Swarupanand

Not to be confused with Swarupananda.
Swarupanand Ji

Portrait of Swarupanand Ji
Born 1 February 1884
Teri, Pakistan
Died 9 April 1936(1936-04-09) (aged 52)
Raipur Nangli, Muzaffarnagar
Website www.nanglisahib.com
www.nanglitirath.com

Beli Ram, Sri Swami Swarupanand ji Maharaj (1 February 1884 – 9 April 1936), was an Indian guru of the Advait Mat lineage. He was also known as "Second Master", as "Param Sant Ji" or "Second Guru", as Sri Nangli Sahib, and as Swami Shri Nangli Niwasi Bhagwaan Ji.[1]

Born in village Teri in Kohat district, India (now in Pakistan), the young Beli Ram was initiated into the sanyasas in the early 1900s in Teri by Advaitanand Ji, who named him Swarupanand Ji. During Advaitanand's life, Swarupanand created an order of sannyasins (or renunciates) in northern India and founded several centers with the purpose of disseminating his master's teachings.[2]

In 1935, he moved from Punjab to Delhi. He died a year later on 9 April 1936 in the village of Nangli, near Meerut.[3] At the time of his death, Swarupanand had ten thousand followers and more than three hundred ashrams in northern India. One of his disciples was Hans Ji Maharaj, who went on to establish the Divine Light Mission.[4] There were reported indications made by Swarupanand about Hans Ji Maharaj being his successor that were later contested by a group of mahatmas that did not appreciate that Hans Ji was married, making him a "householder", a status that in their views as renunciates was not acceptable.[5] According to another account, Swarupanand was succeeded by Shri Swami Vairagya Anand Ji Maharaj, also known as the "third master".[6] His another disciple "Shri Swami Ramanand Satyarthi Ji Maharaj" went on to establish "Paramhans Satyarthi Mission ".[7] Under the guidance of Shri. Nangli Niwasi Bhagwan ji (Shri Shri 1008 Swami Swarupanand ji Maharaj), he attained supreme Self-Realization and vowed to publicize the knowledge of " Satya" for the welfare of humankind.

Swarupanand Ji is sometimes confused with Anand Swarup of the Radha Soami lineage.

A faqir has no particular religion: he is common to all. Wherever I go there will be no dearth of devotees, as I belong to all, and all belong to me.[8]

References

  1. Pur, Anand, Paramhansa Advait Mat: A life sketch of the Illustrious Master of the Mat (1975), p. 145–46, Shri Anandpur Trust
  2. Sri Swami Sar Shabdanand Ji, Shri Swarup Darshan (1998), pp. 17–59. New Delhi: Sar Shabd Mission.
  3. Vaudeville, Charlotte. Sant Mat: Studies in a Devotional Tradition in India in Schomer, K. and McLeod, W. ISBN 0-9612208-0-5
  4. Melton, J. Gordon, Bauman, Martin. Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices (2002), p. 427, ISBN 1-57607-223-1
  5. Geaves, Ron. From Totapuri to Maharaji: Reflections on a Lineage (Parampara), (2002) Paper presented at the 27th Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions, Oxford. March 2002.
  6. Pur, Anand, Paramhansa Advait Mat: A life sketch of the Illustrious Master of the Mat (1975), Shri Anandpur Trust (originally published in Hindi, date unknown)
  7. http://www.paramhanssatyarthimission.com/page.php?cat=12
  8. Shri Swarup Darshan Ibid. pp. 23–24
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 21, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.