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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox religious biography
| name = Krishna Prem
| name = Krishna Prem
| honorific-prefix = Sri
⚫
| image = Sri Krishna Prem.jpg
| alt =
| image = Sri Krishna Prem.jpg
| caption =
| alt =
⚫
| caption = Krishna Prem in the early 1950s
⚫
| birth_name = Ronald Henry Nixon
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1898|05|10}}
| philosophy =
⚫
| birth_place = [[Cheltenham]], England
| denomination = [[Vaishnavism]]
⚫
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1965|11|14|1898|05|10}}
| sect = [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]]
| death_place = India
| temple = Uttar Brindaban ashram, [[Mirtola]]
⚫
| alma_mater = [[King's College, Cambridge]]
⚫
| birth_name = Ronald Henry Nixon
| nationality = British/Indian
| nationality = British, Indian
| other_names =
⚫
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1898|05|10}}
| occupation = {{Plainlist|
⚫
| birth_place = [[Cheltenham]], England
* Spiritual teacher
⚫
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1965|11|14|1898|05|10}}
* Author
| death_place = Mirtola, [[Almora district]], India
| resting_place = Krishna Prem's ''[[Samadhi (shrine)|samadhi mandir]]'', [[Mirtola]]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{coord|29.64237|79.82751}}
⚫
| alma_mater = [[King's College, Cambridge]]
| works = ''The Search for Truth'', ''Initiation into Yoga'', ''The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gita'', ''The Yoga of the Kathopanishad''
| guru = Sri Yashoda Mai, Sri Bal Krishna Goswami
| website = {{url|https://www.mirtolareflections.com}}
| background = #ffca6e
}}
}}
⚫
'''Sri Krishna Prem''' (10 May 1898 – 14 November 1965), born '''Ronald Henry Nixon''', was a British spiritual aspirant who went to India in the early 20th century. Together with his spiritual teacher Sri Yashoda Mai (1882 – 1944), he founded an ashram at [[Mirtola]], near [[Almora]], India. He was one of the first Europeans to pursue [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]] [[Hinduism]], and was highly regarded, with many Indian disciples. Later, according to the account of his foremost disciple Sri [[Madhava Ashish]], Krishna Prem transcended the dogmas and practices of the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnava]] tradition into which he had been initiated and affirmed a universal spiritual path shorn of "orthodoxy" and blind traditionalism.
}}
⚫
'''Ronald Henry Nixon''' (10 May 1898 – 14 November 1965), later known as '''Krishna Prem''' or '''Krishnaprem''', was a British spiritual aspirant who went to India in the early 20th century. Together with his spiritual teacher Yashoda Ma, he founded an ashram at [[Mirtola]], near [[Almora]], India. He was one of the first Europeans to pursue orthodox [[Vaishnavite]] [[Hinduism]]. Remaining a strict [[Gaudiya Vaishnavite]] the rest of his life, he was highly regarded, and had many Indian disciples. (Correction: By all accounts, and especially by the account of his foremost disciple Madhava Ashish, Krishna Prem transcended the dogmas and practices of his early Vaishnava sectarianism and affirmed a universal spiritual path shorn of "orthodoxy" and blind traditionalism.)


==Early life==
==Early life==
Ronald Henry Nixon,<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}} more commonly called Ronald Nixon, was born in [[Cheltenham]], England, in 1898,<ref name=jones06>"Krishna Prem, Sri (1898&ndash;1965) Western-born Vaishnavite Guru" in {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |year=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9780816075645 |page=246 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA246&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false |author2=James D. Ryan }}</ref> and educated in [[Taunton]].<ref name=haberman93/>
Ronald Henry Nixon<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}} was born in [[Cheltenham]], England, in 1898,<ref name=jones06>"Krishna Prem, Sri (1898&ndash;1965) Western-born Vaishnavite Guru" in {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |year=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9780816075645 |page=246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA246 |author2=James D. Ryan }}</ref> and educated in [[Taunton]].<ref name=haberman93/>
His mother was a [[Christian Science|Christian Scientist]] and his father was reportedly in the glass and china business.<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}}
His mother was a [[Christian Science|Christian Scientist]] and his father was reportedly in the glass and china business.<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}}


At age 18, Nixon became a [[Royal Flying Corps|British fighter pilot]] in the First World War.<ref name=haberman93/><ref name=brooks89/> On one occasion, he experienced an escape from death that he believed was miraculous, in which a "power beyond our ken" saved him from several enemy planes.<ref>Page 17 in {{cite book|last=Ginsburg|first=Seymour B.|title=The masters speak: an American businessman encounters Ashish and Gurdjieff |year=2010 |publisher=Quest Books/Theosophical Pub. House |location=Wheaton, Illinois, USA |isbn=9780835608824 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5idZCmh_nM8C&pg=PA17&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CF8Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false|edition=1st Quest ed.|author2=Madhava Ashish }} (on page 283, the quote from Nixon is cited to page 54 of Roy's biography, 1975 2nd edition)</ref>
At age 18, Nixon became a British fighter pilot in the First World War:<ref name=haberman93/><ref name=brooks89/> he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on probation on 10 May 1917,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30100|supp=y|page=5309|date=29 May 1917}}</ref> was confirmed in his rank on 12 June,<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=30181|supp=y|page=7053|date=13 July 1917}}</ref> and was appointed a [[flying officer]] in the [[Royal Flying Corps]] on 15 June.<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=30181|supp=y|page=7050|date=13 July 1917}}</ref> On one occasion, he experienced an escape from death that he believed was miraculous, in which a "power beyond our ken" saved him from several enemy planes.<ref>Page 17 in {{cite book|last=Ginsburg|first=Seymour B.|title=The masters speak: an American businessman encounters Ashish and Gurdjieff |year=2010 |publisher=Quest Books/Theosophical Pub. House |location=Wheaton, Illinois, USA |isbn=9780835608824 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5idZCmh_nM8C&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA17|edition=1st Quest|author2=Madhava Ashish }} (on page 283, the quote from Nixon is cited to page 54 of Roy's biography, 1975 2nd edition)</ref> His experiences of death and destruction during the war filled him with a "sense of futility and meaninglessness".<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}} He was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 11 January 1919<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=31162|page=1801|date=4 February 1919}}</ref> and relinquished his temporary Army commission on 3 December that year.<ref>{{London Gazette|nolink=y|issue=32399|supp=y|page=5900|date=22 July 1921}}</ref>
His experiences of death and destruction during the war filled him with a "sense of futility and meaninglessness".<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}}


After the war, Nixon enrolled in [[King's College, Cambridge]], where he studied English literature.<ref name=haberman93/> During this period Nixon also studied philosophy, and became acquainted with [[Theosophy]], [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita Vedanta Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Pali]], and developed an interest in going to India to learn more about the practical aspects of Indian religion.<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}}<ref name=brooks89>"The Case of Sri Krishna Prem" in {{cite book|last=Brooks|first=Charles R.|title=The Hare Krishnas in India|year=1989|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]]|isbn=9788120809390 |pages=98–101 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5tjtDZ438h4C&pg=PA98&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false}}</ref>
After the war, Nixon enrolled in [[King's College, Cambridge]], where he studied English literature.<ref name=haberman93/> During this period Nixon also studied philosophy, and became acquainted with [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]], [[Advaita Vedanta|Advaita Vedanta Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Pali]], and developed an interest in going to India to learn more about the practical aspects of Indian religion.<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|218}}<ref name=brooks89>"The Case of Sri Krishna Prem" in {{cite book|last=Brooks|first=Charles R.|title=The Hare Krishnas in India|year=1989|publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]]|isbn=9788120809390 |pages=98–101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5tjtDZ438h4C&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA98}}</ref>


==Life in India==
==Life in India==
In 1921, while still in England, Nixon accepted the offer of a teaching position at the [[University of Lucknow]], in northern India.<ref name=brooks89/> As it turned out, the university's vice-chancellor, Gyanendra Nath Chakravarti, was also spiritually inclined and interested in [[Theosophy]], and offered Nixon assistance.
In 1921, while still in England, Nixon accepted the offer of a teaching position at the [[University of Lucknow]], in northern India.<ref name=brooks89/> As it turned out, the university's vice-chancellor, Gyanendra Nath Chakravarti, was also spiritually inclined and interested in [[Theosophy (Blavatskian)|Theosophy]], and offered Nixon assistance.
Over time, Nixon came to regard Gyanendra's wife, Monika Chakravarti, as his spiritual teacher.
Over time, Nixon came to regard Gyanendra's wife, Monica Devi Chakravarti, as his spiritual teacher.
In 1928, Monika took [[sanyassa|vows of renunciation]] in the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnavite]] tradition, where these vows are called ''vairagya''.<ref name=jones06/> She adopted the monastic name of [[Yashoda Ma]]. Soon thereafter, she initiated Nixon into vairagya, and he adopted Krishna Prem as his monastic name.<ref name=jones06/>
In 1928, Monika took [[vairagya|vows of renunciation]] in the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnavite]] tradition, where these vows are called ''vairagya''.<ref name=jones06/> She adopted the monastic name of Sri Yashoda Mai. Soon thereafter, she initiated Nixon into vairagya, and he adopted Krishna Prem as his monastic name.<ref name=jones06/>
[[File:Memorials of Yashoda Ma, Krishna Prem and Madhav Ashish at Mirtola Ashram DSCN7931 1.jpg|right|thumb|Memorials of Yashoda Mai, Krishna Prem and Madhava Ashish at [[Mirtola]] Ashram.]]

In 1930, Yashoda Ma and Krishna Prem together founded an ashram at [[Mirtola]], near [[Almora]], in mountainous north-central India (state of [[Uttarakhand]]). The ashram "began and has continued to be"<ref name=jones06/> aligned with strict orthodox [[Vaishnavism]]. In 1944, Yashoda Ma died and Krishna Prem succeeded her as head of the ashram.<ref name=jones06/> He travelled little, but in 1948 he visited South India, meeting [[Ramana Maharshi|Sri Ramana Maharshi]], as well as [[Aurobindo|Sri Aurobindo]] and [[Mirra Alfassa]] ("The Mother").<ref name=jones06/>
In 1930, Sri Yashoda Mai and Krishna Prem together founded an ashram at [[Mirtola]], near [[Almora]], in mountainous north-central India (state of [[Uttarakhand]]). The ashram "began and has continued to be"<ref name=jones06/> aligned with strict orthodox [[Vaishnavism]]. In 1944, Yashoda Ma died and Krishna Prem succeeded her as head of the ashram.<ref name=jones06/> He travelled little, but in 1948 he visited South India, meeting [[Ramana Maharshi|Sri Ramana Maharshi]], as well as [[Aurobindo|Sri Aurobindo]] and [[Mirra Alfassa]] ("The Mother").<ref name=jones06/>
Sardella states that Nixon appears to have been "the first European to embrace [[Vaishnavism]] in India".<ref name=sardello13>{{cite book |last=Sardella |first=Ferdinando |title=Modern Hindu personalism: the history, life, and thought of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī |year=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780199865901 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=rYSXPg9GUpwC&pg=PA143&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false}}</ref>{{rp|143}}
Sardella states that Nixon appears to have been "the first European to embrace [[Vaishnavism]] in India".<ref name=sardello13>{{cite book |last=Sardella |first=Ferdinando |title=Modern Hindu personalism: the history, life, and thought of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī |year=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780199865901 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYSXPg9GUpwC&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA143}}</ref>{{rp|143}}
Haberman states that Nixon "was perhaps the first Westerner to tread the path of [[Krishnaism|Krishna-bhakti]], and was certainly the first to have any official affiliation with the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] of [[Braj]]."<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|223}}
Haberman states that Nixon "was perhaps the first Westerner to tread the path of [[Krishnaism|Krishna-bhakti]], and was certainly the first to have any official affiliation with the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] of [[Braj]]."<ref name=haberman93/>{{rp|223}}


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==Works==
==Works==
{{Refbegin|2}}

*{{cite book |last=Krishna Prem |first= |author2=Madhava Ashish |author3=Karan Singh |title=Letters from Mirtola |year=2004 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |location=Mumbai, India |isbn=9788172763565 |oclc=223080940}} (194 pages) (original edition 1938)
*{{cite book |last=Krishna Prem |author2=Madhava Ashish |author3=Karan Singh |title=Letters from Mirtola |year=2004 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |location=Mumbai, India |isbn=9788172763565 |oclc=223080940}} (194 pages) (original edition 1938)
*{{cite book |title=The yoga of the Bhagavat Gita |last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |authorlink= |year=1988
*{{cite book |title=The yoga of the Bhagavat Gita |last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |year=1988
|location=Shaftesbury, UK |publisher=Element |isbn= 9781852300234 |oclc=59891805}} ISBN 185230023X (224 pages)
|location=Shaftesbury, UK |publisher=Element |isbn= 9781852300234 |oclc=59891805 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.171976}} {{ISBN|185230023X}} (224 pages)
{{cite book
*{{cite book
|title=Initiation into yoga: An introduction to the spiritual life |last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |authorlink= |year= 1976
|title=Initiation into yoga: An introduction to the spiritual life |last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |year= 1976
|location=London |publisher=Rider |isbn= 9780091256319 |oclc=2440284}} ISBN 0091256313 (128 pages)
|location=London |publisher=Rider |isbn= 9780091256319 |oclc=2440284}} {{ISBN|0091256313}} (128 pages)
*{{cite book
*{{cite book
|title=Man, the measure of all things, in the stanzas of Dzyan
|title=Man, the measure of all things, in the stanzas of Dzyan
|last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |authorlink= |author2=Ashish Madhava |year=1969
|last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |author2=Ashish Madhava |year=1969
|location=London |publisher=Rider |isbn=9780090978700 |oclc=119543}} ISBN 0090978706 (360 pages)
|location=London |publisher=Rider |isbn=9780090978700 |oclc=119543}} {{ISBN|0090978706}} (360 pages)
*{{cite book |title=The search for truth |last=Krishna Prem |first=Swami |authorlink= |year=1938
*{{cite book |title=The yoga of the Kathopanishad |last=Krishna Prem |first=Sri |year=1955
|location=Calcutta, India |publisher=Book Land |oclc=35694199}} (138 pages)
|location=London |publisher=John M. Watkins |oclc=14413144 |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924023202264}} (264 pages)
*{{cite book |title=The search for truth |last=Krishna Prem |first=Swami |year=1938

|location=Calcutta, India |publisher=Book Land |oclc=35694199 |url=https://archive.org/details/searchfortruthsrikrishnaprem_202003_865_L}} (138 pages)
About

*{{cite book |last=Kaul |first=Narendra Nātha |title=Writings of Sri Krishna Prem: an introduction |year=1980 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |location=Bombay, India |oclc=7730748}} (111 pages)
*{{cite book |last=Kaul |first=Narendra Nātha |title=Writings of Sri Krishna Prem: an introduction |year=1980 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |location=Bombay, India |oclc=7730748}} (111 pages)
{{Refend}}


==Biographical sources==
==Biographical sources==
{{Refbegin|2}}
Full biography
*{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Dilip Kumar |author-link=Dilipkumar Roy |title=Yogi Sri Krishnaprem |year=1992 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |location=Bombay, India |oclc=421016835|edition=3rd, revised}} (312 pages) (original edition, 1968)

*{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Dilip Kumar |authorlink=Dilipkumar Roy |title=Yogi Sri Krishnaprem |year=1992 |publisher=[[Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan]] |location=Bombay, India |oclc=421016835|edition=3rd, revised}} (312 pages) (original edition, 1968)
*"The Case of Sri Krishna Prem" in {{cite book |last=Brooks |first=Charles R. |title=The Hare Krishnas in India |year=1989 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=9788120809390 |oclc=28169795 |pages=98–101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5tjtDZ438h4C&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA98 }}

Brief biographies

*"The Case of Sri Krishna Prem" in {{cite book|last=Brooks |first=Charles R. |title=The Hare Krishnas in India |year=1989 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=9788120809390 |oclc=28169795 |pages=98–101 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5tjtDZ438h4C&pg=PA98&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false}}
*{{cite journal |last=Haberman |first=David L. |title=A cross‐cultural adventure: The transformation of Ronald Nixon |journal=Religion |date=1 July 1993 |volume=23|issue=3|pages=217–227|doi=10.1006/reli.1993.1020 |publisher=Routledge |issn=0048-721X}}
*{{cite journal |last=Haberman |first=David L. |title=A cross‐cultural adventure: The transformation of Ronald Nixon |journal=Religion |date=1 July 1993 |volume=23|issue=3|pages=217–227|doi=10.1006/reli.1993.1020 |publisher=Routledge |issn=0048-721X}}
*{{cite journal|last=Joneja|first=G. L.|title=Yogi Sri Krishnaprem|journal=Yoga Magazine |publisher=[[Bihar School of Yoga]]|date=June 1981|url=http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1981/fjune81/kp.shtml}}
*{{cite journal|last=Joneja|first=G. L.|title=Yogi Sri Krishnaprem|journal=Yoga Magazine|publisher=[[Bihar School of Yoga]]|date=June 1981|url=http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1981/fjune81/kp.shtml|access-date=15 August 2013|archive-date=6 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206134855/http://yogamag.net/archives/1981/fjune81/kp.shtml|url-status=dead}}
*"Krishna Prem, Sri (1898&ndash;1965) Western-born Vaishnavite Guru" in {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |year=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9780816075645 |oclc=191044722 |page=246 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA246&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false |author2=James D. Ryan }}
*"Krishna Prem, Sri (1898&ndash;1965) Western-born Vaishnavite Guru" in {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |year=2006 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9780816075645 |oclc=191044722 |page=246 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA246 |author2=James D. Ryan }}
*"Sri Krishna Prem (Ronald Nixon)" in {{cite book |last=Oldmeadow |first=Harry |authorlink=Harry Oldmeadow |title=Journeys East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions |year=2004 |publisher=World Wisdom |location=Bloomington, IN, USA |isbn=9780941532570 |oclc=54843891 |pages=70–71 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=vC1qAj6RbRQC&pg=PA70&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false}}
*"Sri Krishna Prem (Ronald Nixon)" in {{cite book |last=Oldmeadow |first=Harry |author-link=Harry Oldmeadow |title=Journeys East: 20th Century Western Encounters with Eastern Religious Traditions |year=2004 |publisher=World Wisdom |location=Bloomington, IN, USA |isbn=9780941532570 |oclc=54843891 |pages=70–71 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vC1qAj6RbRQC&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA70 }}
*"Sri Krishna Prem / Ronald Nixon" in {{cite book |title=The book of enlightened masters: Western teachers in eastern traditions
*"Sri Krishna Prem / Ronald Nixon" in {{cite book |title=The book of enlightened masters: Western teachers in eastern traditions |last=Rawlinson |first=Andrew |year=1997 |location=Chicago |publisher=Open Court |isbn=0812693108 |oclc=36900790 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/380 380&ndash;384] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofenlightene00rawl/page/380 }}
⚫
*"Sri Yashoda Ma 1882&ndash;1944" (chapter 20) in {{cite book|last=Chambers|first=John|title=The Secret Life of Genius: How 24 Great Men and Women Were Touched by Spiritual Worlds|year=2009|publisher=Inner Traditions|location=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co|isbn=9781594779268|pages=226&ndash;239|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L46Pm0JG1UIC&q=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&pg=PA231}}
|last=Rawlinson |first=Andrew |authorlink= |year=1997
{{Refend}}
|location=Chicago |publisher=Open Court |isbn= 0812693108 |oclc=36900790 |pages=380&ndash;384}}

Other

⚫
*"Sri Yashoda Ma 1882&ndash;1944" (chapter 20) in {{cite book|last=Chambers|first=John|title=The Secret Life of Genius: How 24 Great Men and Women Were Touched by Spiritual Worlds|year=2009|publisher=Inner Traditions|location=Inner Traditions / Bear & Co |isbn=9781594779268 |pages=226&ndash;239 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=L46Pm0JG1UIC&pg=PA231&dq=%22Ronald+Nixon%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VvLxUcOnLIS6iwKgl4C4BQ&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22Ronald%20Nixon%22&f=false}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/2754 Photograph of Krishna Prem (Ronald Nixon)]
*[http://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/2754 Photograph of Krishna Prem (Ronald Nixon)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131032755/https://www.theosophical.org/publications/quest-magazine/2754 |date=31 January 2023 }}


{{Modern Hindu writers}}
{{Modern Hindu writers}}
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{{Portalbar|Indian religions}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata
| NAME = Krishna Prem, Sri
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = British spiritual teacher
| DATE OF BIRTH = 10 May 1898
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Cheltenham, England
| DATE OF DEATH = 14 November 1965
| PLACE OF DEATH = India
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna Prem, Sri}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krishna Prem, Sri}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1898 births]]
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[[Category:English emigrants to India]]
[[Category:English emigrants to India]]
[[Category:Converts to Hinduism]]
[[Category:Converts to Hinduism]]
[[Category:Hindu writers]]
[[Category:Indian spiritual writers]]
[[Category:Indian spiritual writers]]
[[Category:Spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:Hindu spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:Hindu monks]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu monks]]
[[Category:Royal Flying Corps officers]]
[[Category:Royal Flying Corps officers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:University of Lucknow faculty]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Lucknow]]
[[Category:Gaudiya Vaishnava]]
[[Category:Gaudiya Vaishnavism]]
[[Category:British World War I pilots]]

Latest revision as of 08:25, 14 July 2024

Sri
Krishna Prem
Krishna Prem in the early 1950s
Personal life
Born
Ronald Henry Nixon

(1898-05-10)10 May 1898
Cheltenham, England
Died14 November 1965(1965-11-14) (aged 67)
Mirtola, Almora district, India
Resting placeKrishna Prem's samadhi mandir, Mirtola
29°38′33″N 79°49′39″E / 29.64237°N 79.82751°E / 29.64237; 79.82751
NationalityBritish, Indian
Notable work(s)The Search for Truth, Initiation into Yoga, The Yoga of the Bhagavat Gita, The Yoga of the Kathopanishad
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge
Religious life
ReligionHinduism
DenominationVaishnavism
TempleUttar Brindaban ashram, Mirtola
SectGaudiya Vaishnavism
Religious career
GuruSri Yashoda Mai, Sri Bal Krishna Goswami
Websitewww.mirtolareflections.com

Sri Krishna Prem (10 May 1898 – 14 November 1965), born Ronald Henry Nixon, was a British spiritual aspirant who went to India in the early 20th century. Together with his spiritual teacher Sri Yashoda Mai (1882 – 1944), he founded an ashram at Mirtola, near Almora, India. He was one of the first Europeans to pursue Vaishnavite Hinduism, and was highly regarded, with many Indian disciples. Later, according to the account of his foremost disciple Sri Madhava Ashish, Krishna Prem transcended the dogmas and practices of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition into which he had been initiated and affirmed a universal spiritual path shorn of "orthodoxy" and blind traditionalism.

Early life

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Ronald Henry Nixon[1]: 218  was born in Cheltenham, England, in 1898,[2] and educated in Taunton.[1] His mother was a Christian Scientist and his father was reportedly in the glass and china business.[1]: 218 

At age 18, Nixon became a British fighter pilot in the First World War:[1][3] he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant on probation on 10 May 1917,[4] was confirmed in his rank on 12 June,[5] and was appointed a flying officer in the Royal Flying Corps on 15 June.[6] On one occasion, he experienced an escape from death that he believed was miraculous, in which a "power beyond our ken" saved him from several enemy planes.[7] His experiences of death and destruction during the war filled him with a "sense of futility and meaninglessness".[1]: 218  He was transferred to the unemployed list of the Royal Air Force on 11 January 1919[8] and relinquished his temporary Army commission on 3 December that year.[9]

After the war, Nixon enrolled in King's College, Cambridge, where he studied English literature.[1] During this period Nixon also studied philosophy, and became acquainted with Theosophy, Advaita Vedanta Hinduism, Buddhism, and Pali, and developed an interest in going to India to learn more about the practical aspects of Indian religion.[1]: 218 [3]

Life in India

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In 1921, while still in England, Nixon accepted the offer of a teaching position at the University of Lucknow, in northern India.[3] As it turned out, the university's vice-chancellor, Gyanendra Nath Chakravarti, was also spiritually inclined and interested in Theosophy, and offered Nixon assistance. Over time, Nixon came to regard Gyanendra's wife, Monica Devi Chakravarti, as his spiritual teacher. In 1928, Monika took vows of renunciation in the Gaudiya Vaishnavite tradition, where these vows are called vairagya.[2] She adopted the monastic name of Sri Yashoda Mai. Soon thereafter, she initiated Nixon into vairagya, and he adopted Krishna Prem as his monastic name.[2]

Memorials of Yashoda Mai, Krishna Prem and Madhava Ashish at Mirtola Ashram.

In 1930, Sri Yashoda Mai and Krishna Prem together founded an ashram at Mirtola, near Almora, in mountainous north-central India (state of Uttarakhand). The ashram "began and has continued to be"[2] aligned with strict orthodox Vaishnavism. In 1944, Yashoda Ma died and Krishna Prem succeeded her as head of the ashram.[2] He travelled little, but in 1948 he visited South India, meeting Sri Ramana Maharshi, as well as Sri Aurobindo and Mirra Alfassa ("The Mother").[2] Sardella states that Nixon appears to have been "the first European to embrace Vaishnavism in India".[10]: 143  Haberman states that Nixon "was perhaps the first Westerner to tread the path of Krishna-bhakti, and was certainly the first to have any official affiliation with the Gaudiya Vaishnavism of Braj."[1]: 223 

Krishna Prem, despite his English origins, became widely accepted and admired in the Indian Hindu community. Brooks wrote that "Krishna Prem's evident intellectual and inspirational qualities gained him wide fame and many disciples in India, as reflected in numerous books on his life and teachings."[3]: 100  Gertrude Emerson Sen wrote that "I know of no other person like Krishnaprem, himself 'foreign' to begin with, who has drawn so many Indians to himself".[1]: 220  His biographer Dilip Kumar Roy wrote that Krishnaprem "had given a filip [stimulus] to my spiritual aspiration".[11]

Haberman wrote that Krishna Prem "was recognized as a Hindu saint by many Indians of his day."[1]: 217  When Nixon died in 1965, he was hailed by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, then president of India, as a "great soul".[1]: 221  Nixon's final words were "my ship is sailing".[1]: 221 

Works

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  • Krishna Prem; Madhava Ashish; Karan Singh (2004). Letters from Mirtola. Mumbai, India: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. ISBN 9788172763565. OCLC 223080940. (194 pages) (original edition 1938)
  • Krishna Prem, Sri (1988). The yoga of the Bhagavat Gita. Shaftesbury, UK: Element. ISBN 9781852300234. OCLC 59891805. ISBN 185230023X (224 pages)
  • Krishna Prem, Sri (1976). Initiation into yoga: An introduction to the spiritual life. London: Rider. ISBN 9780091256319. OCLC 2440284. ISBN 0091256313 (128 pages)
  • Krishna Prem, Sri; Ashish Madhava (1969). Man, the measure of all things, in the stanzas of Dzyan. London: Rider. ISBN 9780090978700. OCLC 119543. ISBN 0090978706 (360 pages)
  • Krishna Prem, Sri (1955). The yoga of the Kathopanishad. London: John M. Watkins. OCLC 14413144. (264 pages)
  • Krishna Prem, Swami (1938). The search for truth. Calcutta, India: Book Land. OCLC 35694199. (138 pages)
  • Kaul, Narendra Nātha (1980). Writings of Sri Krishna Prem: an introduction. Bombay, India: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. OCLC 7730748. (111 pages)

Biographical sources

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Haberman, David L. (1 July 1993). "A cross‐cultural adventure: The transformation of Ronald Nixon". Religion. 23 (3). Routledge: 217–227. doi:10.1006/reli.1993.1020. ISSN 0048-721X.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Krishna Prem, Sri (1898–1965) Western-born Vaishnavite Guru" in Jones, Constance; James D. Ryan (2006). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. p. 246. ISBN 9780816075645.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Case of Sri Krishna Prem" in Brooks, Charles R. (1989). The Hare Krishnas in India. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 98–101. ISBN 9788120809390.
  4. ^ "No. 30100". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 May 1917. p. 5309.
  5. ^ "No. 30181". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1917. p. 7053.
  6. ^ "No. 30181". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1917. p. 7050.
  7. ^ Page 17 in Ginsburg, Seymour B.; Madhava Ashish (2010). The masters speak: an American businessman encounters Ashish and Gurdjieff (1st Quest ed.). Wheaton, Illinois, USA: Quest Books/Theosophical Pub. House. ISBN 9780835608824. (on page 283, the quote from Nixon is cited to page 54 of Roy's biography, 1975 2nd edition)
  8. ^ "No. 31162". The London Gazette. 4 February 1919. p. 1801.
  9. ^ "No. 32399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 July 1921. p. 5900.
  10. ^ Sardella, Ferdinando (2013). Modern Hindu personalism: the history, life, and thought of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199865901.
  11. ^ quoted in Haberman, p. 221.
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