View: Poems about Sri Krishna Prem
Sri Krishnapremwas one of India’s great mystics of the 20th Century, however unusually he was British by birth and only moved to India after accepting a post at Lucknow University, India. Originally Sri Krishnaprem was called Professor Richard Nixon, a distinguished graduate of Cambridge University and taught English literature at Lucknow and Benares university. On coming to India he became enamoured with bhakti yoga and became a disciple of Sri Yashoda Mai. Sri Krishnaprem became a fully fledged sannyasin in the Vaishanav tradition.
Haridas Chaudhuri said of Krishnaprem.
‘By virtue of his total renunciation and pure devotion, Krishnaprem’s whole being was set on fire with the love of God. In consequence, he found in India his true spiritual home. By giving his soul to India he affirmed his abiding faith in the supremacy of spiritual values. He was quick to see India as the one country which preserved a suitable climate for the flourishing of saints and sages.’
But not everybody liked Sri Krishnaprem. He was certainly a thorn in the side of local British officials especially in the days before independence. They struggled to understand his wholehearted acceptance of Hindu culture and religion.
Sri Krishnaprem became a well know author. His 2 books were:
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita
The Yoga of the Katho-panishad.
These books helped Sri Krishnaprem draw many discerning seekers, both western and Indian. However Sri Krishnaprem never desired to be seen as a Guru, he didn’t allow any of his photos to be put up in his ashram. However even though he never advertised he did draw many sincere seekers .
Sri Krishnaprem passed away on November 14th 1965. His last words to his beloved disciple; M Ashish were.
‘My ship is sailing’
Ramana Maharshi said of Sri Krishnaprem.
‘ A rare combination of a bhakti and Jhani Yogi’
Although D.K.Roy was a disciple of Sri Aurobindo. Roy kept up a fascinating correspondance with Sri Krishnaprem. This was recorded in a fascinating book called
“Yogi Sri Krishna Prem ” by Dilip Kumar Roy
Published by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay -400- 007