Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri | |
---|---|
Religion | Hinduism |
Philosophy | Kriya Yoga |
Personal | |
Born | Priya Nath Karar 10 May 1855 Serampore, Bengal Province, British India |
Died | 9 March 1936 Puri, Odisha, British India |
(aged 80)
Guru | Lahiri Mahasaya |
Disciple(s) |
Satyananda Giri Paramahansa Yogananda |
Literary works | The Holy Science |
Sri Yukteswar Giri (also written Sriyuktesvara, Sri Yukteshwar) (Devanagari: श्रीयुक्तेश्वर गिरि, Bengali: [Śrīyukteśvara Giri], Bengali: শ্রীযুক্তেশ্বর গিরী) (10 May 1855 – 9 March 1936) is the monastic name of Priya Nath Karar (Bengali: প্রিয়নাথ কাঁড়ার), the guru of Satyananda Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda. Sri Yukteswar was a Kriya yogi, a Jyotisha (Vedic astrologer), a scholar of the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible, an educator and an astronomer. He was a disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya of Varanasi and a member of the Giri branch of the swami order. Yogananda considered Sri Yukteswar as Jnanavatar, or "Incarnation of Wisdom".
Sri Yukteswar was born as Priya Nath Karar in Serampore, India to Kshetranath Karar and Kadambini. Priya Nath lost his father at a young age, and took on much of the responsibility for managing his family's land holdings. A bright student, he passed the entrance exams and enrolled in Srirampur Christian Missionary College, where he developed an interest in the Bible. This interest would later express itself in his book, The Holy Science, which discusses the unity behind the scientific principles underlying Yoga and the Bible. He also attended Calcutta Medical College (then affiliated with the University of Calcutta) for almost two years.