Daily Puja
Sharad Poornima · Sunday, Oct 25
On the luminous night of Sharad Poornima in 1922, as the autumn moon shone with all sixteen kalas, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj appeared in the village of Mangarh, near Allahabad. This year we celebrate his 104th appearance day, honouring the beloved Guru of Swami Mukundananda and the fifth original Jagadguru of this age.
Morning Session
10:30 AM onwards
✿ Special Satsang
✿ Shree Maharaj Ji Abhishek & Birthday Celebrations
✿ Bhog & Aarti
1922
Appeared on Sharad Poornima
1957
Honoured as Jagadguruttam
5th
Original Jagadguru
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj · 1922 – 2013
Jagadguruttam
✦
Bhaktiyog Rasavtar
✦
Samanvayacharya
✦
Fifth Original Jagadguru
16
Kalas of the Sharad moon
His Divine Appearance
Sharad Poornima is the full moon of the month of Ashvin, the one night of the year when the moon is said to shine with all sixteen kalas. In Braj it is cherished as Raas Poornima, the night Shree Krishna performed the Maha Raas with the gopis of Vrindavan, the supreme pastime of divine love.
On this very night in 1922, Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, lovingly called Shree Maharajji by his devotees, appeared in the village of Mangarh, near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The saint born on the night of the Maha Raas would spend his whole life revealing that same divine love, the love of Radha Krishna, to the world.
Why we celebrate
For devotees across the world, Sharad Poornima is Shree Maharajji’s appearance day: a night to sing his kirtans, remember his grace, and renew the longing for God that he awakened in countless hearts.
A Life of Divine Love
1922
Born in Mangarh, near Allahabad. As a child he played and frolicked like any other, yet he was known for an effortless brilliance in his studies.
Age 14
He left his village to study at universities in Kashi, Chitrakoot and Indore, completing an entire series of courses in just two and a half years.
Age 16
Setting his studies aside, he withdrew into the dense forests, absorbed day and night in love for Radha Krishna. He often lost all outer awareness and remained in mahabhav, the highest stage of devotion, last manifested by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu some 500 years earlier.
1940s–50s
His satsangs set Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan alight with devotion, with kirtans he composed himself often continuing through the whole night.
1957
On Makar Sankranti, 14 January 1957, the 500 scholars of the Kashi Vidvat Parishat declared him Jagadguru, and Jagadguruttam, supreme among Jagadgurus. He was just 34.
1957–71
He travelled throughout India, giving month-long discourses that revealed the true meaning of the scriptures to vast gatherings. In 1970 he founded Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat to carry his teachings worldwide.
2013
On 15 November 2013, Shree Maharajji concluded his earthly pastimes, leaving behind magnificent temples, thousands of kirtans and devotional works, free charitable hospitals, free schools for girls, and disciples who carry his mission across continents.
Jagadguruttam
Jagadguru means spiritual master of the world. The Kashi Vidvat Parishat honours someone with this title only after satisfying itself that he has complete knowledge of all the Shastras, Vedas and Puranas. Before Shree Maharajji, only four saints had been recognised as original Jagadgurus.
I
Jagadguru Shankaracharya
II
Jagadguru Ramanujacharya
III
Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya
IV
Jagadguru Madhvacharya
V
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
500
Vedic scholars of the Kashi Vidvat Parishat
In 1957 the Kashi Vidvat Parishat, the foremost assembly of Vedic scholars in Varanasi, invited the young saint to speak for ten days on scriptural philosophy. Speaking in classical Sanskrit, he upheld the philosophies of all four previous Jagadgurus and, to the astonishment of the gathering, reconciled their apparent contradictions.
On 14 January 1957, at just 34 years of age, he was unanimously honoured as Jagadguru and Jagadguruttam. To this day, the Kashi Vidvat Parishat has declared no one else a Jagadguru.
Jagadguru
Spiritual master of the entire world
Jagadguruttam
Supreme among all Jagadgurus
Bhaktiyog Rasavtar
The descent of divine love and bliss
Samanvayacharya
Reconciler of all scriptures, the six schools of philosophy and the teachings of past Jagadgurus
His Teachings
Rooted in the Vedas, Shree Maharajji’s teachings are known for their simplicity, universality and practicality. He named their collective body Jagadguru Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan.
01
Ananda
Every living being is searching for unlimited, everlasting happiness. That bliss is God Himself, and the soul, His tiny part, can be fulfilled only in Him.
02
Bhakti
Selfless love for Radha Krishna is the most direct path, preferred over karm and gyan. True bhakti naturally brings divine knowledge and detachment with it.
03
Man
God looks at the mind, not at outer show. Do your duties in the world with the body, while keeping the mind lovingly attached to God.
04
Roopdhyan
Shree Maharajji gave this practice its name: focusing the mind lovingly on the divine form of God, and keeping that remembrance alive even during daily duties.
05
Nishkam Prem
Give up every desire, even the desire for liberation. Practise devotion only to attain selfless divine love for God.
06
Guru Kripa
Divine bliss is attained by God’s grace, received through complete surrender of the mind. The guidance of a genuine Saint is indispensable on this path.
Bhaktiyog Rasavtar
His kirtans, filled with intense longing for Radha Krishna, have been compared by scholars with those of Meerabai, Soordas, Tulsidas and Raskhan, and are sung by devotees across the globe.
Thousands of bhajans and kirtans, and philosophical works such as Prem Ras Siddhant, the Philosophy of Divine Love.
Prem Ras Siddhant
Prem Ras Madira
Radha Govind Geet
Bhakti Shatak
Three magnificent temples in Braj and at his birthplace. Prem Mandir alone welcomes lakhs of visitors each day.
Prem Mandir, Vrindavan
Kirti Mandir, Barsana
Bhakti Mandir, Mangarh
Free charitable hospitals and education for girls in rural India, expressing devotion as compassion for all.
Free hospitals
Girls’ education
Relief & seva
Guru & Shishya
Swami Mukundananda, founder of JKYog, is a senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. After earning degrees from IIT Delhi and IIM Calcutta and working in the corporate world, he renounced it all and studied the Vedic scriptures at the feet of Shree Maharajji.
On his Guru’s instructions he founded JKYog, which today shares the philosophy of divine love through discourses, books, kirtans and temples. Radha Krishna Temple of North Carolina, inaugurated by JKYog in 2018, is part of that mission.
On Sharad Poornima we bow to the Guru of our Guru, whose grace continues to reach us through Swamiji.
Sharad Poornima Celebration
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Radha Krishna Temple of North Carolina · 23 Radhika Way, Apex, NC
Morning Session
10:30 AM onwards
✿
Special Satsang
✿
Shree Maharaj Ji Abhishek & Birthday Celebrations
✿
Bhog & Aarti
Evening Session
From 4:00 PM
4:00 PM
Special Shiv Annabhishekam
Abhishek with cooked rice
6:30 PM
Samuhik Satyanarayan Pooja & Katha
About the Katha & registration →8:15 PM
Raas Garba
Dance under the Sharad Poornima moon