Swarupanand

Who was Swarupanand?

Beli Ram, Sri Swami Swarupanand ji Maharaj was an Indian guru of the Advait Mat lineage. He was also known as "Second Master", "Param Sant Ji" and as Sri Nangli Sahib.

Born in Kohat, India, the young Beli Ram was initiated into the sanyasas in the early 1900s in Teri by Advaitanand Ji, who named him Swarupanand Ji. During Advaitanand's life, Swarupanand created an order of sannyasins in northern India and founded several centers with the purpose of disseminating his master's teachings.

In 1935 he moved from Punjab to Delhi. He died a year later on 9 April 1936 in the village of Nangli, near Meerut. At the time of his death Swarupanand had ten thousand followers and more than three hundred ashrams in northern India. One of his disciples was Hans Ji Maharaj, who went on to establish the Divine Light Mission. There were reported indications made by Swarupanand about Hans Ji Maharaj being his successor that were later contested by a group of mahatmas that did not appreciate the fact that Hans ji was married, making him a "householder", a status that in their views as renunciates was not acceptable. According to another account, Swarupanand was succeeded by Shri Swami Vairagya Anand Ji Maharaj, also known as the "third master".