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Trailanga Swami (also Tailang Swami, Telang Swami) (reportedly 27 November 1607– 26 December 1887), whose monastic name was Swami Ganapati Saraswati, was a
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
and mystic famed for his spiritual powers who lived in
Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...
,
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 is a legendary figure in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, with stories told of his yogic powers and longevity. According to some accounts, Trailanga Swami lived to be 280 years old, residing at Varanasi between 1737 and 1887. He is regarded by devotees as an incarnation of
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
. Sri Ramakrishna referred to him as "The walking Shiva of Varanasi".


Early life

Trailanga Swami was born in Kumbilapuram (now known as
Kumili Kumili is a historical village and panchayat in PusapatiregaPusapatirega Poosapatirega is a village in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of a ...
) at Vijayanagaram District in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, with the name of Shivarama. According to his disciple biographer, Shivarama was born in 1607 CE, corresponding to year 1529 of the
Shaka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of India as well as in SE Asia. Hist ...
. His biography has been written by Biruduraju Ramaraju as one volume of his six volume project ''
Āndhra yōgulu Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a States and union territories of India, state in the south-eastern Coastal India, coastal region of India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state by area covering ...
''. Shivarama's parents, Narasimha Rao and Vidyavati Devi, who were devotees of
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
. After the death of his father in 1647, at the age of 40, he gave up wealth and family responsibilities to his half brother Sridhar. His mother then shared with him the fact that her father at the time of death expressed desire to be born to her and continue his
Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
sadhana for the benefit of mankind. She told Shivarama that she believed that he was her father (his own grandfather) reincarnated and that he should take up Kali sadhana. Upon the initiation of a Kali
mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...
from his mother, Shivarama carried out Kali sadhana in the nearby Kali temple and Punya Kshetras, but was never far away from his mother. After his mother's death in 1669, he saved her ashes (chita bhasma). He would wear her ashes and continue his Kali sadhana day and night (teevra sadhana). During that time, Shivarama lived the life of a recluse in a cottage, built by his half-brother, near a cremation ground. After 20 years of spiritual practice ('' sadhana''), he met his preceptor swami, Bhagirathananda Saraswati, in 1679 from the
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. Bhagirathananda initiated Shivarama into monastic vows (''
sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...
'') and named him Swami Ganapati Saraswati in 1685. Ganapati reportedly led a life of severe austerities and went on a pilgrimage, reaching Prayag in 1733, before finally settling in Varanasi in 1737.


Varanasi

A member of the Dashanami order, Shivarama became known as Trailanga Swami after he settled in Varanasi, living the monastic life. Trailanga Swami had conquered the Ashta Siddhis - he is supposed to have walked on water and performed many more such extraordinary feats. In Varanasi, till his death in 1887, he lived at different places including
Assi Ghat Assi Ghat is the southernmost ghat in Varanasi. To most visitors to Varanasi, it is known for being a place where long-term foreign students, researchers, and tourists live. With hosting Subah-e-Banaras in the morning, assi ghat provides a spe ...
, the Veda-Vyasashrama at Hanuman Ghat,
Dashashwamedh Ghat Dashashwamedh Ghat is a main ghat in Varanasi on the Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh. It is located close to Vishwanath Temple and is probably the most spectacular ghat. Two Hindu legends are associated with it: according to one, Brahma created ...
. He was often found roaming the streets or the ghats, stark naked and "carefree as a child". He was reportedly seen swimming or floating on the river
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 ...
for hours. He talked very little and at times not at all. A number of people became attracted to him upon hearing of his yogic powers to ameliorate their sufferings. During his stay in Varanasi, several prominent contemporary Bengalis known as saints met and described him, including
Lokenath Brahmachari Baba Lokenath Brahmachari was a Bengalis, Bengali spiritual master and yogi, considered to be one of the most influential gurus of oriental philosophy, eastern philosophy. Early life Lokenath Ghoshal is the birth name of Baba Lokenath. He ...
, Benimadhava Brahmachari, Bhagaban Ganguly,
Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
,Gupta, chapter 7
Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introd ...
,
Mahendranath Gupta Mahendranath Gupta ( bn, মহেন্দ্রনাথ গুপ্ত) (14 July 1854 – 4 June 1932), (also famously known as শ্রীম, Master Mahashay, and M.), was a disciple of Ramakrishna (a great 19th-century Hindu mystic) and ...
,
Lahiri Mahasaya Charan Lahiri (30 September 1828 – 26 September 1895), best known as Lahiri Mahasaya, was an Indian yogi guru who founded the Kriya Yoga school. In 1861, his non-physical master Mahavatar Babaji appeared to him, ordering him to reviv ...
, and
Swami Abhedananda Swami Abhedananda (2 October 1866 – 8 September 1939), born Kaliprasad Chandra, was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. Swami Vivekananda sent him to the West to h ...
., Premananda Bhaskarananda, Vishuddhananda, and Vijaykrishna. and Sadhak
Bamakhepa Bamakhyapa ( bn, বামাখ্যাপা, Bamakhæpa, mad saint; 1837–1911Kinsely, p. 111), born Bamacharan Chattopadhyay, was an Indian Hindu saint who is held in great reverence in Tarapith and whose shrine is also located in the vi ...
. After seeing Trailanga, Ramakrishna said, "I saw that the universal Lord Himself was using his body as a vehicle for manifestation. He was in an exalted state of knowledge. There was no body-consciousness in him. Sand there became so hot in the sun that no one could set foot on it. But he lay comfortably on it." Ramakrishna also stated that Trailanga was a real ''
paramahansa Paramahamsa (Sanskrit: परमहंस, Bengali: পরমহংস, romanized: Pôromohôṅso; pronounced ɔromoɦɔŋʃo, also spelled paramahansa or paramhansa, is a Sanskrit religio-theological title of honour applied to Hindu spiritua ...
'' (lit:"Supreme swan", used as an honorific for a spiritual teacher) and that "all Benares was illuminated by his stay there." A true Raja-yogi, he practised intense Raja-yoga and Sattvic-Rajasic forms of Tantra. Trailanga had taken the vow of non-seeking (''ayachaka'')—remaining satisfied with whatever he received. In the later stage of his life, as his fame spread, crowds of pilgrims visited him. During his last days, he took up living like a python (''ajagaravritti'') in which he sat still without any movement, and devotees poured water (''
abhisheka Abhisheka () means "bathing of the divinity to whom worship is offered." It is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a God or Goddess. Abhisheka is common to Indian religions su ...
'') on him from early morning till noon, looking upon him as a living incarnation of
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
.


Death

Trailanga died on Monday evening, 26 December 1887. His body was given ''salilasamadhi'' in the Ganges, according to the funeral customs of the monks of the Dashanami sect, in the presence of mourning devotees standing on the
ghats Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...
.


Legends and stories

There are many stories told about Trailanga and his spiritual powers, such that he has become a near mythical figure in India. Robert Arnett writes that his miracles are "well documented" and "he displayed miraculous powers that cannot be dismissed as myth" and that there were living witnesses to his "amazing feats". Trailanga was believed to have lived to be around 300 years. One account said that he could "read people’s minds like books." On many occasions, Trailanga was seen to drink deadly poisons with no ill effect. In one instance, a skeptic wanted to expose him as a fraud. The monk was accustomed to breaking his long fasts with buckets of clabbered milk (buttermilk), so the skeptic brought him a bucket of calcium-lime mixture used for whitewashing walls instead. The monk drank the entire bucket with no ill effect—instead, the skeptic fell to the ground writhing in pain. The monk broke his usual silence to explain the law of
karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...
, of cause and effect. According to another story, Trailanga often walked around without any clothes, much like the naga (or "sky-clad", naked) sadhus. The Varanasi police were scandalized by his behaviour, and had him locked in a jail cell. He was soon seen on the prison roof, in all his "sky-clad" glory. The police put him back into his locked cell, only to see him appear again on the jail roof. They soon gave up, and let him again walk the streets of Varanasi. Thousands of people reportedly saw him levitating in a sitting position on the surface of the river
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 ...
for days at a time. He would also apparently disappear under the waves for long periods, and reappear unharmed.
Sivananda Saraswati Sivananda Saraswati (or Swami Sivananda; 8 September 1887 – 14 July 1963) was a yoga guru, a Hindu spiritual teacher, and a proponent of Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He stu ...
attributed some of his miracles to the ''
siddhi In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation ...
'' or yogic power ''Bhoothajaya'' – conquest over the five elements: "Fire will not burn such a Yogi. Water will not drown him." With respect to his reportedly yogic powers, miracles abound in Trailanga's biographies and exceptionally long life. Swami Medhasananda writes that according to the "science of yoga", attainment of these is not "impossible". It is also said that Trailanga is same as Kuzhandaiananda Swamigal of south India who has Samadhis at Madurai, Tenkasi and Batalagundu


Teachings

Trailanga's teachings are still extant and available in a biography by Umacharan Mukhopadhyay (1849-1900),Umacharan Mukhopadhyay (January 27, 1849 - August 12, 1900) (aka Sardar Umacharan Mukherjee) was Minister of
Dholpur State Dhaulpur State or Dholpur State, historically known as the Kingdom of Dholpur, was a kingdom of eastern Rajasthan, India, which was founded in Anno Domini, AD 1806 by a Jat ruler Rana (title), Rana Kirat Singh of Gohad State, Gohad. After 1 ...
(a kingdom in eastern Rajasthan, India) and a writer, teacher, and judge.
one of Trailanga's foremost disciples. Trailanga described bondage as "attachment to the world" and liberation as "renunciation of the world and absorption in God." He further said that after attaining the state of desirelessness, "this world is transformed into heaven" and one can be liberated from '' samsara'' (the Hindu belief that life is a cycle of birth and death) through "spiritual knowledge". According to Trailanga, that attachment to the "evanescent" world is "our chronic disease" and the medicine is "detachment". Trailanga described man's senses as his enemy and his controlled senses as his friend. His description of a poor person as one who is "very greedy" and regarded one who always remains content as rich. He said that the greatest place of pilgrimage is "Our own pure mind" and instructs people to follow the "
Vedantic ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
truth from the Guru." He described a ''
sadhu ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Th ...
'' as one who is free from attachment and delusion. One who has transcended the egoself.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links


"A Boatman's story"
in
Yoga Journal ''Yoga Journal'' is a website and digital journal, formerly a print magazine, on yoga as exercise founded in California in 1975 with the goal of combining the essence of traditional yoga with scientific understanding. It has produced live events ...
. * Tattwananda
The Saints of India
'
''The Life of Trailanga Swami'' (Bengali, full movie)
{{Authority control 1887 deaths 17th-century Hindu religious leaders 18th-century Hindu religious leaders 19th-century Hindu religious leaders Advaitin philosophers Longevity myths Hindu revivalists Indian Hindu yogis Indian Hindu monks Indian Shaivites People from Vizianagaram Scholars from Andhra Pradesh Telugu people 17th-century Indian philosophers Indian Hindu saints