Swami Nigamananda Paramahansa (born Nalinikanta Chattopadhyay; 18 August 1880 – 29 November 1935) was an Indian yogi, guru and mystic well known in Eastern India. He is associated with the Shakta tradition and viewed as a perfect spiritual master of vedanta, tantra, yoga and prema or bhakti. His followers idealized him as their worshipped and beloved thakura.
Nigamananda was born into a Bengali Brahmin family in the hamlet of Kutabpur in Nadia district (at present Meherpur district Bangladesh). He was a sannyasi from Adi Shankar's dashanami sampradaya. After his ordination as a sannyasi, he came to be known as Paribrajakacharya Paramahansa Srimat Swami Nigamananda Saraswati Deva.
Nigamananda achieved siddhi (perfection) in four different sadhanas (spiritual disciplines): tantra, gyan, yoga and prema. Based on these experiences, he wrote five Bengali language books: Brahamcharya Sadhana (ब्रह्मचर्य साधन), Yogi Guru (योगिगुरु), Gyani Guru (ज्ञानीगुरु), Tantrika Guru (तांत्रिकगुरु), and Premik Guru (प्रेमिकगुरु). Nigamananda reportedly experienced the state of Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
In 1912, on the auspicious eve of Akshaya Tritaya, a significant event took place with the laying of the foundation of Shanti Ashram at Kokilamukh, Assam. Within the ashram, Sri Sri Thakur himself founded the sacred space known as the Gurubrhama Gaadi, which served as a central focal point for devotees. It was designed as an inclusive sanctuary where adherents from any religious tradition could come together to engage in their spiritual practices. This visionary approach reflected Sri Sri Thakur's commitment to promoting unity and harmony among people of diverse faiths. As an ascetic affiliated with the title of Saraswati under the Sringeri Math, Sri Sri Thakur bestowed the name "Saraswat Math" upon his ashram. This nomenclature not only honored his own spiritual lineage but also conveyed his reverence for the goddess Saraswati, associated with knowledge, wisdom, and learning.
After retiring from Saraswata Matha, Nigamananda spent the last fourteen years of his life in Puri. Durga Charan Mohanty, a school student, met him at Nilachala Kutir in 1930 and recognized him as sadguru. Mohanty became Nigamananda's disciple and wrote books for Nigamananda's establishment Nilachala Saraswata Sangha and translated Nigamananda's Bengali books into Odia. Under Mohanty's encouragement, more than 100 ashrams operate in Odisha. Mohanty continued to spread the message of Nigamananda until his death on 7 December 1985.
Life
Childhood, studies and service life (1880–1901)
At his birth, Nigamananda was named Nalinikanta (নলিনীকান্ত, ନଳିନୀକାନ୍ତ, नलिनीकान्त - in Hindu meaning is: Lotus, water), per the wishes of his father, Bhuban Mohan and the advice of his father's guru, Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati. At the age of thirteen (1893) Nalinikanta lost his mother Manikya Sundari Devi to cholera, pushing him into depression. In 1894-95 he passed the student scholarship examination and studied at Meherpur High School. In 1895 he entered Dhaka Asanulla Engineering College. In 1897 his father married him to a thirteen-year-old girl named Sudhansubala Devi of Halisahar. He completed his study in 1899 and joined a service in the District Board of Dinajpur, the estate of Rani Rashmoni. At the end of Vadra, 1901 (approximately five years after marriage) when he was serving as the supervisor of the Narayanpur Estate (Zamindari), Nalinikanta saw the shadowy image of his wife standing at the table glowering and silent while she was away at Kutabpur (Nalinikanta's village). He went to Kutabpur to inquire and learned that she had died just an hour before his vision. He unsuccessfully attempted to reach his wife through occult science.
Turning point
Until he lost his wife, Nalinikanta had seen death as the ultimate end. Losing her led him to believe that there must be life after death. Nalinikanta became obsessed with this question. His inquiry took him to Madras (now Chennai) to study theosophy at the Theosophical Society at Adyar. Through a medium, he was able to talk to his wife, but remained unsatisfied. His discussions at the society led him to search for a yogi who could fulfill his desire to meet his dead wife and educate him in the true philosophy of "life after death".
Spiritual experience (1902–1905)