= Rama_Tirtha =

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= Rama_Tirtha =
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Introduction
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Swami Rama Tirtha ( 22 October 1873 - 17 October 1906), also known as
Ram Soami, was an Indian teacher of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.
He was among the first notable teachers of Hinduism to lecture in the
United States, travelling there in 1902, preceded by Swami Vivekananda
in 1893 and followed by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920. During his
American tours Swami Rama Tirtha spoke frequently on the concept of
"practical Vedanta" and education of Indian youth. He proposed
bringing young Indians to American universities and helped establish
scholarships for Indian students.

Biography
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Rama Tirtha was born in a Punjabi Brahmin family to Pandit Hiranand
Goswami on 22 October 1873 (Deepawali Vikram Samvat 1930) in the
village of Muraliwala in the Gujranwala District of Punjab, Pakistan.
His mother died when he was a few days old and he was raised by his
elder brother Gossain Gurudas. After receiving a master's degree in
mathematics from The Government College of Lahore he became professor
of mathematics at Forman Christian College, Lahore.

A chance meeting with Swami Vivekananda in 1897 in Lahore, inspired
his later decision to take up the life of a sannyasi. Having become
well known for his speeches on Krishna and Advaita Vedanta he became a
swami in 1899 on the day of Deepawali, leaving his wife, his children
and his professorial chair.

"As a sannyasi, he neither touched any money nor carried any luggage
with him. In spite of it he went round the world." A trip to Japan to
teach Hinduism was sponsored by Maharaja Kirtishah Bahadur of Tehri.
From there he travelled to the United States of America in 1902, where
he spent two years lecturing on Hinduism, other religions, and his
philosophy of "practical Vedanta". He frequently spoke about the
iniquities emanating from the caste system in India and the importance
of education of women and of the poor, stating that "neglecting the
education of women and children and the labouring classes is like
cutting down the branches that are supporting us - nay, it is like
striking a death-blow to the roots of the tree of nationality."
Arguing that India needed educated young people, not missionaries, he
began an organization to aid Indian students in American universities
and helped to establish a number of scholarships for Indian students.

He always referred to himself in the third person, which is a common
spiritual practice in Hinduism in order to detach oneself from Ego.

Although upon his return to India in 1904 large audiences initially
attended his lectures, he completely withdrew from public life in 1906
and moved to the foothills of the Himalaya, where he prepared to write
a book giving a systematic presentation of practical Vedanta. Tirtha
died on 17 October 1906 (Deepawali Vikram Samvat 1963), and the book
was never finished.

Many believe he did not die but gave up his body to the river Ganges.

A significant prediction made by Swami Rama Tirtha for future India is
quoted in Shiv R. Jhawar's book, 'Building a Noble World'. Rama Tirtha
predicted: “After Japan, China will rise and gain prosperity and
strength. After China, the sun of prosperity and learning will again
smile at India.”

Legacy
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Punjabi Indian nationalist Bhagat Singh uses Tirtha as an example of
the great contributions Punjab had made to the Indian nationalist
movement in his essay "The Problem of Punjab's Language and Script".
The lack of memorials to Tirtha is given by Singh as an example of the
lack of respect for Punjab's contributions to the movement.

Indian Revolutionary Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil depicted the character
of Swami Rama Tirtha in the poem 'Yuva Sannyasi'.

Two of his disciples, S. Puran Singh and Narayana Swami, wrote
biographies. Puran Singh's 'The Story of Swami Rama: The Poet Monk of
the Punjab' appeared in 1924 and was published in English as well as
in Hindi. Narayana Swami's untitled account was published in 1935 as a
part of Rama Tirtha's collected works.

A further account of his life was written by Hari Prasad Shastri and
published with poems by Swami Rama Tirtha translated by H P Shastri as
'Scientist and Mahatma' in 1955.

Paramahansa Yogananda translated many of Rama Tirtha's poems from
Bengali into English and put some of them to music: one, entitled
"Marching Light", appeared in Yogananda's book 'Cosmic Chants', as
"Swami Rama Tirtha's Song".

Contribution of Swami ji towards his mother tongue Punjabi language
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The Swami Rama Tirtha Mission Ashram is located at Kotal Gaon Rajpura,
near Dehra Dun in Uttarakhand, India.

One of three campuses of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University,
situated at Badshahi Thaul, New Tehri, is known as the Swami Rama
Tirtha Parisar (SRTC).

His sister's son H. W. L. Poonja became a noted Advaita teacher in
Lucknow, while Hemant Goswami, his great-grandson, is a social
activist based in Chandigarh.

Further reading
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* 'Parables of Rama by Swami Rama Tirtha'. Rama Tirtha Pratisthan.
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007C11PY]
* 'Practical Vedanta Selected Works of Swami Rama Tirtha: Selected
Works of Swami Rama Tirtha.' 1978, Himalayan Institute Press. .
* 'Yoga and the Supreme Bliss : Songs of Enlightenment.' Swami Rama
Tirtha, 1982, trans. A.J. Alston. .
* 'Life, Teachings And Writings Of Swami Rama Tirtha', by Prem Lata.
Sumit Publications, .
* Swami Rama Tirtha - A Great Mystic Poet of India.
[http://www.vedicbooks.net/swami-rama-tirtha-a-great-mystic-poet-of-india-p-14504.html]
* An article on Swami Rama Tirtha in "The Legacy of The Punjab" by R.
M. Chopra, 1997, Punjabee Bradree, Calcutta.
*
* "Rama In The Eyes of Iqbal". 2010 by Dr. Kedarnath Prabhakar &
Dr. Akash Chanda ( )
* "Wehdatnama: A Bouquet of Punjabi Vedantic Poetry of Swami
Ramtirtha" 2013 by Dr. Kedarnath Prabhakar & Dr. Akash Chanda ( )
* "Muscular Vedanta: The Practical Form of Vedanta Philosophy
Propounded by Swami Ramtirtha". 2011 by Dr. Kedarnath Prabhakar &
Dr. Akash Chanda ( )
* "[https://www.shantisadan.org/book-content/scientist-and-mahatma/
Scientist and Mahatma: The Life and Teachings of Swami Rama Tirtha]"
(2nd ed. 2006) by Hari Prasad Shastri. Shanti Sadan. .

External links
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* [https://archive.org/details/TheStoryOfSwamiRamaTirthaByPuranSingh
Biography of Swami Rama Tirtha by Puran Singh - free download]
* [http://www.ramatirtha.org/rama.htm Official Swami Rama Tirtha
website]
*
[http://www.indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Print%20Size/2.54%20X%202.5/SWAMI%20RAMA%20TIRTHA
Indian Postage Stamp on Swami Rama Tirtha, 1966]

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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_Tirtha