Spiritual Master
Shri Ladli Hari Goswami
Gaudiya Peethadhishwar Shri Ladli Hari Goswami Maharaj
15th in the lineage of Swami Shri Hari Ram Ji Vyas
A journey of faith & sewa
Biography
A prolific spiritual teacher and author, Gaudiya Peethadhishwar Shri Ladli Hari Goswami Maharaj is 15th in the lineage of Swami Shri Hari Ram Ji Vyas himself. He belongs to the ancient Shri Yugal Kishor Juu Temple in the holy town of Vrindavan. Following Madhvacharya Ji's example, he shows unwavering dedication to Madhvacharya Ji's mission of sacred love.
Ladli Hari Maharaj's teachings are simple and full of the sweetness and purity of Braj, like that of the gopis' love for Shri Krishn. He travels extensively, delivering talks on spirituality, and he has created many devotional communities worldwide. He has also written many books and articles on the subject of Bhakti Yog.
Love is not something we achieve. It is something we remember, in the company of those who have never forgotten.
- Appeared
- Samvat 1620Magh Shukla Ekadashi, 1563 AD
- Revealed by
- Hari Ram Ji Vyasfrom the well at Kishor Van
- Sewa since
- 15 generationsin the lineage of Vyas Ji
- Darshan
- Every daymorning and evening
The Temple
Shri Yugal Kishor Juu
One of the seven ancient Thakurs of Vrindavan, revealed from a well at Kishor Van in Samvat 1620.
Shri Yugal Kishor Juu is counted among the seven ancient Thakurs of Vrindavan, the deities brought to light in the sixteenth century when the lost groves of Braj were being found again. An old couplet of the rasik saints names him sixth among them and says that he gave Vyas Ji boundless joy. His story begins with a dream.
Swami Shri Hari Ram Ji Vyas, a scholar from Orchha who had given his life to Vrindavan, dreamt one night that Thakur Ji spoke to him. He lay in the well at Kishor Van, and wished to be lifted out and served. Vyas Ji asked whether he was alone or with Shri Radha Rani. “With Radha Rani,” came the answer. So on Magh Shukla Ekadashi of Samvat 1620 the divine pair was drawn from the fourteen-foot well, the Kishor Koop, and the sewa of Yugal Kishor, the youthful couple, began under the trees of Kishor Van with Shri Priya Ji at his left.
The grove of Kishor Van, beside Sewa Kunj in the heart of Vrindavan, became Vyas Ji’s home. His bhajan kutir and the well still stand there, and his padas are painted on the walls around his samadhi. In the generations that followed, a red sandstone temple rose beside Keshi Ghat, the deity travelled to Panna for safety in the time of Aurangzeb, and the service in Vrindavan passed from father to son in the family of Vyas Ji. It continues today, in its fifteenth generation, under Shri Ladli Hari Goswami Maharaj.
One small custom has survived four and a half centuries. Vyas Ji once bandaged Thakur Ji’s finger after a mishap with his flute, and the sewa remembers that tenderness to this day. It is the spirit of this temple: Yugal Kishor is not worshipped from a distance but cared for as family.
Through the centuries
A timeline
From a scholar's birth in Orchha to the fifteenth generation of sewa.
1510
Birth of Swami Shri Hari Ram Ji Vyas
Born in Orchha, Bundelkhand, on Margashirsha Shukla Panchami of Samvat 1567, to Sumokhan Shukla, royal priest of Orchha, and Devika. He grew into a scholar of Sanskrit and the Puranas.
c. 1534
Vrindavan, for good
Drawn to Braj, Vyas Ji came to Vrindavan, took initiation from Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu and vowed never to leave the town again. He kept that vow for the rest of his long life.
1563
Shri Yugal Kishor appears
On Magh Shukla Ekadashi, Samvat 1620, after a dream in which Thakur Ji asked to be lifted from the well at Kishor Van, Vyas Ji drew out the deity and began the sewa, with Shri Priya Ji at his left.
1570
Akbar comes to Vrindavan
The emperor’s visit opened the way for the great temples of Vrindavan to be built in stone: Govind Dev, Madan Mohan, Gopinath and, in time, Yugal Kishor.
1627
The red sandstone temple
Around Samvat 1684, in the reign of Jahangir, the Rajput chieftain Nonkaran raised the shikhara temple of Yugal Kishor beside Keshi Ghat on the Yamuna, its octagonal sanctum carved with Krishn lifting Govardhan.
c. 1670
Sheltered from the storm
As Aurangzeb’s armies threatened Braj, the deity was carried to safety through Orchha to Panna in Bundelkhand, where the Old Jugal Kishore Temple built by Raja Hindupat Singh (1758–1778) still serves him today.
Today
The sewa continues
At Vyas Ghera beside Sewa Kunj, where the well, the bhajan kutir and the samadhi of Vyas Ji remain, the family of Swami Shri Hari Ram Ji Vyas has carried the loving service of Yugal Kishor Juu into its fifteenth generation.
Founder of the lineage
Swami Shri Hari Ram Ji Vyas
Rasik Ananya of Vrindavan, revered as an incarnation of Vishakha Sakhi.
Hari Ram Vyas was born in Orchha, the capital of Bundelkhand, in Samvat 1567 (1510 AD), the son of Sumokhan Shukla, royal priest of the Orchha court. A brilliant Sanskrit scholar, he was known across the kingdom for his learning before he was known for his love.
A meeting with a disciple of Shri Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu turned him towards Vrindavan. He came, took initiation, is said to have cast his books of debate into the Yamuna, and never left. When King Madhukar Shah of Orchha, his own disciple, begged him to return, Vyas Ji answered that the trees of Vrindavan were now his mother, father, children and kin. For that single-minded love he is remembered as Rasik Ananya, the rasik who belongs to Vrindavan alone.
The saints of Braj count him among the Haritrayi, the three Haris of Vrindavan, with Swami Haridas and Hit Harivansh, and revere him as an incarnation of Vishakha Sakhi, the close companion of Shri Radha. He lived to a great age in his grove at Kishor Van, where his samadhi, raised by Veer Singh Dev of Orchha, is still tended by his family.
Vrindavan ke rookh hamare mata pita sut bandhu
Continue the journey
Read the articles
Reflections by Maharaj Ji on faith, sewa and life in Vrindavan.
Browse the library
Books by Maharaj Ji and the classical works of Vyas Ji.
Join a festival
Satsang, katha and the festivals of the temple year.
Plan your darshan
Timings, directions and a WhatsApp line for any question.