H. W. L. Poonja
Encyclopedia
Sri H. W. L. Poonja, b. Hariwansh Lal Poonja, (13 October 1910 (or later) in Punjab
, British India – 6 September 1997 in Lucknow
, India
) also known as "Poonjaji" or "Papaji". A disciple of Ramana Maharishi and nephew of Swami Rama Tirtha
, although Poonjaji denied being part of any formal tradition, he is considered by many to be a teacher of the Advaita Vedanta
and Bhakti
traditions.
s. His mother was the sister of Swami Rama Tirtha
, one of the most famous saints of India. At the age of eight, he experienced a highly unusual state of consciousness. He was persuaded by his mother that he could reconnect to this unitary experience by practicing devotion to the Hindu
God Krishna
, and so he gave himself over to Krishna
Bhakti
(devotion) with vigor. He proved to be a prodigy of sorts and while still a boy he began to have visions of Krishna. This is known in the Vaisnava tradition as receiving the "Darsana" of God. Playfully interacting with his visions of Krishna while simultaneously experiencing the bliss of spiritual union, he spent his youth in intimate relationship with Krishna as his friend.
As an adult he led an apparently normal life, married, raised two children and even joined the British army, while secretly his love for Krishna (and his visions of Him) continued. Pursuing the life of a devotee he was not satisfied with having sporadic visions and was deeply troubled when Krishna did not appear. He became obsessed with a longing to have the experience of seeing God all the time. He continuously repeated Krishna's name (japa
) and traveled throughout India asking sages if they could deliver the ability to produce the darshan of God at will.
. A sadhu appeared at the door soon after that, and Poonjaji invited him in and asked him the question he had asked swamis throughout the country: "Can you show me God? If not, do you know of anyone who can?" To his surprise, the sadhu told him that there was a person, Ramana Maharshi
, who could show him God. Further, the sadhu provided detailed instructions on how to find this Ramana Maharshi at Tiruvannamalai
in southern India. At the soonest opportunity, Poonjaji traveled to Tiruvannamalai to meet the sage Ramana Maharshi at Sri Ramana Ashram
. It was 1944, and Poonjaji was thirty-one years old. However upon meeting Ramana, rather than being given another vision of God Ramana pointed him in the direction of his own Self. He pointed out that gods who appear and then disappear are not continuous, only the One who was aware of those gods was continuous. He encouraged Poonjaji to find the One who had seen the visions of God because that One (Consciousness) does not come and go. He told Poonjaji to find out who the seer is. Poonjaji had a deeply profound experience when he heard this, and under Ramana's gaze he became aware of the spiritual Heart, which he felt open and bloom. This did not deter him from continuing with his japa
of Krishna's name and he was not impressed with the advice as such.
At this point Poonjaji continued pursuing his devotional path, having many visions of Hindu Gods. He was not yet convinced of the value of the Advaita Vedanta
philosophy which Ramana was known for but was attracted to him nonetheless. This came to an end when he had a vision of Ramana telling him that Krishna devotion was the only truth. Poonja felt compelled to return to Sri Ramanasramam and ask Ramana if he had indeed appeared before him and conveyed the primacy of Krishna bhakti. Though Ramana would not respond to his question verbally, while Poonja was waiting for an answer, a group of devotees arrived and gave Ramana a picture of Krishna. Ramana, looking at Krishna, wept with such intense devotion for him that Poonja became convinced that Ramana was a secret bhakta himself. It was only later, when Poonjaji went through a devotional crisis, one which he trusted Ramana (the secret bhakta) could help him with, that he completely recognized the Self or Atman
. Suddenly, after a lifetime of devotion, he found that he could no longer bring his mind to think of God, do japa
or any other spiritual practice. Deeply concerned, he asked Ramana for help and was told that this was not a problem, that all his practice had carried him to this moment and it could be left behind now because it had served its purpose. On hearing this and bathing in the silent gaze of his guru, Poonjaji felt his body purified and remade atom by atom, transforming him as if he were being given a new body one atom at a time. It was then that he suddenly understood what he was and always already had been.
, despite Poonjaji's fierce longing to stay with his master, Ramana sent him to his old home in the Punjab (then in the new country of Pakistan
) to bring his family to the safety of Lucknow, India. Ramana's last words to him were: “I am with you wherever you go.” In the following years, Poonjaji earned money to support his family, meeting with seekers and sharing satsangs wherever he was. In 1953, he met his first Western disciple, Henri Le Saux, also known as Swami Abhishiktananda, who wrote many books on Advaita Vedanta and Christianity. In 1966 he retired and spent a lot of time in the Himalayan foothills.
Poonjaji later settled in Lucknow, where he received visitors from all around the world. He died on September 6, 1997.
his teaching was consistent with that of his guru Ramana Maharshi
, and similar to Advaita Vedanta
, while his style and manner of teaching has been compared to the early Chan (Zen
) masters. His message, like that of his teacher Sri Ramana, was always that the Self is already enlightened and free. He emphasized that there is ultimately no difference between guru and devotee, no teacher, no disciple and even no message. His teaching emphasizes again and again that words can only point to ultimate truth, but never are ultimate truth, and that intellectual understanding without directly realizing the truth through one's own investigation is not enough. Like Sri Ramana, he taught self-enquiry
, which involved locating a person's sense of "I" and focusing on and investigating this directly. Poonja was quick to point out that devotional bhaktas such as Kabir
, Ravidas, Sukdev and Mirabai were also awakened in the same state of freedom known as Sahaj Samadhi, which they called God. And like Sri Ramana, he stressed that teaching through silence was more important than teaching through words. While a powerful transmission of awareness, presence, grace, love, bliss or shaktipat
was experienced by many who met him, often dropping them directly into an experience of the Self, he would at times emphatically reject the notion of transmission.
There are disciples of Poonjaji who share satsangs in various locations around the world. These include Gangaji
, Isaac Shapiro, Neelam, Madhukar
, Mooji, Krishna Gauci, Pari, Avinash, Gyandeva, Andrew Cohen, Eli Jaxon-Bear
, Catherine Ingram and Yudhishtara. David Godman
moved to Lucknow in 1992, and stayed with him 1997, and soon became his biographer in the following years edited and published a number of books on him, including, Papaji Interviews, an anthology of interviews, and Nothing Ever Happened, a three volume 1,200-page biography.
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, British India – 6 September 1997 in Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) also known as "Poonjaji" or "Papaji". A disciple of Ramana Maharishi and nephew of Swami Rama Tirtha
Swami Rama Tirtha
Swami Ram Tirth , also known as Swami Ram, was an Indian teacher of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. He was among the first notable teachers of Hinduism to lecture in the United States, traveling there in 1902. He was preceded by Swami Vivekananda in 1893, and followed by Paramahansa Yogananda in...
, although Poonjaji denied being part of any formal tradition, he is considered by many to be a teacher of the Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
and Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
traditions.
Early life
H. W. L. Poonja was born in Gujranwalla, in western Punjab, which is now Pakistan, in a family of Saraswat BrahminSaraswat Brahmin
The Saraswats are a Brahmin caste of India.- History :According to the legend, Saraswat Brahmins are Brahmins who lived on the banks of the former Saraswati River that once flowed in northern India. Although it is said that at Prayag the three rivers meet or met.the fact is that the Saraswati never...
s. His mother was the sister of Swami Rama Tirtha
Swami Rama Tirtha
Swami Ram Tirth , also known as Swami Ram, was an Indian teacher of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. He was among the first notable teachers of Hinduism to lecture in the United States, traveling there in 1902. He was preceded by Swami Vivekananda in 1893, and followed by Paramahansa Yogananda in...
, one of the most famous saints of India. At the age of eight, he experienced a highly unusual state of consciousness. He was persuaded by his mother that he could reconnect to this unitary experience by practicing devotion to the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
God Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, and so he gave himself over to Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
Bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
(devotion) with vigor. He proved to be a prodigy of sorts and while still a boy he began to have visions of Krishna. This is known in the Vaisnava tradition as receiving the "Darsana" of God. Playfully interacting with his visions of Krishna while simultaneously experiencing the bliss of spiritual union, he spent his youth in intimate relationship with Krishna as his friend.
As an adult he led an apparently normal life, married, raised two children and even joined the British army, while secretly his love for Krishna (and his visions of Him) continued. Pursuing the life of a devotee he was not satisfied with having sporadic visions and was deeply troubled when Krishna did not appear. He became obsessed with a longing to have the experience of seeing God all the time. He continuously repeated Krishna's name (japa
Japa
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
) and traveled throughout India asking sages if they could deliver the ability to produce the darshan of God at will.
Meeting Ramana Maharshi
After all his attempts had failed, he returned to his family in LyallpurLyallpur
Lyallpur may refer to* the former name of Faisalabad city, Pakistan* Lyallpur Town, a municipal area of Faisalabad city, Pakistan...
. A sadhu appeared at the door soon after that, and Poonjaji invited him in and asked him the question he had asked swamis throughout the country: "Can you show me God? If not, do you know of anyone who can?" To his surprise, the sadhu told him that there was a person, Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
, who could show him God. Further, the sadhu provided detailed instructions on how to find this Ramana Maharshi at Tiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai
Thiruvannamalai is a pilgrimage Temple city and special grade municipality in Thiruvannamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Thiruvannamalai district. Thiruvannamalai is home to the Annamalaiyar Temple located at the foot of the Annamalai hill and...
in southern India. At the soonest opportunity, Poonjaji traveled to Tiruvannamalai to meet the sage Ramana Maharshi at Sri Ramana Ashram
Sri Ramana Ashram
Sri Ramana Ashram also known as Sri Ramanasramam is the ashram, which was home to modern sage and Advaita Vedanta philosopher, Ramana Maharishi from 1922 till his death here in 1950...
. It was 1944, and Poonjaji was thirty-one years old. However upon meeting Ramana, rather than being given another vision of God Ramana pointed him in the direction of his own Self. He pointed out that gods who appear and then disappear are not continuous, only the One who was aware of those gods was continuous. He encouraged Poonjaji to find the One who had seen the visions of God because that One (Consciousness) does not come and go. He told Poonjaji to find out who the seer is. Poonjaji had a deeply profound experience when he heard this, and under Ramana's gaze he became aware of the spiritual Heart, which he felt open and bloom. This did not deter him from continuing with his japa
Japa
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
of Krishna's name and he was not impressed with the advice as such.
At this point Poonjaji continued pursuing his devotional path, having many visions of Hindu Gods. He was not yet convinced of the value of the Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
philosophy which Ramana was known for but was attracted to him nonetheless. This came to an end when he had a vision of Ramana telling him that Krishna devotion was the only truth. Poonja felt compelled to return to Sri Ramanasramam and ask Ramana if he had indeed appeared before him and conveyed the primacy of Krishna bhakti. Though Ramana would not respond to his question verbally, while Poonja was waiting for an answer, a group of devotees arrived and gave Ramana a picture of Krishna. Ramana, looking at Krishna, wept with such intense devotion for him that Poonja became convinced that Ramana was a secret bhakta himself. It was only later, when Poonjaji went through a devotional crisis, one which he trusted Ramana (the secret bhakta) could help him with, that he completely recognized the Self or Atman
Atman (Hinduism)
Ātman is a Sanskrit word that means 'self'. In Hindu philosophy, especially in the Vedanta school of Hinduism it refers to one's true self beyond identification with phenomena...
. Suddenly, after a lifetime of devotion, he found that he could no longer bring his mind to think of God, do japa
Japa
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
or any other spiritual practice. Deeply concerned, he asked Ramana for help and was told that this was not a problem, that all his practice had carried him to this moment and it could be left behind now because it had served its purpose. On hearing this and bathing in the silent gaze of his guru, Poonjaji felt his body purified and remade atom by atom, transforming him as if he were being given a new body one atom at a time. It was then that he suddenly understood what he was and always already had been.
Later life
After his transformation he stayed in southern India until 1947, when during the partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, despite Poonjaji's fierce longing to stay with his master, Ramana sent him to his old home in the Punjab (then in the new country of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) to bring his family to the safety of Lucknow, India. Ramana's last words to him were: “I am with you wherever you go.” In the following years, Poonjaji earned money to support his family, meeting with seekers and sharing satsangs wherever he was. In 1953, he met his first Western disciple, Henri Le Saux, also known as Swami Abhishiktananda, who wrote many books on Advaita Vedanta and Christianity. In 1966 he retired and spent a lot of time in the Himalayan foothills.
Poonjaji later settled in Lucknow, where he received visitors from all around the world. He died on September 6, 1997.
Message
Poonjaji refused to identify himself with any tradition and was considered decidedly radical in the directness of his teaching. During his satsangSatsang
Satsang in Indian philosophy means the company of the "highest truth," the company of a guru, or company with an assembly of persons who listen to, talk about, and assimilate the truth...
his teaching was consistent with that of his guru Ramana Maharshi
Ramana Maharshi
Sri Ramana Maharshi , born Venkataraman Iyer, was a Hindu spiritual master . He was born to a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu. After experiencing at age 16 what he later described as liberation , he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus...
, and similar to Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
, while his style and manner of teaching has been compared to the early Chan (Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
) masters. His message, like that of his teacher Sri Ramana, was always that the Self is already enlightened and free. He emphasized that there is ultimately no difference between guru and devotee, no teacher, no disciple and even no message. His teaching emphasizes again and again that words can only point to ultimate truth, but never are ultimate truth, and that intellectual understanding without directly realizing the truth through one's own investigation is not enough. Like Sri Ramana, he taught self-enquiry
Self-enquiry
Self-enquiry is a practice designed to rapidly bring about Self-realization, Self awareness, spiritual liberation or enlightenment, and is most commonly associated with its most famous modern advocate, Sri Ramana Maharshi...
, which involved locating a person's sense of "I" and focusing on and investigating this directly. Poonja was quick to point out that devotional bhaktas such as Kabir
Kabir
Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement...
, Ravidas, Sukdev and Mirabai were also awakened in the same state of freedom known as Sahaj Samadhi, which they called God. And like Sri Ramana, he stressed that teaching through silence was more important than teaching through words. While a powerful transmission of awareness, presence, grace, love, bliss or shaktipat
Shaktipat
Shaktipat or Śaktipāta refers in Hinduism to the conferring of spiritual "energy" upon one person by another...
was experienced by many who met him, often dropping them directly into an experience of the Self, he would at times emphatically reject the notion of transmission.
There are disciples of Poonjaji who share satsangs in various locations around the world. These include Gangaji
Gangaji
Gangaji is an American born spiritual teacher and author. She currently lives in Ashland, Oregon with her husband, fellow spiritual teacher Eli Jaxon-Bear.-Early life:...
, Isaac Shapiro, Neelam, Madhukar
Madhukar (author)
Madhukar is a German author, teacher in the Advaita tradition and guru. He established the Yoga of Silence.- Life :...
, Mooji, Krishna Gauci, Pari, Avinash, Gyandeva, Andrew Cohen, Eli Jaxon-Bear
Eli Jaxon-Bear
Eli Jaxon-Bear is an American spiritual teacher and author currently living in Ashland, Oregon. Before he met his final teacher, Sri H.W.L. Poonja in 1990, he was best known for his work with the Enneagram. Following his meeting with Poonjaji he continued to teach, carrying his teacher’s message...
, Catherine Ingram and Yudhishtara. David Godman
David Godman
David Godman is widely acknowledged to be one of the leading authorities on the life, teachings and disciples of Ramana Maharshi, the renowned Indian sage who lived and taught for more than fifty years at Arunachala, a sacred mountain in Tamil Nadu, India...
moved to Lucknow in 1992, and stayed with him 1997, and soon became his biographer in the following years edited and published a number of books on him, including, Papaji Interviews, an anthology of interviews, and Nothing Ever Happened, a three volume 1,200-page biography.