corrected version (Non-Ammachi) Chapters 1 and 2 from Babaji

[Guest guest]

ONS,

 

I was hasty and sent this out without checking my own

typos...

 

here is the corrected copy.

 

 

PART 1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

 

 

According to the traditional Hindu Sanatan Dharma

system, all human beings are classified into different

categories, as Jnanis, Yogis, Siddhas and Avatars.

This classification is mainly based upon the spiritual

attainments of the individuals. A Jnani is a highly

learned person who is proficient in Vedas, Shastras

etc. He is an ocean of knowledge and can give sound

advice for any day-to-day problem based upon his

knowledge. A Yogi is one who has attained certain

spiritual powers like the ability to go into Samadhi

for long lengths of time and to telepathically

communicate to far off distances. To attain this

stage, one has to be not only a Jnani, but also should

have practiced various forms of Yoga’s including

Meditation and Penance. Yogis have perfect control

over their body to such an extent that they can stop

breathing for hours together. They can even levitate

above the ground. When a Yogi attains a high level on

the spiritual plane, he becomes a Siddha. A Siddha can

perform very sophisticated miracles like disappearing

and appearing at various places, curing persons of

their ailments and materializing things from know

where. Above all these stages are the Avatars who are

basically incarnations of various Gods. Even though

they posses a form and behave externally like all

other normal human beings, they are much above other

classes of humans. Just as for one qualified

technician it is necessary for him to recognize

another technician, only spiritually advanced people

like Yogis and Siddhas will be able to recognize

Avatars. Avatarpurushas can not-only have control over

their own mind and body but also on those of others.

For normal people, it is only the full and sincere

devotion that can give them ability to recognize and

understand t he Avatarpurushas. These Avatar-purushas

would have many holy and auspicious marks on their

bodies. At times they case no shadows or do not leave

behind footprints while walking. Their actions are not

limited to a small set of people, but are meant to be

experienced for the entire mankind. Among the Avatars,

are some mortals and a few immortals. The former ones

leave their bodies at the end of their mission, while

the latter maintain their bodies throughout time.

While Rama, Krishna, etc, belong to the former group,

Hanuman and Baba Gorakhnath belong to the latter. Even

though the immortal ones maintain their bodies, they

stay in invisible form by their Yogic powers. Normally

the mortal Avatars are incarnations of Lord Vishnu

while the immortals are of Lord Shiva.

 

The drama of Creation is enacted mainly by the above

classes of actors. The basic theme of this drama is

the gradual expansion of sin and evil in the world

which at a certain stage gets reduced by the

destruction caused by an Avatar for the sake of

establishing truth and righteousness. As life

gradually evolved from Aqueous stage to Amphibians and

humans, at every stage of evolution an Avatar

descended in the world to destroy evil forces which

had multiplied to a great extent in that stage. These

Avatars are mainly incarnations of Lord Vishnu. Thus

Lord Vishnu incarnated Himself in the form of fish

(Matsya Avatar) during the aqueous stage of creation,

in the form of Man-Lion (Narasimh-Avatar) during the

transition period of animal to human stage of

evolution, in the form of Dwarf (Vaman-Avatar) during

the early stage of human evolution. During every stage

of evolution the sins and evils increased in intensity

and were destructed by an Avatar to a great extent.

However, after a repetition of these cycles a stage

arises when the sin and evil grows to such enormous

dimensions that it becomes beyond the capacity of

normal Avatars to control. At this stage a Mahavatar

(Super Avatar) appears on the scene for the

establishment of truth, and guides humans into the

righteous path. This Mahavatar is basically an

incarnation of the Director and Author of the Drama of

Creation, who is called in Hindu Mythology, Samba Sada

Shiva. Like a true Director, He is always present but

stays behind the scenes and would be prompting

occasionally, the various actors. Only a few of the

actors get the opportunity of coming into contact with

Him during their lifetime.

 

We in India, are very lucky that Sada Shiva has been

with us and is now gradually coming into public. He

has been confining His appearances mainly in the

Himalayan Region, which is the abode of the Gods. He

is mostly called by the simple name “Babaji”. However,

there are many other names by which the devotees have

been addressing Him like Tryambak Baba, Mahamunindra,

Avadhoot Baba and Mahavatar Baba. As He is mainly

residing in Haidakhan, He is widely known as

Haidakhanwale Baba.

 

In this book an effort has been made to compile the

known and recorded historical facts about Him as well

as His various lilas (marvels). It is humanly

impossible to understand Him completely and write

about Him, as no human being can reach to a level

anywhere near to Him. Only by His grace can one

realize Him and understand Him to some extent. This

grace can only be acquired by devotion, which in turn

has to evolve from faith. Faith for normal human

beings like this, is developed mainly from Super

natural experiences one gets from Him. Experiences of

various people given in this book would help one to

get faith and thus lead him in the path of devotion.

It is hoped that by His grace, this book will serve

its purpose.

 

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

 

CHAPTER II

 

HISTORICAL SKETCH

 

In the interior if Himalayas, about 80 km towards the

East of Naintal in a small nameless village. Around

the year 1800 one day, the residents of this village

saw a bright Jyoti appearing on the top of a nearby

hill. This Jyoti stayed for some time and vanished.

The same phenomenon occurred daily for the next few

days. The villagers became very curious and gradually

realized that this radiance must be a holy deity. So,

the next day at that time they gathered on the top of

the hill and began Bhajans. The Jyoti re-appeared and

a youth of divine luster emerged out of it. According

to their estimate, the youth appeared about 20 years

of age. The innocent villagers begged him to come to

their village. He stayed in the house of the forest

guard Shri Dhan Singh. The villages started addressing

this youth as an Avadhoot (Illumined) Babaji. Shri

Dhan Singh used to go for the work daily after locking

Babaji in his room. One day during his absence the

villagers broke open the lock of the room and were

astonished that Babaji had disappeared.

 

After sometime Babaji appeared in the nearby village

called Haidakhan (a slang word for Hiriya Khand

meaning sanctified area) is a small village in Kumaon

region of Eastern. U.P. on the banks of the river

Guatama-Ganga (known as Gola river in the lower

stretches when it merges with the Ganges) at the foot

of Kailash mountain. While the village is on the left

side of the river, Kailash is on the right side. In

this mountain, at the level of the river a beautiful

cave exists. Babaji appeared from this cave and used

to stay in it. He constructed a temple and an Ashram

in this village exactly on the opposite bank of the

cave. This temple is unique in that it is octagonal in

plan, and the slabs that have been used for this small

temple are not available anywhere locally. The elders

of the village even today recollect their parents

narrating how Babaji took the workers to a hill and

after putting a mark on the rocks asked them to take

out the slabs. These slabs became entirely of a

different nature of rock. Babaji, himself,

participated in the construction of the temple. In

this temple a Three Faced Shivalinga was installed by

Babaji and this Linga has life in it, in that it

breathes. For a cautious devotee, the breathing can be

heard. As He stayed in this village for a few years

continuously, He became known as Haidakhan Baba. He

became known for His great powers and attracted quite

a large number of disciples. Most of his disciples

were learned intellectuals and officers.

 

During the autumn of 1861, at Ranikhet he gave darshan

to Sham Charan Lahiri, an accountant in the Military

Engineering Department of the British Government.

Babaji initiated him into Kriya Yoga and have him the

realization of his previous births when he was a

disciple of Babaji. Later Sham Charan Lahiri attained

a high Siddha stage and became famous as Lahiri

Mahashaya in Banaras. His encounter with Babaji as

well as the miracles performed by Lahiri Mahashaya,

were brought to the public by Paramahansa Yogananda in

his book entitled “Autobiography of a Yogi” first

published in 1946. Paramahansa Yogananda was a

disciple of Yukteshwaragiri, who in turn was a

disciple of Lahiri Mahashaya. By that time Babaji had

slowly exposed his divine powers to his disciples. It

was quite difficult to have his darshan. Only those

whom he wished, could come to him. He became known by

different names as Tryambak Baba (as he revealed his

third eye to a few people), Shiva Baba, Muni Baba,

Maha Munindra, etc. He never stayed at any place

continuously. He used to roam around among various

holy places in the Himalayas. He established various

Ashrams like Dhana Doriya Ashram in Ranikhet,

Katgharia in Haldwani, Kurpatal Ashram in Nainital,

Siddhashram in Sheetalkhet and Chedo Ashram in Almora.

He exhibited several Yogic powers such as giving

darshan to devotees at different places

simultaneously, become a mass radiation like the sun,

bringing back the dead to life and performing Havan

with water. Even today, there are a few old people in

Haldwani and in Vrindavan who had seen Babaji doing

these miracles. He was famous for his Panchagni

Tapasya which he used to perform by sitting inside a

burning fire for hours together. His food habits were

very unusual. He never took cereal food. Rarely, on

the insistence of his devotees he used to take fruits

and milk. Shri Shiromani Pathak of Sheetalket stayed

with him for six months continuously but could not see

him taking food or water, not having slept for a

minute throughout this period. Babaji used to perform

Havan daily. If ghee was not available, he used to do

Haven with water only. Once in Ranikhet, the son of

Shri Ram Dutt narrated this incident to his Christian

Principal of the college. The Principal was curious

and went to see Babaji doing Havan on the roof of the

second floor of the house. Whenever Babaji poured

water into the Havan Kund, the fire lit up to 8 to 10

meters height. The Principal then became an ardent

devotee of Babaji.

 

Another great devotee of Babaji during this time was

Thakur Guman Singh Naula of Dyuda village near

Haldwani. He was a great devotee like Kabir. Babaji

stayed with him for many months and performed many

miracles in his place. Guman was such a blessed

devotee that Babaji took him for a bath in Sharada

river. The grandchildren of Shri Guman who are still

living in the village have still preserved Babaji’s

belongings, even today.

 

Thus Babaji performed many super-human miracles and

established his identity as Lord Sadashiva Himself.

The various leelas of His have been compiled by Dr.

Hemchand Joshi D, Lit, Shri Girdharial Mishra and Shri

Prasad Pathak. Dr, Joshi was a renowned scholar of

those times and Shri Mishra was a Magistrate during

1950 in U.P.

 

In the autumn of 1922 Babaji went on Kailash Yatra and

on His return stayed at Ashkot near U.P. - Nepal

border as a guest of the king, Shri Karman Singh.

After a few days he told the king that the time had

come for him to leave. The king carried the palanquine

in which Babaji was sitting. After a few miles, Babaji

sent the king back and continued his journey with a

few attendants of the king and other devotees. When

they approached the junction of the Kali and Gori

rivers near the border, in the presence of these

people, Babaji disappeared in the river squatting in

Padmasan slowly changing into light form. Before

leaving, he told all that he would reappear again for

the benefit of human beings.

 

After he disappeared from the public eye, however,

Babaji used to give Darshan frequently to devotees.

Recorded instances are available of his giving darshan

in 1950, 53, 54, 55, 59 & 62. Specially blessed has

been a Rana family in the village called Dhanian near

Almora. One of the descendents of this family, Shri

C.S. Rana, who has now taken the apprenticeship in

Haidakhan and is known as Swami Fakiranand, had

published, recently, the family’s experiences.

 

Shri Ram Singh, a school teacher in the village

Okhaldoonga, near Haidakhan, had Babaji’s Darshan in

1963 and used to meet him regularly almost every week

until 1970, when Babaji finally made his public

appearance in Haidakhan. During 1968-1969, Babaji

stayed at another Holy Place viz., Surya Devi Baba

was, at that time very sick and Babaji nursed him.

 

After the disappearance of Haidakhan Baba, a great

Siddha Yogi became quite famous and preached mankind

about Haidakhan Baba. This Siddha Yogi’s name was

Mahendra Maharaj. He was born in village Manika

Dharbanga Distt. Bihar. On his fifth birthday, a

Mahatma gave him darshan and blessed him with Prasad

of Laddu. The boy became very much attracted to this

Mahatma and was always praying to him only.

 

When this boy grew up, he left his house in search of

the Mahatma. Within a short time he was traced by his

parents and brought back home. Later, he graduated

from Bhagalpur University by doing his Master’s

degree. After graduation, Mahendra Maharaj left the

home forever and traveled all over the country by

foot, seven times, in search of the Mahatma. As he

never begged, he had to undergo a lot of difficulties

during his travels, particularly in South India.

Finally, he arrived at Ambaji in Gujrat State, where

he got a divine message that he should go to Almora

area. He immediately started to search every nook and

corner in the hills of the Almora District for the

Mahatma. At Almora he met people with whom he saw

Babaji’s photographs and recognized Him to be the same

Mahatma whom he has been searching his life long. Only

then did he realize that his Guru has been Haidakhan

Baba. Finally he went to Siddhashram of Babaji in

1949, where he locked himself in a room with a vow

that until he meets Hairakhan Baba he would not come

out of his Yogic posture. Babaji did appear to him and

gave him guidance and blessings for his future work.

Mahendra Maharaj then came to Vrindaban and

established an Ashram called “Samba Sada Shiva Kunj.”

Soon many disciples gathered around him, including all

the former disciples of Haidakhan Baba. Mahendra

Maharaj was known for his strict discipline with

disciples and for his spiritual powers. He called

himself as “Charanashrit Baba”, a servant of Haidakhan

Baba .He told everyone that Haidakhan Baba will

reappear, that Haidakhan Baba is none else but God

Sada Shiva Himself and that everyone should worship

Him.

 

Mahendra Maharaj, developed both Haidakhan Ashrams of

Babaji. He built a small temple in Katgharia Ashram

and installed Babaji’s idol. On the previous night of

installation day, which happened to be the fourth day

after the Shivaratri in the year 1957 (24th February)

over a thousand devotees had gathered in the Katgharia

Ashram and were doing continuous prayers in the night

also. Around midnight a bright (Jyoti) appeared in

centre of the devotees and stood still a few feet

above ground. From this light Babaji gave darshan in

his physical form wearing a Kurta and Topa which had

been his favorite dress previously. After giving

darshan for a couple of minutes this light entered

into the idol which was to be installed the next day.

After the installation ceremony, selected devotees who

were permitted by Mahendra Maharaj to touch the idol

could feel the heart beats in the idol. Presently,

this idol is installed in Varindaban ashram. Every

year this day is celebrated in Varindaban as

Prakatyutsava. Mahendra Maharaj performed many

miracles, which he always insisted was due to the

blessings of Haidakan Baba; illiterate people became

highly learned scholars and composers; devotees who

were on the death bed were brought back to life; poor

became rich; childless couples got children. Many

Atheists became devout followers of Haidakhan Baba

after coming in contact with Him. Maharj’s preaching

included the forecast regarding the re-appearance of

Haidakhan Baba in human form. Under the blessing and

guidance of Goddess Jagdamba, Mahendra Maharaj wrote a

few books regarding the philosophy and leelas of

Babaji. Among these books, the most important one is

“Divya Kathamrit.” Which has been written in the same

style and of the traditional Puranas. In this book, it

has been written as to how all the Gods surrendered to

Lord Sadashiva and requested Him to go to the world

and protect the good and truth. Finally, Sadashiva

agrees and appears in the world as Babaji. His actions

in the world were forecast in this book. Today all the

present actions of Babaji very strongly correspond

with that which has been written by Mahendra Maharaj.

Other books where in Mahendra Maharaj has explained

the philosophical thoughts, are of a very high

standard and unless one has understood the implicit

meaning of the Vedas and Upanishads, it is difficult

to understand the entire meanings of Mahendra’s

writings. Mahendra Maharaj finally entered the

Mahasamadhi in 1969. When his body was being carried

in the procession to the cremation ground, thousands

of devotees were shedding tears. At that time the hand

of the body lifted itself and blessed all the

devotees. This sight is even now recollected by many

in Vrindaban.

 

Another blessed person is Pt. Vishnu Datt Shastriji, a

renowned scholar from Alwar. He was a disciple of

Mahendra Maharaj and due to his blessings has acquired

an ocean of knowledge. He has also written a book

about Babaji entitled “Sadashiva Charitamrit’s.” This

book was also inspired by Goddess Jagadamba and he as

written it on similar lines as Mahendra Maharaj’s

“Divya Kathamrit.” In this book Shastriji has

explained the Haidakhan Ashram without ever personally

seeing it. When he visited Haidakhan Ashram ten years

after he wrote the book, he realized to his wonder

that everything he wrote about the Ashram was perfect

in reality. Shastriji has written many other books and

a few people have obtained their doctorate degrees

also, by writing theses on the writings of Shastriji.

Presently Shastriji is the main priest in all the

Yajnas and functions performed by Babaji.

 

As per Manedra Maharaj’s predictions Babaji has made

His Public appearance in Haidakhan during 1970. At

this stage it is said, that prior to this time also

Babaji had been wandering in the Himalayan Region and

giving darshan to very few devotees, without making

public appearances. He came to Haidakhan in the

beginning of June 1970 and stayed in the temple for

about a fortnight, the local forest guard, Shri

Rewadhar Pandey, the temple Pujari Paramanand and a

few villagers recognized him from the various miracles

and divine powers which he exhibited to them, which

were typical of Haidakhanwale Baba in his previous

form. He gave them food-stuffs which were not

available in that region during that period of the

year. He showed them his presence in more than one

place at the same time. Later he went and stayed in

the cave across the river.

 

One of the first to have His Darshan in the cave at

Haidakhan was a villager from Haidakhan, Shri

Chandramani. His narration of that event is included

in this book. After His reappearance in the public,

Babaji called all His devotees and started His leelas.

Many of his previous devotees who had become very old

by then, were filled with profound joy to have the

Darshan of their beloved God. Great saints like Nantin

Baba, Gangotri Baba and Dudhadhari Maharaj not only

came to Him for blessings, but, also told their

disciples that Haidakhan Baba is Brahma, Vishnu, and

Parameshwara all in one and that they should worship

Him. The highly advanced saints, who had attained

Mahasamadhi like Neemkaroli Baba and Ranchordasji

advised their favorite disciples in their visions to

go and worship the God Sadashiva who has come to earth

in the form of Haidakhan Baba. Even today, one can see

highly elevated saints and devotees coming and falling

at the feet of Babaji.

 

In His present appearance Babaji has been performing

many Yajnas at far off places also and has established

His Ashrams at many places. The list of the addresses

of these Ashrams are also included in this book. His

leelas have been of many varied types. Very often

difficult for an ordinary person to realize these

miracles. It is His mission in the present appearance

is mainly to re-vitalize the path of Dharma. His basic

preachings to the devotees is to have faith in the

Lord and follow the path of Satya, Saralata and Prema

(Truth. Simplicity, and Love).

 

In Shiva Purana also, mention has been made about

Babaji’s appearance as the 28th appearance of

Sadashiva. The relevant portion has been reported in

the appendix. Typical experiences of the few disciples

have also been presented in the following pages which

explain the various leelas of Babaji. Concluding, it

can only be said that God has to be realized and

cannot be seen or heard. One has to have faith and

learn the spiritual techniques before one can realize

God. It is not possible to identify God by normal

technical tools of modern science. The spiritual

science takes up from the point where the modern

technical science comes to a dead end. To acquire

those various tools of the spiritual science, one has

to undergo a proper training on the spiritual path.

For this one needs a Guru. Just as one attends college

and universities to learn the tools of modern science.

The best Guru is God Himself and hence one has to

surrender to Babaji himself to guide them.

 

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA