Guru Dev
Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math
Our Guiding Light
Excerpt from Beacon Light of the Himalayas, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, published 1955
Our Guiding Light is the ever-shining, never-setting Sun of the Divine Grace. Ever the same and constant as the northern star and bright as the mid-day sun, our Guiding Light is the Divine Grace of Shri Guru Deva, Maha Yogiraj, His Divinity Swami Brahmananda Saraswati Maharaji, the most illustrious in the galaxy of the Jagad-Guru Shankaracharyas of India.
He was Maha Yogiraj in the family of Yogis in India and was held by the “Gnanies” (Realized) as the personified Brahmanandam (Universal Bliss Consciousness), the living expression of “pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ” (That Unmanifested is fullness and This Manifested is also fullness).
The divine radiance blooming forth from his shining personality revealed the truth of “Purnam idam” and His Sahaja-Samadhi (all time natural state of cosmic consciousness) brought home the truth of both — “pūrṇam adaḥ “and “pūrṇam idaṁ”.
It was the perfection of this great spiritual master which innovated a spiritual renaissance in Northern India and wherever He traveled.
His entire personality exhaled always the supreme perfume of spirituality. His face radiated that rare light which comprises love, authority, serenity and self-assuredness; the state that comes only by righteous living and Divine realization. His Darshan made the people feel as if some ancient Maharishi of Upanishadic fame had assumed human form again, and that it is worthwhile leading a good life and to strive for realization of the Divine.
His spiritual teachings are simple and clear and go straight home to the heart. He strictly adhered to the courses of inner development laid down by the systems of Indian philosophy and ethics and He raised His voice never in opposition but always in support of the truths and principles laid down in the concept of Dharma. He gave the people the spirit of religion and made them happy in every walk of life.