Lineage

Our lineage goes back to Sadguru Bhagawân Srî Srî Vijay Krishna Goswâmîjî (1841-
1899), a Saint from Bengal hailing from a family of Brahmin preceptors, who received
initiation from Brahmânanda Paramahansa of Kailâsh Mânasarovar. At that time, His Guru
told Him, “You are the designated Sadguru”. Vijay Krishna Goswâmîjî is the Râdhâ and
Krishna Principle (Râdhâ Tattva and Krishna Tattva), as well as the Guru Principle (Guru
Tattva). On the orders of His guru, He had taken Sannyâsa and was conferred the name
Swâmî Achyutânanda Saraswatî (Achyuta means the inseparable, imperishable, always
there; and Ânanda means Bliss), though He was known to all as “Goswâmîjî”. Vijay Krishna
Goswâmîjî is the Sadguru who conferred initiation, the precious Sâdhanâ of the saints and
seers, to all who asked for it, out of sheer compassion. Indeed, many of His disciples are
fortunate householders.
One of His close disciples Kuladânanda Brahmachârî recounted in His diary the 13
years spent with His Master, under the title Shree Shree Sadguru Sanga (In the Company
of Sadguru). He continued to propagate the teachings of His Master and initiated Swâmî
Amritânanda Saraswatî, who later became the Guru of Sadguru Paramahansa Swâmî
Advaitânanda Saraswatî (1948-2015).
Swâmî Advaitânanda Saraswatî was born into a Brahmin family of preceptors from
Bengal. He received initiation at an early age, and stayed at the monastery of His Master
for some time. He came back home and started teaching Sanskrit at His father’s school
and at the local girls’ school, as well as attending to His various priestly duties and the
responsibilities of a preceptor. After His Master passed away, He left home and travelled
to Allahabad Kumbha Mela; from there to Vrindâban, Haridwar and Rishikesh, where He
took Sannyâsa at Kailâsh Ashram on Shivaratri. From there, He walked to Uttarkashi, where
He practiced penance and austerity for 9 years. He often used to stay in deep meditation in
a room in the Bimaleswar temple that He got locked from outside, for days on end; even
staying in Samadhi for 65 days. Subsequently, He left Uttarkashi. When He arrived in Dev
Darshani, He recognized the mountain as the place He had seen in His vision in Samadhi,
the place mentioned by Vijay Krishna Goswâmî in a prophecy – “We shall all meet again on
the top of a mountain.” Thus was established Vijay Milan Math in 1988 on Rishikanda Pahar.
— “Divine Qualities scatter Resplendence
in the courtyard of the Sadguru”

In a short while, many were drawn by the magnetic personality of Srî Gurudev. Some
of them took the vow of celibacy, among whom was Brahmachârî Vaïkuntha Chaitanya,
who served His Master for 25 years. Over the next 3 decades, from the modest kutir of Srî
Gurudev, the monastery organically grew into a large ashram, including living quarters,
Goshâlâs (cow-sheds), and the edification of a Shiva temple, called Âshutosh Mandir. (Vijay
Krishna Goswâmîjî was addressed as Âshutosh by Swâmî Bholânanda Giri, the head of all the
monks and saints of that time.) The construction was carried out in large part by devotees,
who had no formal training in masonry, stone-work, or other building skills. Subsequently,
other ashrams of Vijay Milan Math have been established, at Vrindâban in Uttar Pradesh,
Jângipâra in West Bengal and Premnagar at Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
As time passed, a number of French disciples started coming regularly to Vijay Milan
Math, inspired by Srî Bipul Saklâni (Swâmî Vishuddhânanda Saraswatî after Sannyâsa),
presently addressed as Mahantajî, a close disciple of Srî Gurudev, who was living in Paris. In
2007, he requested permission from His Master to come to stay permanently in the ashram.
Srî Gurudev accepted, telling him, “Yes, you can come, but first, you establish a Center
there”. Thus, the association Vijay Milan Center France was founded in January 2008, in
Fontenay-sous-Bois, with Srî Gurudev as Lifetime Honorary President.
The founding members of Vijay Milan Center France (VMC) were all disciples of Srî
Gurudev who had travelled to India and received the sacred initiation from Srî Gurudev
there. It was Srî Gurudev who laid down the guidelines for the Center, and instructed us to
“Be simple, be natural, be a monk”.
A year after Srî Gurudev left His body (on 6th April 2015), Brahmachârî Vaïkuntha
Chaitanya formally took the vow of Sannyâsa at Kailâsh Ashram in Rishikesh, on Shivaratri,
the same way Srî Gurudev had done many years before, and had instructed Him to do as well.
He was conferred the name Swâmî Abhedânanda Saraswatî, and proclaimed a “Paramahansa
Parivrâjakâchârya”. Abhedânanda means the impregnable, unsurpassable, inseparable,
indivisible, non-distinguishing Bliss. Paramahansa is the highest category of monkhood.