Swami Vishnu Tirtha (1888–1969), also known as Munilal Swami, was a sanyas, writer, and

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

with a prominent place in the

Shaktipat Shaktipat or Śaktipāta (Sanskrit, from ''shakti'' "(psychic) energy" and ''pāta'', "to fall")''Abhinavagupta : the Kula ritual, as elaborated in chapter 29 of the Tantrāloka'', John R. Dupuche, 2003, page 155 refers in Hinduism to the transmi ...

tradition of

Siddhayoga The Tirtha lineage of Siddhayoga is a mystical sect of Shaivite Hinduismemphasizing the significance of direct encounters with life-force or kundalini shakti, and understanding of the ''Shastras''. It places utmost importance on the guru-disci ...

. He was born on 15 October 1888 in

Jhajjar Jhajjar is a town in Jhajjar district in the Indian state of Haryana. The city is situated on the road connecting Rewari to Rohtak (NH-352), Loharu to Meerut (NH334B), Charkhi Dadri to Delhi and Gurgaon to Bhiwani. Jhajjar is located west o ...

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He stayed with an uncle while obtaining an undergraduate degree, then married and was employed as a teacher in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh while he obtained a postgraduate degree and a baccalaureate in law from Aligarh Muslim University. He then practised as a lawyer in the Ghaziabad District of

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

where his assistant was Late

Chaudhary Charan Singh Chaudhary Charan Singh (23 December 1902 – 29 May 1987) served as the 5th Prime Minister of India between 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. Historians and people alike frequently refer to him as the 'champion of India's peasants.' Charan S ...

the former Prime Minister of India. Munilal and his wife raised a son and daughter. Though Munilal experienced various advanced kriyas since childhood, he was guided to subtle sadhanas by a Bengali saint who lived at Delhi's famous Kalkaji temple. The great yogi seer Baba SitaRam Das Onkarnath asked him in Ayodhya to take studies in Sanskrit to fulfill his life's mission. He was introduced to Swami Yoganand by a High Court Judge and was able to reach to him in Rishikesh after several correspondences. It was at the Swarg Ashram in Rishikesh he received

initiation fro
Yogananda Maharaj
in 1933. After travels to many holy places around Badrinath and Kedarnath, in 1939 Munilal expressed a desire for initiation as a renunciate ( sannyasin). Yogananda directed him to

Swami Shankar Purushottam Tirtha Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...

in Banaras, who initiated him at the Mohan Ashram,

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the ri ...

near the bank of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. His name then became Swami Vishnu Tirtha. At the direction of Yogananda, he proceeded toward

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

and finally settled in

Dewas Dewas is a city in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The municipality was formerly the seat of two 15-Gun Salute state princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the Pua ...

where he laid the foundation for the Narayan Kuti Sanyas Ashram. Swami Vishnu Tirtha was a towering personality and great adept in Siddh Yoga traditions of India. He initiated many spiritual aspirants into the system of

(descent of energy) and wrote a number of books. His commentary on "Saundarya Lahiri" of Adi Shankaracharya is unique and was lauded by great proponents such as MahaMahopadhyaay Gopinath Kaviraj. His most memorable work in English is ''Devatma Shakti'', a study of the ''Divine Power'' (

Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...

) and the science of Shaktipat, based on traditions recorded in ancient scriptures supplemented by direct experiences. In the book, ''Devatma Shakti (Kundalini)'', Vishnu Tirtha observed: "We have pointed out repeatedly that no real progress in spirituality is possible unless an aspirant gets his kundalini power awakened, and it has also been pointed out that the easiest way of awakening that power is through initiation by shaktipat by a spiritual master."Swami Vishnu Tirtha, Devatma Shakti (Kundalini) Divine Power, Chapter "Secret of Upasana (Worship)" (Delhi, India, Swami Shivom Tirtha, 1993), p. 129. Vishnu Tirtha had a profound love for the Ganges River and always used to spent few months each year at Yog Shri Peeth Ashram in Rishikesh. The land for the Ashram was gifted by his guru Swami Yoganand. His disciple

Swami Shivom Tirtha Swami Shivom Tirth Maharaj (15 January 1924–2008) was a noted guru of the Tirtha lineage of Siddha Yoga. Born in a small village in Punjabi Gujarat in present-day Pakistan, his name before he entered the life of renunciation ''(sannyas)'' was ...

and others carried out the construction of the centre in 1965. He left his body in 1969. Vishnu Tirtha’s mountain like personality can be understood from Churning of the Heart (Parts I, II, III) and "Sadhan Shikhar" written by his disciple Swami ShivOm Tirtha. Here a Guru is sculpting a disciple from a human being. One of his Guru Bandhus (disciple of same Guru) Devendraji Vigyani Maharaj described him as a person without any hint of sin.

Bibliography

*Devatma Shakti (Kundalini) Divine Power - (in English) Dec. 1948, Yoga Shri Peeth Trust, India. *Adhyatma Vikas *Atma Prabodh *Geetatatwamrit *Prana Tattva *Prityabhigyahridyam (commentary) *Sadhana Sanket *Saundya Lahiri (commentary) *Shaktipat *Shiva Sutra Prabodhini *Upanishadvani

References

External links

Official website - Shri Narayan Kuti Sanyas Ashram - Dewas

Swami Vishnu Tirthji Maharaj - Collection of Rare Photos

Gurus of the Tirth Lineage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vishnu Tirtha, Swami 1969 deaths Indian yoga teachers Indian Shaivite religious leaders People from Jhajjar People from Dewas 1888 births

Bibliography

See also

References

External links