Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

Some Lesser Known Facts About Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

• Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj was an Indian spiritual leader who belonged to the lineage of Bhakti yoga of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s tradition.

• Reportedly, he was born on the day of Sharad Purnima.

• While he was in school, he used to sing bhajans and do kirtans of Radha Krishan along with his friends. He was inclined towards spirituality since his childhood. In an interview, one of his devotees shared an incident from Kripalu Maharaj’s childhood. His devotee said,
  

  Once when Maharajji was writing an exam, there was a question that asked the students to convert a line of Hindi into Sanskrit. Maharajji wrote three translations in half the time it took others to do so. The first one was in simple Sanskrit. The second was in Saahitya (classical) Sanskrit – this was quite difficult to comprehend. And the last one was in poetry form. Then he left a note in the end for the marker saying, Please mark this according to your level of comprehension meaning that the answer is even beyond the marker’s comprehension!!! Well there is no need to say that Maharajji got 100% for that exam.”

• When he was 16 years old, he left his home and moved to the forests near Sharbhang Ashram in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh and Banshi Vat, Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.

  

• He then realised that people were not aware of the real meaning of the spiritual books and religious scriptures. So, at the age of 17, he organised a spiritual event which lasted for 6 months and did chanting of ‘Maha Mantra’ at the event. As per one of his devotees, Kripalu Maharaj used to chant,
  

  O purifier of Sinners! O Causelessly Merciful Lord! Friend of the Destitute! How will you make these attributes of yours meaningful if you remain unconscious in a state of divine ecstasy? How will you deliver sinful souls, divert their worldly mind towards God and give the nectar of divine love to people accustomed to drinking the poison of material objects?”

  

• By the time Maharaj was in Paramhamsa state (a state where a person is in divine ecstasy and simultaneously, he is actively wakeful). He then realised that people around him were in pain, and he needed to solve their worldly problems by showing them the path to a godly world. In one of his preachings, Maharaj said,
  

  Where do you people live? What do you do? He had now concealed himself and his intense devotional state. Had he remained in a state of ecstasy, he would never have been able to converse with anyone.”

  

• After meeting a few people, he realised that the people were not aware of the real meaning of the religious scriptures and were misguided by a few spiritual leaders.

• In 1955, to talk over the religious scriptures, he organised two grand conferences in Chitrakoot and Kashi. The conference was attended by many Indian spiritual leaders. The spiritual leaders present there were surprised with Kripalu Maharaj’s knowledge, and on 14 January 1957, the ‘Kashi Vidvat Parishad’ (a group of 500 Vedic scholars) decorated him with the Jagadguru (spiritual Master of the whole world) title. He was then accoladed with the title ‘Jagadguruttam’ (which means the best of all Jagadgurus). ^[10]Aaj Tak

  

• Kripalu Maharaj received many honours for his immense knowledge of Hindu scriptures. He received accolades like:

1. Shrimatpadavakya- Pramanaparavarina: For not only reciting the preachings of the religious scripture but explaining the true meaning of them
2. Vedmargpratisthapanacharya: For helping people to find the path to the realisation of God
3. Sanatanavaidikadharma-Pratishthapanasatsampradaya-Paramacharya: For not forming an ethnic group and focusing on the selfless devotion of Radha-Krishna
4. Nikhiladarshana-Samanvayacharya: For helping the people to understand the existing spiritual philosophies in the easiest form by combining them with his own philosophies.
5. Bhaktiyogarasavatar: For helping the people in establishing a divine connection with Radha-Krishna in the Kalyug era

• He then started organising satsangs and kirtan across India. He even penned down the kirtans and made the satsangs relatable by adding daily life examples to them. He chanted “Hare Ram” and “Hari Bol” while singing bhajans. Some of his popular bhajans are ‘Prem Ras Madira,’ ‘Braj Ras Madhuri,’ ‘Yugal Rasa,’ and ‘Shri Krishna Dwadashi.’

  

• In 1955, he penned a book titled ‘Prema Rasa Siddhanta- Philosophy of Divine Love.’Some of his popular compositions are 1008 couplets of Radha-Krishna leelas, religious songs, and spiritual philosophies.

  

• His spiritual philosophies are explained in 2-line couplets in ‘Radha Govind Geet,’ a divine composition of 11,111 couplets.

• He authored many spiritual books like ‘Bhakti Shatak,’ Radha Govind Geet,’ and ‘Ras Panchadhyayi.’ All his books and bhajans are focused on spreading the message that Radha-Krishna is the supreme form of God.

• Kripalu Maharaj’s satsangs and kirtans were also telecasted on Hindi TV channels like DD India, Aastha TV, Sadhna TV, and Sanskar TV.

• Later, his satsangs were aired in the US on TV Asia channel. His preachings, bhajans, and satsangs are uploaded on his official YouTube channel ‘Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj– Official.’

• The rendition of his bhajans has been sung by many popular Indian singers such as Manna Dey, Anuradha Paudwal, Anup Jalota, Suresh Wadkar, and Kavita Krishnamurthy.

• In 1972, he started a non-profit spiritual organisation named ‘Sadhana Bhawan Trust’ later renamed ‘Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat’ (JKP). The organisation has three ashrams in India i.e., Rangeeli Mahal in Barsana, Bhakti Dham in Mangarh, Shyama Shyam Dham in Vrindavan, and Jagadguru Dham in Vrindavan. One of his ashrams ‘Radha Madhav Dham’ is located in Austin, USA.

• The teaching centres of JKP are located in various countries such as Australia, Canada, Trinidad, West Indies, and the United Kingdom.

• In 1990, Kripalu Maharaj started ‘Radha Madhav Dham’ in the US, which is a non-profit spiritual organisation. On its premises, a ‘Shree Raseshwari Radha Rani Temple’ is built which is said to be the first and largest Hindu temple in Austin, Texas.

• Every three times a year, a spiritual magazine Sadhan Sadhya is published by his organisation. JKP also publishes a monthly spiritual newsletter.

• Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) is also available on various online apps like ‘Sanatan Vedic Dharm App,’ ‘Kripalu Nidhi App,’ and ‘Jagadguru Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan App.’

• Kripalu Maharaj’s organisation has laid down the foundation of three charitable hospitals named ‘Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya’ in Mangarh, Vrindavan, and Barsana.

  

• His organisation has started Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education (JKP Education) to provide free education to needy girls up to post-graduation. Some of the educational institutions started by JKPE are Kripalu Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Kripalu Balika Primary School, and Kripalu Balika Intermediate College. In 2013, the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award, Mother Teresa Excellence Award, and the Nari Shakti Award was given to the president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education, Vishakha Tripathi for the social work done by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education.

• JKP has also provided financial aid to various natural disaster victims like Rs 10 lacs for Bhuj earthquake victims in 2001, Rs 25 Lacs for Tsunami victims in 2004, and Rs 2 Crore for Bihar flood victims in 2008.

• JKP has built three famous Radha-Krishna temples in India i.e.

1. Bhakti Mandir Mangarh: A Hindu temple built in November 2005 at Kunda, Uttar Pradesh. There are a few idols of Maharaj and his family members in the temple
2. Prem Mandir: A temple of Radha-Krishna and Seeta-Ram was built in February 2012, at a cost of Rs 150 crore
3. Kirti Mandir Barsana: Built in 2019, the temple is considered the only temple where Shri Radharani is in the lap of Kirti maa

   

• In November 2013, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj slipped on the lawn of his ashram after which he had a severe brain injury. When his devotees found him lying unconscious on the ground, they immediately took him to the Fortis Hospital in Delhi. After being on life support for a few days, he left the world on 15 November 2013. As per the official website of Kripalu Maharaj,
  

  By air ambulance he was taken to Fortis Hospital in Delhi. There, too, all specialists gave up thinking his condition would improve. Three doctor devotees of Shri Maharaj Ji were also present there. All the doctors unanimously agreed that Shri Maharaj ji was breathing only because of the ventilator; otherwise there was no hope of his regaining consciousness. Shri Maharaj Ji’s family members and devotees suggested keeping Maharaj Ji on the ventilator a few more days. After that, the fleeting hope (his breath) also stopped, thus quashing the last of the hopes of all devotees. For four days Shri Maharaj Ji was in a state of deep coma and doctors had declared that medically speaking there wasn’t any chance that he would ever wake up or speak again.”

• On 18 November 2013, his family members and his devotees gathered in a large no. on the premises of his ashram in Mangarh. Later, his sons performed his last rites.

  

• His three daughters were then appointed as the president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.

  

• On 24 November 2024, while travelling on the Yamuna Expressway, the car in which his three daughters were travelling collided with a vehicle, leading to Vishakha’s death while the other two daughters sustained serious injuries.