Hariharananda Giri

Hariharananda Giri (Bengali: স্বামী হরিহরানন্দ গিরী) (27 May 1907 – 3 December 2002), was an Indian yogi and guru who taught in India as well as in western countries. He was born Rabindranath Bhattacharya in Nadia district, West Bengal. He was the head of the Kriya Yoga Institute, United States.[1] According to the Times of India, Hariharananda was a direct disciple of Yukteswar Giri.

Hariharananda

Quotes about Giri

• The first Hindu guru I ever encountered, Puri-based Swami Hariharananda Giri, teacher of the Kriya Yoga made famous by Paramhans Yogananda, had a charisma I’d never seen before, exuding such goodness and power that forever cleared all my doubts about whether yoga really works. But his practice had nothing to do with kirtan, of which he didn’t think too highly. Alright, it keeps people off the streets, so to speak, but it can’t get you very far compared with silent meditation.... Swami Hariharananda Giri in fact deplored the way it distracted genuine seekers from the more fruitful practice of silent sitting. As a born Bengali, he was entirely familiar with street-singers in the tradition of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He once imitated their Hare Krishna chanting: “Hare-hore-hori-horrible!” He taught a direct way to experience that funny feeling which some call God, directing the attention inward and becoming aware of what is lurking there.
  • Elst, Koenraad (2012). The argumentative Hindu. New Delhi : Aditya Prakashan.