Swamiji Sri Yukteswar
Swami Sri Yukteswar, Yogananda’s guru, was born on May 10, 1855, at Serampore in Bengal, India. He was a direct disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya and is considered to have attained the spiritual stature of an incarnation of wisdom. Very interested in the synthesis of the Eastern and Western traditions, Sri Yukteswar believed that such a synthesis could alleviate much suffering in the world. When he had a life-changing encounter with Mahavatar Babaji in 1894, Babaji asked, “At my request, will you not write a short book on the underlying harmony between Christian and Hindu scriptures? Their basic unity is now obscured by men’s sectarian differences. Show by parallel references that the inspired sons of God have spoken the same truths.” A short time later, Sri Yukteswar wrote The Holy Science, showing that the teachings of Jesus are totally aligned with the truths proclaimed in the Vedas. Babaji also told Sri Yukteswar, “You, Swamiji, have a part to play in the coming harmonious exchange between Orient and Occident. Some years hence I shall send you a disciple whom you can train for yoga dissemination in the West. The vibrations of many spiritually seeking souls come floodlike to me. I perceive potential saints in America and Europe, waiting to be awakened.” Paramahansa Yogananda was that disciple to whom Babaji referred. At their first meeting Sri Yukteswar told Yogananda, “My son, you are the disciple that, years ago, Babaji promised to send me.” Swami Sri Yukteswar perfectly prepared Yogananda for his mission to the West. He left his body on March 9, 1936, while Yogananda was visiting India.
Swamiji Sri Yukteswar,
You poured every bit of
Your love, wisdom, and discipline
Into Yogananda
So that he could become our master.
We bow to you.
