Trailanga Swami and the Ghats of Kashi
Ganga ghats, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
The ascetic Trailanga Swami, a friend of Lahiri Mahasaya, was a familiar sight on the ghats of Benares. Two lineage texts remember him as one of the great souls of Kashi.
What the texts say
- Lineage text
Yogananda writes that Trailanga Swami was a close friend of Lahiri Mahasaya and that the two often meditated together. He describes a widely told set of stories about the swami: that he floated on the Ganga for long periods, lay unmoving on the hot stones of the bathing ghats, kept silence, and went about unclothed in the crowded lanes.
Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda, chapter 31
- Lineage text
When a disciple asked why a renunciate should honour a householder, Trailanga answered that Lahiri Mahasaya had reached, while living in the world, the realisation he himself had given up everything for. The chapter also mentions Shankari Mai Jiew, described as his only living disciple at the time of writing.
“Lahiri Mahasaya is like a divine kitten”
Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda, chapter 31
- Lineage text
At Manikarnika, Babaji tells the young Sri M that Kashi is home to many highly evolved people who mostly live unknown. He names Trailanga Swami and Lahiri Mahasaya as two who became well known for a reason, and adds that the unknown ones are often greater.
Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography, Sri M, chapter 39
What tradition holds
Kept apart from the texts on purpose. These are held with respect, and they are not the same as a written source.
- Folklore
Popular retellings attach a very great age to the swami. Autobiography of a Yogi itself reports this as what people said of him ("reputed to be"), not as a fact. Keep it that way.
What you will find today
- Getting there
- The texts name no single ghat, so we do not send you to a particular spot. Any quiet step on the ghats of Kashi will serve for the practice below.
Last checked via Sadhana Saarthi editorial note (the texts name no single spot). Conditions change; confirm before you travel.
A practice for this place
Go to the river early, before the ghats fill up. Find a step clear of the foot traffic, sit facing the water and practise ten minutes of silence: no phone, no talking, eyes open and resting on the river. Trailanga is remembered above all for his silence, so let that be the practice.
Read more about this place
Our Kashi Yatra is based in this city. Details here.