Living Divinity

Dear Reader,

There are thousands of monk across the world, very small percentage of them are enlightened, most of the enlightened monks choose to stay away from the world and worldly people. Very few of them choose to stay in the world and to help spiritual aspirant. My guru - Gyanswami is one of those enlightened monks who have chosen to stay in this world, work and earn his own bread, be a family person and help people like me and you to cross the ocean of illusion. I am grateful to my Guru for blessing me with Kriya Diksha, and also grateful to Mahavatar Babaji who sent him to help the spiritual aspirants. I am posting my Guru’s life journey hoping it will inspire spiritual aspirants. As of today (Feb-2010) Guru Gyan Swami is working with a company called RSB Transmission in Pune, India and lives with his family.

Following is the life journey of my param Guru Gyanswami in his own words:
My first meeting with my divine Guru – Mahavatar Babaji

When I was in first year of Electrical Engineering in Bihar College of Engineering, Patna in the state of Bihar I suffered from heart disease. Three valves of my heart were in bad condition. The doctor had announced that this boy will not live more than three months. In 1960s there were no valve transplantation surgeries taking place in India. The doctor consulted was one of the top doctors in state of Bihar, later in 1990s during BJP Government in India he was the health minister. Knowing that my son will die within three months my parents were in grief. In India one of the greatest misfortunes for a father is to see his son’s final rituals during his life time. I thought instead of dying in front of my parents and other family members if I go away from home they will have a hope that my son will come back one day alive. So I left my home without informing any one in the family. The village I lived is near the boarder of India and Nepal, I crossed the boarder and entered in Nepal and started going into deep forest towards Tibet. After walking like this for a long period of time I was very tired and in the evening time I almost fainted under a tree. I had no energy to walk any further or even stand up, it was almost certain to me that now this was the end of my life. No one is going to come and save me, I am going to die either due to hunger or some wild animal will kill and eat me in the night. I closed my eyes and started waiting for the end of my life, but I was surprised to hear a voice, it was the voice of a young man, he looked like a monk. He told me in Hindi language that “you are not going to die; you will give lectures and teach the yoga to thousands”. I was surprised to see some one in the deep forest and speaking Hindi language. Normally the region I was in was near Tibet, so people know either Nepali language or Tibetan Language, but this young monk was speaking very good Hindi. I was not in position to speak or even believe him what he was telling me. But I asked him in my broken language that I can’t speak, by birth I was not able to speak properly, even if I have to tell my name to some one I needed a pen and paper. He asked me to follow him; I had no other choice so I started following him. He took me to a cave near by, and then he took a pot made of stone, poured some water into the pot from near by water fall and started steering it with a wooden shaft. The water in the pot became thick white liquid. He gave it to me and asked me to drink it. As soon as I drank it I felt better, all the fatigue disappeared. He asked me to stay in the cave, I stayed there for three to four days, everyday he used to give me that liquid, and I started becoming healthier. After few days he told me to go back. I left that place and came back home. Everyone in my home was happy to see me coming back alive and healthy, my heart disease was totally gone. The doctors were surprised to see my case; they said that this is a miracle.I went back to college and continued my college studies. At this time I did not know anything about that young monk. I thought he must be a villager, who knew some herbs. I thanked god to send him to me to save my life.


The same monk comes and meet me in my hostel:

After I came back to the college, my health was becoming better day by day. The heart disease had disappeared and the problem of stammering also vanished. I was able to speak very fluently. I started taking part in group discussions and won the debate for speaking in favor of and against the topic of debate. A few months later, when I was studying in my rental room with Rajnikant – the son of my god father Dr. B.D. Sharma, Rajnikant told me that a monk has come to meet you.I went downstairs to see who had come; I was surprised to see that this was the same person I met earlier in the forest who cured my heart diseases. But I was not in position to believe that this monk was able to locate me and come to my room. I invited him to my room upstairs. Within a few minutes he told Rajnikat to go downstairs and bring some flowers. After Rajnikant went downstairs, the monk stood up and caught my right hand and touched it to his forehead and asked me “are you still not believing??” out of fear and astonishment I replied yes I am believing you, but in side I was feeling very difficult to believe. While Rajnikant was away the monk quickly gave me many instructions – what to do in my life. He showed me how to recognize him in future by looking at raised fingers of his both the leg. In the mean time Rajnikant came back with flowers in his hand, the monk immediately changed the topic of discussion. He started giving us blessings like any other normal monk and started leaving. I and Rajnikat planned to follow him wherever he was going. After coming out from our room he went downstairs and started walking on the main road, we followed him just behind him. After we walked few steps behind him, in front of our eyes he vanished in the air!!! We were shocked to see some one disappearing in front of our eyes… Few months later this incident I read the book Autobiography of a Yogi written by Paramahansa Yogananda, when I read about Babaji and saw his photograph, I immediately recognize that the monk I met was none other then Mahavatar Babaji Himself!!! Without telling any one I decided that after completing engineering I will go to Himalayas to meet Babaji.

Years in Himalayas:

After completing my engineering I left for Himalayas to meet Babaji again.He had given me a clue to recognize him by his raised toes of both the legs. I asked many monks about Babaji in Himalayas and looked at their feet to find the monk with raised toes. After few weeks I met a group of monks, when I asked them about Babaji, they laughed at me and offered me to stay with them. They use to make laugh at me saying that “oh so you have come to find Babaji”, I was sincere in my search for the one who gave me the life. One day I noticed that all the monks suddenly started behaving as if they were about to welcome some one, I saw a familiar monk entering the cave I looked at his feet and found the raised toes. I ran to him and bowed down at his holy feet, he was my master – Mahavatar Babaji. He initiated me in Kriya Yoga. I stayed with group of monks in Himalayas; they taught me many secret yoga techniques including par kaya pravesh, etc.

The Yogis I met in Himalayas:

I met many monks in Himalayas; their age must be in more than few hundred years. One of the months used to call me by name “Vivekananda”, once when I was seating with him near a fire, he told me ‘Vivekananda – you like dry fruits, correct?” I said yes, next moment he put his hand in fire and took out dry fruits and gave me. I ate them, they were real. But I doubted him; he gave me some more dry fruits in the same way. Again I thought that he must be hiding dry fruits in side the fire. He was able to read my mind, this time he asked me what you get from the railway station during the journey. I replied ‘hot puri and potato sabji’ (hot fried bread and cooked potato), immediately he put his hand in fire and took out the ‘hot puri and potato sabji’, I believed him and ate the delicious meal in the cave. Great yogis can transform one form of energy to any other form of energy by their will power.The Himalayan monks knew every thing about the scriptures – Vedas, Upanishads etc without reading any books. When yogis connect themselves to the divine world, they do not need to read books the knowledge flows through them.

Babaji’s message:

In 1975; after around 2 years of my stay in Himalayas with Babaji and other saints, one day Babaji told me to return back to home and start family life. I was reluctant to leave Babaji, I told him that what will I do without you, you are everything for me. Babaji replied that “my dignity is due to you”. He said, you should earn your own bread by working and spread yoga without charging any fees. Like a mother does not charge money to love her baby, the divinity does not need to charge money for teaching the liberating technique of Kriya Yoga.“Today people have commercialized the yoga by charging money; the yoga is seen as alternate to the medicine. But the real purpose of yoga is self-realization. You should earn your own bread and teach Kriya yoga without charging money”

My first Job Interview:

Name of the company – M/S Balaju Yantra Shala, Kathmandu, Nepal joint venture of a Switzerland company SATA and Nepal’s NIDC. Interviewers were hypnotized, they asked me to join from the next day.

The Great Yogis of India I have met:

Laal Baba:

One of my collegue told me about his guru, when I went to meet him. He asked every one to go out, he showed me his real form, and he told me that everyone comes to ask for worldly thing, but I will give you spiritual power. He transmitted power to me to help other people. He used to meet me daily when he was in the city. He told his disciple that if I don’t come for long time you go to shivalaya and pray to lord shiva that you want to meet me, so one of his disciple prayed near Baidyanath Dham (one of the 12 jyotir ling) and baba appeared next day.

Osho:

One of the days while I was in college I went to a theater for a matinee show. There was some time left before the show started and I saw a group of people listening to a talk by an elderly person with a beard. I was just inquisitive and headed towards the crowd. There was a spiritual talk going on and he said “I see that lot of young people are going to the movies but only old people had gathered here to attend to my talk, I would make spirituality so interesting and exciting that even young people would flock to get it.”. I was shocked for a second as if he was speaking to me. I wanted to visit osho and I found out the details that he was staying in Bombay at that time. I went to visit him and Ma Laxmi let me in and I saw osho and he recognized that I was Babaji’s disciple. I used to hug him and kiss him in the foot with love and he was also very fond of me. He asked whether I had any money with me, I said no I don’t. He called in Ma Laxmi and asked her to provide anything that is needed for my stay. So in this manner, I visited Osho several times and found that he was a great master with a distinctive style, charisma and class of his own.

Satya Sai Baba:

One day my father received a telegram from my brother’s office – Air force in Madras/Chennai that he was missing. My father was worried, because such news is generally followed by more bad news. Father asked me to immediately go to Madras to find out about my brother, I started for Madras by train. My family members are great devotes of Satya Sail Baba, but I was not the great believer. On the way to Madras I prayed to Satya Sai Baba that if you are so great please bring my brother back from wherever he is before I reach to his office. If this becomes the truth I will come to you and rub my forehead on your feet. When I reached my brother’s office in Madras, the office personals told me that your brother is back and alive, I was relieved. I believed that Satya Sai Baba listened to my prayer, so I decided to meet him to complete my promise which I made to my self. I went to his Bangalore ashram and set along with thousands of people for his darshana. Sri Satya Sai Baba came and walked by with his hand in blessings posture. He stood before me for a while, but at the sight of him I lost what I was suppose to do, I kept looking at him with my palms folded. Then he started walking away from me, I realized that I lost my chance to rub my forehead at his feet. He went away few hundred foots from me. I was thinking in my mind what should I do? To my surprise, Sri Satya Sai Baba turned back and came towards me, again he stood in front of me, without speaking a word he lifted his garb so that his foot was visible and brought his foot near me, he knew what was going on in my mind.

Devraha Baba:

When I visited my inlaws’ house in Aligarh, I went to meet him with my family in 1990, my son was 9 years of age. I my wife, son and father in law went to see Krishna temple in Vrindavan, we went to other side of Yamuna river. It was closed so decided to visit Devraha Baba. When we went to meet him, he called only me keeping my family waiting outside. He gave me some instructions which I can not disclose in the book, after 30 mintues he asked me to call my family. He blessed all of us. After nine days of my meeting he left his body.

J. Krishnamurthy:

An enlightened master of India. I read books written by him. When I was working in Tata in Jamshedpur I came to know that J.K is coming to Banarasa to deliver lecture. I went to listen to him with one of my friend, some body told me if you get physical tough of great master you get help in spiritual progress. The first day was cultural program, I thought he must be sitting in some special seat, but I was surprised to see him coming and seating with me, he was with me for 1.5 hours. I used to listen to him for a week, he use to walk in campus everyday. When I saw him in the campus, I bowed him and thinking that you bless me, he suddenly turned towards me and came to me and blessed me for few minutes. It was a great feeling to be blessed by such a great saint. After a year of my meeting he left his body.

Anandamoyi Maa:

When I was in final year of my college, once I had gone to Varanasi (Kashi) and I was stying in Dakshinamurty Math. One of the monks took me to the Ashram of Ma in Babaras, that time Mother was visiting for short time. Mother cought hold of my hand and blessed me, lots of love and blessing for me for my future course of my life. She knew that I am going to work for Babaji to spread Kriya Yoga.

The Ocean comes to touch my feet in Puri:

Darshana of Loard krishna in Jagganath Puri:

What is Kriya Yoga?

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Kriya Yoga means "Union with divinity by performing certain action (kriya)" or in other words "to expand our consciousness to the infinite"

Kriya Yoga is mentioned in Gita by Lord Sri Krisha in Verse 4.29 : "Offering exhaling breath into inhaling breath and offering exhaling breath into inhaling breath"

Kriya Yoga is divided in two major parts - Kriya Initial and Kriya Diksha.

Kriya Initial:
Kriya Initial involves Cosmic Exericse, Pranayama, Houng Sau Meditation and Aum Meditation techniques described below. Detaied description can be found at following link: Kriya Initial

Note: Information provided here is only for those devotees who are initiated by Guruji.

Cosmic Exercse (Energization Exercise):
A series of exercises developed by ancient yogis of India to prepare the body for meditation. Regular practice promotes mental and physical relaxation and develops dynamic will power. The technique enables one to consciously draw energy into the body, purifying and strengthening it, and making it easier to direct the energy inward in meditation. The set consists of 38 exercises. Its based on the principles of 'Tense with will and relax and feel' and 'Double Breathing'. Various exercises involve tensing various parts of the body gradually with low, medium and finally high tension till the body part or muscle vibrates with energy and then gradually relaxing it. You will notice a perceptible lightness in this part. A lot of others exerices involve tensing/relaxing mentioned above accompanied with double inhalation followed by double exhalation or moving certain parts with double inhalation/exhalation.

Pranayama:
12 Pranayamas with equal duration of inhale, hold adn exhale

Houng Sau Meditation:
A simple but highly effective technique that helps to develop one's latent powers of concentration. Through practice of this technique one learns to withdraw thought and energy from outer distractions so that they may be focused on any goal to be achieved or problem to be solved. Or one may direct that concentrated attention toward a deepening perception of the Divine Consciousness within.

Aum Meditation:
A powerful technique of meditation that expands one's awareness beyond the limitations of body and mind, and leads to direct personal experience of that Divine Consciousness which underlies and upholds all life.

Kriya Diksha:
In this stage student learns the actual Kriya Pranayama as described in 26th chapter of the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda. Kriya Pranayama accelerates evolution of human brain or the consciousness.
Why Kriya Yoga?

A man or woman has awareness about him/her self and surrounding by means of five senses which are touch, test, smell, hear and vision through various organs or parts of our body. However these bodily sensors have many limitations; for example we can see and hear only a limited spectrum of frequency through our eyes and ears respectively. We can not see or hear what has already happened in past or what is going to happened in future. Moreover in different psychological condition we perceive same thing or incident in totally different way. Hence we perceive the world based on the consciousness level of our mind. If we can expand our consciousness to infinite then we can perceive the infinite universe, we can perceive the past and the future.

Kriya Yoga is the fastest (jet speed) way to achieve the infinite consciousness. In a very short time Kriya Yogi starts experiencing spiritual phenomenon. Please contact our Guruji Shri Gyan Swami if you want to learn Kriya Yoga to achieve an infinite consciousness.


How Kriya Yoga Works?

When a sperm and ovum becomes one to create a body; they first create medulla oblongata. The consciousness enters into human body through medulla oblongata. Life force flows outward from medulla oblongata through spine to the senses. And hence we perceive the world through our five senses and as a result our perception about the world is restricted to the limitations of these five sensors.

Kriya Yoga helps to reverse the flow of life currents; hence it starts flowing upward through the spine. When a Kriya Yogi is able to direct the flow of life current from his or her medulla oblongata to the Christ center between the eyebrows; he or she goes beyond the senses and achieves infinite consciousness.

Mahavatar Babaji

Babaji is the greatest Himalayan Yogi. He is known as Mahavatar; which means great-incarnation. Babaji has retained his physical body since many centuries or millenniums. There is no historical reference to Babaji; the great guru has never openly appeared in any century, but helped many great spiritual masters. No information about Babaji’s family or birthplace has ever been discovered. However one can experience his existence by devotion. Babaji is very kind, one who prays him gets his blessings without fail.

The divine mission

Babaji's mission is to assist prophets in carrying out special dispensations. He has given the gift of Kriya Yoga to the world through well known masters like Adi Shankaracharya, Kabir Saheb, Lahiri Mahashaya, Sri Yukteshwar Giri and Paramahansa Yogananda. In today's world Babaji is speaking through our beloved Guruji – Gyan swami; he has been blessed by Babaji in person to become a living Enlightened Master. Gyan Swami is a living example of house holder master; He retired as a Chief Manager in 2008 and now continuing same responsibilities in a new role as a Peoplesoft Consultant with RSB Transmissions (I) Ltd Pune. RSB Group, India and teaches Kriya Yoga to those who seek self realization. Contact him if you want to achieve self realization by means of Kriya Yoga. There is no fee or donation for learning Kriya yoga; read more about him in Guru Gyan Swami section.

The Authentic Kriya Yoga

Despite all tall claims by others, no one is perhaps as authorised as Shibendu Lahiri (born 1939), the great grand son of famous house holder Yogi Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-1895), to spread the authentic teachings and techniques of Kriya Yoga in the world today.

Yet he says in utter humility that wise wields no authority and those in authority are not wise! Organisations assert authority, but authenticity may be lacking. Mobilisation may create a mafia, but the most sacred may remain untouched. Cultism has no place in matters deeply spiritual.

Lahiri Mahasaya (Full Name: Shyama Charan Lahiri) became known to the truth seekers all over the world through Paramahamsa Yogananda's famous book "Autobiography of a Yogi", which has been translated in many languages.

Shibendu has the distinction of receiving the original Kriya process in the age old Rishi-tradition of India, that is, from father to son - generation after generation. Thus the process here passed, through knowledge and genes, from Shyama Charan to Tinkori to Satya Charan to Shibendu who was initiated in 1960 by his father Late Satya Charan Lahiri at the family shrine "Satyalok" D 22/3, Chousatti Ghat, Varanasi - 221 001 (India).

Kriya Yoga : Kriya means action and Yoga means integration. Kriya Yoga emphasises integration of separative consciousness (generated by unceasing movement of thought) with an awakenedness (that is, a non-elective holistic attention free from mental fragmentations) through actions of perception and not through the activities of conceptualisation.

Kriya deconditions and sets the seeker free from the past karma. It transforms fundamentally the gross ego-centre of the seeker into a subtle individual uniqueness which also includes universality. It brings harmony with the wholeness of life by piercing through the ignorance of the ways of self. It is a unique combination of Hatha-Raja-Laya Yoga. It settles the seeker in his natural state in which his body receives instructions only form glands and Chakras. Thought does not interfere as interloper to create psychosomatic problems and pursuits. Kriya Yoga does not tell stories, does not indulge in miracle mongering to keep the seekers amused in poor and paralyzing consolations. Organisations promoting surmises and fictions are stragglers from the path of truth. Kriya Yoga encourages seekers to investigate if experiencer and the experienced can become one unitary movement without any dichotomy whatsoever.

Like his ancestors, Shibendu Lahiri is also a house-holder and has passed through all aspects being a human so that spiritual journey does not appear too steep for the seekers. He received high university education and supported his family well, through remunerative jobs. His two daughters and their husbands are specialised medical doctors and his only son, also married, is an erudite engineer.

Since 14 January 1988, Shibendu spends his time sharing the teachings and the kriyas all around the world. Year in and year out, he travels at the invitation of devotees and disciples. Countries he has covered so far are: USA (including Hawaii and Puerto Rico), Canada, Australia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, South Africa, Mauritius, Chile (South America), Norway, Singapore, Malaysia, Germany, Bulgaria, Russia, Nepal, Sweden, Netherland, England, New Zealand, Brazil, Greece and of course, various places in India. Many other nationals also came to him during his kriya-Yoga programmes in many places.

Shibendu Lahiri has no organisation, institution, sect or cult. He has no ambition to influence anybody. He only invites seekers to share the insight which flowered, generation after generation, through Kriya process. His yearning is to see that human beings live in peace and amity without ache, agony and animosity, without this monstrous culture of killing and being killed in the name of some fragmented flag or phoney fanatic idea in the name of religion.

Have You Sincerely and Genuinely Considered:

- How far can discipline and personal effort get you?
- What is Grace and is it absolutely necessary for Self-Knowledge?
- Is your Ego really so bad?
- Must I love everyone, or just do my duty?
- How can I keep love from diminishing into attachment or dissolving into anger or indifference?
- Why is life so full of desire, aversion and fear?
- Is there ever a need for fear?
- How can I learn to use my willpower effectively to overcome my resistances?
- Is there a Higher Will for my life, and if so, how can I learn to connect with it?
- Is what you can “see,” even in meditation, ever the true Self?





Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas is now offering to initiated and non-initiated students of Yoga, a course of lessons. Designed to answer such questions as these, this course will not only deepen the understanding of the principles and practices of Yoga, but will hasten the process of Yoga.

In our pursuit of our Divine Self we must seek for change in our human nature. But rather than trying to change our nature, more often we merely attempt to reconcile our habits of desire, aversion and fear. So dark elements along with light continue to seek manifestation and arise in the context of our life. The Grace Course provokes us to delve into our desires, aversions and fears in order to reveal to us our truth and falseness.

By learning the source of our repetitive thoughts, endless desires and stifling aversions and fears, we become aware of how the demands of the ego influence us negatively at all moments in any situation. Instead of protecting us, the ego, which is really quite fearful, is keeping us blocked from our true nature, our true potential and our true work in the world. As ingrained habits and instincts are probed, weaknesses are amplified. This process is personal and profound and real work.

The primal strength of the ego’s desire to exist is too strong to overcome without the support of Grace. Grace is the only means by which vital motivations of the ego can be replaced by higher consciousness from the Soul.



Grace is a force of nature like the elements and like the elements is always present, whether we acknowledge it or not. Grace is always available to anyone who remains open to it. We must internally prepare to remain open to Grace.

This course is designed to widen your perspective of what your yogic practice truly must become, a process of bringing awareness into your thoughts, your actions and into your life. It introduces the right use of will, which can direct the practice of Yoga to benefit you personally, but in addition, can connect you with a Higher Will, which works to widen you, so as to benefit your family, friends and the world at large.

The practices included will incorporate the teachings of Babaji's Kriya Yoga-Action with Awareness- into your daily life. These teachings are drawn from the works of Babaji and the Siddhas, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The total of these teachings reflect the Yogic tradition of Babaji's Kriya Yoga.

If sincerely and genuinely approached, this course of lessons will affect change at various levels of your consciousness, as your awareness and love grows.

KRIYA YOGA PILGRIMAGE TO SOUTH INDIA

Due to the overwhelming interest in the January 2009 pilgrimages, M. G. Satchidananda and Durga Ahlund will lead another group of Kriya Yoga students on a pilgrimage to sacred sites, ashrams and places of interest in South India, including places associated with Babaji's life. It will be an unforgettable experience in the homeland of yoga, which will inspire you and enable you to appreciate the rich cultural tapestry, which has given birth to Babaji's Kriya Yoga. This is a new itinerary, which will interest previous year’s pilgrims as well.

In a pilgrimage, one seeks to come close to the Divine by visiting, worshipping and meditating in sacred places which provide a terrestrial "doorway" to the infinite and the absolute. One may easily experience the "Divine Presence" in such places, which have been sanctified by the spiritual practices of many yogis and saints. During this pilgrimage we will visit a variety of such places. There will be group practice of Kriya Yoga at least twice daily to deepen your experience.

We have scheduled this pilgrimage to coincide with the time of year when the weather is the most pleasant: warm but not too hot. The hotels have also been carefully selected for their Western style comfort and facilities. Ground transportation will be in a comfortable air-conditioned bus.

KRIYA YOGA PILGRIMAGE TO THE HIMALAYAS

Due to the overwhelming interest in the September 2008 Himalayan pilgrimage, M. G. Satchidananda and Durga Ahlund will lead another group of Kriya Yoga students on a pilgrimage to Badrinath, which is associated with Babaji's life and realization. The focus this year is on building the energy for our Kriya Yoga Ashram in Badrinath. It will be an unforgettable experience in the homeland of Yoga, which will inspire and enable you to appreciate the rich cultural tapestry, which has given birth to Babaji's Kriya Yoga.

On a pilgrimage, one seeks to come close to the Divine by meditating in sacred places that provide a terrestrial "doorway" to the Infinite and the Absolute. One may easily experience the "Divine Presence" in such a place as Badrinath, which has been sanctified by the spiritual practices of many yogis and saints. There will be group practice of Kriya Yoga and satsang at least twice daily to deepen your experience. There will be outings to various places of interest, including Vasudhara Falls, Vyasa Gufa, Neelakantan Peak, Badrinath Temple and the hot springs bathing ghat. The main focus on this pilgrimage will be on our practice, on doing our sadhana in Badrinath and in the area of Mana, which is the doorway to Babaji’s Etheric Ashram at Santopanth Tal. There will also be the opportunity for us to physically assist the labors in building Babaji’s ashram.

We have scheduled this pilgrimage to coincide with the time of year when the weather is the most pleasant in the Himalayas: after the monsoon period, cool, with perhaps a few cold evenings. The hotels have also been carefully selected, as much as possible for their Western style comfort and facilities. Ground transportation will be in a comfortable bus. We will slowly meander to Badrinath, spending several days in Rishikesh/Hardwar to acclimate. It will take several, comfortable day drives to reach Badri. The hotel in Badrinath is first class, with central heat and hot water and a wonderful hearty breakfast!

Babaji's Kriya Yoga Initiations

Babaji's Kriya Yoga Initiations

In Babaji's Kriya Yoga the significance of initiation is often overlooked. Initiation is a sacred act in which an individual is given their initial experience of a means to realizing some truth. That means is a kriya or "practical yogic technique," and the truth is a portal to the eternal and infinite One. Because this truth is beyond name and form, it cannot be communicated through words or symbols. It can be experienced however, and for this one needs a teacher who can share his or her own living experience of the truth. The technique becomes a vehicle by which the teacher shares with the practioner the means to realize the truth in oneself.


1. Initiation into Kriya Yoga is taught in an intensive weekend seminar. One will learn the system of 18 postures developed by Babaji for greater health, relaxation and energy; the 6 phases of the powerful breathing technique known as "Kriya Kundalini Pranayama" to awaken and circulate subtle energies; 7 techniques of meditation to cleanse the subconscious, to master the mind and to bring about realization of the Self and Absolute Reality. There is no charge for the initiations. The suggested contributions will, however, cover the average cost involved. The suggested contribution is $300. At the Quebec Ashram this includes the cost of lodging and meals.

How can Kriya Yoga help and benefit me?

How can Kriya Yoga help and benefit me?

Babaji's Kriya Yoga is taught in a series of initiation seminars. It consists of a progressive series of Kriya Yoga techniques which bring about an integrated development of the individual. The rich variety of techniques brings about a complete transformation of the sincere practitioner. Among its benefits are physical healing and increased levels of energy, balancing of the emotions, mental calm, increased concentration, inspiration, wisdom and spiritual Self-realization. It includes a daily Yoga practice of various Kriyas, or techniques, which not only provide great strength, stability and peace, but also makes one dynamic and visionary. It brings balance and tranquility to the body and mind by reducing both restlessness and inertia. It is appropriate for all those who wish to transform themselves in the body, mind and spirit. It is for anyone who is searching to establish an open pathway towards their soul. It is for anyone who seeks discover how in the words of Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven is accessible here on Earth. It is for anyone who wants to have more joy and happiness in their life and in their relationship with others. It is effective for one and all, regardless of their cultural, social or religious affiliation, age, sex or previous experience.

Kriya Yoga views life as series synchronistic events, pleasurable and problematic, unfolding at the right time and place. The techniques of Kriya Yoga, including Kriya Yoga asanas (physical postures), Kriya pranayama breathing, Kriya mantra (sacred sound syllables) and Kriya meditation work integrally to raise one's consciousness and energetic level. This allows one to view both kinds of events as opportunities for growth and for lessons learned.

Kriya Yoga is a physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual sadhana, or discipline, in which one remembers one's true Self, the pure Witness consciousness, and lets go of the false egoistic identification with the body and mental movements. It grants more control over one's life. Interestingly enough, as self control is gained, one feels oneself to be less and less “the doer” and so one begins to accept and enjoy of life as it unfolds. Kriya Yoga develops trust, gratitude and devotion for God's Presence in one's life. One begins to meditate on God, and speak to God, as his or her truest and closest Friend, and begins to hear His response.

Greater mental clarity and focus is achieved through Kriya Yoga, and it is easier to act consistently in the right and best way both for oneself and for others. With this clarity and heightened intellectual strength, one’s consciousness expands and one accomplishes more with less energy, accepting less credit for the work done, and with more gratitude for the Supreme Doer in our life.

Kriya Yoga techniques strengthen our intuition and our power of healing. Our immune system is strengthened and we enjoy vibrant health, a strong nervous system, more energy, and a relaxed, peaceful demeanor.

The integral alignment of body, mind, and spirit gained through the practice of Kriya Yoga awakens our potential power and consciousness, known as “kundalini.” The level of our consciousness determines the nature and quality of the life we live. We must develop an advanced spiritual consciousness, which opens the mind to other dimensions of existence. Only then can we use that consciousness in the activities of our life to positively affect the world and those around us.

WHO IS BABAJI?

WHO IS BABAJI?

In 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda, one of modern India's greatest yogis, revealed in his classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," the existence of a Christ-like saint, an immortal yogi, Mahavatar Babaji. Yogananda related how Babaji had for centuries lived in the Himalayas guiding many spiritual teachers at a distance, usually without their even knowing it. Babaji was a great siddha, one who had overcome ordinary human limitations, and who worked silently, behind the scenes for the spiritual evolution of all humanity. Paramahansa Yogananda also revealed that it was Babaji who taught a powerful series of yogic techniques, know as "Kriya Yoga," to Lahiri Mahasaya, around 1861, and who subsequently initiated many others, including Yogananda`s own Christ-like guru, Sri Yukteswar, some thirty years later. Yogananda spent 10 years with his guru before Babaji himself appeared to him, and directed him to bring the sacred science of Kriya to the West. Yogananda fulfilled this sacred mission from 1920 to 1952, when he left his body and attained the yogic state of mahasamadhi.As a final tribute to the efficacy of Kriya Yoga and the blessings of his lineage, the body of Yogananda did not deteriorate during the 21 days it lay exposed, before being interred in a crypt in Los Angeles. March 7, 2002 marked the 50th anniversary of Yogananda's remarkable passing. When his remains were transferred to a permanent "samadhi" shrine in March 2002, millions around the world remembered with gratitude what Yogananda's legacy has given to them.

KRIYA BABAJI REVEALS HIMSELF

In South India, Babaji had been preparing, since 1942, two other souls for the task of disseminating his Kriya Yoga: S.A.A. Ramaiah, a young graduate student in geology at the University of Madras and V.T. Neelakantan, a famous journalist, and close student of Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society and mentor of Krishnamurti. Babaji appeared to each of them independently and then brought them together in order to work for his Mission. In 1952 and 1953 Babaji dictated three books to V.T.Neelakantan: "The Voice of Babaji and Mysticism Unlocked," "Babaji's Masterkey to All Ills," and "Babaji's Death of Death." Babaji revealed to them his origins, his tradition, and his Kriya Yoga. They founded on October 17, 1952, at the request of Babaji, a new organization, "Kriya Babaji Sangah," dedicated to the teaching of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. The books created a sensation at the time of their publication and distribution throughout India. The SRF (Self Realization Fellowship) attempted to have them and the Kriya Babaji Sangah suppressed, and it took the intervention of the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Nehru, who was a friend of V.T. Neelakantan, to end their efforts. In 2003, Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas reprinted these three books in one volume called "The Voice of Babaji."

It is in the "Masterkey of All Ills," that Babaji reveals his answer to the question "Who Am I". In essence, this reveals, that when we know ultimately who we are, we will know who Babaji is. That is, Babaji does not identify with a limited human personality, or series of life events, or even his divinely transformed body. However, in writings he also revealed for the first time a number of precious details about his life story, in order to outline for us a path to Self-realization, which anyone may aspire to. These details have been subsequently documented in the book "Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition."

Babaji was given the name "Nagaraj," which means "serpent king," referring to "kundalini," our great divine potential power and consciousness. He was born on the 30th day of November 203 A.D., in a small coastal village now known as Parangipettai, in Tamil Nadu, India, near where the Cauvery River flows into the Indian Ocean. His birth coincided with the ascendancy (Nakshatra) of the star of Rohini, under which Krishna was also born. The birth took place during the celebration of Kartikai Deepam, the Festival of Lights, the night before the new moon during the Tamil month of Kartikai. His parents were Nambudri Brahmins who had immigrated there from the Malabar coast on the western side of south India. His father was the priest in the Shiva temple of this village, which is today a temple dedicated to Muruga, Shiva's son.

At the age of 5, Nagaraj was kidnapped by a trader and taken as a slave to what is today Calcutta. A rich merchant purchased him, only to give him his freedom. He joined a small band of wandering monks, and with them became learned in the sacred religious and philosophical literature of India. However, he was not satisfied. Hearing of the existence of a great siddha, or perfected master, named Agastyar, in the south, he made a pilgrimage to the sacred temple of Katirgama, near the southern most tip of Ceylon, the large island just south of peninsular India. There he met a disciple of Agastyar, whose name was Boganathar. He studied "dhyana," or meditation, intensively and "Siddhantham," the philosophy of the Siddhas, with Boganathar for four years. He experienced "sarvihelpa samadhi," or cognitive absorption, and had the vision of Lord Muruga, the deity of the Katirgama temple.

At the age of 15, Boganathar sent him to his own guru, the legendary Agastyar, who was know to be living near to Courtrallam, in Tamil Nadu. After performing intensive yogic practices at Courtrallam for 48 days, Agastyar revealed himself, and initiated him into Kriya Kundalini Pranayama, a powerful breathing technique. He directed the boy Nagaraj to go to Badrinath, high in the Himalayas, and to practice all that he had learned, intensively, to become a "siddha." Over the next 18 months, Nagaraj lived alone in a cave practicing the yogic techniques which Boganathar and Agastyar has taught him. In so doing, he surrendered his ego, all the way down to the level of the cells in his body, to the Divine, which descended into him. He became a siddha, one who has surrendered to the power and consciousness of the Divine! His body was no longer subject to the ravages of disease and death. Transformed, as a Mah or great siddha, he dedicated himself to the uplift-ment of suffering humanity.

BABAJI'S LONGEVITY

Since that time, over the centuries, Babaji has continued to guide and inspire some of history`s greatest saints and many spiritual teachers, in the fulfillment of their mission. These include Adi Shankaracharya, the great 9th century A.D. reformer of Hinduism, and Kabir, the 15th century saint beloved by both the Hindus and Muslims. Both are said to have been personally initiated by Babaji, and refer to him in their writings. He has maintained the remarkable appearance of a youth of about 16 years of age. During the 19th century Madame Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society, identified him as the Matreiya, the living Buddha, or World Teacher for the coming era, described in C.W. Leadbetter's "Masters and the Path."

Although Babaji prefers to remain obscure and invisible to others, he does on occassion gradually reveals himself to his devotees and disciples, capturing their hearts in various types of personal devotional relationships in which he guides them in their development. His relationship with each of us is unique and according to our individual needs and nature. He is our personal Guru. As our hearts expand our communion with Him culminates with the "universal vision of love," wherein one witnesses Babaji in everything.

BABAJI'S REVIVAL OF KRIYA YOGA

Babaji revives Kriya Yoga, which Siddha Patanjali refers to in his famous "Yoga-Sutras." Patanjali wrote his classic text of yoga about the 3rd century A.D. In it he defines Kriya Yoga in II.1 as "constant practice (particularly by the cultivation of detachment), self-study and devotion to the Lord." However, along with what Patanjali described as Kriya Yoga, Babaji added the teachings of the tantra, which includes the cultivation of "kundalini," the great potential power and consciousness, through the use of breathing, mantras and devotional practices. His modern synthesis of "Kriya Yoga," includes a rich variety of techniques. It was in 1861 that Babaji initiated Lahiri Mahasaya into his powerful Kriya Yoga system.

OTHER TECHNIQUES OF KRIYA YOGA ARE REVEALED BY BABAJI

During a six month period in 1954, at his ashram near Badrinath, in the Garwhal Himalayas, Babaji initiated a great devotee, S.A.A. Ramaiah into a complete system of 144 Kriyas, or practical techniques, involving postures, breathing, meditation, mantras and devotional techniques. The latter blossomed as a yogi, and began a mission to bring this system, referred to as "Babaji`s Kriya Yoga" to thousands of aspirants ALL AROUND THE WORLD.

Fortunately, Babaji comes out from behind the veils of anonymity which he finds so useful for his work. Babaji has appeared to Swami Satyaswarananda in the Kumaon Hills of the Himalayas, in the early 1970`s and given him the assignment of translating and publishing the writings of Lahiri Mahasaya. This he has done in a series, the "Sanskrit Classics," from his home in San Diego, California. Babaji gave his "darshan" on the vital plane to the author, M. Govindan, in October 1999, on two occasions. This occurred 30 kilometers north of Badrinath, at an altitude of nearly 5,000 meters, at the source of the Alakananta River. During these visitations, Babaji appeared as a radiant youth, with copper colored hair, clad in a simple white "dhoti" or waist cloth, and allowed Govindan to touch his feet.

BABAJI'S ATTAINMENT

One cannot really know who Babaji is, or even begin to conceive of his grandeur, without appreciating the culture of the Siddhas from which he has emerged. Rather than seeking an other worldly escape in some heaven, after realizing the presence of the Divine within, the Siddhas sought to surrender their entire being to It, and to allow It to manifest at all levels. They sought a complete transformation of our human nature.

"Thirumandiram," by the Siddha Thirumoolar, written in the 2nd to 4th century A.D. in 3,000 gemlike verses, reveals the breath and depth of the Siddhas attainments. Our research has revealed that Thirumoolar was a brother disciple of Boganathar, Babaji's guru, and of Patanjali, one of the most well known sources of Yoga. While most of the Siddha's literature has not been translated outside of their native language of Tamil and Sanskrit, there exist a few good studies, most notably Dr. Kamil Zvelibil's "Poets of the Powers," and Professor David Gordon White's "The Alchemical Body." Both of these academic works demonstrate at length the remarkable attainments of the Siddhas, and reveal that Babaji was not some unique extraterrestrial. He manifests what Sri Aurobindo referred to and aspired to for all humanity: "the supramental transformation" of our human nature, perhaps the next step in our evolutionary process. As such, he is not our savior. Nor is he the founder of some religion. He does not seek our adulation or even our recognition. Like all of the Siddhas, he has surrendered completely to the Supreme Being, the Supreme Abstraction, and as a divine instrument, brings down into this murky world the clear light of consciousness, unconditional joy and supreme peace. May everyone achieve this greatest human potential.

What is Babaji's Kriya Yoga?

The goal of life is happiness, peace, love and enlightenment. The desire for perfection comes from the Self, the image of God, which seeks to express itself through all humanity.

Babaji's Kriya Yoga is a scientific art of God, Truth union and Self-Realization. It was revived by a great master of India, Babaji Nagaraj, as a synthesis of ancient teachings of the 18 Siddha tradition. It includes a series of techniques or 'kriyas' grouped into five phases or branches. Paramahamsa Yogananda taught that practice of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama can accelerate the natural progression of Divine Consciousness in human beings.