Sant Darshan

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The head office of the world famous Divya Yog Mandir Trust is located in Kripalu Bagh Ashram in Kankhal. Kripalu Bagh Ashram was founded by Kripalu Dev Maharaj in 1932, who originally be- longed to the brave land of Mewar (Rajasthan). His name prior to his initiation to Sannyas was Yati Kishore Chandra. During the Freedom Movement, Yati Kishore Chandra played a successful role of a constructive revolutionary. He had intimate and affectionate relations with Swami Shraddhanandaji, founder of the Gurukul Kangri University. Later, he came in close contact with Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Madan Mohan Malviya, Motilal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Chittaranjan Das, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, V J Patel, Hakim Azmal Khan among others.

Yati Kishore Chandra associated himself with the Bengal Revolutionaries and undertook the hazardous task of publishing their newspapers 'Yugantar' and 'Lokantar' in North India. The Bengal Revolutionary Party was responsible for the Delhi Bomb blasts, master-minded by Ras Behari Bose. The British Government had announced a reward of three lakh rupees for any clues about Ras Behari Bose. Yati Kishore Chandra sheltered him in his ashram in the jungle. Having led the life of a freedom fighter and a revolutionary, Yati Kishore Chandra developed an intense interest in spirituality and became an accomplished Yogi. In 1968, he bid farewell to the world.

His disciples have undertaken the management of Kripalu Dev Ashram Bagh the holy place of revolution, Yog and spirituality with devotion and dedication. Shri Swami Shankar Dev is one link in the same chain whose disciple is Swami Ramdevji Maharaj who has illuminated the ashram with the divine light of Yog, Ayurved and Vedic culture and spread its glory in the whole world.

The life sketch of such an austere saint will definitely prove to be a great help in inspiring the common Indians towards spirituality and awakening a new consciousness in them.

Swami Ramdevji's centre of activity, Kripalu Bagh Ashram, Kankhal was established in 1932 by his guru, Swami Kripalu Devji - who was the divine light and saint luminary of his times. The multi-faceted activities of this ashram are reflective of the multi-dimensional personality of Swami Kripalu Devji. He was a detached ascetic and a spiritualist. However, he had great love for the country, religion and culture. He was deeply devoted to the Ganga river, and the Geeta (the religious book of Hindus) and the cow. His life had been devoted to God from the time of his birth. He delved deep into the spirit to discover the mysteries of life. He was a very bold and daring person who enjoyed playing with dangers. His life was full of miracles. His life was elevated from the desires for son, wealth and fame. He never tried to propagate himself. He was devoted to yog practice and at the same time worked actively to open schools, a library and reading room. He published a journal 'Vishwa Gyan Patrika' as well. He wrote poetry and prose. He fought for the protection of the cow and against communalism. His contributions to the freedom struggle are valuable. His life is not only excitingly adventurous but also very inspiring.

About 65 years ago, his devoted disciple Pt Shyamji Parashar wrote his biography in Hindi on his illustrious life (in majestic year 1996) as the 8th flower to Mother Shiv Devi Smarak and published it on behalf of Rashtriya Nirrnan Granth Mala, Karol Bagh, New Delhi in March 1940. The first edition of two thousand copies was distributed on the spot. Evidently, his followers were in thousands. Only one copy of this rare and valuable book was available with Swamiji's disciple and the current manager of the ashram, Swami Shankar Devji. However, when Divya Yog Trust wanted to get it published it had disappeared mysteriously. They searched for this book in various libraries in Hardwar in vain. Dr Surendra Singh Kadiyan, the Managing Editor of 'Yog Sandesh' who was pursuing the matter actively, looked for a copy of the book in many libraries of Hardwar but could not find one. Then one day in the ashram he accidentally met an old disciple of Swami Kripalu Devji - Lehrilal Paliwal, Mahavir Colony, Badh Village, Bedla Road, Udaipur who possessed a copy of the book. He lent the book and Diamond Pocket Books began working on it by getting the matter typed on the computer. When the proofs of the book were being seen the manuscript got misplaced by whose fault, no one knows. But, since some pages were torn and a few chapters were incomplete its publication got delayed. When Dr Surendra Singh Kadiyan spoke about his problem to Acharya Satyanand Naishtik he said that he had a copy of the book in his collection. Finally, with the help of Satyanandji Naishtik the book reached the stage of publication. Therefore, he deserves our special gratitude. Shri Lehrulal Paliwal undoubtedly deserves our sincere gratitude.

With the grace of God, we are happy to present the English edition of this book to the readers despite the various obstacles. We are grateful to Divya Yog Mandir Trust for their cooperation. Divya Yog Mandir Trust is carrying on the work started by Swami Kripalu Devji not only in India but the whole world. By making the Ayurvedic stream of medicine popular, Divya Yog Mandir is teaching the importance of indigenous treasures to the Indians. While Swami Kripalu Devji fought for the freedom of the country, Divya Yog Mandir Trust is fighting with the multi-na- tional companies for the cultural and economic freedom of India. There is no doubt that we will be successful in this holy war because our struggle has begun from the holy land of Saint Kripalu Devji Maharaj from which we derive constant inspiration and spiritual strength.

This book has changed the perspectives of thousands of people, of which the disciple tradition of Swami Kripalu Devji Maharaj is a living testimony. Swami Shyamji Parashar was a prolific writer, and he wrote this biography with devotion in the presence of Swami Kripalu Devji. The readers will find a pleasant mix of prayer, devotion, yog, sadhna, spirituality, patriotism, social service, religion, culture and humanity in it. On behalf of Divya Yog Mandir Trust I am deeply grateful to all the people who have made it possible to bring out this English edition of the book and hope that it will once again touch the heights of its popularity and inspire readers.

Saints are the glory of the nation and the lives of saints are the immortal treasures of the nation. The lives of saints are like light houses that show the way to wayward travelers. Whenever life has become miserable for the multitudes, whenever atrocities have crossed all limits of tolerance, saints appear to find solutions, to provide the healing touch and to allay their suffering. For as long as the sun and moon illuminate the universe the holy Ganga will adorn the neck of this our motherland, India. For as long as the great guardian Himalaya unfurls the glorious flag on the highest peaks of Kanchanjunga and so long as Varuna Dev (the god of waters) washes the feet of Mother India who can forget the great sages of Indian history - Vishwamitra, Parshuram, Buddha, Shankar, Mahavir, Gyaneshwar, Guru Ramdas, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Guru Gobind Singh, Rishi Dayanand and Mahatma Gandhi?

Saints are the foundation of Vedic culture. When, in the last millennium, India was reeling under the consecutive invasions of Ghazni, Nadir Shah and Gauri Shah, it tolerated everything with the belief that the promise made by the Lord will be fulfilled:

A handful of saints have come and changed the picture from time to time. If we are desirous of awakening the spirit of the nation, if we want to eradicate poverty, slavery, and ignorance from the world and if we want our future and the future of our children to be bright, we must study the lives of these saints and learn from them.

I am presenting the eighth flower in the series of national reconstruction. I hope that it will be received as warmly as my previous books, Bharat Sandesh, Jawahar Digvijay Bharat me in Swarg etc. (all in Hindi).

In this book I have written the life sketch of a mahatma, a great man. I met him for the first time two years ago in the Kumbha Mela. He had organized the Hindu-Navjeevan Conference presided by Shree Khushal Chand Khursand (Mahatma Anand Swami), which was the result of this great man's untiring efforts. I had heard a lot about him from my dear friends and got an opportunity to spend some days with him. That was when I got the idea to present his life story in the Rashtra Nirman Granth Mala to inspire the youth of the country, which will do a lot of good to the country and the community. It was with this hope that I got the courage to get this book published.

Readers will find an image of selfless service in every action of the hero of this book. Readers will find the life force that he longed to attain spread all over Sant Darshan and will feel blessed. It is an attempt to catch the spirit of detached action and pure devotion of Swami Kripalu Devji. He combined in himself the devotion of Prahlad, the determination of Dhruva, the fearlessness of Balbir Shakuntal, the courage of Rama, the ethics of Krishna, the renunciation of Buddha, the austerities of Mahavir, the wisdom of Shankar, the tolerance of Guru Nanak Dev, the bravery of Sarnrath Guru Ramdas, the self confidence of Vairagi, the celibacy of Rishi Dayanand, the patriotism of Rana Pratap, the spirit of sacrifice of Guru Gobind Singh, the popularity of Jawahar and the innocence of a rustic saint in his multi-dimensional personality. Readers will find hope and courage to deal with erstwhile hopeless situations in life.

I am grateful to the publishers for bringing out this book in spite of the economic crisis after the Second World War. I have not left any stone unturned in doing my duty. However, if there is any shortcoming in the book, I hope the readers will pardon me for it.