Santa Monica Beach, CA.
௰ɨʂн Ƒøʀ ¥øʊ Ѧℓℓ Ƭհɛ ฿ɛαʊŧɨғʊℓ ฿lɛʂʂɨɴgs➸
Ƭհαŧ ℳακє ฿ʀɨgհŧ✼☆♥ ¥øʊʀ ℒɨfɛ ௰ɨŧհ ₲ʀɛαŧ ἶnŧɛɴṧɨŧγ!☼✦♥ℍαʋɛ Ѧ Pɛʀғɛςŧly ௰øиḓєʀful Şŧαrŧ Ơƒ Ƭհɛ Ɲɛ௰ Yєar ❥௰ɨŧհ Łøʋɛ! ❥
~*~
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Babaji's lifetime was lived in the true tradition
of a vairagi sadhu, and on Dec. 31, 1996
he passed out of it in the same noble manner.
His life intention was to awaken souls to
what he often referred to as the 'clarion call',
the Divine Flautist calling all to live in
conscious awareness.
For thousands of people through India and in many countries abroad as
well, the year closed with significance and a greater transition than we could
have imagined by an event that will not only remain inscribed in our memories,
but in history as well. On new year's eve of 1996, one of the most renowned
mystics of our time left his mortal coil and us behind. The Hindi newspapers
reported it in a beautifully poetic manner as did the 'Jai' victory chants in the
funeral procession, hailing the liberation from the bodily encumbrance and
subsequent meeting with the divine. With these words still echoing through
this numb body, I cannot help but feel only a deep sense of loss, along with
many others. That hazy day in Vrindavan when he set out on the last journey,
there were few dry eyes to be found.
He had been remembered as a child yogi, careless of even minimal
comforts and no personal attachments. When he travelled, he went with
himself and no baggage. He never used footwear except for once, I heard,
when he was travelling with a sannyasi he wore one sandal! It seems that
on the way the sannyasi had left his sandals behind out of respect for Babaji.
Having understood the discomfort of the sannyansi, on both accounts, Baba
insisted upon wearing one sandal while the Sannyasi wore the other! Such
was the sense of compassion. Babaji's ways and means were most
extraordinary, and could not be comprehended by the ordinary mind. He
endeavored to pierce the intellectual function and mind set of those
associated with him that they may develop the intuitive faculty in what he
called the inner sanctum of the mind.
Babaji never wore stitched clothing and preferred simple or hand-
loomed dhoties. Even in the deep Himalayas, he could be found casually
draped in a shawl after a cold river bath. His hair fell in naturally matted locks. Babaji's unattachment to his own body came from inside. It was not something to show to the world. It was an overflowing of his natural state of being.
Babaji lived in a state of detachment and left the world that way. The disciple who was with him for his last days told about the preparations he made for Mahasamadhi, although the student had not imagined it to be so at the time. Babaji's leaving his body happened much the same way as a man who would get up from a chair quite willing to stretch his legs. For several days, he had abandoned external activities; he had no interest in eating or communicating, except for necessary instructions of the moment. He remained for hours in a seated posture. Clearly, he remained conscious in his one pointed concentration. A doubting man approached him wondering about his quietude, and Babaji surprised the man, telling the man his own phone number and telling him that he would eventually understand! After that he remained in silence until he joined his Beloved and blissful union.
Babaji's sammadhi-postured body was then taken to Vrindavan, the place he cherished the most, and remained enshrined for two days while thousands passed through to pay a last homage at the Vraja Academy, where he was the founding acharya. Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians all came to Babaji. On the third day, the procession set out through the narrow streets he had loved, making brief stops along the way to Yamunaji. A band playing devotional songs led the entourage of hundreds accompanying the heavily garlanded palanquin. Winding through the lanes, to the background of continuous salutations, policemen cleared the way. The procession stopped at all his favorite temples and pujaris; residents emerged from houses to offer flowers and cloth, many joining in the last pilgrimage.
Perhaps a quarter of the town's population gathered at the banks of the Yamuna along with devotees from as far off as America. As Babaji was carried onto a boat, a dozen or so others set out, bowing low in the water as the crowds looked on. Downstream at the shrine of Devaraha Babaji's, where he had taken jal samadhi too, just a few years back, Babaji went to the familiar waters where he had so often sat in meditation. Vedic mantras were recited as the last rites were performed by disciples. Babaji and Devaraha Babaji were soul companions, and both would have been honored to share this sacred space.
Babaji's last journey through the holy village that he had reveled in for so many years was nothing less than remarkable and a fitting tribute to such a great soul. During the procession itself several devotees received intuitive messages from Babaji. It was an honor to share these last kilometers in the company of a great saint. Many felt that Babaji was still guiding them in his playful way.
Babaji's life intention was to awaken souls to what he often referred to as the clarion call, the Divine Flautist calling all to live a life of conscious awareness. He was dedicated to the work of waking up sleepy minds and dormant bodies. And above all, instilling a burning love for God within one's heart.
Babaji was no parable-speaking, soft-spoken saint to make anyone feel better about themselves. In fact, he was a hard task-master who relentlessly exposed you to the depths of your demons, pushed all your buttons and poked holes in your boat, if you still persisted in taking the easy way rather than to confront the rapids of life. No one was spared if they dared to stay more than twenty-four hours. Some got it sooner. He maintained a unique and special relationship with each and every one who came to him. He took special joy acting as the mirror to people.
Babaji loved the verses of the saint poets and told many stories about their lives. When he would talk about a mahatma or his own deity, he would become so immersed in that reality that you knew he was living there. He had that rare quality of evoking a divine mood at will, and he longed to share this ecstasy of divine love, so that we may also be infused with a passionate thirst and yearning for God. Many of his stories seemed to come by chance, just at the need of the hour to answer a question. Babaji would rarely give a direct reply to any intellect; his answers came in a more subtle, indirect way, that they may touch the depth of the soul.
He had a special interest in the preservation of the Indian culture and fusing the traditional with the new age of science. The subject most dear to his heart was the environmental protection of holy pilgrimage places, rivers and the Himalayas.
Babaji was a revered teacher, master, saint and yogi to many, and his extraordinary personality and spiritual guidance will be missed by them. May the strength of his teaching be kept alive in their hearts!
Monday, 17 December 2012
Wednesday, 5 December 2012
To prepare one for any future stories, unusual tales if you
will, of Baba Sripadji this one event shared with me very
recently by Swami Jnananandaji must be kept in mind.
Swamiji said, ' Once when Sripadji was a very young Sadhu
we were in Banaras sitting with Alice Boner, (Alice Boner,1889-1981,
was a Swiss artist and scholar of Indian art who had made Varanasi her home
from 1936 to 1978.) She asked Sripadji, 'What kind of Sadhu are you?"
He casually pointed down the street and said, "See that dog there
walking with his master, he is a 'regular dog'. Now see that one
over there, the street-dog, moving here and there, wherever and
whenever he likes. He is an irregular dog!
I am an irregular sadhu!!"
And this is what actually made Baba Sripadji so specially
unique, heartfelt, inspiring and intense! No matter which
form of God one adored he could connect with that individual
in a miraculous way touching the Soul!
ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
"Yes, I walk daily into the nearby forest and back, it's about 10 kms, very
beautiful! There is a security guard at the entrance. I talk to the trees and
steal flowers that fall from them on the ground. People must think I'm mad!
( and he laughs!) One has to be a little mad otherwise it's a bit tough. I'm
also a security guard, a spiritual security guard!"
"I always remember the words of Mikhail Naimy in 'The Book of Mirdad':
'Forgetting the world makes you a pilgrim.
Forgetting the next world makes you a saint.
Forgetting forgetting makes you complete.'
Om Om Om!"
~ Some words of yesterdays talk with Swamiji.
~*~
And here is my favorite quote from Mikhail Naimy's ~
The Book of Mirdad : The strange story of a monastery
which was once called the Ark
"So think as if your every thought were to be etched in fire across the
sky for all and everything to see.
For so, in truth, it is.
So speak as if the world entire were but a single ear intent on hearing
what you say.
And so, in truth, it is.
Do as if your every deed were to recoil upon your heads.
And so, in truth it does.
So, wish as if you were the wish.
And so, in truth, you are.
So live as if your God Himself had need of you His life to live.
And so, in truth, He does."
~*~
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Swami Purushottamanandaji Maharaj, the renowned grand disciple
of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and disciple of Swami Brahmanandaji
arrived at this Vashishtha Gufa in 1928. Since then he had been performing
'tapas' (austerities) occupying this cave for more than 25 yrs. 'til a small
Kutia was made for him near the cave's entrance. Still he is the amazing
inspired Gurudevji to several brilliant yogis like Swami Bhumananda Puri,
and Swami Nirvedananda Puri. It was in 1955 that Swami Jnanananda Giri
came to this ashram at Vashishtha Gufa and was to spend much time there
among other young swamis receiving the discourses of Maharajji from the
"Yoga Vashishtha Maha Puran" and many blessings. These stories one has
heard and discussed again and again with Swamiji over the years.
When Swami Purushottamanandji Maharaj first arrived at the Gufa
it was actually all surrounded with tall trees and jungle! And even now
there are wonderful huge trees at the Gufa's entrance.
For over 30 years he occupied this cave up to his Mahasamadhi on
Feb.13, 1961~ It was Maha Shivratri.
that a lion used to come daily at sunset from across the river and sleep at the
entrance of the cave while Maharajji used to stay inside at the farthest end
of the cave. This went on for about a year and then the lion stopped coming.
In the words of Swami Jnananandaji, "The charm of this forest retreat
was due to it's natural setting. Living there was in itself an austerity. One
slept on the river sand that cushioned the floor of the large cave. Cooking
was done on a wood fire, in the open, with only a sheet of canvas overhead
to give shelter from the rain and wind. Every sadhu knows only too well
that the fires of divine aspiration burn brightest when life is simple,
independent, and in touch with nature..."
Maharishi Vashishtha is one of the Saptrishis ( 7 great sages ) a Brahm
Rishi and manasputra of Lord Brahma, the Sadguru of his time possessing
20 kala's,(divine arts) with perfect knowledge of the full cosmos and of God!
After the death of his 100 sons he, along with his wife Arundhati, came
down from his Gurukul at the banks of the river Beas to journey South and
passed this way by the Ganga banks to perform tapas ( austerities) for a few
hundred years.
The Gufa itself is situated over 20 kms. North of Rishikesh and 10 kms.
South of Byasi on the main road to Devprayag. The cave itself is said to have
been sealed only in the last few years, that it went on for several kms. and that
Siddhas (divine beings) have been coming here to do tapas in their subtle
bodies since thousands of years. It is one of my favorite places in the India,
there is such beauty and a wondrous powerful energy here!!
One has only to follow the small light at the end of this long dark cave,
and sit silently before the great Shivlingam and white image of Vashishthaji,
and in moments one is swept up and away in the ecstatic vibrations and most
mystical experience of That Inner Depth which is beyond words!! It is a Pure
Grace that lifts one out of oneself and into the soul presence of the Divine.
And even if once this has happened, it is never forgotten and the way here
has been mapped-out in the heart forever!
This is the Grace of a Realized Saint.
Swami Purushottamanandji Maharaj.
Just North of Vashishtha Gufa was this amazing sight
of great light flooding Heavenly Grace!
*ღ*¸.•°*♥ हरीॐ♥*°•.¸*ღ*
*ღ*'.¸.•°*♥ हरीॐ♥*°•.¸.'*☆*
Friday, 2 November 2012
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Bring back the one who left.
Lure him with music
or any irresistible pretext.
If he says, I will be there in a little while,
that is part of his beguiling,
his art that can tie strands of water into knots
and make weavings of the wind.
Do not accept those.
Bring the presence!
Sit down within that and live inside
what is beyond physical beauty,
beyond the sun's extravagance
or the handsomeness of human beings.
Yemen has the most exquisite rubies,
but the one I want to see
coming through the door
is the one who lives here. ~
~ RUMI ~
~ Translated by Coleman Barks
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