Trailanga Swami and the ghats of Kashi: what two lineage books say
A silent ascetic on the steps of the Ganga, remembered by two different lineages. What the books actually say about him, and what is only said.
Checked by Sadhana Saarthi on
Trailanga Swami appears in the books of two different lineages, and the stories told about him are large ones. That makes him a good test of the way this Atlas works: we set out what the written sources say, how they say it, and where the line falls between a text and a story.
What the source says
- Lineage text
Yogananda introduces Trailanga as a close friend of Lahiri Mahasaya, and says the two often sat together in meditation. He then recounts the stories that were widely told about the swami in Benares: floating on the Ganga, lying unmoving on the sun-hot stones of the bathing ghats, keeping silence, and walking the crowded lanes unclothed. Notice the framing. The book says he was "reputed" to be of great age, and presents these accounts as what many people reported.
Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda, chapter 31
- Lineage text
When a disciple objected to a renunciate honouring a householder, Trailanga answered that Lahiri Mahasaya had reached, while living in the world, the realisation for which he himself had given up everything.
“Lahiri Mahasaya is like a divine kitten”
Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda, chapter 31
- Lineage text
Sitting at Manikarnika, Sri M is told by his teacher that Kashi is home to many highly evolved people who live unnoticed. Trailanga Swami and Lahiri Mahasaya are named as two who became well known for a reason, with the remark that the unknown ones are often greater.
Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography, Sri M, chapter 39
What tradition holds
- Folklore
Many retellings give the swami's age as a precise and very large number, and add feats that appear in neither book. We leave those out.
What you will find today
Neither book ties Trailanga to one ghat, so we do not send you to a particular spot. The ghats he is remembered on are the ghats of Kashi as a whole, and any quiet step along the river will serve for the practice below.
Last checked via Sadhana Saarthi editorial note (the texts name no single spot).
A practice for this place
Trailanga is remembered above all for silence, so make that the practice. Go to the river early, before the ghats fill up, and choose a step out of the way of foot traffic.
Sit facing the water for ten minutes with no phone and no talking, eyes open and resting on the river. When you notice the mind commenting, return to simply looking.
Our Kashi Yatra is based in this city. Details here.