Sri Yukteswar Giri: The Stern Guru and The Holy Science
Written and reviewed by The Kriya Yogi · Updated 25 September 2026
Sri Yukteswar Giri, born Priya Nath Karar in Serampore in 1855, was a disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya and the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda. In the Autobiography he is the most vivid character — sharp, affectionate, unimpressed by flattery, and relentless about discipline. He was also a scholar with an interest in astronomy, and his short book The Holy Science remains widely read.
The short answers
- Born 10 May 1855 in Serampore, Bengal; died 9 March 1936 in Puri, Odisha.
- Initiated into Kriya by Lahiri Mahasaya; later took monastic vows in the Giri branch of the Swami order.
- Ran ashrams at Serampore and Puri, where he trained Yogananda for about ten years.
- Wrote The Holy Science (Kaivalya Darsanam) in 1894 at Babaji's request, comparing the Bible and Hindu scripture.
- Proposed a revised yuga cycle of 24,000 years, placing the present in an ascending Dwapara age.
The teacher
Sri Yukteswar was a widower who had run his family property before taking monastic vows. His ashram at Serampore was small and orderly, and he was known for correcting disciples bluntly. Yogananda describes being scolded for carelessness, pride and sloppy thinking, and writes that this discipline was the greatest gift he received. "Learn to behave," Sri Yukteswar told him — self-mastery first, visions later.
The Holy Science
According to its introduction, Babaji asked Sri Yukteswar at the Allahabad Kumbha Mela to write a book showing the underlying unity of Christian and Hindu scripture. The result, The Holy Science, is short and dense. It sets out Sanskrit sutras with commentary and pairs them with New Testament passages, arguing that the goal of both is the same realisation of the Self.
The yuga theory
In the introduction he also argued that the traditional ages of the world (Satya, Treta, Dwapara, Kali) had been miscalculated. He proposed a 24,000-year cycle tied to the precession of the equinoxes, and placed humanity at the start of an ascending Dwapara Yuga since about 1700 CE — an age of growing understanding of energy. This is a spiritual and astronomical interpretation, not an established scientific finding, and it disagrees with the much longer classical Puranic figures.
Astrology and remedies
Sri Yukteswar practised Jyotisha (Indian astrology) and recommended astrological bangles and gems to some disciples, as the Autobiography recounts. We discuss this tradition carefully on our astrology pages; the claims are traditional, not established science.
His place in the lineage
Yogananda called him a jnanavatar, an incarnation of wisdom. Where Lahiri Mahasaya showed the path in family life, Sri Yukteswar showed it as ruthless clarity. His sayings still circulate: "Forget the past... Everything in the future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now."
Learning from his teaching
Keep an honest daily review
Each evening, note one place you acted carelessly or from pride. Sri Yukteswar's method was correction, not self-punishment.
Read The Holy Science slowly
A few sutras a week, with the matching Bible passage, noticing where they agree.
Tidy the outer life
He saw orderly habits — punctuality, clean space, careful speech — as the base of inner steadiness.
Cautions worth reading
- Kriya yoga in this lineage is given by initiation, in person, from an authorised teacher. This page describes the people and their teaching; it does not teach the initiatory techniques, and reconstructing them from books or videos is not the same thing and can be unsettling or harmful.
- The yuga theory and astrological remedies are traditional teachings; do not make financial, medical or life decisions on their basis alone.
History and devotion
His birth and death dates, ashrams and the 1894 book are documented, and photographs survive. The accounts of his resurrection appearance to Yogananda in 1936 are, by their nature, testimony. His yuga chronology is not accepted by astronomers or by the Puranic tradition; it is a distinctive interpretation.
Questions people ask
+ Who was Sri Yukteswar's guru?
+ What is The Holy Science about?
+ What yuga are we in according to Sri Yukteswar?
+ Where is Sri Yukteswar's ashram?
Sources
- Sri Yukteswar Giri, *The Holy Science* (*Kaivalya Darsanam*, 1894; Self-Realization Fellowship edition).
- Paramahansa Yogananda, *Autobiography of a Yogi* (Philosophical Library, New York, 1946; later editions by Self-Realization Fellowship). Chapters 10–12, 42–43.
- Philip Goldberg, *The Life of Yogananda* (Hay House, 2018).
Dates and places are drawn from published biographies; stories of miracles are reported as the tradition tells them. Nothing here is medical advice.