Swami Laxman Joo was a great scholar of Shaivism and a mystic saint of imminence and repute. He was a household name in Jammu and Kashmir and even the late Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi used to visit this saint for seeking his blessings.Swami Laxman Joo was born on 9 May 1907 and his original name was Laxman Raina.His followers call him Lal Sahib. He was born in Srinagar. This saint of repute passed away on 27 September 1991 at the age of 84 years. His Ashrams are spreads at several places across the country and here at Jammu his Ashram is situated at Mohinder Nagar near Canal Road Jammu and his followers frequently visit his Ashram and on his birth anniversary and death anniversary Yagya is solemnised and a large number of people take part in the Yagya and partake prasad. The original Ashram of Swami Laxman Joo is situated at Ishber Nishat Srinagar Kashmir. He was born in a Kashmiri Hindu Brahmin family in Srinagar city in Kashmir. His mothers name was Arnymali Raina.
It is said that at the very tender age of five years he was introduced to the path of spirituality by his elder brother Maheshvarnath was familiarized with spirituality and in fact with Kashmir Shaivisim at the age of eight years by his family priest, Pandit Swami Ram and later by his chief disciple Swami Mehatab. It is said of him that he had the taste of self-realisation at the age of 19 years. After this he left his home and went to the famous ashram of Sadhamalyum in Handwara. His father persuaded him to return and Swami jee continued to study Sanskrit and Shaiva Philosophy under the able guidance of a scholar called Maheshwar Razdan. After some time, Laxman Joo moved to an isolated place above the village of Gupta Ganga near suburb of Srinagar where his parents built him a house.At the age of 30 years Swami jee travelled in India and spending time at Mumbai beach ,a short time with Mahatma Gandhi at Savegram and then with Aurobindo at Pondicherry. There after he came back to Kashmir and he used to live in seclusion and during almost three decades of 1930-1960, little was known about Swami Laxman Joo.
In summers both scholars and saints visited him Famous saint of India Mehar Baba visited his ashram in 1944 and in 1948 Lillan Silburn from NCSR Paris, visited the Swami. It was through Silburn,that Andre Padoux, another prolific scholar of Kashmiri Shaivism came to meet the Swami It was in 1965, after attending a Sanskrit conference in Varanasi, headed by the renowned Sanskrit Tantra scholar Gopinath Kaviraj, that the word spread quickly that Kashmiri Shaivism was alive and fully embodied in the person of Swami Laxman Joo. Many scholars and saints visited Laxman Joo. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi visited Swami jee each summer from 1966 to 1969. The two saints formed a close relationship. Swami jee shifted in his Ashram along with his disciples Sushree Sharika Ji and Sushree Prabha ji.In 1963 Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri ,visited Srinagar and stayed at Smt. Kamala jee Bawas’s residence a devotee of Swamijee whose house was adjacent to Swamiji’s ashram. It was in 1962 that Swamijee constructed a new Ashram at a site between the famous Mughal Gardens -Nishat and Guptganga located in the foothills of the Zabarwan mountains, overlooking the majestic Dal Lake The Ashram was named ‘Ishwar Ashram' as Swami jee was called Ishwar Swaroop - a manifestation of God. He not only understood Kashmiri Shaivism but also spread the Trika Shavisim and he is credited with safeguarding and protecting the philosophy of Kashmiri Shavisim which is famous throughout India and abroad. It will not be an exaggeration to state that Swami Laxman joo was expert in Trika Shaivism and it was he who spread the philosophy of Kashmiri shavisim.
Through his Guru lineage and the heritage of Kashmiri Shavisim, Swami Laxman Joo upheld the unbroken tradition and philosophy of Trika Shvisim ensuring its relevance in the contemporary and even in the present time. Swami Laxman Joo was a revered mystic, saint ,and philosopher of Kashmiri Shavisim, rooted in n ancient spiritual tradition rooted in the Trika philosophy. He played a dominant and key role in reviving and preserving this esoteric tradition,making it accessible to seekers worldwide. He belonged to a well off and respectable family of Kashmiri Swarswat Brahmins. It is a fact that from his early childhood Swami Laxman Joo showed an intense spiritual yearning. The Raina family in which Laxman Joo was born was known for spritiual learnings and devotion to Shaivism. He studied Sanskrit and the Scriptures of Shaivism under the guidance of his family and local scholars.His early inclination to know the ultimate truth became evident from his early life and interests in Shaivism and sprituality. He studied under Swami Ram who was a Shaivite saint and other masters in Kashmir. His spiritul guru ws Swmi Mehatab kak.Laxman Joo did much meditation, studied scriptures and ascetic practices, spending years in loneliness and solitude in beautiful remote place in Kashmir. He also undertook meditation at Shankaryachrarya hills and forests of Wanghath near famous Kheer Bhawani temple. Swami Lxman Joo was master of Kashmiri Shaivism. His teachings stressed the Trika philosophy which rests on three primary texts such as:
1. Shiva Sutra
2. Spanda Karikas and
3. Vijana Bhairva Tantra.
Swami Laxman Joo left his mortal frame in and merged into the supreme Shiva on 27th September 1991, Thursday, at Brahma Muhrut. The great master which he was has taught us that Shiva or supreme reality is both static and dynmic. In brief Swami Laxman joo has given much to humanity through his philosophy of Kashmiri Shaivism and we will remain indebted to this great scholar of Shaivism and a saint which Kashmir has produced.
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