A list of Yogi Masters for study

Find below a list of Yogi Masters which I present here for those students wanting to study the life of Saints and the metaphysical significance of their lives through Selfless Service, Unconditional Surrender to God, and Scientific Techniques for attaining God-Communion.

These names are not in any particular order of importance.
This list is in no way Complete....of course!

1) Paramahansa Yogananda

2) RamaKrishna Paramahansa

3) Swami Vivekananda

4) His Eminence Sir George King

5) Jesus Christ

6) Buddha

7) Patanjali

8) Rama

9) Krishna

10) Moses

11) Lahiri Mahasaya

12) Kabir

13) Swami Pranabananda

14) Nagendra Nath Bhaduri

15) Mahendra Nath Gupta

16) Sri Yukteswar Giri

17) Adi Shankaracharya

18) Arjuna

19) Trailanga Swami

20) Shankari Mai Jiew

21) Swami Sri Sadasivendra Saraswati (aka Sadasiva Brahman)

22) Swami Sri Paramasivendra Saraswati

23) James J. Lynn (aka Rajarsi Janakananda)

24) Therese Neumann

25) Ram Gopal Muzumdar

26) Ravidas

27) St Teresa of Avila

28) Ananda Moyi Ma

29) Pavari Baba

30) Francis of Assisi

31) Yogi Ramiah (aka Sri Rama Yogi)

32) Ramana Maharshi

33) Tulsidas

34) Durbasha

35) Draupadi

Ramakrisha Paramahansa ''There is nothing in mere scholarship. The object of study is to find means of knowing God and realizing him.''

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Swami Vivekananda recieves his Masters Powers

Having several problems with his health and unending work demands with little, and at times no sleep, one of Swami Vivekananda's disciples urged him to rest.

He replied: ''My Son, there is no rest for me.

That which Sri RamaKrishna called 'Kali' took possession of my body and soul three or four days before his passing away.

That makes me work and work and never lets me keep still or look to my personal comfort.'

Then he told the disciple how his Master, before his passing away, had transmitted his spiritual power to him.

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Swami Turiyananda and the Shanti Ashrama

As we have already seen Swami Turiyananda was a great yogi. A disciple of the great Paramahansa Rama Krishna and close personal friend of Swami Vivekananda.

When Swami Vivekananda came to America on his second visit he brought with him his brother disciple Swami Turiyananda to assist him in his work.

Swami Turiyananda established the Shanti Ashrama, in the San Antone Valley of Central California. This place has a wonderful spiritual atmosphere and has been reported by many as having a certain vibrations of a high spiritual nature. This is not surprising for it was here that for two years Swami Turiyananda lived and inspired a group of students to devote themselves exclusively to the ideal of God-Realization.

Ujjvala (Id Ansell), a disciple of Swami Turiyananda has given several instances of the Swami's individual lessons and instructions to disciples while at the Ashrama.

One time Ujjvala prepared to take notes of Swami Turiyananda's class talks, sharpening a pencil with a dull knife. The result was a jagged, unsymmetrical point. Just then the Swami walked in, picked up the pencil, and remarked:

''That is a sample of your work!''

With the same knifehe carefully whittled the jagged wood to a smooth sharp point. Handing the pencil back to Ujjala, he said:

''Make every act an act of worship.
Whatever you do, do as an offering to the Divine Mother, and do it as perfectly as you can.''

Another day Ujjvala was weeping because she could not persuade the other students to comply with the Swami's wishes for stricter observance of economy.

''Swami, they simply won't understand!'' she sobbed.

''Never mind, you did your best; that is enough,'' he consoled.

Then he added, ''If I wept everytime they don't understand , I should be weeping all the time!.''

One afternoon, Swami Turiyananda and Ujjvala just happened to meet.

He asked her,''Ujjvala, are you deep or shallow?

Do you live and die in words, or do you live and die in principles?''

Before she could think of an answer, he added:

''In matter of opinion, swim with the current.

In matters of principle, stand firm as a rock.''

Ujjvala later commented: ''That was all, but he had given me in a moment guidance for a lifetime.''

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Swami Turiyananda - Words of Wisdom

What was the nature of the spiritual experiences that held Rama Krishna's disciples to his side?

Why is it that such strong healthy young persons never wearied of him?

In answer to these questions Swami Turiyananda answered:

''Rama Krishna showed us the Face of the Eternal.

After that we stayed on with him hoping that through his compassion and by training, we would see him again.

Once a disciple always a disciple.

Think of the possibility of being thrown in Samadhi - a thing for which men toil for a hundred incarnations and by a single touch of his finger or foot!

How could we leave his side, we who were so greedy like all youth to taste Bliss Absolute again and again.

He enabled us to stare into the Eyes of God at least once; that naturally blinded us to this world.

We see nothing here, and whatever we do see is filled with the brimming Light of Tat (That).

No matter what we see or feel, it says, 'You are He, you are He - Tat Tam Asi.'

That is what Rama Krishna did to us.

After such an event we were tethered to him as the bird is to the sky - it may go very far in many directions, yet it will remain under the many-branched sky.''

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Swami Turiyananda - The Master

Swami Turiyananda ( January 3, 1863 - July 21st, 1922 )

Swami Turiyananda was a great Saint and Yogi.

His family name was Harinath Chattopadhyaya.

He lost his parents when he was twelve years old and was brought up by his elder brother. From an early age his deep spiritual inclination was clearly evident.

His father, who was one of the ablest Sanskrit Scholars of his time, trained the boy in Vedanta and Yoga.

Even as a young man he would amaze groups of Pundits who came to consult him, not only by the accuracy of his quotations but also with the ravishing clarity of his interpretation.

Whether it was the Upanishads or the Yoga texts whenever they failed to understand anything they went to Rama Krishna for elucidation.

Swami Turiyananda spoke very little, but when he gave his opinion it was in no uncertain terms.

Harinath met Sri Rama Krishna at Bagbazar when he was around 13-14 and became an intimate friend and fellow disciple of Narendra Nath ( Swami Vivekananda).

Within several years of his first visit to Rama Krishna, Turiyananada took the begging bowl and became a novice Brahmachari and soon later was given Sannyas, Initiation into the ancient Monastic Order by Rama Krishna and was given the name Turiyananda, which superceded his previous family name.

After the demise of his Master he took an oath of renounciation with his brother disciples at Baranagore Math and for 12 years roamed the various places of pilgrimage all over India.

In 1899, when Swami Vivekananda started for America for the second time, he persuaded Swami Turiyananda to accompany him for the work he was doing in America.
They reached New York via England during the end of August 1899.

Swami Turiyananda worked first at the Vedanta Society of New York and then took up additional work at Mont Clair.

He travelled extensively in America along with Swami Vivekananda teaching Vedanta.

Swami Vivekananda had a great admiration for his brother disciple. In San Francisco, Swami once, in his characteristic way of presenting a point of view in the most emphatic and impressive manner, even belittling himself, told the students of Vedanta, ''I have only talked, but I shall send you one of my brethren who will show you how to live what I taught.''

The high expectation of the students of Vedanta on hearing Swamiji's words was more than fulfilled when they came in contact with Swami Turiyananda.

At times fiery exhortation came from Swami Turiyananda to the students to make God-Realization the only aim in life. ''Clench your fists and say - I will conquer! Now or never - make that your motto, even in this life I must see God. That is the only way. Never postpone. What you know to be right, do that and do that at once! Do not let any chance go by. The way to failure is paved with good intentions. That will not do. Remember, this life is for the strong, the persevering; the weak go to the wall. And always be on your guard. Never give in.''

He returned to India in 1902.

He spent much of his time in austerity and in training the younger generation of monks.

After being involved in setting up the Rama Krishna Mission Ashrama at Almora, he spent his last days at Varanasi before his demise on 21st July, 1922.

Swami Turiyananda was a Master of the senses. Once sat down to Meditate, external troubles could not reach the inner sanctuaries of his consciousness.

He had a wonderful capacity to dissociate his mind from the body, and had many times undergone operations, without the neccessity of any chloroform.

He had an extraordinary fortitude as well as a living faith on God. Once when he had an eye-complaint, nitric acid was applied to one of his eyes by mistake. When the mistake was found out and everybody got alarmed, he simply smiled and said, ''It is the Will of the Mother. '' Fortunately the eye could be saved.

He had a great heart. He felt for the masses of India and encouraged all forms of philanthropic activities.

He greatly eulogized the Seva work as inaugurated by Swami Vivekananda.

Whatever Swami Turiyananda would do he would, he would apply the whole strength of his soul to it. One found him always sitting erect - even in his illness, even while on a easy chair! This simple physical characteristic represented, as it were, his mental attitude.

He was unbending in not allowing Maya to catch him. He was a man of great spiritual intensity.

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Describing the Indescribable !

The disciples of Rama Krishna (19th century Indian Saint) often asked him to describe the indescribable.

''God-Consciousness cannot be explained through words. Only experience, not phrases, can reveal to you the full magnitude of the Infinite'' The Master would reply.

Despite his reluctance to describe God-consciousness many of his disciples would press him to describe his own personal experiences of Samadhi. Rama krishna once answered, '' I cannot see why I should explain it to you whom I have trained and helped to attain that experience. If it can be put into words why do you not do it?''

''But, my Lord,'' the disciples said, ''we cannot live in it as long as you can. You who have stayed in Samadhi for six or seven days at a time are the one to explain it. In the presence of Silence how dare we speak?''

But Rama Krishna only smiled at their bare-faced compliment.

There is a story that at one time some friends of Rama Krishna urged him to explain Samadhi. They said: ''If you say something about it you prove everything. Give us a definition of Samadhi, and that will give us a definition og God.''

But the wary Master replied, ''And if I give you a definition of God, what will you do with it? Oh, I know what you will eventually do; you will make a creed of it in order to found a new religion in my name. I did not come to Earth to start another cult. Oh, no!''

Another time, when pressed into describing the Indescribable state of God-Realization Rama Krishna instantly passed into Samadhi.

His breathing stopped.

His heart ceased working.

And his pulse beat no more.

Were it not for the even temperature of his body there was no way of distinguishing him from a corpse.

Of course there was nothing alarming about it; his disciples had seen him in that state very often, days at a time!

At last when he came out of Samadhi he resumed his discourse:

''Oh, my sons, I try to explain it to you. But the experience is so great words cannot render it. You must plunge yourself into the waters of that experience. For there is no other way of fathoming it. Your mind and intellect, swift though they are, cannot overtake the lightning-steed of God-Consciousness. Those two only raise the dust of words in which they get lost.''

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