|
 Pre-monastic name :
Harinath Chattopadhyay
Date of Birth : 3 January 1863
Place of Birth : North Kolkata
Born in a well-to-do family, Hari lost his parents in boyhood and
grew up under the care of his eldest brother. After passing the
school final examination he did not go to college. Instead, he
devoted his time to meditation and the study of Sankara’s Advaita
Vedanta. When he was about 17 years old he visited Sri Ramakrishna
at Dakshineswar for the first time, and after that he started going
to the Master frequently. The Master regarded him as a yogi. Hari
was a member of the team of youngsters who served Sri Ramakrishna
during his last illness at Cossipore.
After the Master’s passing, Hari joined Baranagar Math and underwent
sannyasa ordination assuming the name Turiyananda. After three years
he left the monastery and spent his time doing tapasya at different
places, sometimes alone, sometimes in the company of his brother
monks. When Swami Vivekananda went to the West for the second time,
he took Swami Turiyananda with him. When Swamiji went back to India,
Turiyananda continued his work first in New York and Boston and
later in California. However, his health deteriorated and he left
America in June 1902.
On his arrival in India, he was shocked to hear of the passing of
Swami Vivekananda. Turiyananda spent the next several years
practicing intense contemplation in Vrindavan, in different places
in the Himalayas, in Dehra Dun, Kankhal, Almora, etc. He finally
settled down in Varanasi in February 1919. During the last few years
he suffered much from diabetes. He passed away on 21 July 1922
repeating Upanishadic Mantras.
For further reading : 1. Swami
Turiyananda by Swami Ritajananda
2. God Lived with Them by Swami Chetanananda.
|
