Satyananda Giri

Satyananda Giri Biography

Satyananda Giri was a Hindu monk, philosopher, singer, composer, poet and social worker from Bengal. He is the chief monastic disciple of Yukteswar Giri. He remained the president of Puri Karar Ashram till his death in 1971. He established the Sevayatan Satsang Mission in Jhadagram, an underdeveloped region in the Mednipur to service poor people and he spent his later years here in his ashram.

He was born as Manamohan Mazumder on 17 November 1896 in Vikrampur, Bengal.  Mohini Mohan Majumdar and Tarabasini Devi were his parents. He was born as the eldest of 7 siblings. Though born in higher caste, he was against untouchability – a cruel practice that existed in the social life of India in the early 1900s. By the age of ten, his quest for liberation was extremely deep-rooted, which included ultimate liberation of mankind as well as Indian independence. His first encounter with his guide and friend Mukunda (Paramahamsa Yogananda), took place at the entrance of a school in Kolkata. Later a strong bond formed between the two and they used to meditate and visit holy places together.

He graduated in Philosophy from the University of Calcutta and entered into the Swami Order. He joined the Ranchi Brahmacharya School and was one of the chief disciples of Yukteswar Giri in India. Yogananda and Dhirananda were his close friends. Satyananda had to take charge as Principal and Secretary to run the school after Yogananda moved to the USA. But later to run the school, he gave his full salary to the school for 20 years. He trained Satyananda at his Puri Karar Asram in 1919 and appointed him as “Asram Swami”. During his later years, he spent his life at Jhadagram in service of mankind.

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Updated: June 16, 2014