in 1815, during the reign of Ranjit Singh, the fair commemorating Nanak's birthday at Nankana Sahib was held in April. However, subsequently, Nanak's birth anniversary - the Gurpurb - came to be celebrated on the full moon day of the Kartik month in November. The earliest record of such a celebration in Nanakana Sahib is from 1868 CE.

The only Janam Sakhi that supports the Kartik birth tradition is that of Bhai Bala, which states that Nanak was born on the full moon day of the Kartik month. Bhai Bala is said to have obtained Nanak's horoscope from Nanak's uncle Lalu, and according to this document, Nanak was born on a date corresponding to 20 October 1469 CE. However, Bhai Bala's Janam Sakhi was actually written by members of the Handali sect, and attempts to depict the founder of their sect as superior to Nanak. According to a superstition prevailing in contemporary northern India, a child born in the Kartik month was believed to be weak and unlucky, which explains why the work states that Nanak was born in that month.

There may be several reasons for the adoption of the Kartik birth date by the Sikh community. It may have been the date of Nanak's enlightenment or "spiritual birth" in 1496, as suggested by Dabestan-e Mazaheb. Bhai Gurdas, writing on a full-moon-day of the Kartik month several decades after Nanak's death, mentions that Nanak "obtained omniscience" on the same day, and it was now the author's turn to "get divine light". According to Max Arthur Macauliffe, in the 19th century, a Hindu fair held on Kartik Purnima at Ram Tirath in Amritsar attracted a large number of Sikhs. The Sikh religious leader Giani Sant Singh did not like this, and therefore, started a fair at the Sikh shrine of Golden Temple on the same day, presenting it as the birth anniversary celebration of Guru Nanak. Macauliffe also notes that Baisakh (March-April) already saw a number of important festivals - such as Holi, Rama Navami, and Baisakhi, and the people would be busy in agricultural activities after the harvest festival of Baisakhi. Therefore, holding Nanak's birth anniversary celebrations immediately after Baisakhi would have resulted in thin attendance, and therefore, smaller donations for the Sikh shrines. On the other hand, by the Kartik full moon day, the major Hindu festival of Diwali was already over, and the peasants - who had surplus cash from crop sales - were able to donate generously.

Nanak's parents were Kalyan Chand Das Bedi, popularly shortened to Mehta Kalu, and Mata Tripta. His father was the local patwari (accountant) for crop revenue in the village of Talwandi. His parents were both Hindu Khatris and employed as merchants.

He had one sister, Bebe Nanaki, who was five years older than he was. In 1475 she married and moved to Sultanpur. Nanak was attached to his sister and followed her to Sultanpur to live with her and her husband, Jai Ram. At the age of around 16 years, Nanak started working under Daulat Khan Lodi, employer of Nanaki's husband. This was a formative time for Nanak, as the Puratan (traditional) Janam Sakhi suggests, and in his numerous allusions to governmental structure in his hymns, most likely gained at this time.

According to Sikh traditions, the birth and early years of Nanak's life were marked with many events that demonstrated that Nanak had been marked by divine grace. Commentaries on his life give details of his blossoming awareness from a young age. At the age of five, Nanak is said to have voiced interest in divine subjects. At age seven, his father enrolled him at the village school as was the custom. Notable lore recounts that as a child Nanak astonished his teacher by describing the implicit symbolism of the first letter of the alphabet, resembling the mathematical version of one, as denoting the unity or oneness of God. Other childhood accounts refer to strange and miraculous events about Nanak, such as one witnessed by Rai Bular, in which the sleeping child's head was shaded from the harsh sunlight, in one account, by the stationary shadow of a tree or, in another, by a venomous cobra.

On 24 September 1487 Nanak married Mata Sulakkhani, daughter of Mūl Chand and Chando Rāṇī, in the town of Batala. The couple had two sons, Sri Chand (8 September 1494 – 13 January 1629) and Lakhmi Chand (12 February 1497 – 9 April 1555). Sri Chand received enlightenment from Nanak's teachings and went on to become the founder of the Udasi sect.

The earliest biographical sources on Nanak's life recognised today are the Janamsākhīs (life accounts). Bhai Gurdas, a scribe of the Gurū Granth Sahib, also wrote about Nanak's life in his vārs. Although these too were compiled some time after Nanak's time, they are less detailed than the Janamsākhīs. The Janamsākhīs recount in minute detail the circumstances of the birth of the guru.

Gyan-ratanavali is attributed to Bhai Mani Singh who wrote it with the express intention of correcting heretical accounts of Guru Nanak. Bhai Mani Singh was a disciple of Guru Gobind Singh who was approached by some Sikhs with a request that he should prepare an authentic account of Guru Nanak's life.

One popular Janamsākhī was allegedly written by a close companion of the Guru, Bhai Bala. However, the writing style and language employed have left scholars, such as Max Arthur Macauliffe, certain that they were composed after his death. According to the scholars, there are good reasons to doubt the claim that the author was a close companion of Guru Nanak and accompanied him on many of his travels.

Nanak was a Guru (teacher), and founded Sikhism during the 15th century. The fundamental beliefs of Sikhism, articulated in the sacred scripture Guru Granth Sahib, include faith and meditation on the name of the one creator, unity of all humankind, engaging in selfless service, striving for social justice for the benefit and prosperity of all, and honest conduct and livelihood while living a householder's life.

The Guru Granth Sahib is worshipped as the Supreme Authority of Sikhism and is considered the eleventh and final guru of Sikhism. As the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak contributed a total of 974 hymns to the book.

Nanak's teachings can be found in the Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib, as a collection of verses recorded in Gurmukhi.

There are two competing theories on Guru Nanak's teachings. One, according to Cole and Sambhi, is based on hagiographical Janamsakhis, and states that Nanak's teachings and Sikhism were a revelation from God, and not a social protest movement nor any attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam in the 15th century.The other states, Nanak was a Guru. According to Singha, "Sikhism does not subscribe to the theory of incarnation or the concept of prophethood. But it has a pivotal concept of Guru. He is not an incarnation of God, not even a prophet. He is an illumined soul."

The hagiographical Janamsakhis were not written by Nanak, but by later followers without regard for historical accuracy, and contain numerous legends and myths created to show respect for Nanak. The term revelation, clarify Cole and Sambhi, in Sikhism is not limited to the teachings of Nanak, they include all Sikh Gurus, as well as the words of past, present and future men and women, who possess divine knowledge intuitively through meditation. The Sikh revelations include the words of non-Sikh bhagats, some who lived and died before the birth of Nanak, and whose teachings are part of the Sikh scriptures. The Adi Granth and successive Sikh Gurus repeatedly emphasised, states Mandair, that Sikhism is "not about hearing voices from God, but it is about changing the nature of the human mind, and anyone can achieve direct experience and spiritual perfection at any time". Guru Nanak emphasised that all human beings can have direct access to God without rituals or priests.

The concept of man as elaborated by Guru Nanak, states Arvind-pal Singh Mandair, refines and negates the "monotheistic concept of self/God", and "monotheism becomes almost redundant in the movement and crossings of love". The goal of man, taught the Sikh Gurus, is to end all dualities of "self and other, I and not-I", attain the "attendant balance of separation-fusion, self-other, action-inaction, attachment-detachment, in the course of daily life".

Guru Nanak, and other Sikh Gurus emphasised Bhakti, and taught that the spiritual life and secular householder life are intertwined. In Sikh worldview, the everyday world is part of the Infinite Reality, increased spiritual awareness leads to increased and vibrant participation in the everyday world. Guru Nanak, states Sonali Marwaha, described living an "active, creative, and practical life" of "truthfulness, fidelity, self-control and purity" as being higher than the metaphysical truth.

Through popular tradition, Nanak's teaching is understood to be practised in three ways:

Vaṇḍ Chakkō: Sharing with others, helping those with less who are in need

Kirat Karō: Earning/making a living honestly, without exploitation or fraud

Naam Japna: Meditating on God's name to control the five weaknesses of the human personality. Guru Nanak emphasised Nam Japna (or Naam Simran), that is repetition of God's name and attributes, as a means to feel God's presence.

Sikhs believe that Guru Nanak's message was divinely revealed. Sikhs give the utmost importance to the writings of the gurus in Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book that is revered as the 11th and perpetual guru. Guru Nanak's own words in Guru Granth Sahib state that his teachings are as he has received them from the Creator Himself. The critical event of his life in Sultanpur, when he returned after three days with enlightenment, also supports this belief.

Many modern historians give weight to his teachings' linkage with the pre-existing Bhakti, Sant and Sufi saints. Scholars state that in its origins, Guru Nanak and Sikhism were influenced by the nirguni (formless God) tradition of Bhakti movement in medieval India. However, some historians do not see evidence of Sikhism as simply an extension of the Bhakti movement. Sikhism, for instance, disagreed with some views of Bhakti saints Kabir and Ravidas.

The roots of the Sikh tradition are, states Louis Fenech, perhaps in the Sant-tradition of India whose ideology grew to become the Bhakti tradition. Furthermore, adds Fenech, "Indic mythology permeates the Sikh sacred canon, the Guru Granth Sahib and the secondary canon, the Dasam Granth and adds delicate nuance and substance to the sacred symbolic universe of the Sikhs of today and of their past ancestors".

Guru Nanak traveled extensively during his lifetime. Some modern accounts state that he visited Tibet, most of South Asia and Arabia starting in 1496, at age 27, when he left his family for a thirty-year period. These claims include Guru Nanak visiting the Mount Sumeru of Indian mythology, as well as Mecca, Baghdad, Achal Batala and Multan, in these places he debated religious ideas with competing groups. These stories became widely popular in the 19th and 20th century, and exist in many versions.

The hagiographic details is a subject of dispute, with modern scholarship questioning the details and authenticity of many claims. For example, Callewaert and Snell state that early Sikh texts do not contain these stories, and after these travel stories first appear in hagiographic accounts of Guru Nanak centuries after his death, they continue to become more sophisticated over time, with the late phase Puratan version describing four missionary journeys (udasis), which however differs from the Miharban version. Some of the stories about Guru Nanak's extensive travels first appear in the 19th-century versions of janam-sakhi in the Puratan version. Further, stories about Guru Nanak's travel to Baghdad is absent from even the early 19th-century Puratan version. These embellishments and insertion of new stories, according to Callewaert and Snell, closely parallel claims of miracles by Islamic pirs found in Sufi tazkiras of the same era, and these legends may have been written in a competition.

In 1508, Nanak visited the Sylhet region in Bengal. The janamsakhis suggest that Nanak visited the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya in 1510-11 CE.

Another source of dispute has been the Baghdad stone inscription in a Turkish script, which some interpret saying Baba Nanak Fakir was there in 1511–1512, other interpret it stating 1521–1522 (and that he lived in the Middle East for 11 years away from his family), while others particularly Western scholars stating that the stone inscription is from the 19th century and the stone is not a reliable evidence that Guru Nanak visited Baghdad in early 16th century. Further, beyond the stone, no evidence or mention of Guru Nanak's journey in the Middle East has been found in any other Middle Eastern textual or epigraphical records. Claims have been asserted of additional inscriptions, but no one has been able to locate and verify them. The Baghdad inscription remains the basis of writing by Indian scholars that Guru Nanak journeyed in the Middle East, with some claiming he visited Jerusalem, Mecca, Vatican, Azerbaijan and Sudan.

Novel claims about his travels, as well as claims such as Guru Nanak's body vanishing after his death, are also found in later versions and these are similar to the miracle stories in Sufi literature about their pirs. Other direct and indirect borrowings in the Sikh janam-sakhis relating to legends around Guru Nanak's journeys are from Hindu epics and Puranas and Buddhist Jataka stories.

Guru Nanak appointed Bhai Lehna as the successor Guru, renaming him as Guru Angad, meaning "one's very own" or "part of you". Shortly after proclaiming Bhai Lehna as his successor, Guru Nanak died on 22 September 1539 in Kartarpur, at the age of 70.

In a 27 October 1985 letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, the Universal House of Justice, stated that Guru Nanak was endowed with a "saintly character" and that He was "inspired to reconcile the religions of Hinduism and Islám, the followers of which religions had been in violent conflict.... The Bahá'ís thus view Guru Nanak as a 'saint of the highest order'".

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Avvaiyar.. Southern most respected poetic lady saint..

The Avvaiyars (Respectable Women) was the title of more than one poet who was active during different periods of Tamil literature. The Avvaiyar's were some of the most famous and important female poets of the Tamil canon. Abidhana Chintamani states that there were three female poets titled Avvaiyar.

Among them, the first Avvaiyar lived during the Sangam period (c. 3rd century BCE) and is said to have had cordial relations with the Tamil chieftains Vēl Pāri and Athiyamān. She wrote 59 poems in the Puṟanāṉūṟu.

Avvaiyar II lived during the period of Kambar and Ottakoothar during the reign of the Chola dynasty in the tenth century. She is often imagined as an old and intelligent lady by Tamil people. She wrote many of the poems that remain very popular even today, and are inculcated in school textbooks in Tamil Nadu. These books include a list of dos and don'ts, useful for daily life, arranged in simple and short sentences.

There is a very famous legend that is associated with the first Avvaiyar and the Naaval Pazham or Jambu tree in Tamil Nadu. Avvaiyar, believing she had achieved everything that is to be achieved, was pondering her retirement from Tamil literary work while resting under a Naaval Pazham tree. She was then met by a disguised Murugan (regarded as one of the guardian deities of the Tamil language), who jousted with her wittily. He later revealed himself and made her realise that there was still a lot more to be done and learned. Following this awakening, Avvaiyar is believed to have undertaken a fresh set of literary works, targeted at children. These works, even after a millennium, are often among the very first literature that children are exposed to in Tamil Nadu schools.

The name Avvaiyar is a combination of Tamil word av vai with honorific suffix ar. Avvai refers to respectable elderly woman as the word ammai which means good woman in general term for a woman of any age. Thus the name Avvaiyar means a respectable good woman hence a generic title rather than a specific name of a person. The word Auvaiyaar could also be a question as in who is that woman? (Avvai-woman and yaar-who).

Sangam age Avvaiyar:
The Avvaiyar who lived during the Sangam period is considered to be contemporary to poets Paranar, Kabilar and Thiruvalluvar. She is attributed as the author of 7 verses in Naṟṟiṇai, 15 in Kuṟuntokai, 4 in Akanaṉūṟu and 33 in Puṟanāṉūṟu. Legend states that she was a court poet of the rulers of the Tamil country. She travelled from one part of the country to another and from one village to another, sharing the gruel of the poor farmers and composing songs for their enjoyment. Most of her songs were about a small-time chieftain Vallal Athiyamaan Nedumaan Anji and his family. The chieftain had also used her as his ambassador to avert war with another neighbouring chieftain Thondaiman. The rest of her songs related to the various aspects of state governance. Although traditions claim that she was a sister of Kabilar, Thiruvalluvar and Athiyamaan, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar refutes this claim based on his studies that all four of them were most likely of different walks of life, thus from different caste backgrounds and hence impossible to be siblings. Tirukkovilur is an ancient temple town in Tamil Nadu. This is where the demon andhaka was killed by lord Shiva. Sangam epics recount that it was here that avvayar was blessed with a vision of her lord slaying andhaka and she has dedicated verses to the same. At great ancient temple of thillai chidambaram she sang Vinayakar Thiruakaval when lord Ganesha displayed his dancing form to her. Vinayakar Thiruakaval is an extremely esoteric work.

Chola age Avvaiyar:
The medieval period Avvaiyar was the court poet of the Chola monarch and was the contemporary of Kambar and Ottakkuttar. She found great happiness in the life of small children. Her works, Ātticcūṭi and Konraiventhan, written for young children, are even now generally read and enjoyed by them.

Her two other works, Mooturai and Nalvali were written for older children. All the four works are didactic in character – they explain the basic wisdom that should govern mundane life.

In Muppandal, a small village in the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. there is an image of Avvaiyar. By tradition, this is stated to be the spot where the great poet left the mortal world.

Annual Avvai Vizha is organised & conducted by Government of Tamil Nadu to commemorate Avvaiyar's contribution to Tamil literature. This festival is celebrated every year in the month of Panguni on Sadhayam star day. Avvai Vizha has been started by local community long time back and still continuing willingly. Now Govt of Tamil Nadu is continuing this function and adding more values. Local community, Tamil scholars and scholars from various fields participating with passion on this occasion and deliver their speech. Avvai Vizha is conducted in the temple Avvayar situated at Thulasiyappattinam village, Vedaranyam, Nagappatinam District, in the temple premises of Arulmigu Visvanathaswamy Thirukovil. Also this place is referred to famous interaction between Lord Muruga & Avvaiyar "Suttapazham Venduma Sudatha Pazham Venduma". This temple is under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.

Legend has it that once the great king Athiyaman gave an eternal gooseberry Nellikani fruit to Avvaiyar. This is a special and powerful fruit; whoever eats it will have a healthy and long life. Athiyaman wanted Avvaiyar to eat the eternal fruit as she was the right person who could serve the Tamil community. If she could live forever, so would the Tamil heritage and language.

In 2009, Red Hen Press published a selection of Avvaiyar's poetry from the 12th century, entitled Give, Eat, and Live: Poems by Avviyar. The poems were selected and translated into English by Thomas Pruiksma, a poet and translator who discovered Avviyar's work while on a Fulbright scholarship at The American College in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Avvaiyar was a Tamil Saiva saint and bhaktha lived in South India , was an ardent devotee of Sri Ganesha. Since childhood, her seeking was tremendous, and when her parents started seeking alliance for her marriage, she deeply prayed to Sri Ganesha, to transform her form to that of an old lady, and immediately, Sri Ganesha blessed her with an old form. Since then, she continued to spread the Divine message. Her messages were well received by the kings of Sangam period, and many times brought peace to warring states, by her wise words.

Many have been her works, including some for children, to shape their character.
In her spiritual pursuits, she has been blessed many a time by Shiva, Sakthi, Ganesha and Karthikeya. The outpourings as a result of such divine darshans provide a guidance to ardent seekers, in their quest to know the Truth.

Lord murugan tested her ego in many ways.in the case of Avvaiyar too, many were the plays and tests the Divine played .
Here is a beautiful test that Shri Karthikeya played , to test her Ego. While Avvaiyar was traveling inside a forest, Shri Karhikeya, appeared as a small boy, sitting on top of a tree laden with sweet fruits. Avvaiyar was passing by the tree, and her mind was engrossed in some deep thoughts and she never saw this boy who was up the tree.
The boy called Avvaiyar, and asked her whether she wanted any of the tasty fruits, which he was ready to pluck and throw to her. Avvaiyar asked the boy not to disturb her as she was introspecting on some high divine aspects and thoughts.

The boy persisted in his request and asked her whether she wanted the fruits , Hot or Cold . Avvaiyar got irritated when she heard this request of this boy, and asked him, how a fruit which was in the tree could be Hot or Cold. Avvaiyar half heartedly said to the boy to throw to her , a Cold fruit. The boy with a trick in mind deliberately threw the fruit, not into her hand, but on a heap of sand nearby Avvaiyar, angrily went to the spot where the fruit fell , picked it up, and with her mouth blew the sand which was sticking on the fruit.

On seeing this act of Avvaiyar, the boy mischeivously asked her , whether the fruit was Hot, to which she replied in the negative. The boy asked her why she was blowing the fruit to cool it , if it was not hot.
Suddenly Avvaiyar realized that this boy was no ordinary human, and Karthikeya revealed to her His Divine Form. Avaaiyar , fell at the feet of Karthikeya and thanked Him for making her realize and see her Ego. Avvaiyar prayed to Karthikeya to remove the Ego , which was a hindrance to her path of Ascent.

Many other wonderful incidents happened in her life and many miracles occurred by her prayer to the Divine Avvaiyar,an ardent devotee of Shri Ganesha, performed pujas to him.She heard that Sundarar , another Shiva devotee had started to Kailash. Avvaiyar too wanted to join him and reach Kailash, the abode of Shiva.

With this thought in mind, she started performing Sri Ganesh Puja in a hurried manner. Sri Ganesha appeared before her and asked her why she was performing the puja to Him in a hurried manner today. Avvaiyar replied that Sundarar had started for Kailash and that she wanted to join him and thus was performing her puja a hurried manner.

Sri Ganesha said to Avvaiyar to perform puja to Him in a slow manner with full involvement and one mindedness and promised her that at the end of the puja , He will take her to Kailash before everyone. Avvaiyar performed the puja with full faith and as promised at the end of the puja , Sri Ganesha , lifted her up and took her to Kailash .(The real meaning is Sri Ganesha revealed to her Kundalini Yoga , and made her reach Sahasrara , to merge with the Divine couple (Sada Shiva and Adi Sakthi). Having experienced the Divine Yoga ( Kundalini Yoga) , Avvaiyar rendered VINAYAKA AGAVAL , explaining the Divine form of Shri Ganesha, and how Ganesha came to her in the form of a mother and showered Grace , revealing Kundalini Yoga and she also beautifully explains the functioning of the chakras, nadis and the Kundalini instrument and blessing of this Supreme Yoga.

Mataji united with lord ganesha, This chaitanya has many aspects . In Shri Ganesha, specially, it is auspiciousness. Everything that emits vibrations (Chaitanya) is SHUDH and whatever does not is not auspicious. So whatever you worship or accept has to be auspicious. Every shape has a coefficience and all the shapes do not necessarily give vibrations. We take Shri Ganesha as granted. We do not understand that we have to awaken Shri Ganesha within us. There is Shri Ganesha already existing In you; as innocence and it cannot be lost, Shri Ganesha is an eternal being.

To keep this Ganesh always shining within us, is to remember that you were made in the same pattern as Shri Ganesha. His kundalini, his pure desire is on his stomach. It is significant to understand this. It means that he need not have to conquer the temptations of Mooladhara. He is also beyond temptations of food, power etc. Because His stomach represents absolute abandonment and freedom. He is not worried about his looks. Shri Ganesha accepts it. The head of the elephant suggests that HE is not like a human being who develops ego & super-ego. He is all the time one with the Divine. He accepts his body, his head, & everything that he is made of. He is what He is because He is a satisfied soul. The Kundalini on the stomach shows a completely self contented, satisfied personality of Shri Ganesha. When you have all the powers with you, you know you are powerful. Then you don’t hanker after all these things & you dont make an impression on others. As you are created in the same image of Shri Ganesha you have to understand that you have to accept whatever God has given you.

Paramahansa Yogananda : Spiritualizing Self-Realization...

Paramahansa Yogananda (5 January, 1893 – March 7, 1952), born Mukunda Lal Ghosh , was an Indian yogi and guru who introduced millions of westerners to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his book, Autobiography of a Yogi.

Yogananda was born in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India to a devout family in the last decade of the nineteenth century, and passed his first eight years at Gorakhpur the United Provinces of northeastern India. They were eight children: four boys and four girls. Mukunda Lal Ghosh, was the second son and the fourth child. Father Bhagawati Charan Ghosh and Mother Gyan Prabha Ghosh were Bengalis, of the Kshatriya caste. Both were blessed with saintly nature. Their mutual love, tranquil and dignified, never expressed itself frivolously. A perfect parental harmony was the calm center for the revolving tumult of eight young lives.

According to his younger brother, Sananda, from his earliest years young Mukunda's awareness and experience of the spiritual was far beyond the ordinary. In his youth he sought out many of India's Hindu sages and saints, hoping to find an illuminated teacher to guide him in his spiritual quest.

Yogananda's seeking after various saints mostly ended when he met his guru, Swami Yukteswar Giri, in 1910, at the age of 17. He describes his first meeting with Yukteswar as a rekindling of a relationship that had lasted for many lifetimes:

We entered a oneness of silence; words seemed the rankest superfluities. Eloquence flowed in soundless chant from heart of master to disciple. With an antenna of irrefragable insight I sensed that my guru knew God, and would lead me to Him. The obscuration of this life disappeared in a fragile dawn of prenatal memories. Dramatic time! Past, present, and future are its cycling scenes. This was not the first sun to find me at these holy feet!

Later on Yukteswar informed Yogananda that he had been sent to him by Mahavatar Babaji for a special purpose.

After passing his Intermediate Examination in Arts from the Scottish Church College, Calcutta, in June 1915, he graduated with a degree similar to a current day "Bachelor of Arts" or B.A. (which at the time was referred to as an A.B.), from the Serampore College, a constituent college of the University of Calcutta. This allowed him to spend time at Yukteswar's ashram in Serampore. In 1915, he took formal vows into the monastic Swami Order and became 'Swami Yogananda Giri'. In 1917, Yogananda founded a school for boys in Dihika, West Bengal that combined modern educational techniques with yoga training and spiritual ideals. A year later, the school relocated to Ranchi. This school would later become the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, the Indian branch of Yogananda's American organization the Self-Realization Fellowship.

In 1917 Paramahansa Yogananda "began his life's work with the founding of a 'how-to-live' school for boys, where modern educational methods were combined with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals." In 1920 "he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals convening in Boston. His address to the Congress, on 'The Science of Religion,' was enthusiastically received." For the next several years he lectured and taught across the United States. His discourses taught of the "unity of 'the original teachings of Jesus Christ and the original Yoga taught by Bhagavan Krishna.'"

In 1920 he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship and in 1925 established in Los Angeles, California, USA, the international headquarters for SRF.

Yogananda wrote down his Aims and Ideals for Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society:

• To disseminate among the nations a knowledge of definite scientific techniques for attaining direct personal experience of God.
• To teach that the purpose of life is the evolution, through self-effort, of man’s limited mortal consciousness into God Consciousness; and to this end to establish Self-Realization Fellowship temples for God-communion throughout the world, and to encourage the establishment of individual temples of God in the homes and in the hearts of men.
• To reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.
• To point out the one divine highway to which all paths of true religious beliefs eventually lead: the highway of daily, scientific, devotional meditation on God.
• To liberate man from his threefold suffering: physical disease, mental inharmonies, and spiritual ignorance.
• To encourage “plain living and high thinking”; and to spread a spirit of brotherhood among all peoples by teaching the eternal basis of their unity: kinship with God.
• To demonstrate the superiority of mind over body, of soul over mind.
• To overcome evil by good, sorrow by joy, cruelty by kindness, ignorance by wisdom.
• To unite science and religion through realization of the unity of their underlying principles.
• To advocate cultural and spiritual understanding between East and West, and the exchange of their finest distinctive features.
• To serve mankind as one’s larger Self.

Yogananda wrote the Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You and God Talks With Arjuna — The Bhagavad Gita' to reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.

In his published work, The Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons, Yogananda gives "his in-depth instruction in the practice of the highest yoga science of God-realization. That ancient science is embodied in the specific principles and meditation techniques of Kriya Yoga." Yogananda taught his students the need for direct experience of truth, as opposed to blind belief. He said that "The true basis of religion is not belief, but intuitive experience. Intuition is the soul's power of knowing God. To know what religion is really all about, one must know God."

Echoing traditional Hindu teachings, he taught that the entire universe is God's cosmic motion picture, and that individuals are merely actors in the divine play who change roles through reincarnation. He taught that mankind's deep suffering is rooted in identifying too closely with one's current role, rather than with the movie's director, or God.

He taught Kriya Yoga and other meditation practices to help people achieve that understanding, which he called Self-realization:

Self-realization is the knowing – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God's omnipresence is our omnipresence; and that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing.

The "science" of Kriya Yoga is the foundation of Yogananda's teachings. Kriya Yoga is "union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite (kriya). The Sanskrit root ofkriya is kri, to do, to act and react." Kriya Yoga was passed down through Yogananda's guru lineage – Mahavatar Babaji taught Kriya Yoga to Lahiri Mahasaya, who taught it to his disciple, Yukteswar Giri, Yogananda's Guru.

Yogananda gave a general description of Kriya Yoga in his Autobiography:

The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses) which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.

Sri Mrinalini Mata, current president of SRF/YSS, said, "Kriya Yoga is so effective, so complete, because it brings God's love – the universal power through which God draws all souls back to reunion with Him – into operation in the devotee's life." 

Yogananda wrote in Autobiography of a Yogi that the "actual technique should be learned from an authorized Kriyaban (Kriya Yogi) of Self-Realization Fellowship (Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.)"

In 1946, Yogananda published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi. It has since been translated into 34 languages. In 1999, it was designated one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by a panel of spiritual

authors convened by Philip Zaleski and Harper Collins publishers. Autobiography of a Yogi is the most popular of Yogananda's books. According to Philip Goldberg, who wrote American Veda, "...the Self-Realization Fellowship which represents Yogananda's Legacy, is justified in using the slogan, "The Book that Changed the Lives of Millions." It has sold more than four million copies and counting..." In 2006, the publisher, Self-Realization Fellowship, honored the 60th anniversary of Autobiography of a Yogi "with a series of projects designed to promote the legacy of the man thousands of disciples still refer to as 'master.'"

Autobiography of a Yogi describes Yogananda's spiritual search for enlightenment, in addition to encounters with notable spiritual figures such asTherese Neumann, Anandamayi Ma, Mohandas Gandhi, Nobel laureate in literature Rabindranath Tagore, noted plant scientist Luther Burbank(the book is 'Dedicated to the Memory of Luther Burbank, An American Saint'), famous Indian scientist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose and Nobel laureate in physicis Sir C. V. Raman. One notable chapter of this book is "The Law of Miracles", where he gives scientific explanations for seemingly miraculous feats. He writes: "the word 'impossible' is becoming less prominent in man's vocabulary." 

The Autobiography has been an inspiration for many people including Steve Jobs (1955–2011), co-founder, former chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. In the book Steve Jobs: A Biography the author writes that in preparation for a trip, Mr. Jobs downloaded onto his iPad2, the Autobiography of a Yogi, "the guide to meditation and spirituality that he had first read as a teenager, then re-read in India and had read once a year ever since." 

In the days leading up to his death, he began hinting that it was time for him to leave the world. 

On March 7, 1952, he attended a dinner for the visiting Indian Ambassador to the US, Binay Ranjan Sen, and his wife at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. At the conclusion of the banquet, Yogananda spoke of India and America, their contributions to world peace and human progress, and their future cooperation, expressing his hope for a "United World" that would combine the best qualities of "efficient America" and "spiritual India." According to an eyewitness – Daya Mata, a direct disciple of Yogananda, who was head of the Self-Realization Fellowship from 1955–2010  — as Yogananda ended his speech, he read from his poem My India, concluding with the words "Where Ganges, woods, Himalayan caves, and men dream God—I am hallowed; my body touched that sod". "As he uttered these words, he lifted his eyes to the Kutastha center (the Ajna Chakra), and his body slumped to the floor." Followers say that he entered mahasamadhi. The official cause of death was heart failure.

His funeral service, with hundreds attending, was held at the SRF headquarters atop Mt. Washington, in Los Angeles. Rajarsi Janakanada, the new president of Self-Realization Fellowship, "performed a sacred ritual releasing the body to God." Yogananda's remains are interred at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Great Mausoleum (normally closed off to visitors but Yogananda's tomb is accessible) in Glendale, California.

Kabir Das n Rahim Das : Poetic ambience of Bhakti move..

Kabīr Das (c. 1440 – c. 1518) was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement.

Kabir's legacy is today carried forward by the Kabir panth ("Path of Kabir"), a religious community that recognises him as its founder and is one of the Sant Mat sects. Its members, known as Kabir panthis, are estimated to be around 9.6 million. They are spread over north and central India, as well as dispersed with the Indian diaspora across the world, up from 843,171 in the 1901 census.His writings include Bijak, Sakhi Granth, Kabir Granthawali and Anurag Sagar.

Kabir's early life is not firmly established. In Indian tradition, he is commonly supposed to have lived for 120 years from 1398 to 1518, which "permits him to be associated with other famous figures such as Guru Nanak and Sikander Lodi", however most historians state this to be highly unlikely.Historians are uncertain about his dates of birth and death. Some state 1398 as a date of birth, whereas others favour later dates, such as 1440.Some assign his death date to the middle of the 15th century.

According to one traditional version of his parentage, Kabir was born to a Brahmin widow at Lahartara near Kashi (modern day Varanasi). The widow abandoned Kabir to escape dishonour associated with births outside marriage. He was brought up in a family of poor Muslim weavers Niru and Nima. 

Vaishnava saint Swami Ramananda accepted Kabir as his disciple. When Swami Ramananda died, Kabir was 13 years old.

In his hymns, Kabir does not call himself born as Brahmin, but he refers to himself as born a Julaha many times in his hymns.Bhagat Ravidas, the contemporary of Kabir, also mentioned in his hymn that Kabir was born to Muslims who were cow killers.

According to influential American Indologist Wendy Doniger, Kabir was born into a Muslim family and "all these stories attempt to drag Kabir back over the line from Muslim to Hindu".

Kabir was initiated by Swami Ramananda- a major exponent of Vishishtadvaita philosophy who considered lord Rama as Iṣṭa-devatā. Kabir too often refers to Ramaas his lord. He did not become a sadhu, nor did he entirely abandon worldly life. Kabir chose instead to live the balanced life of a householder and mystic, a tradesman and contemplative. However, there are conflicting views of whether he actually entered into a formal marriage or not.

Kabir's family is believed to have lived in the locality of Kabir Chaura in Varanasi. Kabīr maṭha (कबीरमठ), a maṭha located in the back alleys of Kabir Chaura, celebrates his life and times. Accompanying the property is a house named Nīrūṭīlā (नीरू टीला) which houses Niru and Nima's graves. The house also accommodates students and scholars who live there and study Kabir's work.

Kabir's legends describe his victory in trials by sultan, a Brahmin, a Qazi, a merchant and God. The ideological messages in Kabir's legends appealed to the poor and oppressed.David Lorenzen describes primary purpose of his legends as a "protest against social discrimination and economic exploitation".

His greatest work is the Bijak (the "Seedling"), an idea of the fundamental one. This collection of poems elucidates Kabir's universal view of spirituality. Though his vocabulary is replete with Hindu spiritual concepts, such as Brahman, karma and reincarnation, he vehemently opposed dogmas, both in Hinduism and in Islam. He often advocated leaving aside the Qur'an and Vedas and simply following Sahaja path, or the Simple/Natural Way to oneness in God. He believed in the Vedantic concept of atman, but unlike earlier orthodox Vedantins, he spurned the Hindu societal caste system and Murti-pujan (idol worship), showing clear belief in both bhakti and Sufi ideas.

Kabir calls his God by the name of Rama. However, his Rama is not the Rama of Ayodhya born of Dashratha. His Rama is Niranjan (without taint), Nirakar (formless) and Nyara(omnipresent, extraordinary). Here, his views are in line with the best ideals exposed in the upanishads.

His Hindi was a vernacular, straightforward kind, much like his philosophies. A major part of Kabir's work as a bhagat was collected by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev, and incorporated into the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib. The hallmark of Kabir's works consists of his two line couplets, known as the 'Kabir ke Dohe'.

Kabir composed in a pithy and earthy style, replete with surprise and inventive imagery. His poems resonate with praise for the true guru who reveals the divine through direct experience, and denounce more usual ways of attempting god-union such as chanting, austerities, etc. Kabir, being illiterate, expressed his poems orally in vernacular Hindi, borrowing from various dialects including Avadhi, Braj, and Bhojpuri.

Songs of Kabir is a collection of his poems, collected by Kshitimohan Sen from mendicants across India, that has been translated to English by Rabindranath Tagore.

A considerable body of poetical work has been attributed to Saint Kabir. And while two of his disciples, Bhāgodās and Dharmadās, did write much of it down, "...there is also much that must have passed, with expected changes and distortions, from mouth to mouth, as part of a well-established oral tradition."

Poems and songs ascribed to Kabir are available today in several dialects, with varying wordings and spellings as befits an oral tradition. Opinions vary on establishing any given poem's authenticity. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the spirit of this mystic comes alive through a "unique forcefulness... vigor of thought and rugged terseness of style."

Kabir's influence was so great that, similar to how different communities argued to cremate the Buddha upon his death, after Kabir died, both the Hindus and Muslims argued to cremate his body in Varanasi or bury it in Maghahar them according to their tradition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabir

Rahim was a poet of medieval feudal culture. Versatility-Rahim's personality was rich. With the same commander, administrator, patron, munificent, diplomat, polyglot, esthete, poet and scholar. Rahim communal harmony and respect for all religions were seeker solemn expressions. They are exclusive of the composite culture were devotee. Rahim architect of pen and sword were rich and human love.

Nawab Khan Abdur food skilled statesman of medieval India, and Indian cultural coordination Vir- brave warrior poet Mrmi are the perfect present. Among their number the last four centuries of historical men as sons of Mother India has been true. You were present in all properties, which are found in men. You were a hundred lucky people, who Ubyvidy lasting popularity of Indian life and not just because his living body is found on pages renown. Being a Muslim, Hindu poignant fact that you have to sit in the inner were marked, they tend to introduce large-heartedness. Devi Hindu gods, Pwa ç, religious beliefs and traditions which have also been mentioned by you, with the full knowledge and integrity have been. Assuming you are on life's reality Hindu Indian life. Rahim in his poetry Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and texts like the Bhagavad Gita is obscured and temporal life, for example, chose to explain his side's behavior, social harmony and Indian culture offers a glimpse of the bride; which is unity in diversity.

Abdurrrhim Khankhana Samvat 1613 E. born. (AD 1553), known in the history of the house in Lahore was Bairam Khan. Incidentally Humayun then resisted the invasion of Alexander Suri was in Lahore with the military. Bairam Khan, son of the house were there themselves and hearing about the origin of the name of the child, "Rahim" it.

Education of the Prince Akbar, Humayun Bairam Khan chose to Diksha and in the last days of his life, with the responsibility of managing state Akbar's guardian was appointed.Bairam Khan Akbar efficient policy to cooperate in strengthening the state. Bairam Khan and Akbar were differences between some reason. Bairam Khan Akbar successfully suppressed the rebellion and keeping his master's values ​​and honor him wanted to go to Hajj. Consequently Bairam Khan left for Hajj. Bairam Khan going for Hajj and stayed in Patan Patan in Gujarat in the famous yacht boating lake Sahasralinga were sitting on the beach with the intention of offering an Afghan warlord Khan happy to come and sort of deception Bairam Khan. The Mubarak Khan to avenge his father's death. This event made orphan Bairam Khan's family. These fraudsters did not just murder, but also made a considerable looting. Sultana Begum widow escaped with some of his servants came to Ahmedabad. Akbar was known about the incident as soon as they come back to court Sultana Begum sent message. After the message has come in the way Begum Akbar's court. Giving evidence at the time of Akbar greatness generously provided shelter and Rahim said to them, "Be happy with it all. It would not know it from his father got up to head the shadow of mine Khanaa. Baba said Jmbur is our son. Do not put it in front of our eyes. Thus, like Akbar Rahim son's upbringing was very Dharm-. After a few days, Sultana Begum Akbar married the widow. Akbar Rahim meet the royal family, "Mirza Khan" was awarded. Akbar's liberal education initiation Dharm- Rahim alignment was friendly. Diksha the education of the Rahim Knthar poetry still remains neck of land. Elahi Akbar Din- Hindutva sun saying of living space which would have given him several times in his poems location Rahim. Rahim is said about the Muslim religion and culture were pure Indian.

Rahim Awadhi and Braj Bhasha poetry in both the simple, natural and is effusive. Up in their poetry, calm and humor gets juice तथा दोहा , सोरठा , बरवै , कवित्त और सवैया उनके Dearverses are.

http://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/रहीम