Shree Swamiji
His early days and taking sanyas.
His Divinity Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, lovingly called Shree Swamiji by the devotees, was born in January 1929 on saphala ekadashi, in a religious and respectable Brahman family of Ayodhya, India. In his childhood he heard the story of Radha Krishn, Gopis and maharas and it stuck to his heart. Since then he longed for Radha Krishn and desired to go to Vrindaban where They did maharas.
At the age of twenty-one, in 1950, he renounced the world and went to Jyotirmath in the Himalayas. In 1951 he took the order of sanyas. Seeing his esteem of renunciation and deep feeling of God consciousness, in 1952, he was offered to be the successor of Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath which is one of the most renowned religious thrones of India. He very politely refused by saying, “My final desire is to go to Vrindaban. I have given my life for the service of Radha Rani, so I cannot live forever in the math.”
Shree Swamiji in Braj.
After living the strict discipline of sanyas in the Himalayas for four years, Shree Swamiji decided to go to Vrindaban in 1954 to fulfill his long awaited desire to be in the abode of Radha Rani. When he entered the woodlands of Vrindaban he felt at home, just like someone returning home after a long journey.
There is a place in Vrindaban called Seva Kunj which was almost the center of maharas where Radha Krishn and Gopis danced together. Swamiji went there and found a very small temple surrounded by dense native bushes and enclosed by a high boundary wall. It was totally secluded and no one ever stayed there in the night, but Shree Swamiji stayed three nights there without telling anyone.
Time went on. After one month, Shree Swamiji desired to go to Barsana, the abode of Radha Rani. He arrived in Barsana and climbed up the steps to Shreeji Mandir, the main Temple of Shree Radha Rani atop Barsana Hill where Radha’s palace once stood. He had had nothing to eat the whole day. After the late evening arti at 9:00 p.m., the priest of the Temple gave him some prasad to eat.
The next morning he walked around and found a small deserted temple called Maan Mandir on the other side of the Barsana hill. The temple stood on a small hillock and had only a few rooms with broken floors and no doors. Snakes and rodents lived there, but he liked the place as he could live there uninterrupted by people, focused completely on his Divine Beloved, Radha Rani.
Meeting with Shree Maharajji.
One night, another devotee who also lived in Maan Mandir, showed Swamiji a photo of Shree Maharajji and some leela songs (pads) that were written by him. Swamiji immediately decided he must go to Shree Maharajji who was in Allahabad at that time. The next morning, Makar Shankaranti day of 1955, Swamiji started for Allahabad. At that very same time, Shree Maharajji was having his breakfast. Suddenly he looked to his devotees and announced with no explanation, “Prakashanand is coming from Barsana.”
Shree Swamiji reached Allahabad late that night and met the true beloved of his soul, Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, the supreme Divine descension of this age. For six months he stayed with him like a shadow. Then, upon Shree Maharajji’s request, Swamiji went back to Barsana.
where he lived for many years.
For many years, Shree Swamiji lived in Barsana and other isolated leela places like Govardhan, Charan Pahari and Kamban. With the Grace of Shree Maharajji, scriptural secrets were naturally revealed to him during that time and Radha Rani was ever present to him. Sometimes when he read the Ras Panchadhyayi he felt that the verses of the Bhagwatam became alive for him.
Public teaching and formation of
the International Society of Divine Love.
In early 1971, with will of his supremely Gracious Spiritual Master, Shree Swamiji began to spread the teachings of raganuga bhakti (divine love consciousness) in an organized way. First he preached locally and then he made a tour of India. In 1972, it was requested that he travel to Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong he went to Singapore, Indonesia, Fiji, New Zealand, and eventually to the U.S.A. He founded the International Society of Divine Love in India in 1975, in New Zealand in 1978 and in the U.S.A. in 1981, and established ashrams in Auckland, New Zealand, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Vrindaban and Barsana, India.
Once, a devotee came to Shree Swamiji and asked his advice as to which book (in English) he should read to know more about Krishn. Shree Swamiji looked over the available books and found that none of them were philosophically correct—some even failed to accept the Divine supremacy of Krishn’s descension. Shree Swamiji then decided to expound in detail the philosophy of Radha Krishn devotion in English through books and speeches.
His vision about Barsana Dham in the U.S.A.
In 1988 Shree Swamiji revealed his desire to create Barsana Dham in the U.S.A. which could represent the glory of Shree Maharajji and be a representation of Braj where Shree Radha Rani and Shree Krishn appeared. A suitable property for the Temple and ashram was found in Austin, Texas, and the 200 acres of scenic land with a hill and a stream were bought in 1990. Shree Swamiji personally took part in every aspect of its planning, design and construction.
Shree Swamiji’s gift to all devotees.
Always humble, Shree Swamiji says that he has only the love of his soul beloved Shree Kripaluji Maharaj in his heart, and only that he could give to anyone who comes to him. He has great affection for all devotees and he cares for them very much.
When Shree Swamiji speaks, his teachings go deep into the heart, and the warmth of his love develops a desire in the listener’s heart to meet Shree Maharajji and Radha Krishn, the supreme Divine beloved of every soul. He can expound upon any spiritual topic with such a clarity it is as if he is describing a visual account. His scriptural understanding is unequalled and his books are unique examples of his exceeding knowledge related to the science of the material and the Divine dimensions. The warmth of Shree Swamiji’s love melts the hearts of those who listen to him and drawing close to him opens the path to God.
