1. Babaji and an Extra-ordinary Photography Session
Whenever asked, he always said, “There are no miracles. Many laws of nature are still unknown to most of humanity. When someone who knows these laws operates them, and does something, then those who don’t know think they are witnessing a miracle.”
“Well, what if we know how to prevent the light rays from reflecting back and instead absorb them into our bodies? A powerful mind tuned to the stillness of the Supreme Self, the core of our consciousness can control the light rays, absorb them and not let them reflect. You would then see only a grey, translucent outline and not the body you are familiar with. Under dimly lit conditions, you would not even see the outline.” “That’s exactly what I am doing now. Not letting the light rays reflect. The camera would not have captured the image, if I so desired.”
“Mostly,” said Babaji “but there is one more method where one actually disintegrates the primary particles of the body temporarily, but only most advanced yogis can do that.”
“The primary particles that make up both animate and inanimate matter are called quarks. Quantum physics, having demolished the absolute certainty of Newtonian physics, is now faced with an enigma called the Theory of Uncertainty. The primary substance that goes to form matter cannot now be pronounced with certainty, to be either particles or waves.” “Strangely, when observed they tend to shift from particles to waves and vice versa. When they are observed behaving like particles, they suddenly start behaving like waves. Some physicists even advance the theory that their behaviour depends on the observer.”
“However, the great Rishis hold that consciousness is the primary core of all existence and that at the deepest level, it can change particles to waves or waves to particles at will. A completely tranquil mind, which the Vajrayāna Buddhists call the vacuous mind, is in tune with this core of all existence. A yogi, established in that state, can change the particles of his body to waves which become invisible to the organs of perception like the eyes etc. The yogi can then travel to other locations and convert back into visible particle based forms.”
2. Nityananda of Ganesh Puri and the Hard Slap
On an easy chair sat a rather frightening figure. He was huge with a shiny, black complexion and a shaven head and face that seemed strangely small compared to the rest of his body, especially his tight protruding belly. All he wore was a small, white loin cloth and was bare foot. I was scared, for apart from his formidable physique he seemed crazy. He was muttering to himself in some incoherent language, making strange gestures with his hands and now and then breaking into chuckles for no apparent reason.
The only words I could catch were, “Mala Kaeranum” (will have to climb mountains), and something that sounded like “thorakkum, thorakkum, thorakkum pinnae” (must open, must open, must open later on).
My uncle quietly led me out, consoling me saying “It is your good luck. That was a blessing. Few people get such a blessing. Don’t worry.”
Whilst living in the Charan Paduka cave in Badrinath, Babaji taught me a certain breathing technique which was aimed at clearing the ida nadi, the pathway through which life energy or prana courses through the left side of the body. I practised it to perfection and Babaji was convinced that the ida nadi pathway had been cleared totally. When I asked him if I had to do the same for the right side, which is called the pingala nadi, he laughed and said, “That was done long ago by Nityananda’s slap on your right cheek. It’s clean and clear now and you don’t have to worry about it. I know you thought he was mad!”
3. He Loved Wild Elephants Too
Anything designed by the human mind is indeed conditioned and corrupted by the limitations of thought. The brain is still limited despite its ability to expand its horizons. Pure nature is not man made and the closer you are to it, the quieter becomes the mind. Perhaps, closeness to nature, eventually ‘de-conditions’ the mind and one is in touch with the infinite being, the Source and reality untouched by limiting concepts and conditioned responses of thought. Deep down, in the inner recesses of the psyche, there is this innate longing to shed this conditioning and return to the purity and infinitude which is its original source.
Once, as I looked at the distant peaks of the snow-clad Daulagiri range, something snapped in my heart and ‘I’ no longer existed. There is
only the mountain. I stood towering, a pure white being, looking compassionately down at the world, that stretched before me.
It comes uninvited and when it does, you cannot hold it back. ‘Let go and rejoice’ says the Isavasya Upanishad. Sheer effortlessness heralds its arrival, like a gentle, fragrant breeze. It is what it is. No words can describe it.
Here is a true story to show you how even wild animals recognise a specially evolved being who has touched the ultimate source and lives as one with nature.
Babaji said, “Put your palms together in namaskar and bow to the leopard. Say in your mind, you are a manifestation of the Divine, you are the companion of Durga. We mean no harm. I bow before you.” I did as instructed. The leopard stared at us for a long time and then walked away. We waited for the elephant. He appeared suddenly from nowhere and burst forth from behind us. He trumpeted and charged towards us. Babaji and I turned around. I froze with fear. Just before he reached us, Babaji put up his right hand and the elephant froze. It stood still and looked at Babaji with complete attention, with one of his front legs lifted up and moving his body back and forth with his three legs in a swaying motion.
Babaji spoke to him firmly but softly in Hindi. I know this sounds insane but I shall not desist from reporting the incident. “So,” said Babaji, “is this the way to behave dear friend? I know you resent the presence of noisy human beings who disturb your solitude but this is no way to react. You are in the state of mast. I can see it. The excess male hormones are influencing your actions. I’ll make all that subside and you will soon become normal. Here!”
4. The Great Dream
The dream begins in Pataliputra, now Patna in Bihar, which was then a thriving, bustling port and cosmopolitan city. I was an extremely rich merchant named Dhana and lived a life of pleasure seeking and extravagance. I had built my fortune through hard work (or so I thought), from a poor menial labourer to a merchant with several caravans. My treasury was filled with gold and precious jewels which even a king would envy. In my harem were beautiful courtesans who could give me all the pleasures of the world. Leading a life of extreme indulgence and drunken orgies, I lost all touch with simple realities of life. The only thing that I was interested in was to increase my wealth further, for I believed that wealth was the key to happiness.
This is what I understood: “To all beings, life is dear. All living beings seek happiness. Hurt not any living beings. Do not kill any living beings. Non-violence is the highest of qualities. Live a life of restraint. Lead a simple life and do not stray from truth into falsehood. Appreciate everyone’s point of view for the truth is multi-dimensional. Renounce ego and be free. Beyond this perishable body and the world around, is your immortal soul, which in its pure state is divine.”
The journey is long. It will take you several lives but walk on the path through travails and turmoil until you become a winner, a free and blissful soul.”
5. My Darshan of Guruvayurappan
6. A Journey to the Distant Past
As I write this chapter, I am aware of the reactions I am about to provoke. Good friends who love me inspite of my eccentricities and strange ways may finally conclude that I have gone mad and, in their kindness and concern, will try and persuade me to see a good psychiatrist.
He led me to a rock sheltered by tall trees. “Sit down,” he said and sat beside me. “The culmination of your austerities in many lives, has now brought you to me. You have now enjoyed my intimate embrace but much more needs to be done. You still have many unfulfilled desires.”
7. Swami Satchidananda: a Paragon of Humility and Self-effacement
Two full hours, I stayed in that blissful realm. The next day, I returned to Bangalore carrying the grace in the secret chamber of my heart forever.
8. Moving in Space
Babaji said, “Son, most of our dreams are a garbled mixture of the thoughts in our sub-conscious mind and the actual experiences of one’s subtle body called the ‘Linga Sharira’ or ‘Sukshma Sharira’, which in all human beings leaves the physical body, the ‘Sthula Sharira’, when the physical body is in deep sleep. The brain has an in-built mechanism to wipe out the details of this night-time journey, so that all you remember when you wake up is a jumble of faint memories from the travels undertaken by one’s subtle body and the contents of the sub-conscious; except in certain rare cases of ‘Yoga Bhrastas’, those who have been yogis in their previous births and are reborn to complete their unfinished journey.”
Although the subtle body is almost a duplicate in form of the physical body, when it stands by itself detached from the physical, it appears younger and more beautiful to the eyes of the clairvoyant. It cannot be seen by ordinary eyes and is fully formed when a child reaches the age of eight. “Clairvoyance,” Babaji said, “is not so common and is possessed only by highly advanced yogis.” He warned me especially against those who pretend to be clairvoyant, but are only people with a heightened sense of imagination that has gone haywire or mere pretenders, taking advantage of weak and gullible minds. For the yogi who has overcome his desires, the subtle body fades away and disintegrates when the physical body dies and the atman is henceforth clothed in a pure vehicle called the ‘causal body’ or the karana sharira. For others, the subtle body called the linga sharira carries, to use the words of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, ‘all its vasanas or desires in seed form, like the wind carries the perfume of the flowers’, till it occupies a new body to indulge and enjoy the latent desires.
This enables the yogi, after long years of practice, to travel not only in the physical world but also to other spheres and realms. There are other extra-terrestrial bodies outside Earth in the space called akasha or the Milky Way. Only the most developed yogis can travel through all these levels.
Babaji said, “Only in rare and special circumstances this is possible, because the subtle bodies of people whose physical bodies have died cannot remain for very long in this world. Great yogis, however, who have a special function to perform, might retain their causal bodies or karana sharira. They may be visible, only to those who have developed special vision. Even those who have not developed special powers of perception may at times see non-physical entities when the limbic system in their brain is excited by emotions like great fear, religious ecstasy, grief or the use of mind-altering drugs.”
“Generally, sightings reported as ghosts are what may be called ‘etheric doubles’. Consider the case of a healthy human being having lost his life suddenly through an accident or suicide. Every human body contains chemicals in its cells which through reactions produce an electric charge, which assumes the shape of the body from which it originates. In the case of sudden deaths, the body may be cremated or buried or destroyed but the electric charge that had assumed the shape of the body is thrown out and remains independent for a while till the charge subsides and finally disappears.” “Since this etheric double, as one might call it, is connected sympathetically to the places and objects associated with the physical body which was responsible for its origin, till the charge is completely dissipated it hovers around those familiar places and objects to which it is magnetically attracted to these.” Babaji said, “The sukshma sharira or the subtle body has ascended to the higher realms where it can rest and then decide, with the help of guides, its future course of rebirth based on future evolutionary factors.” “Remember, however, that the etheric double which is mistaken for a ghost and appears under special circumstances, including a foggy night apart from what we discussed, has no intelligence or will of its own and is merely an electric charge that causes no harm to anyone except that sudden sighting may make a weak heart stop beating.”
“Those who chant spiritually charged mantras like Om Namah Shivayah or Om Namo Narayana or Quranic verses specifically meant for such purposes, can negate the energies of an etheric double and cause it to disintegrate instantly.”
9. Simple Techniques for Out-of-Body Travel
I shall now discuss the actual techniques of projecting the subtle body (astral body) as promised in the previous chapter.
So here is technique 1: This is the simplest and, although it may take a little time to succeed, the safest. When you lie down to sleep at night, switch off all the lights (lights distract). If you feel sleepy, remove the pillow, otherwise you may end up sleeping instead of projecting. Wear loose and comfortable clothes and adopt the shavasana posture but with feet together, not spread out. Breathe deeply and calmly. Now visualise a place where you would like to go or think of your best friend or favourite person who you would like to visit. With eyes closed, actually feel that you are passing through the bedroom door and walking out through the gate as you would normally do. Walk along the path that leads to your friend’s house or sit on your cycle and cycle away. To start with, visualise only places close by, walking distances, like your favourite park. Once you reach the place in your imagination, sit quietly on a bench or lie down on the grass and see everything in detail. Don’t get excited if a big dog comes near you, because the dog cannot see you. One day, you will actually be there in your subtle body and see and hear everything. To go back to the physical body, you only need to think of going back or stretch out on the lawn and sleep. When you wake up, you will be in the physical body. There is no need to fear about what would happen if you cannot come back, because you actually cannot stay away for long. You might be brought back with a jerk and may wake up with a bad headache.
Please remember that you can feel, hear and smell everything in your astral body but cannot feel with your hands, taste or take back anything, as your hands will pass through all objects. Also, although you can see others, others cannot see you unless they have special vision, like great yogis or clairvoyants. Your astral body can go through solid walls and enter anywhere. The first time you are out of your body, it is such a beautiful experience, floating around like a cloud, that you will feel terrible when you get back to the physical body. It is as if you have entered a heavy shell which you have to carry around. It takes time to get accustomed to both feelings. The most important thing is to note down immediately all your experiences in the astral body as soon as you are back. The brain is likely to forget the experiences, so write when your memory is still fresh. If you fall asleep during the projection, you will remember, vaguely, when you wake up. Write it down immediately. In an hour or so, the memory will be lost.
Now the second technique, which is a little more difficult but when learnt is a sure shot method. The yogis use this or a similar but more advanced technique. So here we go:
Soft and slow music is permissible but if you can do without it, it is better. Now, with open eyes stare at the dim outline of the ceiling. Then close your eyes and actually feel that you are floating near the ceiling, facing the ceiling. Visualise your body in great detail. Then visualise the seven centres of energy called the chakras as whirling lights, starting with the base chakra at the bottom of the spine to the last chakra on the top of the head. Picture all of them together like electric blue whirling circles. Relax, do not become tense. First, do the visualisation as if you are painting a picture in complete tranquillity. Don’t think that you are trying to come out of the body, think instead that you have already come out and are hovering near the ceiling with your chakras softly whirling. Stay with that. After a while, maybe on the first day itself or later, you will feel a floating sensation or a lifting sensation as if you are going up on a lift. A gentle sway, and you realise that you are floating up there. Turn around and you will see the physical body lying there on the bed.
10. Travelling Free: My Out of Body Experiences
“Seven of them, the Sapta Rishis, landed here. After teaching a selected few the knowledge that had to be imparted, the Sapta Rishis prepared to return but their space craft developed a snag. They had to stay for a while, until help came from their realm.” “Two of the advanced extra-terrestrials died, because they could not adjust to the new environment. Eventually, the mechanics who arrived set the aerial vehicle right and they departed leaving behind their dead. The dead Sapta Rishis were now perfectly mummified to be viewed by special individuals from future generations.”
“The violet light,” said Babaji, “is powered by nuclear energy and left here by the visitors from outer space. The technology used is yet undiscovered by our scientists. It is supposed to be lit for another one hundred years, after which the intensity may reduce.”
“These,” explained Babaji, “are nuggets made of a special material that are packed with super-nutritional substances. The great beings brought them along. A small bit of it diluted in a glass of water, is enough to sustain their bodies for a hundred years or more. Unfortunately, the cells of human bodies are not capable of absorbing such high doses of nutrition and will in fact begin to multiply, if ingested, faster than the fastest cancerous cells known to humankind and lead to disaster.”
11. Meeting Sri Guru Babaji: the Jaisalmer Connection
12. The Unknown Yogi
“There is no untouchable; there are no dogs, all that was conjured up by me. My abode is in Kailash, some call me Sri Guru Babaji. For the first time in your many lives, you are coming in contact with me. I see your inner potential and tonight, I shall accept you as my disciple and teach you the ancient science of kriya referred to by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. Wash the wound on your head with the waters of the Ganga and come with me.”
- Facets of Tantra The following chapter is based on a conversation I had with Maheshwarnath Babaji. Tantra is a word that fascinates many and the interpretations are myriad. I am going to state what I have understood from Babaji.
The truth is that Tantra is a very practical approach to reach that which the Upanishads describe as the ‘immeasurable’, ‘ungraspable’ Brahman. Whilst the path of renunciation prescribes total abstinence and severe austerities, tantra teaches that since this path of abstinence can only be practised by a few rare souls there is an alternate approach meant for people who live in this world, who are not monks or renunciants and still aspire to rise to higher planes of existence.
The true Tantra Yogi believes that all desires – to achieve, expand, enjoy, acquire are all the outward manifestations of the inner urge to reach the total fulfilment and unending Bliss of the Supreme Truth, which may be called Brahman or Shivam. Even when someone drinks, it is for a temporary slowing down of brain activity and the resultant feeling of enjoyable expansiveness.
Therefore, the Pancha Makaras – the five indulgences, prescribed for the kaulamargin which include Madhu (wine) and Maithuna (sexual union) are used only as stepping stones by the category of practioners called pashu (animal like) and vina (herd like) respectively. One had to merely mention wine (madhu) and Sri Ramakrishna would enter into a trance, a samadhi, which often gave the impression to the uninitiated that he was drunk on alcohol, whilst in reality, he was inebriated by the inner nectar which only a yogi can taste.
The reason is that the state nearest to the thoughtless tranquility of samadhi is experienced by the ordinary human being only during the act. One forgets one’s ego consciousness and for a split second even the awareness of the outside world disappears, of course to reappear the next minute in all its imperfections.
Once the greater bliss of the higher centres is experienced, the physical sex is no longer a priority. Maithuna has merely become a stepping stone to higher levels of Being.
The great Adi Shankara, in his work called the Saundarya Lahiri, refers to this celebration as the ‘Ecstasy of Supreme Beauty.’
The symbols are a triangle with the apex downwards, a silver crescent moon, a red triangle with apex upwards, a star made of two equilateral triangles interlaced like the star of David, an oval, white two-petalled lotus and multi-coloured lotus.
The seed sounds (beejaksharas) that activate the centres starting from the bottom are lam, vam, ram, yam, ham and Om. The rest has to be learnt personally from a teacher.
14. Conversations with Babaji – 1
To be alert is not to strain but to relax and let the teachings sink deep so that you will have no more doubts.
The moment you have listened to my words, they have vanished from the present and become a thing of the past. They constitute memory and memory is a thing of the past. Knowledge, as we know it, is then something that you remember whether from the recent past or a split second ago or years ago. All knowledge is therefore memory, a thing of the past. Now, Brahman, the ultimate reality is never a memory or a thing of the past. It is the living present, the eternal, immediate present and therefore can never be comprehended by knowledge, which only has the past as reference.
Babaji: How can the mind which reflects the very seed and source of intelligence ever become inert? Such a mind is ever active, ever engaged in doing what has been ordained as its duty. Such a mind, blessed by an abundant rush of energy as it is linked to the very fountainhead of the tremendous energy that operates the entire universe, is not ruffled by obstacles or failures. It gets neither dejected by failure nor overjoyed by success. It is a mind that works steadily without the distractions that the ordinary person has. It is only such a mind that can be truly said to function, charged as it is with the energy from the Universal Generator. The rest are inert because they have not discovered the secret of work.
M: Babaji, what about those who prefer to remain silent after realising the Ultimate Truth? Babaji: If the perfected sage prefers to remain silent, that silence is more effective than speech or overt action. The sage works silently on the minds of those who listen to the voice of silence. Such a sage has reached the source of all thought and can change the entire world by a single thought. That silence is more potent than hours of lectures.
Their minds lose sensitivity and alertness and are tarnished by dross which they mistake for knowledge, since it has been acquired painstakingly over a long period. They are the worshippers of knowledge who enter into greater darkness.
He walks towards the light, although it dazzles him, and he sees the reality and realises that what he saw in the cave was just a shadow world.
He is the man who has experienced a dimension that is beyond the limited view of those inside the cave. What would be the reaction of his cave mates, if he visited them subsequently and related to them the wonders of a completely different world of light and freedom?
15. Conversations with Babaji – 2
As you know, the law of conservation of energy states that energy or its equivalent in mass can neither be created nor destroyed but just changed. It means that nothing can be added or subtracted from it. That completeness is Brahman.
M: What about mass? It is solid, I can feel it. Babaji: Imagine a microscopic organism that enters your body. It is so tiny, that the pores of your skin are large gates through which it enters with ease. For it, your blood stream is probably a flowing river and arteries and veins, huge tunnels. Your solid body is not solid for the organism that is smaller than a single cell.
So where is the thing that you called solid? Our rishis, who delved deep into these subjects by virtue of their special faculties, have found that matter is ultimately simply a field in which different forces act and react.
This is not to deny the existence of objects or our ability to comprehend them. What is to be understood is that the world is real only in a relative way but it cannot be real in the absolute sense. Relative reality is essential only as far as it concerns our functioning in the world; no more no less. Unfortunately, to accept relative reality as the absolute reality is the error we fall into and therein lies all our misery.
That pure existence, behind the insubstantiality of the world and constantly changing forms, is realized only in deep meditation, beyond the intellect and the mind, when thoughts have completely ceased.
16. The Great Avadhuta Sadashiva Brahmendra
On the advice of her husband, she undertook the chanting of the Rama Nama tens of millions of times until it was said her mind continued to chant even in sleep.
Referring to his having defeated many a Vedic scholar during Vedantic discussions in the Mysore Palace and having rendered them speechless, Sri Paramashivendra said to him, “you have learnt to tie up the tongues of others but you haven’t learnt to shut up yourself.”
“The figure moved towards me and touched me on my head, forehead and chest. A cool breeze swept up from the bottom of my spine towards the head and warmth descended from the crown of my head and filled my heart. I was filled with pulsating deep blue light, which had its centre in the point between my eyebrows. A wave of bliss swept through my being and I discovered in a flash that I was not the heavy, conditioned body but a free being made entirely of light particles that went in and out of the heart centre in a continuous cycle, intermittently merging into and emerging from the infinite, all pervading light.”
18. Dattatreya: Lord of Avadhutas
More important, Dattatreya is the patron God of all avadhutas, great sages and yogis, who are so immersed in the Divine, that they no longer care for the rules of social behaviour. Many of them have been known to wander around naked, oblivious of social norms.
“From today stop your work of burning dead bodies. Stop drinking alcohol. After a week, make a small thatched hut under the shade of the large peepal tree that stands not far from the rickety bridge that people use to cross the Varuna river. Wear only a kaupin, and beg for food from the Jain settlement which is a mile away. Eat only once a day. Don’t kill any animal for food. Keep a clay pot filled with water from the river and a clay cup to drink water with. Have a bath in the river every day early in the morning and chant the holy OM at least for an hour with your eyes closed.’
- Conversations with Babaji – 3 M: Babaji, I have had the opportunity of studying the Mandukya Upanishad and I know that Gaudapada’s karika – commentary is exhaustive, but I have been unable to fully grasp the treatise on the different states of consciousness.
Now listen carefully. The different states of consciousness are jagritaavastha – the waking state, swapnaavastha – the dream state, suptaavastha or sushupti – deep, dreamless state and turiyaavastha – the transcendental state that lies beyond the previous three states. Consciousness functions in all the three states. When one is awake, the dream state seems to be unreal, but during the dream, no reality other than the dream exists. The dream is so real that all senses function, all emotions are experienced.
The difference between the two states is that the waking state lasts longer than the dream state and is therefore more real. In the dream state, there is no awareness of the difference between the states. In deep dreamless sleep, neither of the states is perceived by the consciousness, as if consciousness itself were non-existent. In the dream state, the subtle sense organs replicate the actions of the five sense organs of the waking state. In deep sleep not only do these organs – both physical and subtle – but also the mind cease to function.
Ahamkara loosely translated as ego, individuality or the ‘I’ factor ceases its extrovert activities and traces its way back to the finer parts of itself called buddhi, the intellect, which forms the basic consciousness in a human being that feels ‘I exist’. Since the ahamkara does…
The paradox of this state is that, on analysing the experience, one does not know whether one was conscious or unconscious. All that can be said is that it is contentless or negative consciousness or a consciousness not aware of itself. You may, however, ask whether there is any consciousness during deep sleep which can enjoy peace and bliss? How could there be an absence of consciousness if on waking up one feels and says, ‘I had a wonderful undisturbed sleep’? Undoubtedly, there is something while in deep sleep which is…
Turiya, the fourth state, is not one of the states like the other three. It is present in all states, even in that state of pure consciousness when ahamkara is dropped. It is this consciousness that is called the Atman or spirit and is the sole witness of waking, dream and sleep states as…
In turiya, consciousness is in its pristine purity and has no separate identity from that all pervading Universal Consciousness, Brahman. Hence the rishi says, ‘Ayam Atma Brahman, my Atman is Brahman’. It is the attainment of the same consciousness which is referred to by the statement Aham Brahmasmi, I am Brahma. No one can proclaim Aham Brahmasmi and remain a…
In turiya, there is no distinction between the experience and the experienced or the subject and the object and it is that consciousness that is subject to disturbances and changes. In the other three states, the relative consciousness, specific to that state, excludes the other states. For example, in the dream state, the reality of the waking world is absent and vice-versa; the king becomes a beggar and a beggar becomes a king. On attaining turiya, the experiencing individual self is subsumed under the Universal Self or Atman. He who has attained or merged in turiya can see the Atman in all three states when he descends to relative consciousness, for the Atman, never ceases to exist. The three states are mere illusions like different moving pictures seen on the same screen. That person is the true Sanyasin or renunciant, untouched by anything whatsoever, who is ever established in the bliss of the Brahman irrespective of his activity or inactivity. It is only he who is fully relaxed and at peace, for he is beyond deep sleep and rests in the calmness of that which is the root of all activity. He is the sole witness…
22. Mind and Other…
How did he do that? A moment earlier, he could not have had any inkling of the imminent danger so that he could save himself. Then, what saved him? It was a split-second reflex action. The message ‘jump and save your life’, must have flashed into his brain and the message was transmitted instantly to his limbs. Adrenalin was released immediately and his muscles reacted. The point to note here is that there was no interference from the conditioned mind and the prejudiced thought process. If thought had interfered, he could not have reacted so quickly. He would instead still be thinking how can an old, weak person like him jump out of the car’s way when he didn’t even have the energy to walk, whilst the vehicle crushed him. In this emergency situation, the message ‘jump’ came directly without being conditioned or influenced by thought. He was drawing energy directly from the cosmic source, although involuntarily.
need. This is the secret of the first sentence in that masterpiece of yoga, the Patanjali Yoga Sutra, which says ‘Yoga chitta vritti nirodha’. That is, yoga is the elimination of the vrittis, the disturbing waves of the chitta, the mind stuff. This is how the yogi gains access to the cosmic source of wisdom and energy. Not only does he develop the capacity to receive messages, but also send messages as it were to the fourth dimension to get answers.
Actually, chakra implies a whirlpool like area, a junction where the cosmic energy can be observed by a clairvoyant, whirling constantly and exhibiting myriad colours. It is through these centres that cosmic energy enters the human body.
Using a technique, which can only be learned directly from a Guru and not by any other means, the yogi succeeds by constant effort in awakening the kundalini and leading it upwards, piercing chakra after chakra, to finally reach the sahasrara chakra at the top. As the kundalini pierces each chakra, the conduits are cleared of all impurities that have been blocking them. As the kundalini ascends and each chakra opens up, the yogi reaches newer and newer dimensions of power and his links with the Cosmic Energy become closer.
It is when this centre is activated that the practising yogi becomes clairvoyant. He acquires the ability to use the chakra as an instrument to perceive subtle forces in dimensions beyond the world of sense perception.
Just as a drop seen under a microscope reveals it as a complex ever active system of dancing particles, the universe reveals its mysteries to the yogi who uses his special perceptive faculty of the ajna chakra.
The ajna chakra is the transmitting station from which the yogi can send messages in the form of thought waves to other humans or to highly evolved beings.
The main point to remember is that the practice of kundalini yoga is linked to the sublimation of sexual energies but not by repression, suppression or any forcible method.
Babaji: Thought is the mother of all action. So also is imagination or visualisation, the key to all achievement. Imagination is not the sign of a diseased mind. On the contrary, it is the sign of a healthy and rich mind. Only when it is not controlled or is allowed to run riot, does it become harmful. Controlled and deliberate imagination is in fact the sign of a genius. Great scientists, artists, indeed humans in all fields of endeavour, have always had a rich imagination. The very beginning of any creative venture is imagination.
The artist, for instance, visualises everything in detail before he puts it on canvas. Ask a successful and wealthy man and he will tell you how he, in his days of poverty, had visualised in great detail, the house he would live in, the car he would drive, the clothes he would wear, the money he would handle, once he came by his riches. By keeping these images constantly in his mind and working hard on the ideas, he slowly transforms his dreams into reality. This is regarding the world of senses. In the subtle world, the results are instantaneous – one does not have to wait for long. Every passing thought leaves its impression on the invisible world of fine matter that surrounds us.
Only the yogi who has reached the highest level is able, by a mere thought, to transform his vision into physical reality. Such persons are rare and should not be confused with magicians who perform sleight of hand tricks. However, such rare, divine persons, as a rule, never demonstrate their powers except under specific conditions.
Visualise your desires in complete detail and you are sure to attain them, but never visualise harm to others, for that will arrest your own spiritual development and pull you down the ladder of spiritual evolution. You can imagine yourself to a state of happiness or unhappinesss, it is your choice.
In that state, the object is peeled layer by layer and the yogi derives knowledge of the object in all its aspects.
Those who follow the path of discrimination, the jnana yogi, however interpret it in a slightly different manner. According to them, the ‘experience and the experienced are one’.
What will be left over is the infinite, thoughtless reality – the Supreme Peace.”
Babaji: You have touched the crux of an important misconception. Associating pranayama only with meditation and yogic practices is a common error. I must make it clear that pranayama is a true science and in its proper form, it should be taken up by all for their benefit. It helps them as much as it does the yogi.
Before I give you some practical hints, which many students of yoga may not have come across, let me tell you that many of the secrets of pranayama have applications in material welfare as well. If you wonder how a practice that yields material benefits can be useful for spiritual progress, you should know that Vedic teachings are not, as generally supposed, concerned only with spiritual salvation, liberation or moksha. They deal as much with dharma, the pursuit of righteousness; artha, the acquisition of wealth; and kama, desire or pleasure.
If you bear in mind that prana is not just the air that is breathed in and breathed out but is the magnetic cosmic energy sustaining the body, then you will realise that its proper utilisation is of great importance, spiritually and temporally.
I shall now tell you about the channels through which the prana flows. According to yogic science, especially Sivasamhita, the entire nervous system is a delicately interwoven network of 72,000 nerves or nadis. Of these, only three are considered as important channels of energy from a practical yogic point of view. They are the sushumna, the ida and the pingala. The sushumna is the organ through which energy is conducted.
The ida and the pingala coordinate and control all the voluntary and involuntary functions of the human body, which an adept can at will. The sushumna, which is linked to the spinal chord, is the central channel and the ida and the pingala are situated on either side of it. The ida, which is on the left of the sushumna, starts from the left nostril and the pingala, on the right of the sushumna from the right nostril. Both terminate at the coccyx or muladhara.
Here is an important thing to remember – breath does not flow through both nostrils at all times in any human being. The flow of breath alternates between the two nostrils every ninety minutes. The yogis have understood the importance of the shifting cycles in influencing the various states of the mind. You
This is the kind of faith that is required of the earnest religious seeker. He has to merely suspend judgement about the truths the sages have uttered, after experiencing what is beyond the ordinary man’s capacity to explore. Meanwhile, he should try to develop in himself the faculties that lie outside our sensory organs and conditioned thought.
Shraddha means one pointed attention, the sacred care given to one’s endeavour. When a person has unquestioned faith in his own capacity for achieving his goal, whether spiritual or temporal, he is not disturbed by negative thoughts that weaken the will and discourage the spirit. Not disturbed by any demoralising thought, the person who has faith persists in his efforts till the very end and attains what he sets out to do.
Have faith in your essential divinity son, and you will achieve what looks impossible. Test your faith certainly by gathering first hand information and experience, but these moods of doubt and scepticism will gradually vanish. A person becomes doubtless only after he has attained turiya.
There is a limit to everything including the dose of teaching that can be given at a time. Too much would be wasted since your mind would not be able to grasp it, too little would give you the idea that this is all there is to knowledge and therefore you are all-knowing. Your eagerness to learn more shows that you realise your shortcomings. It is a good sign, the sign of a sincere student.
But what about ordinary people like me who are prone to frequent doubts – what shall I do when doubts assail me? Babaji: This is not a phenomenon peculiar to you. Every sincere aspirant passes through these dark moods; they are the tools that Nature’s negative forces use to test the sincerity of the aspirant. Great saints have had these moods. Don’t worry, these moods pass. In spiritual terms, this state is called the ‘dark night of the soul’. When such a mood comes, meditate calmly, chant the sacred Aum or just relax by listening to melodius music. Don’t take any serious decisions. Wait till your mind becomes free of tension. A person who knows the secret of pranayama can get over this condition easily.
Once your mind attains the capacity to experience the spiritual bliss personally and you begin to depend less on what others have taught you and what you have read and when practical experiences replace theoretical knowledge, all your doubts will vanish and your progress on the spiritual path will accelerate. Aum Tat Sat.
23. The compassion of Sri Ramakrishna
“You have one more life to go before you get back to me,” said Babaji. I will send my close disciple Maheswar to establish contact with you. You will be born as a boy in a Muslim family.” “Now we have come to take you across the barrier that separates this life and the next. After your soul rests in bliss, preparations will be made to decide the next birth. Om Shanti!”
By now, I could see that I had separated from the body. My mother was holding the body and crying. Both Thakurji and Babaji held my hands. We floated for a while and then, I felt I was passing into a deep and blissful slumber. Everything vanished into Akasha2.
24. Yoga: Philosophy and Practice
The earliest compiler of this science was Patanjali, who wrote the Yoga Sutra, aphorisms on yoga and is himself considered a mystical half human, half snake figure, the great teacher from Naga Loka. Yajnavalkya Samhita or the yogic teachings of the great Upanishadic sage, Yajnavalkya is also an important text.
The Naths, especially Gorakhnath the most prominent of the Nath yogis, were responsible in reviving the ancient yogic teachings. The Siddha Siddhanth Kaumudi, the Goraksha Shataka, the Gheranda Samhita, the Shiva Samhita, the Hathayoga Pradipika are all works of Nath yogis and present the philosophical and practical aspects of yoga in a clear format.
M: Babaji, they say Yoga is derived from Sankhya. Will you please explain?
There is no greater God sitting and shaping things in his workshop. Nature functions according to cause and effect. Prakriti like Purusha is eternal and only keeps changing its state from one to another. Now, Purusha, the pure spirit has become entangled with matter Prakriti. The process of spiritual evolution is the shedding of the binding factors of Prakriti and going back to the original state of pure consciousness. Even mind or thoughts, both according to yoga and Sankhya, is matter even at its subtlest levels and the aim of yoga is Chitta Vriti Nirodha, which is first restraining and then getting rid of the mind’s activity, which is constantly engaged in various forms. A calm mind with no distractions and impurities when attained, intuitively understands the Purusha in its pristine, all pervading glory.
M: Babaji, will you recommend some books to be read by students interested in understanding yoga further? Babaji: Yes, read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Swami Vivekananda’s commentary on the Yoga Sutras called Raja Yoga is a must. Also read the Siddha Siddhantha Paddhati and Svatmarama’s Hatha Yoga Pradipika. You may also read the Gheranda Samhita. Another excellent commentary on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the Yoga Sudhakara by the great Sadashiva Brahmendra. Let me warn you – read but do not practise without guidance from a personal instructor for we are dealing with exact and precise techniques and one cannot afford wrong practice which may bring about negative effects. Now go meditate son. Do your kriya and do the Chakra Dharana on your navel. Need a little bit of balancing there. Alek Niranjan!
The fakir would not give up. “Please listen to me, O great yogi, I am a Sufi and am the chief disciple of a great Sufi master of the Naqshabandiya order. Just before my master passed away, six months ago, he told me, ‘Friend, you have now reached the level of spiritual attainment that I was able to take you to. I am leaving my body soon and there is no Sufi master at this point who is willing to guide you to the next and higher level. But don’t worry. There lives a young Himalayan yogi near Badri in the Himalayas. Find him and seek his help.’ You are the one he referred to and you alone can save me now.
“Now move out of my way and don’t delay me from having my bath in the Alakananda and resume the meditation that you so rudely interrupted. Get out!”
Sitting on a rock, he thanked the sacred river for purifying his body and mind and was about to start his climb to the cave when he heard the familiar sweet voice of his master calling him, “Madhu!” From behind a rocky ledge appeared his great master Babaji. It looked as if the darkness of the approaching dusk was suddenly lit by his glowing presence. Tall, fair with an almost European complexion, Babaji had long flowing brown hair and very little facial hair. He looked around sixteen years of age. The well-built unadorned muscular body was bare except for a white loin cloth. He was bare foot, and walked with great grace and dignity.
You have hurt and pained a great devotee of the Lord. All the fruits of your many years of austerities, you have destroyed in a flash. A minute of kindness is more precious than a hundred years of intense austerities. You have to compensate for it.”
By then the young disciple had controlled himself and become calm. “Whatever you say, my Master, I am prepared to do,” he said. “As for the fakir,” said Babaji, “I shall take care of his spiritual needs. You have arrested your spiritual progress by your arrogant behaviour and the only way to get back on track is to go through the same or similar pain and privation that the fakir went through. Prepare to do the last kriya of total khechari mudra and let your prana exit through the ajna centre. We shall then guide your soul to be born in such circumstances that you go through pain similar to that suffered by the poor man. Do it now.”
adopted the lotus posture, took a few deep breaths, performed the khechari mudra that forcibly stops the breathing process, and concentrating on the centre between the eyebrows, shook off his body.
It is my experience that a small spark of Divinity resides in all hearts. In Sufism, it is called ‘Khuda ka Noor’. This Atman (spirit) or ansh (portion) is present in all. This would mean that each one of us is a moving temple or a mosque. The aradhana or worship of these moving temples is not through arti (ritual worship) but through seva (service). Swami Vivekananda used to always say: Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaaya cha meaning (each one’s life is) “For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world”. That is an individual’s journey.
According to the ancient Sankhya philosophy, Akasha is the primordial and undifferentiated state of prakriti – nature – from which the diverse forms emerge and ultimately merge back into. Out of the subtlest Akasha arise Vayu, Agni, Apas and Prithvi, Prithvi being the grossest. During pralaya or dissolution of the cosmos, they merge into Akasha. The yogi, therefore, raises his consciousness from the gross Prithvi through Apas, Agni and Vayu and beyond that to its origin which is The Supreme Consciousness called Purusha in Sankhya as well as in Yoga. This state is known as Kaivalya.