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Sri Mohanananda Brahmachari Maharaj, almost universally addressed as Maharaj, was a major spiritual force in India and abroad for over six decades from 1937 till 1999.
He took birth on 17 December 1904 in the town of Midnapore in Bengal province. His parents, a devout Brahmin couple, Binayani Devi and Hemachandra Bandopadhaya were devotees and disciples of Sri Balananda Brahmachari, a great saint who had taken up residence in the temple town of Deoghar in Bihar province. Sri Manamohan, as he was then named, passed his Entrance Examination in 1920 from Dhanbad English High School. Thereafter, he joined the Scottish Church College in Calcutta for his graduate studies and stayed in the Ogilvie Hostel. His classmates later remembered him for his pleasant yet indrawn personality, and for his touch of artistic sophistication which he brought to every task. Later on, it became apparent that Sri Manamohan had developed a great attraction for the divine life during this time and had begun practicing various austerities as well as studying several religious thought leaders such as Swami Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo. He had also collected detailed information about the religious practices followed at Deoghar Ashram from his family. Finally, he left the hostel on September 9, 1921 and travelled to the Deoghar ashram of Sri Balananda Brahmachari.
Over the next three weeks, Sri Balananda Brahmachari thoroughly tested the resolve of young Sri Manamohan and, after obtaining the consent of his parents as well, admitted him to the monastic life as Sri Mohanananda Brahmachari. His life at the Ashram was marked by the practice of severe austerity, the single-minded devotion and service to his Guru, and the total conformity with most rigid disciplines prescribed in the scriptures. The smooth and efficient management of the diverse activities at the Ashram was given due attention while he continued with the most rigorous 'tapasya' and undertook many arduous pilgrimages to numerous sacred places. Even after Sri Balananda Brahmachari passed away on 9 June 1927, Sri Mohanananda Brahmachari continued these arduous monastic pursuits. Only after receiving an express command from his Guru, given in a vision while he was practicing austerities at holy Naimisharanya, did Sri Maharaj assume the most difficult task of arousing the spiritual potential of people on a large scale by going himself to the devotees while adhering to the stringent discipline of "naisthikbrahmacharya". Sri Maharaj also founded many institutions for the material welfare of the public at large. All these activities were instituted to further his belief that sadhus (holy men) had the duty to contribute significantly to human society.
The enormous spiritual powers accumulated through his Sadhana were never made explicit, except for the aura of ineffable peace which always emanated from him. Sri Maharaj left the mortal world at McMinville, Tennessee on August 29, 1999, but the soothing and uplifting influence of his memory, and of his Kirtans, continues to bring solace and joy to his innumerable disciples, devotees and admirers.
