Krishnaprem
Krishnaprem (real name Ronald Nixon ; * before 1900; † November 14, 1965 ) was an English scholar who turned into a seeker and yogi in India at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Life
He attended Cambridge University . During the First World War he was a pilot and had to drop bombs over enemy territory. During one of these flights, he is said to have suddenly felt a force that seized his wrist and caused his plane to turn sharply to the left. These maneuvers saved his life and, in his opinion, was the miracle of a power beyond human understanding.
As a lecturer in English, he was appointed to the University of Lucknow in India . With his knowledge of Indian myths and holy books, he developed into a champion for the cause of Krishna and Indian spirituality (in contrast to his intellectual and “enlightened” Indian colleagues).
He found a confidante in Monika Devi, the wife of the executive rector of the university, JN Chakravarti. She worshiped Krishna and loved hearing Bengali kirtans and bhajans in Hindi . In September 1923 a friend of the house by the name of Dilip Kumar Roy was a guest at the university for a few weeks and performed religious songs. A friendship developed between him and Krishnaprem.
Monika Devi took the vow of a sannyasin a year later , changed her name and had her head shaved after the example of her guru , an old goswami of a Brindaban temple (devotee of Krishna).
Ronald Nixon was initiated into Vaishnavism by Monika Devi , swapped his English clothes for the ocher-colored costume and saw Yashoda Ma - as Monika Devi called herself from then on - as his guru.
Both then lived in the simplest of circumstances in their ashram near Almora in the Himalayas . They dedicated their temple to Lord Krishna and Radha . The first two other roommates of the Ashram were Motirani, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chakravarti, and Dr. Alexander, a well-known English surgeon who gave up his worldly life and followed them.
Yashoda Ma died around 1940; Motirani around 1950.
Dilip Kumar Roy rarely visited the ashram, but was pen-pals with Krishnaprem for over four decades. He collected his friend's letters and after his death published a book about his life and their correspondence.
Quotes
But yoga is one and eternal. When man first appeared on this earth, he came down the ladder of yoga. When the last person leaves this earth, he will climb the same ladder. The ladder is one. There is no other. Means and ways can and are different from person to person, each with their own particular difficulties, but the ladder itself is one. (from a letter to DK Roy dated January 17, 1942)
Works
- The Yoga of the Kathopanishad
- Yoga for the Westerner
- The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gita , Element Books, 1988.
- Initiation into yoga; An Introduction to the Spiritual Life , Quest, 1976.
- Man, The Measure of All Things, in the stanzas of Dzyan , with Sri Madhava Ashish, Theosophical Publishing House, 1969.
literature
- Dilip Kumar Roy: Yogi Sri Krishnaprem (Eng.)
- Dilip Kumar Roy: Chhayapather Pathik (novel in Bengali)
- Dilip Kumar Roy: The Path of the Great Yogis Suhrkamp Paperback ISBN 3-518-06909-8
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Krishnaprem |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nixon, Ronald (civil) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Yoga teacher and author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | before 1900 |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 14, 1965 |