The Life of Swami Kripalu
Swami Kripalu was born on January 13, 1913, in the small village of Dabhoi in the western state of Gujarat in India. When he was seven years old, his father died, and the family was thrown into poverty. He later dropped out of school to work and help support his mother.
His childhood interests were music, literature and religion. He wrote his first novel at the age of 17, studied music with his older brother and searched for a guru, but found none to his liking.
At the age of 19, he left for Bombay hoping to find permanent work, intending to send the money home to his mother. After a few months in Bombay, however, he was penniless. Hungry and poor, without money for a cup of tea, he was ashamed of his life and decided to kill himself. This is his account of what happened to him that night:
I was young, only 19 years old. I was extremely ambitious, but unable to attain what I really wanted, so I was disillusioned with life. From childhood I had been attracted to the feet of the Lord. The Lord was my solace, my support, and my life. I didn’t know anything about sadhana at that time, so I used to worship God according to the tradition of my family.
After the death of my father, our family was thrown into poverty. I couldn’t bear this pain, even though I was only 7 years old, so I made a firm vow that I would give my whole life to God and bring happiness to my suffering family.
I had to drop out of school even though I was a bright, motivated student. I loved to read, but our family needed money and I tried to do what I could.
When I was 19, I left for Bombay to try to find work, but my heart was full of darkness. Finally, I decided it was better to commit suicide and go home to the Lord. I planned the whole thing; I was going to throw myself under a train.
Our family worshipped the Lord in the form of the Divine Mother, so I went into a nearby temple to worship the Divine Mother for the last time before I killed myself.
It was about 9:00 o’clock at night. I entered the temple in total despair and my heart melted and tears rolled down my cheeks. I went to the altar and bowed down and burst into even more tears. I had come simply to say good-by. I was going to kill myself at midnight. The statue of the Divine Mother didn’t look like stone to me; She looked alive. Her eyes were full of love and I was there to ask permission for what I was about to do.
The caretaker of the temple knew me and he tried to console me, but he couldn’t. I just kept crying. And at that auspicious moment, my Gurudev entered the temple. I was thirsty for knowledge. I had been to many different saints. I had read books about mantra and tantra and magic and had visited all the saints, but I had never trusted any of them. For me a guru had to be someone I could give my whole life to, nothing less, so I had given up trying to find a guru. I had totally stopped thinking about it.
Gurudev entered the temple and he said just one word,
“Son.”
I can’t describe to you the sweetness of that word, no matter how hard I try. He lovingly placed his hand on my head and then he hugged me.
“Come with me,” he said.
He was a total stranger and yet His love was so profound that I immediately yielded to Him. We walked outside the temple and then he sat down on the steps of one of the shops.
“My son,” he said. “Are you going to commit suicide? Suicide isn’t good.”
“Oh, no!” I said. “No! No! No! I would never do that!”
I wasn’t a dishonest person or a liar. I was just in shock that someone knew my deepest thoughts.
“You’re a sadhak,” he said. “And you must speak the truth. Tonight you were going to throw yourself under a train.” And then he described my whole scheme.
When he was finished, I bowed down to him and touched his feet.
“Please forgive this child,” I said.
“Come and see me next Thursday,” he said, and he gave me an address.
Thursday is the day of the guru in India and I discovered that he always gave darshan on that day. But I arrived late. I tried hard to be on time, but I failed to do so. I bought a garland of flowers for five rupees with great love. I had little money and you could buy a nice garland for one rupee, but I selected a beautiful garland for five rupees with great love.
I placed the garland around his neck and then gave him a dandwood pranam, lying down completely flat on my stomach. He looked at me and the nectar of love flowed from his pure, beautiful eyes.
“My son, swami, you have come,” he said, stroking my head.
The word, swami, surprised me.
“I’m not a swami,” I said.
“My son, I’ve called you swami because you’re going to be a swami in the future.”
“Me?” I gasped. “Oh, no! I don’t think so! I can’t do all that begging!”
“It’s true that swamis beg for food,” he said. “But they aren’t beggars as you understand it. They’re beggars of love. You’re going to give your love to the world and you’re going to receive love from the world.”
I was crying now and even though I was crying, I was happy.
Gurudev had known that I would be late that day and he had instructed the gatekeeper to keep the gate open for me, even though he normally ended darshan promptly.
“One child will come,” he had told them, “and he will be late, but let him in.”
Then he had saved a spot next to him for me to sit, while all the other disciples had to sit at a distance. But there was great joy on their faces.
“I’ve come here for one young disciple who will come to us today,” he had told them. “I’ll initiate him into swamihood and then I’ll leave. He’ll become a great yogi.” (From, From the Heart of the Lotus, the Teaching Stories of Swami Kripalu, by John Mundahl. Page 89, “How I Met My Gurudev.” Monkfish Book Publishing, Rhinebeck, New York 2008)
The young Kripalu stayed with his guru for a year and a quarter. His guru placed him on a 40 day fast in preparation for yogic initiation, initiated him into yoga, accompanied him on a spiritual pilgrimage and then left him sleeping under a tree.
Kripalu went back to worldy life for 8 years. He studied music, poetry, writing, Sanskrit and Hindi and had a job as a music teacher. Then, in 1942, at the age of 29, he took sanyas initiation and became a swami.
For the next 8 years he wandered as a swami, mostly along the Narmada River in the western state of Gujarat. He gave talks on the Gita, served the poor, established schools, temples and libraries and became a much-loved swami.
In 1948, while spending time in the holy city of Rishikesh, his guru visited him again, this time in a shimmering light body called the Divine Body. They had a long talk on yoga and then his guru left him again. Two years later, in 1950, Kripalu had his first experience of pranothana:
" I had been doing anuloma-viloma pranayam (alternate nostril breathing) for about three months, three times a day for an hour in each sitting. Amrit was about fifteen, then, and I was staying in his town of Halol. My guru had taught me only padmasana (the lotus) and anuloma-viloma. Gradually, I increased my practice from three hours a day to five hours a day. I was staying in a building that had cows and there were many mosquitoes. One day, I was doing anuloma-viloma with a mosquito net over my bed when my body suddenly lurched forward into bhunamapadmasana (a forward bending posture) and I went unconscious.
I don’t remember how long I lay like that, but when I woke up I wondered what had happened to me. For my next sitting, I found a mat and put it on the floor and set my mosquito net aside. I was extremely curious about what had happened and I didn’t want to be sitting on a bed under a mosquito net.
I started my pranayam and suddenly I stood up and started dancing! I was thrilled! Completely overjoyed! Indian dance is unique. No one thought it up or created it. It came from the yogis, from spontaneous prana in their sadhanas. My mind was totally captivated by all of this, filled with joy and wonder. The movements were so graceful and beautiful!
I didn’t have a single book on yoga, nor had I read any books, so I left Halol and moved to a nearby town and compiled a list of all the yogic books. I wrote letters to the publishers and gathered all the books I could. The books I had previously read were philosophical (jnana yoga) and devotional (bhakti yoga), but I had read nothing on the yogic process itself." From, "The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master," by John Mundahl. 2014. Page 472.
Not long after, he had another experience which changes his life:
"While trying to fall asleep one night, I sat alone in deep introspection. I was overwhelmed with self-doubt and questioned my worthiness as a seeker. I longed to see beloved Gurudev again. I missed him terribly and didn’t feel like I could go on without him.
I saw nothing but my own faults, even after years of effort on the spiritual path and I was overcome by a sense of total failure.
'Divine Gurudev,' I prayed in earnest. 'When will my faults leave me? When will that blessed moment come when my mind and body are free of inner impurity? When will I be your true disciple? My Lord, every day I struggle with great effort to get rid of my shortcomings, yet it seems I always end up a failure. I feel so inadequate to the truth and purity which I know lie beyond. Now, more than ever, I need your favor and your blessings. Gurudev, I’ve struggled to the end of my strength.'
I closed my eyes and let the tears run down my face. When I opened my eyes, my night lamp had gone out and the room was dark, but there was a glowing stream of light soothing my eyes. I noticed a distant shining star. The beam of light glimmered and twinkled in divine radiance from the outer reaches of space. As I looked in wonder and awe, I noticed a glowing form floating down that stream of light towards me. Then to my surprise and utter joy, Gurudev appeared standing right in front of me in his true form. I could see him clearly in the light that was glowing around his body.
I instantly fell to his holy feet.
'Don’t cry, my beloved son,' he said. 'Don’t worry. The time is now ripe for you to start practicing yoga.'
The light twinkled and glowed, then faded back into the darkness of space and he was gone.
Full of inspiration, I rededicated myself to my yoga practice. For the next three months, I practiced anulom-vilom (alternate nostril breathing) according to the instruction I had learned from Gurudev when I was 19.
One day, I was practicing this pranayam in my room. I was seated on a mattress spread on the floor. I wasn’t conscious of how many pranayams I had performed, but suddenly I got up and began to spontaneously perform various asanas (postures) and mudras (gestures with the hands). I even started dancing! I was astonished to realize that all these yogic kriyas (cleansing actions) were manifesting automatically.
I rejoiced at this dramatic new development in my spiritual life. I had never done postures before and eagerly read scriptural books on yoga. What joy when my spontaneous movements matched perfectly those in the great books of scripture!
This marked my entry into the path of yoga. I began meditating for hours and hours each day totally absorbed in the marvelous activities of my own prana. All of this, I knew, was due to my Gurudev’s grace." (From, The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master, by John Mundahl, 2014. Page 473)
Swami Kripalu now began formal sadhana. The year was 1950. He began with six hours of meditation a day and gradually increased it to ten hours a day, which he maintained for the next 31 years. He survived the awakening of kundalini and was also achieved kechari mudra, the doorway to the formation of the Divine Body.
He took the vow of mauna (silence) and intended to do nothing but sahaj yoga (kundalini yoga) for the rest of his life, hoping to attain the Divine Body. However, in 1955, he had the following experience:
"One day, I accepted an invitation to speak in the nearby village of Kayavarohan. Although the village was only 10 miles from my hometown of Dabhoi, I had never been there before, nor did I know that Kayavarohan had been one of India’s important spiritual sites in ancient times.
I arrived on the appointed day and gave my talk. The next day, some residents invited me on a tour of the holy and ancient temples of Kayavarohan. While someone narrated the history of each temple and residing deity, we walked from one structure to the next. If any facts were missing, another person spoke up and provided key information. This warm and sincere invitation touched my heart.
When they told me that Kayavarohan was considered a second Kashi, a home of salvation, I became intrigued. In present day India, Kashi is called Benares and is considered the highest place of pilgrimage. These townspeople were now telling me that Kayavarohan was, in fact, another Kashi. The amazing thing was that this Maha Tirtha, or great pilgrimage place, was only ten miles from my birthplace and I didn’t know anything about it.
At we walked, I was intensely concentrating on the subtle physical forms at this site. My ears were focused on the narration, my eyes were focused on the beauty of the place and I had no idea that three hours had elapsed. It was sunset and in a very short time darkness would envelop the earth.
As we entered a temple, one of the guides said, “Our tour comes to an end with this last temple which is the abode of Lord Brahmeshvar. Your lodging place is about 500 steps from here.”
As I entered the temple, my eyes fell on the black linga with the beautiful statue of Lord Brahmeshvar embedded on the front of it. Immediately my heart started pounding. Tears gushed from my eyes and I felt like I was going to faint, so I leaned against the wall. Gathering myself together, I approached the linga and prostrated at the feet of the statue, completely surrendered to the Lord. There was no doubt that the form on the front of this linga was the same as my beloved Gurudev. Absolute peace descended on me.
"My son,” Gurudev had told me in Rishikesh when he had appeared to me in the Divine Body. “It is only through divine fortune that you have seen this real body of mine. In a similar manner, you will come to know my real name at a later time. I can tell you that this body of mine is many, many years old. It has an interesting history that you will have to investigate in the future.”
I now knew that the real name of my Gurudev was Lord Lakulish, the 28th incarnation of Lord Shiva, an ageless Being ever reveling in the most sublime and elevated states of yoga.
Before leaving the temple, I took another long look at the statue of Lord Lakulish. I found no difference between this enchanting statue and the divine form of my Gurudev. There was the short build, the bewitching and charming face and the eyes filled with the same abounding mercy that I had seen in Gurudev’s face in the hills of Rishikesh.
I had been trying to master a specific stage of yoga for a long time, but I had been unsuccessful. That evening when I sat for meditation, I mastered it effortlessly. Every cell of my body felt the impact of attaining it and my mind danced with joy.
When my normal period of meditation was over, I didn’t feel like getting up, yet I knew it was important to abide by the rules of sadhana. There’s a rule in sadhana that after a fixed period you must stop because the nerves undergo extreme purification while you’re meditating. If you tire them too much, you’ll go crazy. So with great difficulty, I went to bed.
My meditative state continued, however, and in my meditation I saw the morning sun rising over the horizon. In its light, I could clearly see a big beautiful city with innumerable Shivalayas, places for worship to Lord Shiva.
The vision gradually faded. Then I saw the sun rise again and the same city appeared for a second time. However, the city was somewhat different this time, although clearly it was the same city.
“Son, the first city you saw was Meghavati,” a voice said, “and the second city was Kayavarohan. Both were located at the same place, yet they appear somewhat different because of a long passage of time. You are our choice to revive Kayavarohan.”
Following these words, I immediately received the darshan of two great sages---Maharishi Vishvamitra and Lord Lakulish. I bowed to them with immense faith and devotion. My eyes filled with tears of joy.
“My Lords,” I whispered in complete humility. “Your darshan has made my life sublime. But I am poor and without resources. How will I ever be able to carry out the revival of this great pilgrimage place?”
“Our chosen son,” they said. “You only have to act as an instrument of divine will. The task will take care of itself.”
The divine beings then disappeared. I was filled with joy and wonder and bowed my head in prayer and the following words came to me:
“I worship the Divine Light. I worship all that is Holy, forever and beyond. In infinite bliss and infinite grace, I worship the light transmitted from guru to disciple. I worship the Divine Light that is God within all and everything.”
The next morning, I left my meditation room and my mind was filled with a firm resolve. I decided to supervise the building of a beautiful temple in Kayavarohan and set up a Sanskrit university. The temple would provide a permanent home for the Shiva Linga and the university would also offer yoga classes and yoga teacher training. I had no money, not a single rupee and had no idea how all of this would get accomplished, but I left the entire matter up to God. (From: "The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master," by John Mundahl, 2014. Using Createspace.)
In 1958, Swami Kripalu moved to Malav, India and founded the Kripalu Ashram in Malav, where he did intensive sadhana for 12 years. In 1966, he established Kayavarohan Tirtha Seva Samaj, a registered public trust, for the purpose of raising money for the new Brahmeshvar Temple that he planned to build in Kayavarohan.
In 1970, he moved to Kayavarohan, broke his silence of 12 years, and began work on the new temple. The temple was completed and dedicated in 1974.
Swami Kripalu returned to his sadhana, which he had put on hold while he oversaw the construction of the temple. Since he was famous now, he was unable to find the silence and seclusion that he needed for his sadhana, so he accepted an invitation to visit the United States and stay at the ashram of his close disciple, Yogi Amrit Desai, hoping to find the solitude that he needed.
He arrived in the United States on May 20, 1977 and was overwhelmed by the love and support of the devotees in the United States. He agreed to speak twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and delivered more than 100 talks from May 20, 1977- September 11, 1977, when he once again went into silence and seclusion and continued his 10-hour a day meditation schedule. These talks are preserved in my books: "From the Heart of the Lotus, the Teaching Stories of Swami Kripalu," 2008. "A Sunrise of Joy, the Lost Darshans of Swami Kripalu," 2012. And, "The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master," 2014.
Swami Kripalu Returned to India on September 27, 1981, and he died shortly thereafter on December 29, 1981. He is buried in Malav, India.
A Timeline of Swami Kripalu’s Life
January 13, 1913. Born Haridas alias Saraswatichandra Jamnadas Majmundar in Dabhoi, Dist. Baroda, Gujarat state, India at 4 am. Father’s name was Jamnadas Dalpatram Majmundar. Mother’s name was Mangalabahen.
1920. Father dies. Family is thrown into poverty. Kripalu is 7. Attended school to grade 6.
1927. Leaves school at age 14 to work and help support his family.
1932-34. Age 19, travels to Bombay in search of work in drama company. After failed attempts in securing employment and disappointed with life he contemplates suicide. Meets Swami Pranavanadji who intervenes and inspires him on the yogic path. Studies with Swami Pranavanadji for 15 months. Takes 40 day fast in preparation for yogic initiation. Initiation into yoga. Publishes E.K. Bindu, his first book of poetry. Pilgrimage to land of Krishna with his Guru. His Guru leaves him under a tree.
1934-1942. Re-enters worldly life. Studies music, poetry, writing, Sanskrit and Hindi. Has a variety of jobs…accountant, music teacher.
1942. Meets Swami Shantananda, the cow-worshipping saint. Takes sanyas initiation and becomes a swami. Name changed to Swami Kripalvananda, the Compassionate One.
1942-1950. Spends 8 years as a wandering swami along the Narmada River in the western state of Gujarat. Give talks on the Gita. Establishes schools, temples, libraries. Becomes a much-loved swami.
1948. At age 35, Bapuji meets Lakulisa in his divine form in the foot hills of the Himalaya while studying scriptures in Rishikesh, North India.
1950. Begins formal sadhana, six hours a day, then increases to ten hours a day.
1955. Visits Kayavarohan. Sees Jyotirlinga of Brahmeshvar. Receives inspiration to build a temple in Kayavarohan.
1958. Moves to Malav, India. Founds Kripalu Ashram in Malav. Does sadhana for 12 years in Malav while practicing silence. Builds school for boys, rooms added for girls’ school, builds town hall and reservoir for water and medical clinics.
1959. Takes vow of silence (mauna)
1966. Kayavarohan Tirtha Seva Samaj registered as a public trust with Kripalu as its founder.
1970. Moves to Kayavarohan.
1971. Breaks 12 years of silence in a speech to 25,000 devotees. Takes up the work of building a new temple in Kayavarohan.
1974. Dedication ceremony of the Brahmeshvar Temple in Kayavarohan. Installation of Jyotirlinga in temple.
1977. Leaves for the United States. Arrives on May 20th, 1977.
May 20, 1977-September 11, 1977. Breaks his silence and speaks twice a day in the two ashrams of Yogi Amrit Desai, the Kripalu Yoga Ashram in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania and the Kripalu Yoga Retreat near Summit Station, Pennsylvania. Also travels to Canada and California to visit disciples, speaking to them, as well.
September 11, 1977. Takes vow of mauna (silence) and pursues his sadhana in seclusion at Muktidam, the cabin in the woods above the Sumneytown ashram.
September, 1977-September, 1981. Speaks twice a year on his birthday, January 13th and on Guru Purnima in July. He comes out of Muktidam on Sunday afternoons for darshan, but doesn’t speak.
March, 1978. Begins to lose weight. In the yogic process, the physical body must become totally emaciated before the Divine Body can form. He is overjoyed.
1978. Writes, Yoga and Celibacy. .
1978. Writes, The Illusion of Conjugal Sadhana.
1979. Writes, Idol Worship.
1979. Writes, two new bhajans
1980. Writes, The Passion of Christ.
1980. Writes, Introduction To Kripalu Yoga.
1981. Writes, Revealing the Secret, A Commentary on the Small Burning Lamp of Sun-Moon Yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika).
September 27, 1981. Returns to India
December 29, 1981. Mahasamadhi. The death of a great yogi, at approximately 6 pm.
Publications
Swami Kripalu was a prolific writer. He lived before the age of computers, of course, and to my knowledge never used a typewriter, so he wrote everything in long hand in his native Gujarati. Unfortunately, most of his written work has not been translated into English. This is regrettable because he wrote extensively about his sahaja sadhana which is valuable information for serious seekers. Following is a list of his publications, although it may not be complete, and it does not include the dozens of bhajans that he wrote detailing his spiritual ascent.
Books
1. E.K. Bindu. 1932. Poetry. (No English translation)
2. Premdhara. 1945. Devotional Chants. (No English translation)
3. Gitanjali. 1950. Poetic rendition of the Bhagavad-Gita into Gujarati. (No English translation)
4. Commentary on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. 1952. First commentary by a high yogi on this scripture in 800 years. (No English translation)
5. Asana and Mudra. 1967. 900 pages. 304 illustrations. (Parts are available in English)
6. The Gift of the Guru. 1968. (No English translation)
7. Raga Jyoti. Two Volumes. 1969. Classical Indian Sangeet Music. A major scholarly work, earned him the title of Sangettacharya. (No English translation)
8. Gita Gunjan. 1970. Revised version of Gitanajali. (No English translation)
9. The Sadhak’s Companion. 1971. (Available in English)
10. In Praise of the Cowherd Guru. 1972. (No English translation)
11. The Science of Meditation. 1973. (Available in English)
12. Kripalu Upanishad. 1976. A scripture on Hatha Yoga. (Available in English)
13. The Passion of Christ. 1979. (Available in English)
14. Revealing the Secret, Commentary on The Small Burning Lamp of Sun-Moon Yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika). 1980. (Available in English)
Books Published Post-humously in English:
15. A Pilgrimage of Love. Part I. 1981. (Out of print.)
16. A Pilgrimage of Love. Part II. 1982. (Out of print)
17. A Pilgrimage of Love. Part III. 1984. (Out of print)
Articles
1. Kripalu-Vaksudha (9 volumes). A quarterly journal starting in 1972 containing collected discourses. (No English translation)
2. Urja. A quarterly journal from Kayavarohan. A lead article by Swami Kripalu is in each issue. (No English translation)
3. Kechari Mudra. A 3-part article in the spiritual journal, Kalyan. (No English translation)
4. Kalyan Vishnu Anka. 41 articles in this spiritual journal dating from April, 1961-August, 1965. (No English translation)
5. Yoga and Celibacy. 1978. (Available in English)
6. The Illusion of Conjugal Sadhana. 1978. (Available in English)
7. Idol Worship. 1979. (Available in English)
8. An Introduction To Kripalu Yoga. 1979. (Available in English)
9. Brahmacharya Bavani. (No English translation)
10. Gopi Bhav. A commentary on Gopi’s bhajans, or songs. (No English translation)
Unpublished Manuscripts
1. Commentary on Patanjali Yoga Sutra.
2. Commentary on Narada Bhakti Sutra.
3. Commentary on Vedanta Sutra of Vyas.
Swami Kripalu’s Daily Schedule
(Source: Umesh Eric Baldwin)
The time schedule below was kept for approximately 30 years, 1950 - 1981
3: 00 a.m. Swami Kripalu rises
3: 00 - 3: 30 a.m. He showers etc.
3: 30 - 6: 30 a.m. Meditation
6: 30 - 7: 15 a.m. Shower, then public darshan
7: 15 - 8: 30 a.m. Writing
8: 30 - 10: 00 a.m. Meditation
10: 00 - 10: 30 a.m. Mealtime
10: 30 - 12: 00 noon Writing
12: 00 - 2: 00 p.m. Meditation
2: 00 - 4: 30 p.m. Writing
4: 30 - 9: 00 p.m. Meditation
9: 00 - 3: 00 a.m. Sleep
During the time allotted for writing, Swami Kripalu wrote books and letters. All unexpected work, meetings, traveling and reading were reserved for those times.
The meditation time scheduled eclipsed a full 11 hours to insure 10 hours were always completed. If a special celebration or public appearance compelled Swami Kripalu to deviate from his normal routine, he would stay awake longer to make certain he had 10 hours for practice. During those meditation periods, Swami Kripalu would play the harmonium, chant and surrender to the manifestations of Shakti. These kriyas continued even in sleep.
His childhood interests were music, literature and religion. He wrote his first novel at the age of 17, studied music with his older brother and searched for a guru, but found none to his liking.
At the age of 19, he left for Bombay hoping to find permanent work, intending to send the money home to his mother. After a few months in Bombay, however, he was penniless. Hungry and poor, without money for a cup of tea, he was ashamed of his life and decided to kill himself. This is his account of what happened to him that night:
I was young, only 19 years old. I was extremely ambitious, but unable to attain what I really wanted, so I was disillusioned with life. From childhood I had been attracted to the feet of the Lord. The Lord was my solace, my support, and my life. I didn’t know anything about sadhana at that time, so I used to worship God according to the tradition of my family.
After the death of my father, our family was thrown into poverty. I couldn’t bear this pain, even though I was only 7 years old, so I made a firm vow that I would give my whole life to God and bring happiness to my suffering family.
I had to drop out of school even though I was a bright, motivated student. I loved to read, but our family needed money and I tried to do what I could.
When I was 19, I left for Bombay to try to find work, but my heart was full of darkness. Finally, I decided it was better to commit suicide and go home to the Lord. I planned the whole thing; I was going to throw myself under a train.
Our family worshipped the Lord in the form of the Divine Mother, so I went into a nearby temple to worship the Divine Mother for the last time before I killed myself.
It was about 9:00 o’clock at night. I entered the temple in total despair and my heart melted and tears rolled down my cheeks. I went to the altar and bowed down and burst into even more tears. I had come simply to say good-by. I was going to kill myself at midnight. The statue of the Divine Mother didn’t look like stone to me; She looked alive. Her eyes were full of love and I was there to ask permission for what I was about to do.
The caretaker of the temple knew me and he tried to console me, but he couldn’t. I just kept crying. And at that auspicious moment, my Gurudev entered the temple. I was thirsty for knowledge. I had been to many different saints. I had read books about mantra and tantra and magic and had visited all the saints, but I had never trusted any of them. For me a guru had to be someone I could give my whole life to, nothing less, so I had given up trying to find a guru. I had totally stopped thinking about it.
Gurudev entered the temple and he said just one word,
“Son.”
I can’t describe to you the sweetness of that word, no matter how hard I try. He lovingly placed his hand on my head and then he hugged me.
“Come with me,” he said.
He was a total stranger and yet His love was so profound that I immediately yielded to Him. We walked outside the temple and then he sat down on the steps of one of the shops.
“My son,” he said. “Are you going to commit suicide? Suicide isn’t good.”
“Oh, no!” I said. “No! No! No! I would never do that!”
I wasn’t a dishonest person or a liar. I was just in shock that someone knew my deepest thoughts.
“You’re a sadhak,” he said. “And you must speak the truth. Tonight you were going to throw yourself under a train.” And then he described my whole scheme.
When he was finished, I bowed down to him and touched his feet.
“Please forgive this child,” I said.
“Come and see me next Thursday,” he said, and he gave me an address.
Thursday is the day of the guru in India and I discovered that he always gave darshan on that day. But I arrived late. I tried hard to be on time, but I failed to do so. I bought a garland of flowers for five rupees with great love. I had little money and you could buy a nice garland for one rupee, but I selected a beautiful garland for five rupees with great love.
I placed the garland around his neck and then gave him a dandwood pranam, lying down completely flat on my stomach. He looked at me and the nectar of love flowed from his pure, beautiful eyes.
“My son, swami, you have come,” he said, stroking my head.
The word, swami, surprised me.
“I’m not a swami,” I said.
“My son, I’ve called you swami because you’re going to be a swami in the future.”
“Me?” I gasped. “Oh, no! I don’t think so! I can’t do all that begging!”
“It’s true that swamis beg for food,” he said. “But they aren’t beggars as you understand it. They’re beggars of love. You’re going to give your love to the world and you’re going to receive love from the world.”
I was crying now and even though I was crying, I was happy.
Gurudev had known that I would be late that day and he had instructed the gatekeeper to keep the gate open for me, even though he normally ended darshan promptly.
“One child will come,” he had told them, “and he will be late, but let him in.”
Then he had saved a spot next to him for me to sit, while all the other disciples had to sit at a distance. But there was great joy on their faces.
“I’ve come here for one young disciple who will come to us today,” he had told them. “I’ll initiate him into swamihood and then I’ll leave. He’ll become a great yogi.” (From, From the Heart of the Lotus, the Teaching Stories of Swami Kripalu, by John Mundahl. Page 89, “How I Met My Gurudev.” Monkfish Book Publishing, Rhinebeck, New York 2008)
The young Kripalu stayed with his guru for a year and a quarter. His guru placed him on a 40 day fast in preparation for yogic initiation, initiated him into yoga, accompanied him on a spiritual pilgrimage and then left him sleeping under a tree.
Kripalu went back to worldy life for 8 years. He studied music, poetry, writing, Sanskrit and Hindi and had a job as a music teacher. Then, in 1942, at the age of 29, he took sanyas initiation and became a swami.
For the next 8 years he wandered as a swami, mostly along the Narmada River in the western state of Gujarat. He gave talks on the Gita, served the poor, established schools, temples and libraries and became a much-loved swami.
In 1948, while spending time in the holy city of Rishikesh, his guru visited him again, this time in a shimmering light body called the Divine Body. They had a long talk on yoga and then his guru left him again. Two years later, in 1950, Kripalu had his first experience of pranothana:
" I had been doing anuloma-viloma pranayam (alternate nostril breathing) for about three months, three times a day for an hour in each sitting. Amrit was about fifteen, then, and I was staying in his town of Halol. My guru had taught me only padmasana (the lotus) and anuloma-viloma. Gradually, I increased my practice from three hours a day to five hours a day. I was staying in a building that had cows and there were many mosquitoes. One day, I was doing anuloma-viloma with a mosquito net over my bed when my body suddenly lurched forward into bhunamapadmasana (a forward bending posture) and I went unconscious.
I don’t remember how long I lay like that, but when I woke up I wondered what had happened to me. For my next sitting, I found a mat and put it on the floor and set my mosquito net aside. I was extremely curious about what had happened and I didn’t want to be sitting on a bed under a mosquito net.
I started my pranayam and suddenly I stood up and started dancing! I was thrilled! Completely overjoyed! Indian dance is unique. No one thought it up or created it. It came from the yogis, from spontaneous prana in their sadhanas. My mind was totally captivated by all of this, filled with joy and wonder. The movements were so graceful and beautiful!
I didn’t have a single book on yoga, nor had I read any books, so I left Halol and moved to a nearby town and compiled a list of all the yogic books. I wrote letters to the publishers and gathered all the books I could. The books I had previously read were philosophical (jnana yoga) and devotional (bhakti yoga), but I had read nothing on the yogic process itself." From, "The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master," by John Mundahl. 2014. Page 472.
Not long after, he had another experience which changes his life:
"While trying to fall asleep one night, I sat alone in deep introspection. I was overwhelmed with self-doubt and questioned my worthiness as a seeker. I longed to see beloved Gurudev again. I missed him terribly and didn’t feel like I could go on without him.
I saw nothing but my own faults, even after years of effort on the spiritual path and I was overcome by a sense of total failure.
'Divine Gurudev,' I prayed in earnest. 'When will my faults leave me? When will that blessed moment come when my mind and body are free of inner impurity? When will I be your true disciple? My Lord, every day I struggle with great effort to get rid of my shortcomings, yet it seems I always end up a failure. I feel so inadequate to the truth and purity which I know lie beyond. Now, more than ever, I need your favor and your blessings. Gurudev, I’ve struggled to the end of my strength.'
I closed my eyes and let the tears run down my face. When I opened my eyes, my night lamp had gone out and the room was dark, but there was a glowing stream of light soothing my eyes. I noticed a distant shining star. The beam of light glimmered and twinkled in divine radiance from the outer reaches of space. As I looked in wonder and awe, I noticed a glowing form floating down that stream of light towards me. Then to my surprise and utter joy, Gurudev appeared standing right in front of me in his true form. I could see him clearly in the light that was glowing around his body.
I instantly fell to his holy feet.
'Don’t cry, my beloved son,' he said. 'Don’t worry. The time is now ripe for you to start practicing yoga.'
The light twinkled and glowed, then faded back into the darkness of space and he was gone.
Full of inspiration, I rededicated myself to my yoga practice. For the next three months, I practiced anulom-vilom (alternate nostril breathing) according to the instruction I had learned from Gurudev when I was 19.
One day, I was practicing this pranayam in my room. I was seated on a mattress spread on the floor. I wasn’t conscious of how many pranayams I had performed, but suddenly I got up and began to spontaneously perform various asanas (postures) and mudras (gestures with the hands). I even started dancing! I was astonished to realize that all these yogic kriyas (cleansing actions) were manifesting automatically.
I rejoiced at this dramatic new development in my spiritual life. I had never done postures before and eagerly read scriptural books on yoga. What joy when my spontaneous movements matched perfectly those in the great books of scripture!
This marked my entry into the path of yoga. I began meditating for hours and hours each day totally absorbed in the marvelous activities of my own prana. All of this, I knew, was due to my Gurudev’s grace." (From, The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master, by John Mundahl, 2014. Page 473)
Swami Kripalu now began formal sadhana. The year was 1950. He began with six hours of meditation a day and gradually increased it to ten hours a day, which he maintained for the next 31 years. He survived the awakening of kundalini and was also achieved kechari mudra, the doorway to the formation of the Divine Body.
He took the vow of mauna (silence) and intended to do nothing but sahaj yoga (kundalini yoga) for the rest of his life, hoping to attain the Divine Body. However, in 1955, he had the following experience:
"One day, I accepted an invitation to speak in the nearby village of Kayavarohan. Although the village was only 10 miles from my hometown of Dabhoi, I had never been there before, nor did I know that Kayavarohan had been one of India’s important spiritual sites in ancient times.
I arrived on the appointed day and gave my talk. The next day, some residents invited me on a tour of the holy and ancient temples of Kayavarohan. While someone narrated the history of each temple and residing deity, we walked from one structure to the next. If any facts were missing, another person spoke up and provided key information. This warm and sincere invitation touched my heart.
When they told me that Kayavarohan was considered a second Kashi, a home of salvation, I became intrigued. In present day India, Kashi is called Benares and is considered the highest place of pilgrimage. These townspeople were now telling me that Kayavarohan was, in fact, another Kashi. The amazing thing was that this Maha Tirtha, or great pilgrimage place, was only ten miles from my birthplace and I didn’t know anything about it.
At we walked, I was intensely concentrating on the subtle physical forms at this site. My ears were focused on the narration, my eyes were focused on the beauty of the place and I had no idea that three hours had elapsed. It was sunset and in a very short time darkness would envelop the earth.
As we entered a temple, one of the guides said, “Our tour comes to an end with this last temple which is the abode of Lord Brahmeshvar. Your lodging place is about 500 steps from here.”
As I entered the temple, my eyes fell on the black linga with the beautiful statue of Lord Brahmeshvar embedded on the front of it. Immediately my heart started pounding. Tears gushed from my eyes and I felt like I was going to faint, so I leaned against the wall. Gathering myself together, I approached the linga and prostrated at the feet of the statue, completely surrendered to the Lord. There was no doubt that the form on the front of this linga was the same as my beloved Gurudev. Absolute peace descended on me.
"My son,” Gurudev had told me in Rishikesh when he had appeared to me in the Divine Body. “It is only through divine fortune that you have seen this real body of mine. In a similar manner, you will come to know my real name at a later time. I can tell you that this body of mine is many, many years old. It has an interesting history that you will have to investigate in the future.”
I now knew that the real name of my Gurudev was Lord Lakulish, the 28th incarnation of Lord Shiva, an ageless Being ever reveling in the most sublime and elevated states of yoga.
Before leaving the temple, I took another long look at the statue of Lord Lakulish. I found no difference between this enchanting statue and the divine form of my Gurudev. There was the short build, the bewitching and charming face and the eyes filled with the same abounding mercy that I had seen in Gurudev’s face in the hills of Rishikesh.
I had been trying to master a specific stage of yoga for a long time, but I had been unsuccessful. That evening when I sat for meditation, I mastered it effortlessly. Every cell of my body felt the impact of attaining it and my mind danced with joy.
When my normal period of meditation was over, I didn’t feel like getting up, yet I knew it was important to abide by the rules of sadhana. There’s a rule in sadhana that after a fixed period you must stop because the nerves undergo extreme purification while you’re meditating. If you tire them too much, you’ll go crazy. So with great difficulty, I went to bed.
My meditative state continued, however, and in my meditation I saw the morning sun rising over the horizon. In its light, I could clearly see a big beautiful city with innumerable Shivalayas, places for worship to Lord Shiva.
The vision gradually faded. Then I saw the sun rise again and the same city appeared for a second time. However, the city was somewhat different this time, although clearly it was the same city.
“Son, the first city you saw was Meghavati,” a voice said, “and the second city was Kayavarohan. Both were located at the same place, yet they appear somewhat different because of a long passage of time. You are our choice to revive Kayavarohan.”
Following these words, I immediately received the darshan of two great sages---Maharishi Vishvamitra and Lord Lakulish. I bowed to them with immense faith and devotion. My eyes filled with tears of joy.
“My Lords,” I whispered in complete humility. “Your darshan has made my life sublime. But I am poor and without resources. How will I ever be able to carry out the revival of this great pilgrimage place?”
“Our chosen son,” they said. “You only have to act as an instrument of divine will. The task will take care of itself.”
The divine beings then disappeared. I was filled with joy and wonder and bowed my head in prayer and the following words came to me:
“I worship the Divine Light. I worship all that is Holy, forever and beyond. In infinite bliss and infinite grace, I worship the light transmitted from guru to disciple. I worship the Divine Light that is God within all and everything.”
The next morning, I left my meditation room and my mind was filled with a firm resolve. I decided to supervise the building of a beautiful temple in Kayavarohan and set up a Sanskrit university. The temple would provide a permanent home for the Shiva Linga and the university would also offer yoga classes and yoga teacher training. I had no money, not a single rupee and had no idea how all of this would get accomplished, but I left the entire matter up to God. (From: "The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master," by John Mundahl, 2014. Using Createspace.)
In 1958, Swami Kripalu moved to Malav, India and founded the Kripalu Ashram in Malav, where he did intensive sadhana for 12 years. In 1966, he established Kayavarohan Tirtha Seva Samaj, a registered public trust, for the purpose of raising money for the new Brahmeshvar Temple that he planned to build in Kayavarohan.
In 1970, he moved to Kayavarohan, broke his silence of 12 years, and began work on the new temple. The temple was completed and dedicated in 1974.
Swami Kripalu returned to his sadhana, which he had put on hold while he oversaw the construction of the temple. Since he was famous now, he was unable to find the silence and seclusion that he needed for his sadhana, so he accepted an invitation to visit the United States and stay at the ashram of his close disciple, Yogi Amrit Desai, hoping to find the solitude that he needed.
He arrived in the United States on May 20, 1977 and was overwhelmed by the love and support of the devotees in the United States. He agreed to speak twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and delivered more than 100 talks from May 20, 1977- September 11, 1977, when he once again went into silence and seclusion and continued his 10-hour a day meditation schedule. These talks are preserved in my books: "From the Heart of the Lotus, the Teaching Stories of Swami Kripalu," 2008. "A Sunrise of Joy, the Lost Darshans of Swami Kripalu," 2012. And, "The Swami Kripalu Reader, Selected Works from a Yogic Master," 2014.
Swami Kripalu Returned to India on September 27, 1981, and he died shortly thereafter on December 29, 1981. He is buried in Malav, India.
A Timeline of Swami Kripalu’s Life
January 13, 1913. Born Haridas alias Saraswatichandra Jamnadas Majmundar in Dabhoi, Dist. Baroda, Gujarat state, India at 4 am. Father’s name was Jamnadas Dalpatram Majmundar. Mother’s name was Mangalabahen.
1920. Father dies. Family is thrown into poverty. Kripalu is 7. Attended school to grade 6.
1927. Leaves school at age 14 to work and help support his family.
1932-34. Age 19, travels to Bombay in search of work in drama company. After failed attempts in securing employment and disappointed with life he contemplates suicide. Meets Swami Pranavanadji who intervenes and inspires him on the yogic path. Studies with Swami Pranavanadji for 15 months. Takes 40 day fast in preparation for yogic initiation. Initiation into yoga. Publishes E.K. Bindu, his first book of poetry. Pilgrimage to land of Krishna with his Guru. His Guru leaves him under a tree.
1934-1942. Re-enters worldly life. Studies music, poetry, writing, Sanskrit and Hindi. Has a variety of jobs…accountant, music teacher.
1942. Meets Swami Shantananda, the cow-worshipping saint. Takes sanyas initiation and becomes a swami. Name changed to Swami Kripalvananda, the Compassionate One.
1942-1950. Spends 8 years as a wandering swami along the Narmada River in the western state of Gujarat. Give talks on the Gita. Establishes schools, temples, libraries. Becomes a much-loved swami.
1948. At age 35, Bapuji meets Lakulisa in his divine form in the foot hills of the Himalaya while studying scriptures in Rishikesh, North India.
1950. Begins formal sadhana, six hours a day, then increases to ten hours a day.
1955. Visits Kayavarohan. Sees Jyotirlinga of Brahmeshvar. Receives inspiration to build a temple in Kayavarohan.
1958. Moves to Malav, India. Founds Kripalu Ashram in Malav. Does sadhana for 12 years in Malav while practicing silence. Builds school for boys, rooms added for girls’ school, builds town hall and reservoir for water and medical clinics.
1959. Takes vow of silence (mauna)
1966. Kayavarohan Tirtha Seva Samaj registered as a public trust with Kripalu as its founder.
1970. Moves to Kayavarohan.
1971. Breaks 12 years of silence in a speech to 25,000 devotees. Takes up the work of building a new temple in Kayavarohan.
1974. Dedication ceremony of the Brahmeshvar Temple in Kayavarohan. Installation of Jyotirlinga in temple.
1977. Leaves for the United States. Arrives on May 20th, 1977.
May 20, 1977-September 11, 1977. Breaks his silence and speaks twice a day in the two ashrams of Yogi Amrit Desai, the Kripalu Yoga Ashram in Sumneytown, Pennsylvania and the Kripalu Yoga Retreat near Summit Station, Pennsylvania. Also travels to Canada and California to visit disciples, speaking to them, as well.
September 11, 1977. Takes vow of mauna (silence) and pursues his sadhana in seclusion at Muktidam, the cabin in the woods above the Sumneytown ashram.
September, 1977-September, 1981. Speaks twice a year on his birthday, January 13th and on Guru Purnima in July. He comes out of Muktidam on Sunday afternoons for darshan, but doesn’t speak.
March, 1978. Begins to lose weight. In the yogic process, the physical body must become totally emaciated before the Divine Body can form. He is overjoyed.
1978. Writes, Yoga and Celibacy. .
1978. Writes, The Illusion of Conjugal Sadhana.
1979. Writes, Idol Worship.
1979. Writes, two new bhajans
1980. Writes, The Passion of Christ.
1980. Writes, Introduction To Kripalu Yoga.
1981. Writes, Revealing the Secret, A Commentary on the Small Burning Lamp of Sun-Moon Yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika).
September 27, 1981. Returns to India
December 29, 1981. Mahasamadhi. The death of a great yogi, at approximately 6 pm.
Publications
Swami Kripalu was a prolific writer. He lived before the age of computers, of course, and to my knowledge never used a typewriter, so he wrote everything in long hand in his native Gujarati. Unfortunately, most of his written work has not been translated into English. This is regrettable because he wrote extensively about his sahaja sadhana which is valuable information for serious seekers. Following is a list of his publications, although it may not be complete, and it does not include the dozens of bhajans that he wrote detailing his spiritual ascent.
Books
1. E.K. Bindu. 1932. Poetry. (No English translation)
2. Premdhara. 1945. Devotional Chants. (No English translation)
3. Gitanjali. 1950. Poetic rendition of the Bhagavad-Gita into Gujarati. (No English translation)
4. Commentary on the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. 1952. First commentary by a high yogi on this scripture in 800 years. (No English translation)
5. Asana and Mudra. 1967. 900 pages. 304 illustrations. (Parts are available in English)
6. The Gift of the Guru. 1968. (No English translation)
7. Raga Jyoti. Two Volumes. 1969. Classical Indian Sangeet Music. A major scholarly work, earned him the title of Sangettacharya. (No English translation)
8. Gita Gunjan. 1970. Revised version of Gitanajali. (No English translation)
9. The Sadhak’s Companion. 1971. (Available in English)
10. In Praise of the Cowherd Guru. 1972. (No English translation)
11. The Science of Meditation. 1973. (Available in English)
12. Kripalu Upanishad. 1976. A scripture on Hatha Yoga. (Available in English)
13. The Passion of Christ. 1979. (Available in English)
14. Revealing the Secret, Commentary on The Small Burning Lamp of Sun-Moon Yoga (Hatha Yoga Pradipika). 1980. (Available in English)
Books Published Post-humously in English:
15. A Pilgrimage of Love. Part I. 1981. (Out of print.)
16. A Pilgrimage of Love. Part II. 1982. (Out of print)
17. A Pilgrimage of Love. Part III. 1984. (Out of print)
Articles
1. Kripalu-Vaksudha (9 volumes). A quarterly journal starting in 1972 containing collected discourses. (No English translation)
2. Urja. A quarterly journal from Kayavarohan. A lead article by Swami Kripalu is in each issue. (No English translation)
3. Kechari Mudra. A 3-part article in the spiritual journal, Kalyan. (No English translation)
4. Kalyan Vishnu Anka. 41 articles in this spiritual journal dating from April, 1961-August, 1965. (No English translation)
5. Yoga and Celibacy. 1978. (Available in English)
6. The Illusion of Conjugal Sadhana. 1978. (Available in English)
7. Idol Worship. 1979. (Available in English)
8. An Introduction To Kripalu Yoga. 1979. (Available in English)
9. Brahmacharya Bavani. (No English translation)
10. Gopi Bhav. A commentary on Gopi’s bhajans, or songs. (No English translation)
Unpublished Manuscripts
1. Commentary on Patanjali Yoga Sutra.
2. Commentary on Narada Bhakti Sutra.
3. Commentary on Vedanta Sutra of Vyas.
Swami Kripalu’s Daily Schedule
(Source: Umesh Eric Baldwin)
The time schedule below was kept for approximately 30 years, 1950 - 1981
3: 00 a.m. Swami Kripalu rises
3: 00 - 3: 30 a.m. He showers etc.
3: 30 - 6: 30 a.m. Meditation
6: 30 - 7: 15 a.m. Shower, then public darshan
7: 15 - 8: 30 a.m. Writing
8: 30 - 10: 00 a.m. Meditation
10: 00 - 10: 30 a.m. Mealtime
10: 30 - 12: 00 noon Writing
12: 00 - 2: 00 p.m. Meditation
2: 00 - 4: 30 p.m. Writing
4: 30 - 9: 00 p.m. Meditation
9: 00 - 3: 00 a.m. Sleep
During the time allotted for writing, Swami Kripalu wrote books and letters. All unexpected work, meetings, traveling and reading were reserved for those times.
The meditation time scheduled eclipsed a full 11 hours to insure 10 hours were always completed. If a special celebration or public appearance compelled Swami Kripalu to deviate from his normal routine, he would stay awake longer to make certain he had 10 hours for practice. During those meditation periods, Swami Kripalu would play the harmonium, chant and surrender to the manifestations of Shakti. These kriyas continued even in sleep.