Paramapadma Dhiranandaji

Paramapadma Dhiranandaji (Samir Kumar Ghosh), a professional yoga teacher and astrologer, was born in 1937 in Kolkata, India. Since early childhood, he has been familiarized with the classical form of yoga (Astanga Yoga). Under the guidance of two very wise yogis and through a five-year training as a yoga teacher, he acquired a deep knowledge of classical yoga.

In 1959, Dhiranandaji was inducted by Swami Hariharanandaji at the Puri Ashram into the original technique of Kriya Yoga, following the teachings of Babaji and his traditional followers (Lahiri Mahasaya, Sri Yukteswarji and Paramahansa Yoganandaji). Under the guidance of his teacher Swami Hariharanandaji and by the grace of God, he was able to quickly complete the higher Kriya levels.

In 1977, Dhiranandaji was commissioned to teach Kriya Yoga in the West as an authorized teacher. In June 1977 he left India; He traveled and held seminars on Kriya Yoga in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, England, Curacao and then came to America, where he held seminars in Miami, New York, Washington DC, New Port, Bogota, and Colombia. In December 1977 he returned to Germany and began an intensive teaching career in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and visited America regularly until 1982.

As more and more people in Europe became interested in Kriya Yoga, he focused entirely on this continent. In August 1982, with the blessings of God and his gurus, he reached the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the goal of the Yoga Path. Since then, he has taught more than 30,000 students in America and Europe classical yoga (Kriya Yoga and Astanga Yoga).

Dhiranandaji initiated a yoga teacher’s education program in Schorndorf, Germany, and later in Speicher, Switzerland, in which the science of yoga is taught in detail and precisely. About 50 yoga teachers completed their training every two years.

In addition to his teaching on the positive aspects of classical yoga (Kriya Yoga and Astanga Yoga) for humanity, Dhiranandaji wrote passionately. Already as a child, he wrote Bengali poems and this hobby became a great passion in adulthood for the yogi. He also wrote many articles in German and English on astrological stones and on yoga (Kriya Yoga and Astanga Yoga), which were regularly published in magazines in Europe. His book “Yogamrita” gained great popularity.

His passion for writing was so great that, despite his tight schedule during yoga seminars and yoga classes, he has written several books of Bengali poetry. Indian musicians have made some of these poems songs, which are available as CDs and DVDs (video clips).

On April 1, 2011, he left his body in Maha Samadhi.

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