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Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati
Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati was born into a Brahmin family as Ramamurti S. Mishra, in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. His mother was a spiritual teacher with many disciples. His father was a high court judge and master of astrology and astronomy. Sanskrit was spoken in their home and from early childhood Shri Brahmananda was immersed in meditation, yoga and Sanskrit. At age six, Ramamurti Mishra contracted a very serious illness and died. No vital signs or respiration were detected for thirty-six hours, so his family prepared to cremate him. As is customary, his father walked around the funeral pyre with a lit torch chanting holy mantras. He was about to light the pyre when the little boy sat upright. Frightened, the other people assembled ran away, thinking that a ghost had appeared. But the father moved closer and asked, "Who are you?" His son replied, "Father, it’s me." Shri Brahmananda always considered this date, March 6th, to be his real birthday. At an early age Shri Brahmananda saw his life’s plan and began preparations. He left home to pursue studies in Sanskrit and medicine and completed his first medical degrees in Ayurveda and Western medicine at Banares Hindu University. In 1955, Dr. Mishra left India to continue his medical studies and practice in the West, specializing in ophthalmology, endocrinology, psychiatry, and neurosurgery. He served as a resident in neurosurgery at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. In 1964 Dr. Mishra founded Ananda Ashram, which became a very happening place during the sixties and seventies. Gurus arrived from India and controversial American spiritual figures like Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) frequented as well. Ananda Ashram, one hour and fifteen minutes outside of New York City, continues to function as a year round country retreat for spiritual practice. Dr. Mishra resigned from his medical career in 1966 to devote himself fully to helping sincere seekers remove the cause of suffering. He was convinced that the cause of suffering was not within the realm of medical science because it is lodged neither in the body nor the mind, but in ignorance of the true Self. Suffering would be eliminated by the discovery of one’s spiritual identity, by answering the question: Who am I? Shri Brahmananda was enthusiastically devoted to uncovering the mysteries of the mind. He encouraged the investigation of science, art, philosophy and metaphysics. He loved and supported all forms of sacred art. Shri Brahamananda left his physical body on midnight September 19, 1993, and became like the blue sky, present everywhere. His disciples, with tireless dedication and creativity, continue to teach Sanskrit, yoga, dance, music, painting, and Vedic practices all as a means to discovering the I-AM. The discovery of the I-Am is the discovery of one’s own identity as that Self which is eternal, beyond the transitory limitations of body and mind. There is only One eternal ever-present Self.
Then Shri Brahmananda told the following story—
Sharon Gannon, March 2002
Source texts and further reading: Shri BrahmanandaÕs
teachings are available to us, through books, videos and audio-cassettes.
Please contact the Ananda ashram website or the Jivamukti boutique. His unique and effective Sanskrit teaching methods are taught at Jivamukti Yoga Center, Lafayette St. NYC and at Ananda Ashram, Monroe, NY Wednesday evenings at 8:00pm at Jivamukti Lafayette location, teachers from Ananda Ashram offer satsang programs. Programs include readings, Sanskrit chanting, and discussions on Yoga philosophy, and Self-Inquiry For more information
about Shri Brahmananda visit the Ananda Ashram website: www.anandaashram.org
e-mail: ananda@anandaashram.org |
