Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj is an Indian Hinduspiritual leader, author, philosopher and preacher from Bulandshahr, India. He is the Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of Juna Akhara, the oldest and largest order of sadhus in India. He has initiated about one million Naga Sadhus and he is their first Guru. Swami Avdheshanand Giri is the president of Hindu Dharm Acharya Sabha and a board member of the World Council of Religious Leaders.
Early life & Sanyas
Swami Avdheshanand Giri was born into a Brahmin family of Khurja, Bulandshahr district, Uttar Pradesh. It is said that he often talked about his past life in his early childhood. He left for sannyas at the age of 17. He met Swami Avadhoot Prakash Maharaj, an expert in yoga and versatile in knowledge about Vedas and others. Swami Avdheshanand Giri learnt Vedant philosophy and yoga from him. After deep meditation he came out of the Himalayas in the year 1985. He then met his Guru, former Shankaracharya Swami Satyamitranand Giri and took sannyas deeksha from him. Thus he entered the holy Juna Akhara, the largest order of Sadhus and was named Swami Avdheshanand Giri. In the year 1998 at the Haridwar Kumbh, all the saints of Juna Akhara appointed Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji as Acharya Mahamandaleshwar. He is the member of Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. Presently, he is the President of the prestigious Samanvaya Seva Trust, which has several branches in India & abroad, the trust includes world renowned Bharat Mata Mandir, Haridwar.
International Forums
Swami Avdheshanand Giri has chaired many international conferences for climate change, interfaith brotherhood and is regularly invited at various international forums. He is a board member of the World Council of Religious Leaders. He was the keynote speaker at the UNO for ‘Responsible Leadership Summit’ held in May 2019, which was attended by about 200 leaders from various sections of the society across the world. In 2011, Swami Avdheshanand Giri attended the 2010 interfaith G8 Summit held at Winnipeg, Canada. He was the keynote speaker at the Parliament of the World’s Religions at Melbourne in 2009. Same year he attended the ‘Hindu Jewish Summit’ in Jerusalem. In 2008 he also participated in the Israeli Presidential Conference ‘FACING TOMORROW’. In August 2017, Swami Avdhashanand Giri participated in Samvad II: Global Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environmental Consciousness that took place in Yangon, Myanmar. It was inaugurated by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Ram Naik and concluded by the Chief Minister of UP, Yogi Adityanath. It was organised by the Vivekananda International Foundation, Sitagu International Buddhist Academy and University, Myanmar and the Japan Foundation, Japan, in association with the Hindu Dharm Acharya Sabha. In September 2019 he attended Samvaad III - Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance held in Ulaan Bataar, Mongolia. From India Shri Sushil Modi, Dy. Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Gurumurthy, Chairman VIF, and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar were also present along with High Abbots from Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
Social initiatives
In Haridwar, an Old Age Home and a physiotherapy centre is running under the Samanvay Sewa Trust. An educational project is running in Bhopal and Shiv Ganga project in Madhya Pradesh.
Philosophy and teachings
Swami Avdheshanand Giri has deep knowledge on Vedanta and Ancient Indian Philosophy. He is a graduate in Sanskrit and in 2008 he was conferred with honorary degree of D. Litt. from Vikram University, Ujjain.
Spirituality
Swami Ji believes spirituality is that which enhances human values such as love, compassion and enthusiasm. He is a regular speaker on various TV channels and events such as Sanskar TV, Kumbh Mela, Encyclopedia of Hinduism and Vivekananda International Foundation. He also writes as a columnist on various newspapers. Swami Avdheshanand Giri has many high-profile followers; from Bollywood to politicians Harihar ashram continues to receive many visitors. In October 2019, President of India, Shri Ramnath Kovind visited his ashram, when he went for IIT Roorkee convocation. In 2018, Home minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had also been to Harihar Ashram.
