Kripalu Maharaj

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj (IAST: Kṛpālu; 5 October 1922 – 15 November 2013) was an Indian spiritual guru and the fifth Jagadguru. He was the founder of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP), a worldwide Hindu non-profit organization with five main ashrams, four in India and one in the United States.

On Makar Sankranti, 14 January 1957, he received the title of Jagadguru (world teacher) from Kashi Vidvat Parishat, becoming the fifth original Jagadguru in Indian history.

Early life and education
Jagadguru Kripalu Ji Maharaj was born on 5 October 1922 in the village of Kripalu Dham, Mangarh, Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh. His mother was Bhagwati Devi and his father was Lalta Prasad Tripathi, a pious Brahmin.

Jagadguru
In 1955, Kripalu Ji Maharaj organized a religious convention for spiritual leaders in India. Mahamahopadhyay Giridhar Sharma, President of the Kashi Vidvat Parishat, attended the convention and was impressed by Kripalu's scriptural knowledge. In 1957, Kripalu Ji was invited to lecture for ten days on scripture philosophy at the Kashi Vidvat Parishat, a group of 500 scholars of Vedic literature.

The congregation had scholars from Varanasi and other parts of India. Shri Maharaj Ji lectured for seven days about the Hindu scriptures. On 14 January 1957 the scholars declared him to be Jagadguru, a spiritual master of the world. He was 34 years old when given the title,  the fifth person ever to receive it. The Kashi Vidvat Parishat also conferred on him the titles Bhaktiyog-Ras-Avtar and Jagadguruttam, as well as the title Samanvaya-Acharya: he who analyses and reconciles the meaning of all the scriptures, the six philosophies and the teachings of other previous Jagadgurus.

Life after Jagadguru
After accepting the title of Jagadguru, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj traveled throughout India for around 14 years between 1957 and 1971. He delivered month-long discourses in various cities, lecturing to tens of thousands of people.

In 1970, he established Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP), a charitable religious organization, to disseminate his teachings throughout the world.

Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj composed thousands of bhajans and kirtans, including Prem Ras Madira, a collection of 1008 devotional songs. His book on philosophy, Prem Ras Siddhant, discusses the ultimate aim of the individual soul, the importance of attaining divine grace, and the indispensability of surrendering to a Saint. Shri Maharaj Ji's bhajan books include Braj Ras Madhuri, Yugal Madhuri, Yugal Shatak, Bhakti Shatak, Yugal Ras, Shyama Shyam Geet, Radha Govind Geet, Krishna Dwadashi and Radha Trayodashi.

During his lifetime, he personally trained more than 50 Pracharaks, male and female monastic disciples. They continue to travel in India and around the world as his ordained representatives, spreading his teachings.

Controversy
In 2010, a tragic stampede occurred at Kripalu Maharaj's ashram in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, resulting in the deaths of 63 people, primarily women and children.

Kripalu Maharaj faced two allegations of indecent assault, neither of which were proven in court. Based on complaints lodged by the father of two young disciples in 1991, he was charged with indecent assault in 1997 in Nagpur. In 2018, a bench of the Bombay High Court abated the charges but noted that the disciples had "voluntarily kept physical relations" with Maharaj. A similar charge was brought against Maharaj by a woman from Trinidad in 2007. However, this charge also was never proven in court.

TV appearances
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj's discourses are broadcast daily on several religious TV channels, including DD India, Aastha TV, Sadhna TV, IBN 7, News24 and Sanskar TV. In the United States, his discourses are also broadcast everyday on TV Asia.

Philosophical books

 * Prem Rasa Siddhant (ISBN 978-93-80661-35-3) – 'Prem Ras Siddhant' or 'The Philosophy of Divine Love', a popular book written by Shri Maharaj Ji contains the gist of all the teachings of our scriptures.The philosophy of Divine love was first published (in Hindi) in 1955. It was later published in several other Indian languages.
 * Bhakti Shatak (ISBN 978-93-80661-26-1) – The concise philosophy of the Upaniṣats, Gītā, Brahma sūtras and the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam.
 * Radha Govind Geet (ISBN 978-81-90966-16-0) – Printed in two volumes, with 11,111 couplets of Radha Krishna leelas and the devotional philosophy.
 * Ras Panchadhyayi (ISBN 978-93-80661-15-5) – A series of discourses on the esoteric subject of Raas Leela.

Kirtans

 * Prem Ras Madira (ISBN 978-93-80661-27-8) – 1008 songs ("pad") of Radha-Krishna Leelas, Devotional Philosophy and humility.
 * Braj Ras Madhuri (Part 1 ISBN 978-93-80661-20-9, Part 2 ISBN 978-93-80661-21-6, Part 3 ISBN 978-93-80661-22-3, Part 4 ISBN 978-93-80661-55-1) – Printed in four parts, hundreds of kirtans dedicated to Radha-Krishna, Sita-Ram, and others.
 * Yugal Shatak (ISBN 978-93-80661-30-8) – One hundred "kirtans" of Radha Rani and Krishna.
 * Yugal Rasa (ISBN 978-93-80661-29-2) – Kirtans of Radha Krishna.
 * Shri Krishna Dwadashi (ISBN 978-93-80661-04-9) and Shri Radha Trayodashi (ISBN 978-93-80661-28-5) – Twelve "padas" describing the beauty and decorations of Krishna, and 13 "padas" about the beauty and decorations of Radha Rani.

Renditions of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj's bhajans and kirtans have been recorded by singers such as Manna Dey and Anuradha Paudwal. Anup Jalota,