Nigamananda Paramahansa

Swami Nigamananda Paramahansa (born Nalinikanta Chattopadhyay; 18 August 1880 – 29 November 1935) was an Indian yogi, guru and mystic in Eastern India. He is associated with the Shakta tradition and a spiritual master of vedanta, tantra, yoga, and prema or bhakti. His followers referred to him as Thakura. Nigamananda was born into a Bengali Brahmin family in the hamlet of Kutabpur in Nadia district (at present, Meherpur District, Bangladesh). He was a sannyasi from Adi Shankar's dashanami sampradaya. After his ordination as a sannyasi, he came to be known as Paribrajakacharya Paramahansa Srimat Swami Nigamananda Saraswati Deva. Nigamananda achieved siddhi (perfection) in four different sadhanas (spiritual disciplines): tantra, gyan, yoga, and prema. Based on these experiences, he wrote five Bengali language books: Brahmacarya Sadhana (ब्रह्मचर्य साधन), Yogi Guru (योगिगुरु), Gyani Guru (ज्ञानीगुरु), Tantrika Guru (तांत्रिकगुरु), and Premik Guru (प्रेमिकगुरु). Nigamananda reportedly experienced the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi. In 1912, on the eve of Akshaya Tritaya, an event took place with the laying of the foundation of Shanti Ashram at Kokilamukh, Assam. Within the ashram, Thakur himself founded the space known as the Gurubrhama Gaadi, which served as a focal point for devotees. Adherents from any religious tradition could come together to engage in their spiritual practices. As an ascetic affiliated with the title of Saraswati under the Sringeri Math, Thakur named his ashram as "Saraswat Math". This nomenclature supported his spiritual lineage and also conveyed his reverence for the goddess Saraswati. After retiring from Saraswata Math, Nigamananda spent the last fourteen years of his life in Puri. Durga Charan Mohanty, a school student, met him at Nilachala Kutir in 1930 and recognized him as Sadguru.