Two Great Saints Who Performed Jiva Samadhi

Another advanced yogic practice is that of taking jiva samadhi. This is a practice performed by extremely advanced masters, who intentionally leave their physical body at will, permanently casting it aside like a worn piece of clothing. Two examples of masters who took jiva samadhi are Sri Janeshwar Maharaj and Guru Ragavendra.

Sri Jnaneshwar Maharaj (1271-1293)

Jnaneshwar is one of the brightest shining stars of all the spiritual luminaries in the history of Indian spirituality. As is often the case with some of the greatest souls, like Swami Vivekananda, Jnaneshwar’s star burned bright, but not for long. However, despite the short span of his life, Jnaneshwar’s light continues to illumine souls even today. Jnaneshwar was born around the year 1271. By the age of 20, he wrote the Jnaneshwari, one of India’s greatest spiritual classics. Then, at the age of 23, Jnaneshwar announced his decision to depart from this world and intentionally left his body.

History records that having expressed his intention to leave this world at the age of 23, Jnaneshwar, accompanied by other great spiritual men, went to Alandi and stayed awake the whole night, singing kirtan while meditating on God. The following day, while sitting in front of the temple of Siddeshvara, facing east, Jnaneshwar took maha-samadhi.

R.D. Renaid, in his book “Jnaneshwar – The Guru’s Guru,” says, “Wide world-experience is evinced by Jnanadeva at every step: it is really wonderful how at the young age of fifteen, or nineteen, such a work should have been composed. Whence could the author have acquired such a vast experience of the world? The treatment of any problem in the Jnaneshwari is so lucid, so penetrating, and so full of the fervor of spiritual experience that every reader of it is forced to admit its claim to be regarded as the greatest work in the Marathi language ever written.”

Jnaneshwar’s guru was Nivrittinatha, making him an heir to the Nath spiritual tradition. Jnaneshwar was so over-whelmed by love for Nivrittinatha that he proclaimed the guru’s greatness in the most glorious of ways at every opportunity. But ultimately, Jnaneshwar says, “The only adequate way of expressing one’s appreciation of the greatness of the Guru is to submit in silence to the feet of the Guru, for the greatness of the Guru can never be adequately praised.”

“Let me make my heart the seat for the Guru, and let me place upon it my Guru’s feet. Let all my senses sing the chorus of unity, and throw upon the feet of the Guru a handful of flowers. Let me apply to the feet of the Guru a fingerful of sandal ointment, made pure by the consideration of identity. Let me put upon his feet ornaments of pure gold.…Let me place upon them the eight-petalled flower of pure joy. Let me burn the essence of egoism, wave the lights of self-annihilation, and cling to the feet of the Guru with the feeling of absorbption.”



Guru Ragavendra (1593-1671)

Guru Ragavendra was a great saint of South India who was a Siddha Purusha (God realized person). He performing many miracles, including restoring sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. In 1671, when he was 78 years old, Guru Ragavendra announced to all his disciples that, following the orders of the Lord, Shri Hari, he had decided to leave this world. As the news spread that their guru was about to leave his body, devotees came from all over to be present at his maha samadhi.

One morning Guru Ragavaendra called all his devotees and said, “This is our last day together. Don’t grieve. It is the order of Shri Hari that we should stay in this world to safeguard the interests of our faith. But we cannot stay bodily outside beyond a limit a certain limit as that would be against the rules of the present age. Therefore we are going to enter Brindavan (Krishna’s realm) bodily. To the last, be faithful and be loyal to your God and religion. May God bless you.”

At mid-day, Guru Ragavaendra blessed everyone, called a close devotee, named Venkanna, and gave him a parting message, "I am going to enter Brindavan in a yogic posture and continue to do japa (prayer) with a tulasi mala (japa mala of holy beads) in the hand. When I stop the prayer, place 1200 holy stones in a bronze container and holy sand on my head and close it with a lid and then place sand over me. Venkanna was also entrusted by Guru Ragavaendra to build his samadhi shrine which can still be visited in what is now the town of Mantralayam.

In the afternoon, when the auspicious time had come, Guru Ragavaendra sat in a yogic posture and started praying. While Brahmins recited Vedas and Shastras, his faithful devotees shed tears of joy and grief, knowing that their great guru was departing for Brindavan. Guru Ragavaendra sat in the yogic posture and following his instructions, stones were placed above his head. Thus, Guru Ragavaendra entered Brindhavan bodily. He was to live in atma form in Brindavan for the next 700 years and continues to bless people today. Guru Ragavendra is one of the greatest guru’s born in the sixteenth century and many miracles are reported by those who visit his samadhi shrine or pray to him for assistance.

These are just two of India’s greatest saints but the spiritual history of India is teeming with an abundance of divine souls whose glorious lives are perfect examples of what we ourselves can become.