TV Channel

Life is a mystery, and its most hidden blessing is happiness. In the endless universe, all beings are eternally hungry seekers for it. Rare are those who, by searching deeply and permanently, are able to extract that seed from the ocean of life. It is the seed of Paramānanda—complete, impassive, and exhilarating happiness. This exaltation is the crown of Self-knowledge, derived from the knowledge of God. Those rich in this blessing are called sages, self-realized saints. It is a great honor to meet such a divine saint as Dharma Samrāṭ Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī. His character and his words have enriched our lives in an unforgettable way. Beloved, this life is priceless, and God has blessed us with it. Through this, the soul becomes a witness of God. Jīvātmā ko anek yoniyoṁ meṁ bhaṭakte hue, bahut kāra dukh pāte hue, ye manuṣya ṛṣiliye milāye, kaisa sarva dukhoṁ kī nivṛttikar, parama sukha aur ānanda kī dhām meṁ prāpta hotā hai, phir kabhī bhī vaha dukha meṁ nahīṁ jātā hai, aur vaha śraddhā satsaṅga satata karne se hotā hai. Śrī Svāmī Mādhavānandajī is eternally inscribed in our hearts as our Holy Gurujī. He was born on September 11, 1923, in India, in Rajasthan—a land of heroes and saints—in the village of Nepal. His father, Śrīlāl Caṇḍājī Garg, lived the life of a brahmacārī, a Brahmin scholar, and his pious mother, Śrīmatī Sarasvatī Devī Garg, gave him the name Tek Caṇḍa Garg. The young Thakchanda grew up in the harsh beauty of the Rajasthani desert. He was nurtured by his mother's stories about Kṛṣṇa and her unforgettable words that love for God is more important than life itself. When he turned seventeen, the prayers of the deeply inspired and spirit-hungry Thākchanda brought him face to face with the divine ocean of grace, Svayambhū Śrīdīp Nārāyaṇ Mahāprabhujī. While looking at Śrī Mahāprabhujī, he saw the beautiful divine figure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Gurujī described the depth of experience of that moment in this way: "My eyes were filled with tears, and I fell on my knees. I knew that I had found the eternal light of my life. I had finally found my home." From that moment on, he became a śiṣya, a true disciple who completely dedicated his body, mind, and soul to his teacher. Simply and permanently, Mahāprabhujī became his life. Mahāprabhujī's character, speech, and name were for him the embodiment of the divine. At age nineteen, Tekchanda became a monk. Mahāprabhujī initiated him into sannyāsa, into the order dedicated to God, Self-knowledge, and service to all beings. It was not an ordinary initiation, but Paramahaṁsa sannyās dīkṣā—the highest spiritual initiation, where a seeker under the guidance of Gurudeva achieves samādhi, the highest consciousness of Self-realization. The life with Mahāprabhujī was a gradual strengthening of Paramahaṁsa Mādhāvānandajī in the highest spiritual experience. Here, in the ashram in Katul, and for many years in the Balaguda ashram, Holy Gurujī, under the guidance of Śrī Mahāprabhujī, was immersed in the nectar of his mercy and the fire of asceticism. Thus, under the merciful wing of Śrī Mahāprabhujī, Paramahaṁsa Mādhāvānandajī—the Bodhisattva Labhud, the finder of Brahman, witness and speaker of the unity of God and man—took birth. After Mahāprabhujī left this world in 1963 by entering Mahāsamādhi—the final and irreversible step with his divine nature—Śrī Madhavānandajī, as his spiritual heir, took care of the āśrams in Kailāś, Bālaguḍī and Kāṭhū as places of unforgettable memories of life with his divine teacher. Upon the permission of Śrī Mahāprabhujī, he built an āśram in his native Nepal and also established āśrams in Jaipur, Jadana and New Delhi. Through the night of his Guru Bhakti and the essence of meditation, Holy Gurujī continued to bring the light of his Gurudeva. He taught the glory of Ātmā and Paramātmā from village to village, from city to city, from continent to continent. Satsaṅg gives great joy to the burning beings. Seeing the world burning, the Lord sent down the knowledge. Congratulations to the Goddess. The beings of the whole world are burning in the flames of lust, anger, greed, worry, and fear. The Lord made an impure cloud, seeing the world burning. Whose death means that all three kinds of suffering will be calmed down. The spiritual joy of the saints is complete only when they have someone to share it with. Holy Guruji was a tireless speaker of tolerance, respect, and understanding among nations, cultures, and religions as the true forces of world peace. "All people belong to one religion, and that is humanity." He was the powerful voice of Advaita, not of dualism. Like Mahātma Gāndhī, Gurujī taught the ancient Vedic truth: Ahiṃsā, Paramodharma. Non-violence is the highest religion. A talented singer, he often taught by singing bhajans, songs that sing the glory of the highest spiritual knowledge. With the strength and inspiration for teaching and serving humanity, Gurujī drew from the depths of meditation. The central point of his meditation was his mantra, the divine name of his Gurudeva. Every movement of these prayer beads was sung by Gurujī's love for Mahāprabhujī. Every day, absolutely every day, Gurujī prayed for at least eighteen hours and repeated the name of God. Such perseverance, such dedication is not possible without Parābhakti, love without remnant. Only love of such purity and intensity passes all obstacles and removes all barriers between us and God. Only such magnificent love, without remnant and calculation, saves from the torture of ego and the agony of ignorance. Such a saint no longer belongs to himself; he belongs to God. He no longer has himself, but therefore he has everything; he has God. Śrī Mādhavānandajī is eternally alive in healing and testimony that this is possible. Carried with such knowledge, Gurujī wrote the biography of his Gurujī, named Līlā Amṛt. This book describes part of the eternal story of the presence of God on this planet through his spiritual ancestors: through Śrī Alag Purījī, Śrī Dev Purījī and Śrī Mahāprabhujī. For his spiritual achievements and service to humanity, Holy Gurujī was awarded the title of Dharma Cakra Vṛtti, the one who maintains in movement the wheel of spirituality. At the Mahākumbha Melā in Allahabad in 2001, Sumeru Pīṭe Dīśvar, Śrī Śaṅkarācārya, gave him the title of Dharma Samrāṭ, King of Dharma, King of Spirituality. Thus, the physical body of Śrī Madhavānandajī became a living temple and a living testimony of Paramātmā. Holy Gurujī spent eighty years in his physical body as a living blessing. And after his eightieth birthday, the inevitable came, which comes to everything in form, in time and space. Gurujī's immortal, divine ātmā left his mortal abode. On October 31, 2003, his consciousness melted into cosmic consciousness. The day of the final escape came. The ashram was filled with thousands of people, thousands of bhaktas from all continents. Thus, it was easier to endure the personal pain of the loss of Gurudeva. The divine body, this divine temple where the saint lived, where Gurudev lived and taught, was moving on its last journey through this ashram. Sitting upright and dignified, magnanimous to death as he was in life, Holy Gurujī, surrounded by the masses, started the well-known path. Every step, the flowering of flowers, every step, the memory. Memories are filled with the pain of losing the departed, but they are also filled with a gentle gratitude for the presence that is given through passing. The love and joy of belonging that Gurujī had with his Gurujī, he received from his disciple Swāmī Māheśvarānanda. Śrī Māheśvarānandajī was thirteen years old when he connected his life with Holy Gurujī. He then handed the pure vessel of his child-being to his teacher to fill it with the divine nectar of immortality. The strong power of Gurujī's devotion, discipline, and knowledge found in Swāmījī a perfectly ready and willing soul. There are extremely rare disciples who can be completely surrendered, who can enlighten us and understand the immense greatness of the blessings that Gurujī possesses and offers. Swamiji, as an incarnated Mahātma, perfectly fulfilled Gurujī's world. Not only was his spiritual awakening fast and complete—which every teacher wants for his disciple—but also Maheśvara Nandajī is the incarnation of service. Thanks to Swamiji, for the final years of his life, Gurujī was able to peacefully spend time in the abode of his Viśvadīpa, in the divine light of the universe, knowing that his disciple, with the infinite will of Mahā Yogya and infinite love for all beings, not saving himself or his life, would spread the Wisdom of Yoga and the glory of Mahāprabhujī. Guruji's small and Swamiji's large works perfectly fulfilled the gift of both. Thus, they made each other whole, and this world better. For Holy Gurujī, it was a special joy to bring divine light to Śrī Māheśvarānandajī with his blessing. Thus, through Śrī Maheśvara Nandajī, the spiritual line of Śrī Alakpurījī, Śrī Devpurījī, and Śrī Mahāprabhujī continued their divine mission. The air vibrated with mantras, prayers, and bhajans. Thousands of bhaktas gave relief to their pain. We slowly reached the place of the future temple, where Gurujī's body would be permanently nourished. Carried in the hands of his sannyāsīs, for whom the guru was a perfect example, Gurujī was placed in his samādhi. The sannyāsī, who wanted nothing and for whom everything except God was insignificant, was placed on his royal throne as a reflection of the pure spirit known and lived in this human body of Śrī Madhavānandajī. When Gurujī is in death, in Mahāsamādhi, he remains immensely beautiful and magnificent. He will remain in the memory of his devotees and the memory of his heirs. The final moment of the purification is under the leadership of Śrī Śaṅkarācārya. A moment of stillness and silence, in eternal glory of the One who has blessed our lives so abundantly. Bhagavān, Hindu Dharma Samrāṭ, Dharma Cakra Vṛtī, Paramahaṁsa Śrī Svāmī Madhavānandajī Purī, has gone into eternity. We remain in the present, deeply saddened by His departure and immensely rich by what He has given us. Holy Gurujī, who spent all his inner and outer life in front of the altar, became the altar himself. He became a divine mirror with a pure and eternal message: "‘I am the body’ is ignorance. ‘I am pure consciousness’ is wisdom."