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{{Short description|Hindu yogi and mystic}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox Hindu leader
| name = Swami Ganapati Saraswati
| image = Trailinga Swami.jpg
| caption =
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| birth_name = Shivarama
| birth_date = 31 May 1607
| birth_place = [[Vizianagaram]], [[Golconda Sultanate]] (now in [[Andhra Pradesh]])
| death_date = 26 December 1887 (aged 280)
| death_place = [[Benares]], [[North-Western Provinces]], [[British India]] (now in [[Varanasi]], [[Uttar Pradesh]])
| guru = Bhagirathananda Saraswati
| disciples = Umacharan Mukhopadhyay
| school = [[Vedanta]]
| order = [[Self-realization]] ([[Enlightenment (spiritual)|Enlightenment]])
| sect = [[Daśanāmi Sampradaya]]
| philosophy = [[Advaita Vedanta]]<br>[[Rāja yoga]]<br>[[Tantra]]
| nationality = [[Indian people|Indian]]
| title = The Walking Shiva of Varanasi
| footnotes =
}}
{{Advaita}}
{{Hinduism}}
'''Trailinga Swami''' (also '''Tailang Swami''', '''Telang Swami''') (reportedly{{#tag:ref|''The Guinness Book of Records'' states that the longest confirmed lifespan in human history is 122 years 164 days (44,724 days in total)<ref>{{cite book |title=[[Guinness World Records|The Guinness Book of Records]]|date=1999 |page=102 |isbn=0-85112-070-9 }}</ref> |group="nb"}} 27 November 1607<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" />– 26 December 1887<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" /><ref name="McDermott" />), whose monastic name was '''Swami Ganapati Saraswati''',<ref name="sm_218" /> was a [[Hindu]] [[yogi]] and [[Mysticism|mystic]] famed for his spiritual powers who lived in [[Varanasi]], [[India]].<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" /> He is a legendary figure in [[Bengal]], with stories told of his yogic powers and longevity. According to some accounts, Trailinga Swami lived to be 280 years old,<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" /><ref name="Yogananda" /> residing at Varanasi between 1737 and 1887.<ref name="McDermott">{{cite book |last=McDermott |first=Rachel Fell |title=Mother of My Heart, Daughter of My Dreams |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |page=145 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PrChFaXgf0C&pg=PA145 |isbn=978-0-19-513435-3 }}</ref> He is regarded by devotees as an incarnation of [[Shiva]]. [[Sri Ramakrishna]] referred to him as "The walking Shiva of Varanasi".<ref>{{Harvnb|Rao|2004|p=xii}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Trailanga Swami was born in Kumbilapuram (now known as [[Kumili]] of [[Pusapatirega]]) at Vijayanagaram District in [[Andhra Pradesh]], with the name of Shivarama. According to his disciple biographer, Shivarama was born in 1607 CE, corresponding to year 1529 of the [[Shaka era]].<ref name="sm_218">{{Harvnb|Medhasananda|2003|p=218}}</ref> His biography has been written by [[Biruduraju Ramaraju]] as one volume of his six volume project ''[[Āndhra yōgulu]]''.

Shivarama's parents, Narasimha Rao and Vidyavati Devi, who were devotees of [[Shiva]]. After the death of his father in 1647, at the age of 40, he gave up wealth and family responsibilities to his half brother Sridhar. His mother then shared with him the fact that her father at the time of death expressed desire to be born to her and continue his [[Kali]] [[sadhana]] for the benefit of mankind. She told Shivarama that she believed that he was her father (his own grandfather) reincarnated and that he should take up Kali sadhana. Upon the initiation of a Kali [[mantra]] from his mother, Shivarama carried out Kali sadhana in the nearby Kali temple and Punya Kshetras, but was never far away from his mother. After his mother's death in 1669, he saved her ashes (chita bhasma). He would wear her ashes and continue his Kali sadhana day and night (teevra sadhana). During that time, Shivarama lived the life of a recluse in a cottage, built by his half-brother, near a cremation ground. After 20 years of spiritual practice (''[[sadhana]]''), he met his preceptor swami, Bhagirathananda Saraswati, in 1679 from the [[Punjab region|Punjab]]. Bhagirathananda initiated Shivarama into monastic vows (''[[sannyasa]]'') and named him Swami Ganapati Saraswati in 1685. Ganapati reportedly led a life of severe austerities and went on a pilgrimage, reaching [[Allahabad|Prayag]] in 1733, before finally settling in Varanasi in 1737.<ref name="sm_218" />

== Varanasi ==
[[File:Benares (Varanasi, India) - 1922.jpg|thumb|right|Varanasi in 1922, where the Swami spent a considerable part of his life]]
A member of the [[Dashanami]] order, Shivarama became known as Trailanga Swami after he settled in Varanasi, living the monastic life.

Trailanga Swami had conquered the [[Siddhi|Ashta Siddhis]] - he is supposed to have walked on water and performed many more such extraordinary feats.

In Varanasi, till his death in 1887, he lived at different places including [[Assi Ghat]], the Veda-Vyasashrama at [[Hanuman Ghat]], [[Dashashwamedh Ghat]]. He was often found roaming the streets or the ghats, stark naked and "carefree as a child".<ref name="sm_219" /> He was reportedly seen swimming or floating on the river [[Ganges]] for hours. He talked very little and at times not at all. A number of people became attracted to him upon hearing of his yogic powers to ameliorate their sufferings.<ref name="sm_219">{{Harvnb|Medhasananda|2003|p=219}}</ref> During his stay in Varanasi, several prominent contemporary Bengalis known as saints met and described him, including [[Lokenath Brahmachari]], Benimadhava Brahmachari, Bhagaban Ganguly, [[Ramakrishna]],<ref name="Gupta">[http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/chapter07.htm Gupta, chapter 7].</ref> [[Vivekananda]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Noble|first=Margaret E.|title=The Master as I Saw Him|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|pages=214–216|isbn=978-1-4179-7407-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zuuITres1hsC&pg=PA240|date=August 2005}}</ref> [[Mahendranath Gupta]],<ref name="Gospel">{{cite book|last=Gupta|first=Mahendranath|title=The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna|publisher=Ramakrishna Mission|year=1942|pages=Introduction|url=http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/introduction.htm}}</ref> [[Lahiri Mahasaya]],<ref name="Yogananda">{{cite book|last=Yogananda|first=Paramhansa|title=Autobiography of a Yogi|publisher=Philosophical Library|year=1948|chapter=Chapter 31|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Autobiography_of_a_Yogi/Chapter_31}}</ref> and [[Swami Abhedananda]]., [[Baburam Maharaj (Swami Premananda)|Premananda]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Swami Chetananda |url=http://archive.org/details/5757572021 |title=GOD Lived With Them Swami Chetananda}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Page|first=Mary Le |title=An Apostle of Monism|publisher=Ramakrishna Vedanta Math|year=1947|page=52}}</ref> [[Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati|Bhaskarananda]], [[Vishuddhananda]], and [[Bijoy Krishna Goswami|Vijaykrishna]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Medhasananda|2003|p=220}}</ref> and Sadhak [[Bamakhepa]] .

After seeing Trailanga, Ramakrishna said, "I saw that the universal Lord Himself was using his body as a vehicle for manifestation. He was in an exalted state of knowledge. There was no body-consciousness in him. Sand there became so hot in the sun that no one could set foot on it. But he lay comfortably on it."<ref name="Sw.Varishtha">{{Harvnb|Varishthananda|2007}}</ref><ref name="Isherwood">{{cite book|last=Isherwood|first=Christopher|title=Ramakrishna and His Disciples|publisher=Vedanta Press|year=1980|isbn=978-0-87481-037-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qVMrumO-g0C&pg=PA133}}</ref> Ramakrishna also stated that Trailanga was a real ''[[paramahansa]]''<ref name="Gospel" /> (lit:"Supreme swan", used as an honorific for a spiritual teacher) and that "all Benares was illuminated by his stay there."<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" />

A true Raja-yogi, he practised intense Raja-yoga and Sattvic-Rajasic forms of Tantra.

Trailanga had taken the vow of non-seeking (''ayachaka'')—remaining satisfied with whatever he received.<ref name="sm_219" /> In the later stage of his life, as his fame spread, crowds of pilgrims visited him. During his last days, he took up living like a python (''ajagaravritti'') in which he sat still without any movement, and devotees poured water (''[[abhisheka]]'') on him from early morning till noon, looking upon him as a living incarnation of [[Shiva]].<ref name="sm_219" />

== Death ==
Trailanga died on Monday evening, 26 December 1887. His body was given ''salilasamadhi'' in the Ganges, according to the funeral customs of the monks of the [[Dashanami]] sect, in the presence of mourning devotees standing on the [[ghats]].<ref name="sm_219" />

== Legends and stories ==
There are many stories told about Trailanga and his spiritual powers, such that he has become a near mythical figure in India. [[Robert Arnett]] writes that his miracles are "well documented" and "he displayed miraculous powers that cannot be dismissed as myth" and that there were living witnesses to his "amazing feats".<ref name="Arnett">{{Harvnb|Arnett|2006|p=23}}</ref> Trailanga was believed to have lived to be around 300 years. One account said that he could "read people’s minds like books."<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" />

On many occasions, Trailanga was seen to drink deadly poisons with no ill effect. In one instance, a skeptic wanted to expose him as a fraud. The monk was accustomed to breaking his long fasts with buckets of [[Buttermilk|clabbered milk]] (buttermilk), so the skeptic brought him a bucket of calcium-lime mixture used for whitewashing walls instead. The monk drank the entire bucket with no ill effect—instead, the skeptic fell to the ground writhing in pain. The monk broke his usual silence to explain the law of [[karma]], of cause and effect.<ref name="Yogananda" /><ref name="Arnett" />

According to another story, Trailanga often walked around without any clothes, much like the nanga (or "sky-clad", naked) sadhus. The Varanasi police were scandalized by his behaviour, and had him locked in a jail cell. He was soon seen on the prison roof, in all his "sky-clad" glory. The police put him back into his locked cell, only to see him appear again on the jail roof. They soon gave up, and let him again walk the streets of Varanasi.<ref name="Sw.Varishtha" /><ref name="Yogananda" />

Thousands of people reportedly saw him levitating in a sitting position on the surface of the river [[Ganges]] for days at a time. He would also apparently disappear under the waves for long periods, and reappear unharmed.<ref name="Yogananda" /><ref name="Arnett" /> [[Sivananda Saraswati]] attributed some of his miracles to the ''[[siddhi]]'' or yogic power ''Bhoothajaya'' – conquest over the five elements: "Fire will not burn such a Yogi. Water will not drown him."<ref>{{cite book|last=Sivananda|title=Mind—its mysteries and control |publisher=Divine Life Society |chapter=Chapter 39 The Powers Of A Yogi |url=http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/download/mind.htm#_VPID_42}}</ref>

With respect to his reportedly yogic powers, miracles abound in Trailanga's biographies and exceptionally long life. Swami Medhasananda<ref>Swami Medhasananda (born March 30, 1946) has been President of the Vedanta Society of Japan (Nippon Vedanta Kyokai) since 1993.</ref> writes that according to the "science of yoga", attainment of these is not "impossible".<ref>{{Harvnb|Medhasananda|2003|p=219}}</ref>

It is also said that Trailanga is same as Kuzhandaiananda Swamigal of south India who has Samadhis at Madurai, Tenkasi and Batalagundu. [http://shanmatha.blogspot.com/2012/10/shri-kuzhandhaiyanandha-swamigal.html?m=1]

== Teachings ==
[[File:Umacharan Mukhopadhyay.jpg|thumb|150px|Umacharan Mukhopadhyay, biographer of Trailanga]]
Trailanga's teachings are still extant and available in a biography by Umacharan Mukhopadhyay (1849-1900),<ref>Umacharan Mukhopadhyay (January 27, 1849 - August 12, 1900) (aka Sardar Umacharan Mukherjee) was Minister of [[Dholpur State]] (a kingdom in eastern Rajasthan, India) and a writer, teacher, and judge.</ref>one of Trailanga's foremost disciples. Trailanga described bondage as "attachment to the world" and liberation as "renunciation of the world and absorption in God."<ref name="Medhasananda_221" /> He further said that after attaining the state of desirelessness, "this world is transformed into heaven" and one can be liberated from ''[[samsara]]'' (the Hindu belief that life is a cycle of birth and death) through "spiritual knowledge". According to Trailanga, that attachment to the "evanescent" world is "our chronic disease" and the medicine is "detachment".<ref name="Medhasananda_221">{{Harvnb|Medhasananda|2003|p=221}}</ref>

Trailanga described man's senses as his enemy and his controlled senses as his friend. His description of a poor person as one who is "very greedy" and regarded one who always remains content as rich.<ref name="Medhasananda_221" /> He said that the greatest place of pilgrimage is "Our own pure mind" and instructs people to follow the "[[Vedanta|Vedantic]] truth from the Guru." He described a ''[[sadhu]]'' as one who is free from attachment and delusion.<ref name="Medhasananda_221" /> One who has transcended the egoself.

== Notes ==
<references group="nb" />

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book|last=Arnett|first=Robert |title=India Unveiled|publisher=Atman Press|year=2006|chapter=Introduction|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tmn91va2e4UC&pg=PT23|isbn=978-0-9652900-4-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Medhasananda |title=Varanasi At the Crossroads|publisher=Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture|year=2003|page=1042|isbn=81-87332-18-2}}
* {{Cite book|last=Rao|first=V.V.B. Rama |title=The walking Shiva of Varanasi: life, legends & teachings of Trailingaswami|publisher=Richa Prakashan |year=2004|page=177|isbn=81-901200-8-5}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Varishthananda|first=Swami |date=November 2007|title=Varanasi: The City of Saints, Sages, and Savants |journal=Prabuddha Bharata|volume=112|issue=11|pages=632–633|url=http://www.advaitaashrama.org/content/pb/2007/112007.pdf |isbn=9780965290043 }}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Chattopadhyay |first=Apurba |date= 2015 |title=Trailanga Swami Samagra |language=bn |publisher=Patra Bharati |isbn=978-8183743600}}
* {{cite book |last=Saraswati |first= Paramanand |date=3 Jun 2014 |title=Trailanga Swami and Shankari Mataji |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |page=176 |isbn=978-1-4991-6658-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Tattwananda |first= Swami |date=28 Jul 2008 |title=The Saints of India |publisher=Nirmalendu Bikash Sen Gupta |page=288 }}

== External links ==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=fekDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=Telang+swami "A Boatman's story"] in [[Yoga Journal]].
* Tattwananda ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qUgqAAAAYAAJ The Saints of India]''
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9f4VdfqQvk ''The Life of Trailanga Swami'' (Bengali, full movie)]

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[[Category:1887 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:18th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:19th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:Advaitin philosophers]]
[[Category:Longevity myths]]
[[Category:Hindu revivalists]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu yogis]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu monks]]
[[Category:Indian Shaivites]]
[[Category:People from Vizianagaram]]
[[Category:Scholars from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:Telugu people]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian philosophers]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu saints]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]

Trailanga - Revision history

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