Who is Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj?
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (sanskrit: जगदगुरु कृपालु जी महाराज) is a Hindu acharya (आचार्य). He is lovingly called Shree Maharajji by devotees and is the 5th original Jagadguru (मुल जगदगुरु), and the Supreme Acharya (जगदगरुततम) of the present age. Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj was born in October 1922 in Mangarh Village India , in a highly respected brahmin family. At the age of fourteen, he was sent to Mahu Sanskrit College, Indore to study Sanskrit literature and grammar where it is believed that he mastered all the subjects within two years. At the age of sixteen he went to the jungles of Chitrakoot, Sharbhang, Mahoba and Jhansi. For around two years he remained at those places. It was during this time that he is believed to have manifested his ecstatic form and absorption in divine love (महाभाव). Around 1940, he came to Vrindavan and started going to houses of devotees for Satsang. He would travel to the houses of various devotees in Agra, Mathura and Allahabad. On requests of devotees he started giving discourse on various aspects of Bhakti and also started Sankirtana. Apart from Sankirtan, he also started singing leela pad (describing the loving pastimes of Radha and Krishna). In 1942, he came back to Mahu and started holding long, non-stop sankirtan sessions, sometimes stretching to four months. He frequently visited Mandaleshwar and Maheshwar where he would hold fortnight-long sessions. Being honoured as the Supreme 'Jagadguru' of the present age:In 1955 Shree 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. It would seem that he was impressed by the discourses, because after returning to Kashi, it is believed that 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 all the scholars of Vanarasi also many from all over the India. They are said to have been impressed by Kripaluji Maharaj's knowledge of all the scriptures ( which include: Vedas, Upanishads, Upvedas, Vedangas, Darshan Shastras, Puranas, Itihas, the philosophies of the other Jagadgurus and the Rasik saints, etc). After speeches which lasted for seven days, the learned scholars of Kashi, requested him to accept the title of Jagadguru. He is thus considered to be the fifth original Jagadguru, the last Jagadgurus being Adi Sankaracharya (509-477 B.C.), Nimbarkacharya (before 600 B.C.), Madhavacharya (13th century) and Ramanujacharya (1017-1137 A.D.). Discourses of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj are broadcast every day throughout India and Nepal on TV Asia, Aastha TV, Nepal One channel and 'Aaj Tak' news channel, as well as in the USA. Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj , unlike the previous Jagadgurus chose to write in Hindi as Sanskrit was no longer the common language. His numerous creations include:Prem Ras Siddhant - Philosophy book. Prem Ras Madira 1008 devotional songs.Bhakti Shatak - One hundred couplets. Braj Ras Madhuri - Collection of over 300 chantings. Radha Govinda Geet - Eleven thousand one hundred and eleven couplets. Yugal Shatak - One hundred chantings of Barsane-wari Radha Rani and Krishn. Yugal Ras Chantings of Radha Krishn.Shree Krishn Dwadashi - Twelve songs in which he has fully described the beauty and the decorations of Krishn, and thirteen songs about the beauty and the decorations of Radha Rani. Along with spiritual dissemination, a primary stated aim of Jagadguru Kripaluji Parishat (the world wide mission of Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj) is the organisation of charitable works including: 1. Hospitals and healthcare of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, JKP2. Regular National eye camps and Mother-child welfare schemes run by the ashrams in Vrindavan and Barsana.3. Disaster relief including 2001 Gujarat earthquake.4. Charitable schools and colleges in India.
