Seeking higher truth, he approached the great yogi . At their first meeting, Jatindranath expected to be given complex mantras, secret rituals, or deep metaphysical philosophy. He wanted something "grand" to match his status as a warrior and a scholar. Instead, the Master looked at him and said simply:
Niralamba Swami offers a path that is brutally simple, but brutally hard:
In his prison cell in 1930, while awaiting execution, Bhagat Singh wrote Why I Am An Atheist to counter claims that his lack of belief stemmed from vanity. He cited Common Sense as a crucial milestone in his intellectual development:
Building internal spiritual and mental strength to overcome external obstacles. common sense niralamba swami
In his youth, Bhagat Singh was raised in a deeply religious household and regularly chanted the Gayatri Mantra. However, his intellectual journey led him through the works of western political theorists like Marx, Lenin, and Trotsky. Alongside these European texts, it was the Indian philosophical treatise Common Sense that solidified his worldview.
The teachings of Niralamba Swami are characterized by their simplicity, directness, and practicality. Some of the key principles he emphasized include:
“Before you search for your inner child, find your lost keys. One problem at a time.” Seeking higher truth, he approached the great yogi
The philosophical tract , though frequently misattributed to the revolutionary yogi Niralamba Swami (Jatindra Nath Banerjee), was actually authored by his spiritual master, Soham Swami . Published in 1923, this seminal monograph subverted orthodox theology by leveraging raw rationalism to champion Ekatma Vignan —the science of monism or Advaita Vedanta.
For those interested in learning more about Niralamba Swami's teachings, we recommend checking out his books and online resources. Some popular titles include:
Explicitly critiqlled; tags blind rituals and selfishness as "bondage". 1. Radical Non-Dualism (Advaita) as a Tool for Equality Instead, the Master looked at him and said
Niralamba Swami’s Common Sense serves as a bridge for the modern seeker. It strips away the esoteric fluff often associated with Eastern mysticism and replaces it with a rigorous, logical, and practical path to the Absolute. By reclaiming "common sense," the individual ceases to be a seeker and realizes they are the very Reality they sought.
Niralamba Swami was not “uncommon” in a foolish sense. Rather, he operated from a —the logic of liberation. For him, the most unreasonable thing was to spend a lifetime protecting a body that will certainly die, while forgetting the deathless Self. His life challenges us to question: Is what we call “common sense” really sensible—or just commonly agreed upon habit?
He posits that just as one uses common sense to navigate the physical world, one should use it to navigate the inner world—by discarding what is false (Neti Neti).
This deeper spiritual common sense is the ability to see the ultimate truth of our own nature, independent of all external supports, attachments, and identities—whether they are those of a revolutionary, a monk, or a householder. It is the wisdom to know that the ultimate freedom is not just political, but spiritual. It is the "common" sense that is, perhaps, the rarest sense of all.
Despite his transformation into a peaceful yogi, Niralamba Swami’s revolutionary past seems to have followed him. After retiring to his ashram in Channa, he was arrested in 1926 on charges of sedition, possibly linked to his old revolutionary associates. He was held for several months but was eventually released.