Swami Vivekanand

Swami Vivekananda was born as Narendranath Dutta in Calcutta, the capital of British India, on 12 January 1863 during the Makar Sankranti festival. His father was Viswanatha Dutta and his mother was Bhubaneshwari. According to traditional accounts, Bhuvaneswari Devi had a dream in which Shiva said that he would be born as her son. Bhuvaneswari Devi accepted the child as a boon from Shiva and named him Vireswara, meaning "powerful god" in Bengali....

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Swami Dayanand Saraswati

Swami Dayanand Saraswati's original name was Mool Shankar Tiwari. He was born in 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat in a rich family of Brahmins. As a child Dayanand was brought up under the strictest Brahmin rule, and at the age of eight was invested with the Sacred Thread (Upanayna). When he was fourteen his father took him to the temple on the occasion of Shivaratri. Dayanand had to fast and keep awake the whole night in obedience to Lord Shiva. In the...

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Swami Ramtirtha

Swami Rama Tirtha, previously known as Gossain Tirtha Rama, was born in 1873, at Murariwala, a village in the district of Gujranwala, Punjab, India. His mother passed away when he was but a few days old and he was brought up by his elder brother, Gossain Gurudas. As a child, Rama was very fond of listening to recitations from the holy scriptures and attending Kathas. He often put questions to holy men and even offered explanations....

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Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born in West Bengal, India in 1486. Although he was also known as a scholar, he is chiefly remembered for having revitalized the bhakti movement (path of love) in India by gathering thousands of devotees together to play musical instruments and chant the names of Krishna. He is also said to have defeated Buddhist scholars by the strength of his arguments. Mahaprabhu died at the age of forty-eight. He left eight...

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Ram Krishna Pramhansa

Sri Ramakrishna, who was born in 1836 and passed away in 1886, represents the very core of the spiritual realizations of the seers and sages of India. His whole life was literally an uninterrupted contemplation of God. He reached a depth of God-consciousness that transcends all time and place and has a universal appeal. Seekers of God of all religions feel irresistibly drawn to his life and teachings. Sri Ramakrishna,...

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Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj

Swami Sri Lilashahji Maharaj  Guru of Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu and Sant Sri ManohardasJi Maharaj (Ajmer). He practiced celibacy throughout his life. Swami Lilashahji was born in Hyderabad, Sindh in March 1880. His father's name was Topandas and his mother's name was Hemibai. Swami's birth name was Lilaram. At the age of ten, his parents died; he was subsequently raised by Lakhumal. Swamiji was religious during his childhood. He refused to...

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Trailanga Swami

Mahatma Trailang Swami incarnated on this earth on the Ekadashi of bright fortnight of the month of Pausha, in the year 1607, at Holiya village of Vijana in South India. His father, Nrisinhadhara, was the landlord of the village and his mother Vidyyavati was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. Before birth of Swamiji, his mother would often have dreams of Lord Shiva. At the name givimg ceremony, his mother named the child Shivaram while his father,...

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