By Rishabh Naudiyal Last Updated:
Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj, commonly known as Premanand Ji Maharaj by his devotees worldwide, he is currently one of the most popular spiritual gurus in the country. From Instagram reels to YouTube Shorts, short videos from Premanand Maharaj's satsang are extremely popular on social media. With a massive fanbase of 11.1 million followers on his Instagram handle, Premanand Maharaj is among one of the most followed spiritual leaders in the world.
Not only on Instagram, Premanand Maharaj has a strong fanbase on YouTube of 7.88 subscribers and 943K followers on Meta (Facebook). All these numbers speak volumes about Premanand Maharaj's popularity and influence in people's lives across the world. What's interesting is that Premanand Maharaj hasn't named his social media handles with his name. Instead, he has chosen the term, 'Bhajan Marg' for his social media accounts.
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The much-loved spiritual guru, Premanand Ji Maharaj's real name is Anirudh Kumar Pandey. He was born in 1972 in a small village named Sarsaul Block, Kanpur. Premanand Maharaj left his parents, Shri Shambhu Pandey and Smt. Rama Devi, quite early in life. At the mere age of 13, he started taking initiation and followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was also a sanyasi.
After moving out of his ancestral home, Premanand Maharaj initiated into Naishtik celibacy (lifelong celibacy) and, thereafter, sannyasa (purification of everything). After he accepted the Mahakavya, Premanand Maharaj was given the name, Swami Anandashram. However, he was not interested in living the hierarchical life of the ashram, which is why he moved out in order to seek solace. Premanand Maharaj went to Varanasi, where he meditated for some time.
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During his time at Varanasi, Premanand Ji Maharaj used to meditate while sitting under a huge peepal tree. That is when a saint told him to watch Raas Leela. Although at the beginning Premanand Maharaj said 'no', but after the saint's multiple requests, he went to watch it. It was an experience that changed his life as he reportedly went to Vrindavan.
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One of the most frequently asked questions about Premanand Ji Maharaj is about his guru or the person who guided him in his life and taught him everything. Well, it is none other than the famous spiritual leader, Shri Gaurangi Sharan Maharaj, who is insanely popular across India. During his early days in Vrindavan, Premanand Maharaj started visiting Bihari Ji's temple which soon became his favourite place for meditation and devotion.
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For the uninitiated, Premanand Maharaj was initiated into Radhavallabhi Sampradaya after he attained 'Sharanagati Mantra'. However, in the coming days and weeks, he met his current guru, Pujya Shri Hit Gaurangi Sharanji Maharaj, better known as Bade Guru, who gave him the 'Nij Mantra'.
After this, Premanand Maharaj entered into the category of Rasik Saints (saints who are submerged in deep love with Shri Radha Krishna). Not only this, Premanand Maharaj served his guru for the next 10 years and attained a lot of knowledge about Vedas, scriptures and spirituality.
As of now, Premanand Ji Maharaj resides in Vrindavan at his ashram, Shri Hit Radha Keli Kunj, which is located in the Ramanreti locality. A few years back, Premanand Maharaj used to do parikrama of Vrindavan on a daily basis, but he stopped it due to health problems. According to a report in ABP Live, Premanand Maharaj's kidneys are not in good shape, and he has been put on full-day dialysis for some time now. Although many devotees want to donate their kidneys, but Premanand Maharaj has declined the idea of giving pain to someone for his life.
This is the reason why so many people admire and follow him. In recent years, we have seen a series of renowned personalities visiting Premanand Ji Maharaj in Vrindavan. Some of the famous names include Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Great Khali, Hema Malini, Mohan Bhagwat, and many more. We hope Premanand Maharaj continues to lead us on the path of spirituality.
What are your thoughts on Premanand Ji Maharaj? Do you follow his teachings and values? Let us know.
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