The Founder

Reference is found in the Bhagwat Puran of the various spots, where Lord Krishna performed his Leela in Vrindavan. The location of these spots were identified centuries later by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a saint who came from Bengal. Similarly Sri 108 Swami Keshavanandji located the Katyayani Peeth in Vrindavan. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swami Keshavanandji spent about 40 years traversing the snow clad peaks and dales of the Himalayas meeting the existing masters under directions of his Guru Shri Lahiri Mahasay. There he had the vision and direction of the Almighty Mother to proceed to Vrindavan and perform the most important mission of his life by locating the Peethsthan mentioned in the Purans, install the deity Goddess Katyayani and restart the worship of the Goddess for the benefit of mankind in the present times. Guided by the dictates of the almighty he came to Vrindavan and started living in a small hut on the banks of river Yamuna in Radhabagh and identified the Shakti Peeth. He gradually acquired the land and built the present temple and an ashram in the year 1923, where he lived the rest of his life until October 1942 when he attained "Mahasamadhi".

At one time in a decrepit old temple in Bhubaneshwar, there was an idol of Shri Gauri Devi in a neglected condition. The Goddess appeared to Shri Swami Keshvanandji during the state of his meditation and asked him to rebuild the temple. The temple which is now known in Bhubaneshwar by the name of Kedar Gauri, is the result of this divine dictate. Swami Keshvanandji then established a hermitage near this temple

At Vindhyachal where he had his first Darshan of  Param Guru Babaji , he built an ashram.

After his attaining Mahasamadhi in 1942, Shri Swami Satyanandji took over the management and worship at Vrindavan and other ashrams as the sole trustee. He was a great scholar of the Vedas and other Shastras. He was brought up by Swami Keshvanandji Maharaj in strict Sanatan Dharma way of life right from his childhood. Swami Satyanandji carried on with full devotion and dedication to the traditions set by his guru till he attained Mahasamadhi in 1951. Swami Nityanand ji took over from Satyanandji Maharaj and was later followed by Rani Ma ji. Today the worship and management of the ashram is handled by Swami Vidyanand ji Maharaj.

Swami Keshavanandji was born in village, Shivanipur in Howrah district, of West Bengal in a devout Brahmin family as the son of Sri Lakshmi Kant Banerjee. From his childhood he had religious fervor and at an early age he left the family and headed towards Varanasi where his Guru Swami Ramanand Tirth of Kamrup Math Kali temple near Desheshmed Ghat was waiting to initiate him into the Bhramachari Sadhu order. He stayed with him for a couple of years .

 

During this period Sri Shyamacharan Lahiri, the doyen of Kriya Yog in present times, also lived close by in Bengali Tola. He spotted Swami Keshavanandji and initiated him into the Kriya Yoga science as one of his principle disciples. He then directed him to spend some time in the Himalayas where he was to meet other masters.

Nityanand ji Maharaj

Swami Satyanandji Maharaj

Rani Ma ji