Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj (born October 1922) is a Hindu spiritual leader from Allahabad, India.
He is the preceptor of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, a worldwide Hindu non-profit, religious, educational and charitable organization with 5 main spiritual centers four in India and one, in the USA. JKP Radha Madhav Dham is one of the largest Hindu Temple complexes in the Western Hemisphere, and the largest in North America.
A spiritual master and a poet-saint of modern times, Shree Kripaluji Maharaj has influenced thousands of devotees around the world in the path ofBhakti Marg, the path of love or devotion to God. He received the title of Jagadguru (world teacher) at the age of 34 by Kashi Vidvat Parishad (the oldest and most recognised body of Varanasi's intellectuals) on Makar Sankranti day, January 14, 1957.
Kripaluji Maharaj was born on the full moon (Purnima) in October 1922 as Ram Kripalu Tripathi in Mangarh, near Allahabad, in India. He received his preliminary education in Hindi and Sanskrit in the local school. He went on to study advanced Sanskrit and Ayurved in Indore and Varanasi and spent a year or more around Chitrakoot. After completing his formal education, at the age of 16, he entered into self-imposed banbas. He found his way to Vrindavan and the next year he emerged as a Guru known affectionately as Shree Maharajji. When he was 17 years old, he led a 6 month continuous chanting of the "maha mantra".
Later he began to take part in meetings of Sanskrit scholars in different cities including Varanasi. People were amazed by his perfect pronunciation of shlokas and the ready way he quoted sources without referring to any books. Today his devotees number in the thousands across the Hindi-speaking heartland of India.
In 1955 Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj organized a religious convention in which prominent spiritual leaders of India gathered. Mahamahopadhyay Giridhar Sharma, President of the Kashi Vidvat Parishad had also come and was impressed by Kripaluji Maharaj's learning and scriptural knowledge. In another convention organized in Kanpur in 1956, Shree Raj Narain, Shat Shastree, the Chief Secretary of the Kashi Vidvat Parishad, happened to hear Kripaluji Maharaj's discourses. After returning to Kashi, he invited Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj to give a spiritual discourse to the scholars of Kashi Kripaluji Maharaj then went to Kashi in 1957.
The congregation had scholars of Vanarasi and many from all over the India. His speeches lasted for seven days, after which he was formally installed as the fifth Jagadguru. He was 34 years old when given the title "Jagad Guru" (world teacher) on January 14, 1957, by the Kashi Vidvat Parishad, a group of Hindu scholars which is the oldest and most recognised body of Varanasi's intellectuals. The Kashi Vidvat Parishad had 500 of India's foremost scriptural scholars. The "Jagadguru" title is only given to a Saint who inspires a spiritual revolution in the world through his Divine teachings. The Kashi Vidvat Parishad also conferred on him the titles Bhaktiyog-Ras-Avtar and Jagadguruttam.
According to Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj, "the desired goal of the soul is to attain the selfless Divine love of Radha Krishn who are eternally related to you". He teaches that Radha Krishnaare the supreme 'form' of God and the 'form' of Divine Love and are eternally related to us.
Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj is an authoritative orator and his religious discourses are attended by huge gatherings. These discourses are broadcast every day on TV channels such as Aastha,Sadhna TV, Sahara Samay and Sanskar TV. His discourses are also broadcast every weekday on TV Asia in the USA. In his TV discourses, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj quotes the chapter and verse of everything he cites.
He accepts the Shat Sandarbh of Jeev Goswami and teaches that the Bhagwatam is the true explanation of the Upanishads and Brahma Sutras. He reconciled the differences that appeared in the philosophies of the other Jagadgurus and the Darshan Shastras and established the consolidated theme of all the Hindu scriptures. For this work, the title ofNikhildarshansamanvayacharya was conferred upon him (meaning the supreme Acharya who has reconciled the philosophies of all the Darshan Shastras). Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj teaches that "The essence of all doctrines is to love Lord Krishna, the supreme form of God, and to meditate on his Divine form with an increasing desire to serve him. This is the true ultimate knowledge.
He is quoted as saying, "The Bhakta has only to surrender himself and do nothing else but he has to do a lot for doing nothing".
All the works by Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj known as "Bhaktiyog Tattvadarshan", is based on the philosophy as enunciated in the Vedas, Puranas and other scriptures.
- Prem Ras Siddhant - The philosophy of Divine love. It was first published (in Hindi) in 1955. Later it was published is several other languages of India. It has been described as an Incredible Book by Swami Sivananda among others.
- Bhakti Shatak - The concise philosophy of the Upnishads, Gita, Brahm Sutra and the Bhagwatam in an easy to understand style
- Radha Govind Geet - Printed in two volumes, with eleven thousand one hundred and eleven couplets of Radha Krishn leelas and the devotional philosophy
- Prem Ras Madira - 1008 songs (pad) of Radha Krishn leelas, devotional philosophy and humbleness
- Yugal Shatak - One hundred kirtans of Radha Rani and Krishn
- Yugal Ras - Kirtans of Radha Krishn
- Shree Krishn Dwadashi and Shree Radha Trayodashi - Twelve pad in which he has fully described the beauty and the decorations of Krishn, and thirteen pad about the beauty and the decorations of Radha Rani
Renditions of Shree Maharajji's bhajans and kirtans have been recorded by well known singers in India such as Manna Dey and Anuradha Paudwal. Anup Jalota met Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj in Mumbai and agreed to release several CDs of his compositions.
Kripaluji Maharaj is the founder of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, a worldwide Hindu non-profit religious organization with 5 main ashrams worldwide – four in India (Rangeeli Mahal, Barsana; Bhakti Dham, Mangarh; Shyama Shyam Dham, Vrindavan and Jagadguru Dham, Vrindavan) and one in the USA (Radha Madhav Dham, Austin).[4] Besides these 5 main ashrams, Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat has established a number of satsang centers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Fiji Island, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Nepal, Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, Trinidad, West Indies, United Kingdom and in many cities throughout India and USA.
He has also established four temples - Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple, Austin; Bhakti Mandir, Mangarh; Prem Mandir, Vrindavan and Kirti Maiya Mandir, Vrindavan.
The Hindi magazine "Sadhan Sadhya" is published three times a year, on auspicious occasions of Guru Poornima, Sharat Poornima and Holi. It contains the current activities of the Ashrams of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and the teachings and satsang of Shree Maharajji. It also publishes the excerpts of Shree Maharajji's discourses. There is also a monthly JKP newsletter.
Prem Mandir is a religious and spiritual complex in Vrindavan. Construction of Prem Mandir began on January 14, 2001 and the inauguration will take place Feb 15 - 17 2012. More than 800 craftsmen, artisans and specialists from various parts of India have been toiling day and night to create the pure marble temple. 30,000 tons of Italian marble have been used in the construction and carved with unique machines like KUKA robotics. It is a massive marble structure with three feet thick walls, all pure marble and the presiding deity will be Yugal Sarkar (Radha Krishn). The leelas of Radha Krishn and life history of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj are being displayed on the walls of the temple. A 73,000 square feet, pillar-less, dome shaped satsang hall is being constructed next to Prem Mandir, which will accommodate 25,000 devotees at a time.
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj has established three modern well-equipped hospitals: one in Mangarh, one in Barsana and one in Vrindavan, which provide modern methods of diagnosis and medicines to the poor free of charge. The multi facility hospitals provide free & round the clock services of general physicians, gynecologists, physiotherapists, orthopedic & ophthalmic surgeons, naturopathic & homoeopathic doctors. The Barsana and Mangarh hospitals are serving rural populations of 1,000,000 within their catchment radii of 80–100 km each and each treating 600 – 700 patients daily. All JKP Hospitals are equipped with state of the art imaging and laboratory equipment and in-house 24-hour pathology labs. The expenses of In-Patient Services, Out-Patient Services, Medicines, X-Rays, ECG, Ultrasound, Pathology Investigations, any Surgeries, etc. are all borne by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. In addition, Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat is active in Disaster Relief, vehicle donation where needed, and cataract camps.
Shree Maharajji is also the founder and patron of JKP Education, which runs three colleges for girls in Kunda, Uttar Pradesh (Kripalu Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Kripalu Balika Primary School and Kripalu Balika Intermediate College). These colleges provide 100% free education for students from Kindergarten to Post graduation. An Annual Report called Gyan-Vigyan details the current activities of these colleges, and an annual function called Utthaan (the rising) showcases the students' talents and achievements. The Dec 2011 function was attended by chief guests High Court Justice Dilip Gupta, Chief Income Tax Officer G N Pandey and Doordarshan Directorial General S M Khan, was broadcast live on Aaj Ki Khabar, and was widely covered in the Indian press.
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj's senior disciple, Swami Mukundananda, founder of the Jagadguru Kripalu Yog Trust, is establishing the Jagadguru Kripalu University of Spiritual Science inBhubaneswar, Orissa. This will be spread over 250 acres of land near Banki. The main campus aims at catering, in a phased manner, to the needs of 10,000 students in spiritual, yogic and secular disciplines. The signing of a MoU between the state Government and the Jagadguru Kripalu Yog Trust, which has been widely reported in the media, means that the Government will provide 110 acres of land in the first phase and the remaining 140 acres in the second phase and extend the necessary facilities like power and water supply.
The University will provide courses in Bachelor of Ayurved in Naturopathy (B.Nat), Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences, Rural Economics, Rural Development on health, human values, rural management, BA, Social Work, Business Administration and Master of Oriental Learning. A number of satellite projects such as a healthcare centre, a yog ashram and a hospital will be established in the university vicinity.