About the Author
Paramahamsa Prajnanananda is the current spiritual leader of the Kriya Yoga international organizations. These organizations were founded by his master, Paramahamsa Hariharananda, who spread the teachings of Kriya Yoga all over the world. Paramahamsa Hariharananda was Swami Shriyukteshwar and Paramahamsa Yogananda's most outstanding direct disciple, one of the greatest realized Kriya Yoga masters in the lineage of Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj and Shri Lahiri Mahashaya.
Born in Odisha, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda was raised in a profound spiritual environment that inspired his search for Truth. He received his higher education in Cuttack and became a professor of economics there. In 1980, while still a student, he met Paramahamsa Hariharananda, who initiated him into Kriya Yoga, then fifteen years later, into the sacred path of sannyasa. After only three years, at the early age of 39, his master conferred upon him the highest title of Paramahamsa, a designation reserved for monks and saints who have attained the summit of realization.
Enriched by his own direct experience, fathomless wisdom, and deep love for humanity, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda guides and inspires spiritual seekers, a living example of how to fulfill one's infinite potential. In addition to running the main ashrams in Puri. Cuttack, Vienna, and Miami, Prajnananandaji spreads spiritual knowledge and the ancient science of Kriya Yoga by holding seminars and retreats all over the world. Prajnana Mission, founded by Paramahamsa Prajnanananda, provides service to humanity with free medical assistance units and centers, residential schools for the poor, and many other charitable and educational activities.
Author of many books on the science of yoga, practical guidelines to the application of the wisdom of Vedantic philosophy, and insightful metaphorical commentaries on the major holy scriptures and world religions, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda binds and bridges Eastern and Western cultures with a harmonious, fresh, and non-sectarian approach.
Introduction
Shri Hanuman Chalisa is a prayer or hymn dedicated to Lord Hanuman written in Hindi. It is a small work by Goswami Tulasi Das that is extremely popular among devotees. They chant it with love and devotion to invoke Lord Hanuman's grace.
Some saints believe that Shri Hanuman Chalisa was written by Shri Tulasi Das when he was a student in Kashi under the guidance of Shri Sesha Sanatana. It was in a gurukulam, a traditional school where the guru-preceptor and the students lived together. A brahma rakshasa (a brahmin who becomes a ghost after death) lived on the school premises. He was a terror for many: however, little Tulasi was not affected by him. One day the brahma rakshasa appeared near Tulasi and asked the secret of his fearlessness. Smiling, Tulasi said without any fear, "My beloved Gurudev provided a mantra that makes me fearless." When the brahma rakshasa asked him, "What is it?" the innocent Tulasi said, "It is the mantra of Lord Hanuman." The brahma rakshasa blessed him. It is believed that after this incident he wrote the Shri Hanuman Chalisa and made his friends sing with him.
Shri Tulasi Das was accepted by the people for his writings. His devotion to Lord Rama was as firm as a thunderbolt. However, some scholars were critical of him because he wrote in the common vernacular rather than in Sanskrit. Even though he was a Sanskrit scholar, he preferred to write in Hindi and even in a dialect such as Avadhi because of the instructions from Lord Shiva.
One day while Shri Tulasi Das was walking on the street chanting the name of Lord Rama, a young married woman bowed at his feet. He blessed her to enjoy the loving company of her husband throughout her life. She had tears in her eyes, and the others with her were dumbfounded. When Shri Tulasi Das eagerly looked at her to know what was the cause of her tears, he was told that on that same morning her husband had left his body, and she had decided to join him by becoming a sati, sacrificing her life on her husband's pyre.
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