Thakur Sri Sri Bhajan Brahmachari was unique among Himalayan yogis. At play and in his love of silence and prayer, Bhajan’s deep longing for the divine was evident from early childhood. The ecstasy of his devotional chanting and its impact on those around him was the hallmark of his life. From age 6, Bhajan was personally instructed in his sadhana through physical visitations and by the great 19th Century Himalayan yogi, Baba Lokenath. Ma Anandamayee led Bhajan to his guru and attended Bhajan’s initiation by Devgiri Maharaj. Living as a mendicant in the Himalayas, then as a devotee of Lord Krishna at the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Bhajan was quickly perfected as an embodiment of love. Returning to the plains, Ananadmayee asked Bhajan to take charge of her Ranchi ashram before he eventually left for Calcutta to attract a following and serve as guru at the instruction of Baba Lokenath.

To learn more about Thakur Bhajan and Bodhi’s experience of living at his ashram, please read Living with My Himalayan Master: Sri Sri Bhajan Brahmachari – A Biography. [Details]

Thakur Sri Sri Bhajan Brahmachari

Bodhi Shuddhaanandaa’s Guru

Thakur Sri Sri Bhajan Brahmachari was born in 1925 in what is now Bangladesh. His parents named him Amal. From early childhood, he was often sick and deeply introverted. He expressed an intense longing for God in his play, making beautiful idols of Gods and offering silent worship.

Bhajan’s mother, Priyabala Bose, once took Amal to see the great yogi of Haridwar, Sri Bholagiri Maharaj. The yogi lovingly took the child on his lap and said, "You are Siva's child! You are Siva. Why have you come here?" Turning to Priyabala, he reassured her, "Don't worry about his health. He will be alright, but he is not born to be a householder. Don't ever try to bind him to worldly life".

One day after a prolonged illness, Amal was near death. An old, saintly woman came unbidden to the door and urgently made her way in to see the child. She said "Let me quickly see my Haribhajan". The Yogini sprinkled Ganges water on Amal's face and body while murmuring mantras. In no time, the child's condition improved. Before leaving, she instructed his mother to call him Haribhajan, “He will be popular in the world by that name”. From then on, until his devotees later called him Thakur, everyone called him Bhajan.

Years later, while a student, Bhajan would disappear in isolation for deep meditation and to be in the company of saints and sages. Bhajan said, "Baba Lokenath followed me as a shadow throughout my spiritual life. He would manifest in the body and give me instructions in the path of Yoga".

Bhajan finally found the silence he longed for living as a mendicant in a Himalayan cave. While abandoned in sadhana, once again Baba Lokenath, (who he called “The Old Man”, gave him clear instruction: “Go to Vrindavan”. In Vrindavan, at the Banke Bihari's (Lord Krishna) Temple, Bhajan did the deepest penance and was in Samadhi for days at a time until he attained Self-realization.

Finally, he came to Calcutta. Bhajan gave all who came to him shelter and direction on the path of love and devotion. Known as Thakur to his devotees, he initiated thousands of seekers into the path of Bhakti Yoga and Japa Yoga.

Thakur’s melodious, sublime voice would inevitably transport him into ecstatic samadhi while singing bhajans (devotional chants). Miracles were natural manifestations of this God-intoxicated saint of simplicity and humility. Siddhis (yogic powers) served him as obedient servants.

His miraculous powers healed and protected disciples and devotees from countless disasters. Thakur’s teaching was always simple, "Always take the name of the Lord in your heart and keep doing your duties. Japa yoga (repeating the Divine Name) is the simplest way to reach God and self realization. Have faith in God and Guru, and keep practicing Japa with all your heart and trust in the Grace of the Guru. You will surely reach Home".

On the 6th of July, 1992, he left his mortal body. The child of Siva merged into Siva for good. He came to prove that to be enlightened you need to have the longing of your heart for the Divine, for where there is the deep urge, God manifests His Grace and opens the doors of realization of the highest reality of life.

Bodhi Shuddhaanandaa’s Experiences of Thakur

I was only 16 when I saw Thakur and, although I had seen many sadhus, I never saw such divinity and light in any person as I saw in Thakur….The whole premises was flooded with divine vibrations; everyone present felt a deep connection to the Divine. He was in front of me, appearing to be in the world but beyond, his body glowing with light, his voice melting in the ecstasy of profound communion with the divine.

His eyes met mine for a few seconds, but I was transfixed, as if I had known him for ages, and I could totally surrender without a speck of doubt. I had no idea what was happening, but he touched me at my deepest core.

I slowly came close to him and whispered in his ear, “Would you please give me deeksha (initiation)?” He whispered, “First, finish your education; then I will initiate you”.

I wasn’t happy. I felt deprived. But something in me had changed; I was in a different world. Bhajan was calling me. It was as if I belonged only to him and the world where he went through his enthralling music. Only he could take me there; no one else. So I followed his wishes, finished my education, taught for a few years, and then left to follow him at his Ashram. And so my journey began.

Satsang, the company of the Holy Master, is like the ever-purifying water of the Ganges. The words of a Master are not the borrowed knowledge of pundits, but the profound experiential wisdom of a living incarnation of God.

Thakur came down from the lofty heights of the Himalayas into this mundane world to dispel the darkness from the minds of the suffering humanity. Devotees’ hearts were flooded with divine ecstasy, as yours will be if you dwell upon His Name and Presence.

Living with My Himalayan Master: Sri Sri Bhajan Brahmachari - A Biography is available on Amazon. [Details]