IndiaPost.com - Origins of Shree Krishna Pranami Faith

As its name implies, the followers of this faith worship and bow before the Supreme Lord - in the form of Shree Krishna. They greet each other with the salutation Pranam, recognizing the Divinity in each person. The foundation for this faith was laid by Shri Devchandraji in the 17th century AD.

His disciple, Mahamati Prannath, was responsible for further expounding his Guru's teachings and spreading it throughout India and other parts of the world. The basis of this faith lies in Hinduism - its basic concepts and teachings originate from the Bhagwat (which is considered to be the last of the Vedic scriptures and contains a summary of the Vedas, Puranas and the Upanishads).

Also references to the Vedas are found throughout the 14 volumes that comprise the Kulzam Swaroop - the Ocean of Divine Knowledge given to us by Mahamati Prannath. But the unique thing about its teachings is that 300 years ago, this book contained detailed and authoritative discussions of concepts and ideas contained in the Koran (which is considered to be the last of the Semitic scriptures).

The concept of unity of religions and universality of religious teachings is covered very beautifully in it. In fact, Mahamati Prannath never intended to start a separate faith. He wanted to project a concept, an idea that would unite all peoples, of all religious faiths, together. In this short article, we shall try to acquaint the reader with this Supreme Wisdom.

Devchandraji was born in Umarkot, Sind (now Pakistan). Even from his childhood, he was very curious and contemplative. He always asked the questions - "Who am I? What is this world? Who is its creator? How can I know Him? Why was this world created?" Whenever saints and wise people visited the town, this little boy would ask them those questions.

At the age of 16, he set out to discover the answers for himself. He had to cross the vast Sindh desert. He was walking alone and soon found himself tired, hungry and thirsty. Suddenly, in the middle of the desert, late at night, a soldier appeared. He lay the young man down on a piece of cloth and massaged his thighs. Miraculously, all his pain and discomfort vanished.

The soldier (who was none other than the Lord himself) then showed Devchandraji the path out of the desert and disappeared. Devchandraji was now more convinced about his mission. For years, he wandered all over India, meeting religious people, studying the scriptures. He finally met Swami Haridas.

In his discourses on Krishna Bhakti (devotion to Lord Krishna), Devchandraji himself experienced a divine vision - he saw Shree Krishna in Baal Rupa (as a child). Devchandra met Shree Krishna, talked to him and received Prasad. For fourteen years, Devchandraji stayed with Kanhji Bhatt who was an ardent Krishna devotee, and discussed the Bhagwat (Krishna's life) with great love and devotion.

One day, Shri Devchandraji was listening to the beautiful discourse when he suddenly went into a state of meditation. In this state, he saw Shree Krishna again. Shree Krishna gave him the Tartam Mantra (Mantra of Supreme Wisdom). The Mantra can be briefly translated as follows: "The eternal and absolute Brahman (Supreme Lord) has revealed Himself to us in the form of Shree Krishnaji. He is beyond this world and Akshar Brahma and formless void.

His abode is Aksharatit Dham. He has manifested Himself in this world with all His glory and splendour. He is the giver of eternal joy and has revealed this knowledge to me.

This knowledge reveals to us Shree Krishna's true nature. It will give joy to all beings. I have now one desire - to understand this knowledge, enshrine it in my heart and spread it to the entire world.

When people understand this truth, all their miseries will disappear - they will be filled with Supreme Joy, Eternal Bliss." This world was created for Brahmasrishtis (Divine Souls) by Lord's Maya, so that they may revel in it for a short while and experience separation from the Lord. But they got so lost in the joys and sorrows of this world that they forgot their true abode.

From that day, Devchandraji started preaching this Divine message. His mission was to awaken the lost souls and to take them to their Abode, Paramdham. Shri Devchandra came to be known as Nijanand Swami. Hundreds of people came and obtained true peace and joy.

One of these was Meheraj Thakur who was only 12. The moment Shri Devchandraji saw him, he recognised that the Divine Soul Indravati has descended from Paramdham into this little boy.

He understood that this boy will carry on my work after me and spread this message of love and universal brotherhood to all the sleeping souls.

Before Shree Devchandraji passed away, he blessed his disciple with Supreme Wisdom and powers. Meheraj Thakur subsequently was called Mahamati Prannath - our Lord who has Supreme Wisdom.