Hans Ji Maharaj
| Hans Ram Singh Rawat | |
|---|---|
| Born |
8 November 1900 Gadh-ki-Sedhia, British India (in present-day Uttarakhand, India) |
| Died | 18 July 1966 (aged 65) Alwar, India |
| Spouse(s) | Sinduri Devi (1st) Rajeshwari Devi (2nd, concurrent) |
| Children | With Sindhuri Devi: Savitri With Rajeshwari Devi: Satpal, Mahi Pal, Dharam Pal, Prem Pal |
| Parent(s) | Ranjit Singh Rawat and Kalindi Devi |
Hans Ram Singh Rawat, known as Shri Hans Ji Maharaj (9 November 1900 – 19 July 1966), was born in Gadh-ki-Sedhia, north-east of Haridwar in present-day Uttarakhand, India. His parents were Ranjit Singh Rawat and Kalindi Devi. He was considered a Satguru by his students who called him affectionally "Shri Maharaji" or just "Guru Maharaji."
He had a daughter from his first wife Sinduri Devi, and four sons from his second wife Rajeshwari Devi, later known among followers as "Mata Ji" and "Shri Mataji".
At the age of eight, not long after starting at the village school, Hans Ji's mother died. From that time he was raised by his aunt. As a young adult he visited many holy men in the nearby mountains and pilgrimage towns in the area now the Pakistani provinces of Sindh, Baluchistan and Punjab. He was reportedly disenchanted with these and turned to the Arya Samaj, a popular movement formed to remove caste prejudices and idolatry from Hinduism.
The search for work led Hans Ji to Lahore, the capital of the former Sikh kingdom. During this time he made his first contact with Sri Swarupanand Ji, a guru in the lineage of Advait Mat, from Guna. In 1923, Swarupanand taught Hans the techniques of Knowledge or kriyas, an experience of which Sri Hans later said: "I was given no mantra, but experienced Knowledge. I experienced the music and light of my heart. My mind was focused within". Three years later, in 1926, Swarupanand Ji asked him to start teaching others the techniques of Knowledge, and for the subsequent 10 years Sri Hans travelled through what is today Pakistan and northern India. A strong bond of teacher/disciple was formed between them which Swarupanand reportedly referred to as follows: "I am in Hans' heart and Hans is in my heart".
In 1936, Sri Swarupanand Ji died in Nangli Sahib, a village near the north town of Meerut. Reported indications from Swarupanand about Hans' succession were later contested by a group of mahatmas who noted that Hans Ji had married Sinduri Devi from a neighbouring village in the district of Garwal, making him a "householder", a status that in their view as renunciates was not acceptable. After the rift, Sri Hans was left with only a handful of people to help him continue his work. Sri Hans branched out on his own with the understanding that he had his teacher's blessings, and continued teaching throughout the Indian sub-continent.
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