their marriage. As Kashimoni grew older, she
became an advocate of the education of women
at a time when it was unpopular. Her husband
taught her to read.
One day, Kashimoni had a profound vision
and saw her husband to be none other than an
incarnation of Lord Shiva himself. From this point
onward, her commitment to God was intensified
and her support for her husband’s work increased.
From 1851 to 1888, he worked as a clerk in
public works and tutored children of kings and
merchants. Some of these students would later
take YOGA initiation from him. In 1888, he opened
a Bengali school, of which he remained secretary
throughout his life. He later established a school
exclusively for women, an unprecedented action
for the time.
On November 27, 1861, BABAJI called on
him. Leaving his wife in Kashi (or Benares) he
set out on a journey to Ranikhet, not know-
ing why. There he met Babaji, who claimed
to have been waiting for him for quite some
time. With just an extension of his hand onto
Shyamacharan’s head, an electromagnetic force
passed through his body, and slowly he started
to remember his past life as an ascetic. He now
fully recognized Babaji and the place where they
were. With their reunion, Shyamacharan’s path
was clearly defined, and thus began his life as
Sri Lahiri Baba, also called Yogiraj. He went on
to initiate many students, including his wife, in
the lost practice of kriya yoga. This technique
integrates the use of mantras and meditation to
endow calmness and control on the body and
mind. In his lifetime, Lahiri Baba did not author
any books, but his teachings, when imparted,
inspired many books by his disciples. He died on
September 26, 1895.
Further reading: Paramahansa Prajnanananda, Lahiri
Mahasaya: Fountainhead of Kriya Yoga (Orissa: Graphic
Art Offset Press, 1999); Paramahansa Yogananda, Auto-
biography of a Yogi (Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fel-
lowship, 1969).
Lakshmana See RAMAYANA.
Lakshmi
Lakshmi is the wife of VISHNU and the GODDESS of
wealth and happiness. She also is associated with
beauty. Lakshmi sometimes goes by the name of
Sri, though in very early times Sri seems to have
had an independent identity and was only later
conflated with her.
Laksmi is most often depicted seated on a
lotus. She is golden or white in complexion. She
has four arms; in two hands she holds lotuses and
with an upraised hand and downward pointing
hand she gives gestures that indicate well-being
and prosperity. She is commonly depicted in
her iconography being bathed by two celestial
elephants holding a pot of water. When she
stands beside VISHNU, her husband, she is gener-
ally shown with only two hands. Lakshmi is an
extremely popular goddess.Further reading: Upendra Nath Dhal, Goddess Laksmi:
Origin and Development (New Delhi: Oriental, 1978);
Niranjan Ghosh, Concept and Iconography of the God-
dess of Abundance and Fortune in Three Regions of India
(Burdwan: University of Burdwan, 1979); David Kins-
ley, Hindu Goddesses (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1986).Lakshmanjoo (1907–1991) teacher of
Kashmiri Shaivism
Rajanaka Lakshmana, known as Lakshmanjoo,
was a popular and widely respected scholar and
yoga master in the tradition of KASHMIRI SHAIVISM.
He was the last living representative of the great
lineage of teachers of Kashmir Shaivism, and the
only remaining repository of its oral teachings.
Born in Srinagar, Kashmir, on May 9, 1907,
Lakshmana was raised by his father, Sri Narayan-
das Raina, and his mother, Shrimati Aranyamali,
both of whom were devotees and disciples of
Swami Ram Joo. Sri Narayandas was a well-knownK 256 Lakshmana