THE PERIOD OF 1893 TO 1920

Sri Ramakrishna, Dakshineshwar, Bengal

Sri Ramana Maharishi, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu

Swami Vivekananda, Calcutta, Bengal

Lahiri Mahasaya, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Sri Kanakananda, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal

Shri Dada of Aligarth.

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The Masters of the first period of Modern Yoga, Sri Ramakrishna, and his disciple Swami Vivekananda, and others like Ramana Maharishi were very much in the Vedantic, Advaitic tradition of Adi Shankara. They did not put much emphasis on Asana, Pranayama or other Yogic practices. Vichara or inquiry, especially using the Upanishadic device, “Koham” – “Who Am I?” was heavily favoured by Ramana Maharishi, the Sage of Arunachala. Ramakrishna was a Bhakti – drenched devotee of Devi, an eclectic who claimed to have practised the “methods of all religions”. Swami Vivekananda was a powerful intellectual, unlike his nearly illiterate Guru. Vivekananda was a writer, orator and charismatic leader, who advocated Karma Yoga, selfless service, along with Manasa, Vichara and Dhyana. Out of the combination of these two great souls, has risen the powerful social force of the Ramakrishna Mission. Lahiri Mahasaya was a Bengali mystic, who was the Guru of Yukteshwar, the Guru of Swami Yogananda. Lahiri Mahasaya was the brother disciple of Ram Gopal Mujumdhar, who later became known as Swami Kanakananda.

In this Bengali Tantric tradition, followed by Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Yukteshwar, Swami Kanakananda and later, Swami Yogananda and Swami Gitananda, certain esoteric practices of Kundalini arousal were emphasized, which also included certain Asanas and Pranayama. Swami Yogananda went to the U.S.A. and founded the Self Realisation Society. He was one of the major forces bringing Yogic awareness to a widely popular level. His classic book the Autobiography of a Yogi has arguably introduced more English speaking people to the concepts of Yoga than any other book in the 20th Century, so wide was its appeal. Swami Yukteshwar was not so well known, and his fame is due primarily as that of the Guru of Swami Yogananda. Swami Kanakananda was custodian of a great body of Bengali Tantric teachings. His encounter with Swami Yogananda is described in the book Autobiography of a Yogi. Though widely known for his Siddhis (Vak Siddhi) and the ability to go without sleep, which earned him the epithet of the “Sleepless Saint”. Swami Kanakananda, like Swami Yukteshwar, later become known world wide as the Guru of his famous disciple Dr Swami Gitananda. Swami Kanakananda was also a master of an intricate system of Hatha Yoga Asanas, Kriyas, Mudras, Pranayamas and an elaborate system of Chakric concentration – meditation formulas. He was also an expert in Yantra, the Science of Number, Name and Form.