The Holy Presence that Still Walks the Halls of Sri Yukteswar Giri Smriti Mandir
- Aathman Awareness Centre
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
The AAC Team travelled to Serampore, West Bengal, to the ashram of Sri Yukteswar Giri — the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda and one of the most revered names in the Kriya Yoga lineage. But what unfolded there had far less to do with history, and everything to do with what happens whenever a living saint chooses to be present.
A Place Already Steeped in Sanctity
Sri Yukteswar Giri's ashram in Serampore, and Babaji's Tree standing close to it on the banks of the Ganges at Rai Ghat, have long been regarded as sacred ground. The tree marks the spot where Mahavatar Babaji is said to have appeared to Sri Yukteswar after he completed writing The Holy Science — a book written at Babaji's own request, to show the underlying unity between the teachings of the Bible and the Vedic wisdom of Sanatana Dharma. That history alone gives the place its weight. What we actually experienced there, however, came from somewhere else entirely.
The AAC Team's First Visit
When we first visited, without HH Guruji Sundar, there was already a stillness in the air — a quiet sense of not being alone. Several members sensed the presence of Sri Yukteswar Giri, and of the wider lineage connected to him: Paramahansa Yogananda, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Mahavatar Babaji.
Sitting beneath Babaji's Tree, close to the temple, near the riverbank, that presence only grew stronger. Some places don't need words to be understood. This was one of them.
The Story of Babaji's Tree
This banyan tree at Rai Ghat is known among seekers of the Kriya Yoga lineage as Babaji's Tree. It was here that Mahavatar Babaji is said to have appeared to Sri Yukteswar shortly after he completed writing The Holy Science, coming in person to acknowledge the work his disciple had completed at his own request. The tree has stood as a silent witness to that meeting ever since, and remains one of the most quietly revered sites connected to the Kriya Yoga lineage.
A Living Saint's Grace
HH Guruji Sundar is a living saint. Whatever unfolds in his presence — a vision, a holy sighting, a shift felt in the body or in awareness itself — happens by his grace alone. It is never the place, the history, or the effort of the seeker that produces such an experience. It is only ever the Guru.
The Second Visit, In His Divine Presence
The second time, HH Guruji Sundar came with the AAC Team, and something in the ashram shifted the moment he arrived. Much of what unfolded that day feels too personal, too tender, to fit neatly into a blog post — the kind of moment that stays closest to the hearts of the ones who lived it.
What can be said is this: during meditation at the ashram, in his presence, several of us had the vision of Sri Yukteswar Giri himself — in orange, walking the hallway of his own mandir, as though he had never left it. A divine sighting or vision like this does not come simply from entering a sacred building. It comes because a living saint's grace opened a door that history alone could never open.
Why This Matters for a Seeker
A place like Sri Yukteswar Giri's ashram carries centuries of significance. But the AAC Team's own experience there points to something even more direct: realisation, and the grace that reveals it, are alive today — not confined to history, and not accessible through proximity to a building alone. They are accessible only through the living presence of a Guru.
For a seeker on the path, this is the real lesson from Serampore — not what happened there a century ago, but what continues to happen wherever a living saint chooses to walk.
Location of Sri Yukteswar Giri Smriti Mandir
📍 Sri Sri Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri Smriti Mandir, Serampore, West Bengal
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