Babaji’s Blessing
"Whenever anyone utters with reverence the name of Babaji, that devotee attracts an instant spiritual blessing."
Lahiri Mahasaya[1], Indian saint.
Babaji (Mahavatar
Babaji, Shri Babaji, Babaji Maharaj) - a great Hindu
saint who possessed unlimited miraculous
powers. One of the
Indian pilgrims said about Him: "I saw with my own eyes the conqueror of
death. The Supreme Guru played with time and
space like a child playing with soap bubbles. I saw a man with the keys to
heaven and earth".[2]
In the XIX century Mahavatar Babaji founded Kriya Yoga- a yoga direction that opens the chakras through
breathing exercises – and He passed
it on to His disciple Lahiri Mahasaya
in 1861. According to the instructions of Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya made Kriya Yoga
available to people who lived a
mundane life, and spread it in India. The disciple received this instruction
from his Guru: "Millions who are burdened with family ties and heavy
worldly duties, even a head of a household like them, will
get a renewed heart from you. You must guide them to understand that the
highest yogic achievements are not denied to the
family man. Even in daily life, the
yogi who honestly performs his duties without personal motive or attachment is walking the
path of enlightenment"[3]. All
the student lines of Kriya Yoga originate from Babaji. The most famous student line being: Mahavatar Babaji – Lahiri Mahasaya- Swami Sri Yukteswar – Paramahansa Yogananda.
In the twentieth century (1970) Babaji appeared in the body of a young man in a cave near
the village of Haidakhan, which is located at the
foot of the Himalayas, in the area of Kumaon which is the
birthplace and residence of many great Indian saints. Sri Kheirakhan
Vale Baba, as Babaji was called at the time, spent 14
years (from 1970 to 1984) of His stay on Earth, devoted to
serving the people in the ashram. Babaji preached Karma
Yoga-a teaching based on actions, actions that have a direct impact on karma:
if you work diligently and not just for the
sake of results, then you can improve karma, health, and living conditions.
Teacher Babaji continued His work
in the XXI century by giving instructions through Tatyana Mickushina, who was
chosen by the Great White Brotherhood as Their Messenger to help humanity. Based
on the postulations that the Great Guru had given in
previous incarnations, Babaji was giving us a new
impetus, encouraging us to take action, so as to
continue our evolution in the New World.
Mahavatar Babaji
in the 19th century
Some Information about Babaji's
life first emerged in Paramahansa Yogananda's
1946 book "Autobiography of a Yogi".
Up to that time, there were no historical references to the Great Teacher. He
took a simple name – Babaji, which means
"Revered Father.". In India, this is a common name, so in Indian
books there are references to this or that teacher Babaji.
But about the Great Guru, this in accordance with His instructions, all the disciples remained completely silent until
the twentieth century.
In his book, Yogananda
gave a
lot of unique information that recreated the
appearance of the Great Teacher.
So he wrote that Babaji
had
been on Earth in a physical body for many
centuries. Babaji passed the Yogic initiation on
to such famous personalities as Shankara (a religious teacher, scholar, reorganizer of the
Swami Order, who lived long before the Birth of Christ, presumably in the 6th
century BC), Kabir (the great saint and famous Teacher of the XVI century,
among whose numerous followers were both Hindus and Muslims). Yogananda wrote that Babaji
refused to ascend and remained in a flesh
body[4] that showed
no signs of aging and emitted a noticeable glow. The disciples saw, that at
times He did not cast a shadow or leave marks on the ground – "these are external symbols that
prove the inner absence of darkness and material dependence.”[5]
The Yogic Christ is one of the names used
by Babaji in India. "Babaji
is in constant communion with Christ, together They radiate the vibrations of
salvation and together They outline spiritual methods for the salvation of humanity
for the current period. It is the work of These two fully enlightened
Teachers-one with a body and the other without-to inspire people to
abandon the disastrous wars, racial hatred, religious sectarianism and the
boomerang of the evil of materialism.”
Babaji commissioned His disciple Swami Sri Yukteswara to write a book on the common grounds of the
Christian and Hindu scriptures, in which could
be shown
by parallel comparisons that "the inspired sons of God spoke the same
truths, not obscured by the sectarian differences of men." When the
disciple doubted his ability to carry out this instruction, Babaji
laughed softly.
"My son, why doubt? "No,"
He said confidently. – Whose hands are all over this business and Who is the
author of all the actions? Whatever the Lord has prompted me to say, will
surely come true."
One of the reasons that prompted Babaji to keep fit is to show people a concrete example of
human abilities. Yogananda reported that Babaji lived in a cave in the Himalayas with His small group of disciples, but He could move Himself from one part of the world to another through
teleportation, had the ability to become invisible at will, appear in the light
and dissolve in the light, and appear
before His followers in many slightly different forms. Babaji
usually spoke Hindi, but could easily communicate in any other language. His
students described miraculous experiences that they had witnessed themselves:
the materialization of the golden palace in the Himalayas by the power of
thought, instant healing, and resurrection from the dead.
"One night His disciples were sitting
around a huge bonfire that was burning for a sacred Vedic ceremony. Suddenly
the Teacher snatched a flaming block from the fire and placed
it lightly on the bare shoulder of one of the chelas
who was sitting close to the fire.
"How cruel, Master!-
protested Lahiri Mahasaya,
who was present.
– Would you rather see him reduced to
ashes before your eyes in accordance with his past karma?" With that, Babaji placed His healing hand on the chela's
disfigured shoulder. – I saved you from a painful death last night. The Law of
Karma is satisfied with your insignificant suffering from the fire.
On another occasion, Babaji's
group was interrupted by the appearance of a stranger who, with surprising
agility, climbed an almost impregnable ledge near the Teacher's camp.
"Master, you must be the great one Babaji, " the man's face was lit up with unspeakable
reverence. – For several months I have been constantly searching for you among
these formidable rocks. I beg you to accept me as a disciple.
The great guru did not answer, so the man
pointed to a deep abyss at his feet.
– If you refuse me, I'll jump off this
mountain. If I do not receive your guidance to the Divine, the rest of my life
will have no purpose for me.
- Then jump,- said Babaji unmoved. – I can't
accept you in your current state of development.
The man immediately threw himself off the
steep cliff. Babaji ordered the startled disciples to
get him. When they returned with the mutilated body, the Master laid His Divine hand on the dead
man. So he opened his eyes and knelt in
humility before the all-powerful Master.
- Now you are ready for your
apprenticeship, Babaji said, looking at the resurrected chela tenderly and with
a beaming smile. – You passed a difficult test bravely. Death will no longer touch you, you are now one of
us.
Yogananda
noted that some Great prophets like Christ and Krishna had come to Earth for a
specific and spectacular purpose; They would depart as soon as it was
accomplished.
“Other
avatars, like Babaji, undertake work that has more to
do with the slow evolutionary progress of mankind during the centuries, than
with any remarkable event in history. Such Masters always cover Themselves from
the gross public gaze and have the power to become invisible at will.”
For
these reasons, and because They generally instruct Their disciples to remain
silent about Them, a number of grandiose and monumental spiritual figures have
remained unknown to the world.
Olga Ivanova,
Elena Ilyina
Part 2. Ashram Babaji in Haidakhan in the XX century
Part 3. Babaji’s Messages in the XXI century
[1] Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-1895) -
Disciple Babaji, an Indian saint. Mahasaya
(Sanskrit) is a religious title meaning "broad mind.”
[2] Quatation in the book: Paramahansa
Yogananda. Autobiography of a Yogi. - M., Publishing
House "Sphere" of the Russian Theosophical Society, 1995.
[3] In the same
place.
[4] Appearance Babaji, placed at the beginning of the article, is
reproduced by the artist with help of Paramahansa Yogananda.
[5] Here and later in this chapter, quotations are given from the book: Paramahansa Yogananda. Autobiography of a Yogi.
