Sometimes . . . beating [disciples] with the burning brands of his holy fire . . . Shri Shri Babaji Maharaj was always amiable and full of humor. [
What Does Babaji Look Like?
The crux seems to be that Babaji looks much as he himself wants to, appearing here and there, now and then. He often walks about unnoticed like a common man:
A disciple of Yukteswar told that once when she was sitting in Lahiri Mahasaya's company, "a simply dressed ordinary looking young man holding a staff" arrived. It was Babaji.
Pranabananda . . . was sitting one morning in Benares with his Guru when he saw an ordinary looking man coming from the Ganges and entering Lahiri Mahasaya's home . . . Babaji . . . asked about Babaji's age and came to find out that it was almost 500 years.
We do not know the exact name of Shri Shyamacharan's [Shyama Lahiri's] spiritual Master, but he is generally referred to as Babaji or the Father . . . Next to nothing is known regarding the life of Shri Shri Babaji Maharaj . . . The disciples of Shri Shri Lahiri Mahashaya who had seen him were all of the opinion that the physical features of Shri Shri Babaji Maharaj were almost like those of his favorite disciple Shri Shyamacharan. Only Shyamacharan looked much older . . . for Shri Shri Babaji Maharaj who is all spirit, and can assume any form at will, bodily considerations are entirely beside the point and therefore he would just assume a form similar to his beloved Shyamacharan . . . There might have been another reason for the different forms which Shri Shri Babaji Maharaj assumed at different times.
Kali Puja is a passionate prayer to the fearsome, ferocious goddess. The aim of Kali Puja is to seek the help of Maa Kali in destroying evil, both in the outside world and within us. It is believed that Kali Puja is performed to diminish ego and all negative tendencies that hamper spiritual growth. Kali Pooja is also observed on the night of Kartik Amavasya, which falls in October / November. Read more to know about the origin and legend of Maha Kali Puja.
Kali Puja - In Bengal Kali Puja is always associated with the state of Bengal. Durga Puja, the National festival of the Bengalis ends on a sad note. However, this melancholy gradually disappears with the arrival of Lakshmi Puja (Diwali) in North India and Diwali Kali Puja in Bengal. The occasion of Kali Puja brings the aura of festive zeal amongst the various cross sections of society.
Goddess Kali is one of the fiercest forms of the Shakti, the eternal energy and the cosmic power. Kali has the strength to destroy the whole existence. Kali symbolizes the basic powers to fight the evil and the strengths essential to fight the rivals. According to Hinduism, we are living in the Kali Yuga (age) or the Dark Age; the time of revival of the divine female spirit. Kali Puja explores and illuminates the rich meaning of feminine divinity.
Legend of Kali Puja As per the legend behind the celebration of Kali Puja, long ago the two demons, Shambhu and Nishambhu, bothered the world of Indra, the king of gods. The gods lost all their hopes with numerous and endless battles. The demons became stronger. The gods took shelter in the Himalayas, the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati. The disturbed gods asked for protection from Maa Durga.
Kali took birth from Durga's forehead as Kal Bhoi Nashini. Kali was created to save the heaven and the earth from the rising brutality of the demons. She went on her way to end the war and kill the demons, along with her two escorts Dakini and Jogini. The whole environment was full of chaos. After killing the demons, Kali made a garland of their hands and wore it around her neck. In the massacre, she lost control and started killing everyone who came in her way.
The troubled gods asked Shiva for his help. And Shiva made a plan to save the world. Lord Shiva lay down in the path of the rampaging Kali. When the goddess stepped on Shiva, she recovered her senses. The popular image of Maha Kali with her tongue hanging out, in fact portrays the moment when she steps on lord Shiva and repents for it.
Since then people are celebrating this momentous day. Kali, also known as Shyama Kali, is the first of the ten incarnations (avatars) of Shakti. Tantrik Puja is also observed at the midnight on this Amavasya (New Moon Night). Kali Puja is performed basically to seek protection against all evils and for happiness, health, wealth and peace.
Photo: Baba Muktananda (at rear) with Bhagavan Nityananda
Mentors
Hari Giri Baba
A mentor and guide to Baba Muktananda. He was an eccentric and humorous saint of great attainment from Vaijapur, Maharashtra.
Zipruanna
A naked avadhut from the village of Nasirabad, Maharashtra. He was a yogi of great attainment who was a spiritual mentor to Baba Muktananda for many years. He told Baba to go to Nityananda, saying 'he is your guru'.
Teachers
Siddharudha Swami (1837-1929)
A very well regarded saint of Karnataka. An early teacher in Baba’s teenage years. Baba learned Vedanta and took sannyasa, receiving the name, Swami Muktananda, in his ashram in Hubli, southern India.
Muppinariya Swami
A disciple and successor of Siddharudha Swami. Baba studied Vedanta with him in his ashram at Dharwar after the death of Siddharudha Swami. Made a visit to Ganeshpuri in his extreme old age, when Baba was very ill.
Spiritual friends and colleagues
Rang Avadhoot (1898-1968)
A well known saint of Gujarat who had worked with Gandhiji in his early days. He was a dear friend of Baba and visited the Ganeshpuri ashram a number of times.
Ranchod Bapuji
A great yogi who did much social work among the poor. He visited the Ganeshpuri Ashram in the mid-1960s. He and Baba had great affection for each other.
Swami Vishnu Tirth
A member of the Siddha Yoga lineage of Swami Gangadhar Tirth. Author of a book that Baba Muktananda often recommended to seekers, Devatma Shakti, which describes the process of Shaktipat. Baba and Swami Vishnu Tirth visited each other’s ashrams. Vishnu Tirth’s guru, Sri Yogananda Maharaj, wrote the book Mahayoga Vijnana, which helped Baba at a crucial point in his sadhana.maha mandleshwar Swami Brahmananda Giri
Main ashrams: Surat Giri Bangla, Haridwar and Sannyas Ashram, Vila Parle, Mumbai. Was invited by Baba Muktananda to preside over the initiation of Baba’s sannyasis in 1977. Baba and he became good friends and Brahmanandaji visited Baba’s ashram many times and initiated Baba’s swamis.
Mahamandaleshwar Swami Vishveshwarananda Giri
Main ashrams: Surat Giri Bangla, Haridwar and Sannyas Ashram, Vila Parle, Mumbai. Disciple and successor of Swami Brahmananda, who accompanied him on his visits to Baba Muktananda’s Ganeshpuri ashram. His relationship with Bhagavan Nityananda’s lineage continues to this day.
The spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He visited Baba at his Ganeshpuri ashram and also met with him at the Ann Arbor ashram in 1974. The two had great love for each other.
Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927-2001)
A US-born guru and founder of the Shaiva Siddhanta Church which has its ashram headquarters in Hawaii. Founding publisher and editor of the influential, Hinduism Today magazine. Visited Baba with many followers in Ganeshpuri.
Swami Venkatesananda (1921-1981)
A senior disciple of Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh whom he served as an attendant and secretary for many years. Later, he traveled and opened centres around the world. He had great devotion to Baba Muktananda and visited him frequently.
Ram Dass (Richard Alpert, b. 1931)
A psychologist who was Tim Leary’s associate at Harvard. Later he went to India, eventually becoming an influential spiritual teacher in the West. He toured with Baba on Baba’s 1970 world tour, introducing him to Western audiences.
Stanislov Grof (b. 1931)
A pioneer in the field of transpersonal psychology and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association. He and his wife, Christina, were admirers and friends of Baba Muktananda.
Details about Nityananda's birth are relatively unknown. According to his disciples, Nityananda was found as an abandoned infant in Tuneri village, Kozhikode, India by a lady named Uniamma Nair, who was married to Chathu Nair. The Nair couple adopted this child and took care of him along with their own five children. Nityananda was named as Raman by his foster parents. The Nair couple worked as farm labourers on a farmland owned by a wealthy lawyer named Ishwar Iyer, who greatly trusted them. Nityananda's foster father died when he was three and his foster mother when he was six. Before dying she handed over her responsibility of Nityananda to Ishwar Iyer.[2] Even in childhood, Nityananda seemed to be in an unusually advanced spiritual state, which gave rise to the belief that he was born enlightened. He was eventually given the name Nityananda, which means, "always in bliss".[3]
Before the age of twenty, Nityananda became a wandering yogi, spending time on yogic studies and practices in the Himalayas and other places. By 1920, he was back in southern India.[4]
Adult Life
Bhagawan Nityananda as a young Yogi.
Settled in southern India, Nityananda gained a reputation for creating miracles and wonderful cures. He started building an ashram near Kanhangad, Kerala state. The local police thought he must be producing counterfeit money to pay for the building, so Nityananda took them to a crocodile-infested pool in the jungle. He dived in and then produced handfuls of money, which was apparently enough to satisfy the police. The beautiful hill temple and Ashram in Kanhangad are now pilgrim centres. The Guru Van, a forest in the hills nearby where Bhagawan sat on penance, is now a pilgrim retreat.[4]
By 1923, Nityananda had wandered to the Tansa Valley in Maharashtra state. There, his reputation as a miracle worker attracted people from as far away as Mumbai, though he never took credit for any miracles. He said, "Everything that happens, happens automatically by the will of God."[2][3] Nityananda gave a great deal of help to the local adivasis, who were despised by the population at large. Nityananda set up a school, as well as providing food and clothing for them.
As a guru, Nityananda gave relatively little by way of verbal teachings. Starting in the early 1920s, his devotees in Mangalore would sit with him in the evenings. Most of the time he was silent, though occasionally he would give teachings. A devotee named Tulsiamma wrote down some of his teachings and his answers to her specific queries. Later, these notes were compiled and published in the Kannada language and came to be known as the Chidaksha Geeta.[2]
Some believe that Nityananda had the power to transmit spiritual energy (shaktipat) to people through non-verbal means. He could also be extremely fiery and intimidating in his behaviour, even to the point of throwing rocks on occasion. This was his way of deterring people who were not serious in their spiritual aspirations, or who came to him with ulterior motives.[3]
In 1936, he went to the Shiva temple in the village of Ganeshpuri and asked if he could stay there. The family that looked after the temple agreed and built a hut for him. As his visitors and followers increased, the hut expanded and became an ashram. To the people around him, he was an avadhuta: one who is absorbed in the transcendental state.
Nityananda died on August 8, 1961. His Samadhi is located in Ganeshpuri at the Samadhi Mandir. There is also a shrine dedicated him in the Gurudev Siddha Peeth ashram at Ganeshpuri. His ashram, tourist hostel, and other buildings associated with his life in Ganeshpuri are preserved by the Shree Bhimeshwar Sadguru Nityanand Sanstha Ganeshpuri. This trust is also responsible for his samadhi shrine in Ganeshpuri, which is a pilgrimage site.
A trust at Kanhangad looks after the Ashram and temples located there. The trust also runs a few educational institutions and a dharmasala.[citation needed]
Nityananda’s Guru
According to Nityananda's biographers, the identity of Nityananda's guru is a mystery. Some believe that he had no guru. In one of his talks, Swami Muktananda said Nityananda’s Guru was an unknown Siddha Purusha from Kerala.[5] At least one photograph has been identified showing him with a teacher named Swami Sivananda when Nityananda was a young man.[6]
One day, a yogi and his disciple arrived to the big city. They had no money with them, but they needed food and a place to stay. The disciple was sure that they were going to beg for their food, and sleep in the park at night.
"There is a big park not far from here. We can sleep there at night", said the disciple. "In the open air?" Asked the yogi. "Yes", responded the student. The yogi smiled and said: "No, tonight we are going to sleep in a hotel and eat there too". The student was amazed. "How?" "Come and sit down", said the yogi.
They both sat down on the ground and the yogi said: "When you focus your mind intently on any subject, it comes to pass."
The yogi closed his eyes and started to meditate with full concentration. After about ten minutes he got up and started to walk, with his disciple following him. They walked through several streets and alleys, until they arrived to a hotel.
"Come, let's enter inside", the yogi said to his disciple.
They just set foot in the entrance, when a well-dressed man approached them.
"I am the manager of this hotel. You look like traveling swamis and I believe you have no money. Would you like to work in the kitchen, and in return I'll give you food and a place to stay?"
"Fine", responded the yogi.
The disciple was perplexed and asked the yogi: "Did you use any magic? How did you do that?"
The yogi smiled and said, "I wanted to show you how the power of thoughts works. When you think with full and strong concentration about something that you want to happen, and your mind does not resist the subject of your thought, your thought materializes."
"The secret is concentrating, visualizing, seeing details, having faith and projecting mental and emotional energy into the mental scene. These are the general prerequisites. When your mind is empty from thoughts, and only one single thought is allowed to enter, it gains a very great power. One should be very careful with what he thinks. A concentrated thought is powerful, and exerts a very strong influence."
The disciple looked at his teacher and said: "I see that I have to sharpen my concentration in order to be able to use this power."
"Yes, this is the first step", responded the yogi.
Aum Saraswatye Cha Vidmahe Brahmaputriye Cha Dheemahi Tanno Saraswati Prachodayat
Goddess Saraswati is the Goddess of arts, music, knowledge, and wisdom. Saraswati is considered as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of the universe. Goddess Saraswati is said to possess the powers of speech, wisdom and learning. Saraswati is regarded as the dispeller of chaos and confusion.
Saraswati - the Consort of Brahma Lord Brahma is known for creating the universe. Since knowledge is required for creation, Maa Saraswati signifies the creative power of Brahma. An apt creation requires sound knowledge. The creation of Lord Brahma became fruitful with the knowledge provided by Goddess Saraswati.
Maa Saraswati - The Image Goddess Saraswati is usually depicted as a beautiful woman with yellow skin dressed in a pure white saree. Saraswati is portrayed sitting on a white lotus with veena (a musical instrument) in her hands. The book in her hand signifies the eternal and universal knowledge as well her perfection of the scriptures. Lotus symbolizes the supreme reality and it suggests that the goddess herself is rooted in the supreme reality.
The color white represents purity and her rejection of everything that is base and materialistic. The Swan represents the discrimination between the evil and the good, the eternal and the transitory. The four arms of the goddess suggest the four aspects of human personality i.e. mind, intellect, vigilance, and ego. The pearl string represents the power of spirituality. The peacock standing near Maa Saraswati represents arrogance and pride over its beauty. The Goddess teaches that physical appearance could be deceptive, by not taking peacock as the vehicle. Goddess Saraswati suggests that one should be wise regarding the eternal truth.
Saraswati - Bestower of Knowledge Musical instruments, books, speech, knowledge, intellect are regarded as symbols of Saraswati. Saraswati is believed to be the provider of knowledge that dispels ignorance and unhappiness. Saraswati is worshipped by seekers of knowledge especially students, scholars and scientists.
Basant Panchami Vasant Panchami marks the beginning of the spring season. The festival of spring is celebrated with full vivacity and joy amongst the Hindu people. In Hindi language, the word '' basant / vasant'' means ''spring'' and ''panchami'' means the fifth day. In short, Basant Panchami is celebrated as the fifth day of Spring Season.
Also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains, Buddhists, and beyond India.
Although he is known by many other attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles (Vighnesha, Vighneshvara), patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. He is honoured at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies and invoked as Patron of Letters during writing sessions.[] Several texts relate mythological anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits and explain his distinct iconography.
Ganesha emerged a distinct deity in clearly recognizable form in the 4th and 5th centuries CE, during the Gupta Period, although he inherited traits from Vedic and pre-Vedic precursors. His popularity rose quickly, and he was formally included among the five primary deities of Smartism (a Hindu denomination) in the 9th century. A sect of devotees called the Ganapatya, (Sanskrit: गाणपत्य; gāṇapatya), who identified Ganesha as the supreme deity, arose during this period. The principal scriptures dedicated to Ganesha are the Ganesha Purana, the Mudgala Purana, and the Ganapati Atharvashirsa.
Other names
Ganesha as 'Shri Mayureshwar' with consorts Buddhi and Siddhi, Morgaon (the central shrine for the regional aṣṭavināyaka complex)
Ganesha has many other titles and epithets, including Ganapati and Vigneshvara. The Hindu title of respect Shri (Sanskrit: श्री; śrī, also spelled Sri or Shree) is often added before his name. One popular way Ganesha is worshipped is by chanting a Ganesha Sahasranama, a litany of "a thousand names of Ganesha". Each name in the sahasranama conveys a different meaning and symbolises a different aspect of Ganesha. At least two different versions of the Ganesha Sahasranama exist; one version is drawn from the Ganesha Purana, a Hindu scripture venerating Ganesha.[]
The name Ganesha is a Sanskrit compound, joining the words gana (Sanskrit: गण; gaṇa), meaning a group, multitude, or categorical system and isha (Sanskrit: ईश; īśa), meaning lord or master. The word gaņa when associated with Ganesha is often taken to refer to the gaņas, a troop of semi-divine beings that form part of the retinue of Shiva (IAST: Śiva). The term more generally means a category, class, community, association, or corporation. Some commentators interpret the name "Lord of the Gaņas" to mean "Lord of Hosts" or "Lord of created categories", such as the elements. Ganapati (Sanskrit: गणपति; gaṇapati), a synonym for Ganesha, is a compound composed of gaṇa, meaning "group", and pati, meaning "ruler" or "lord". The Amarakosha, an early Sanskrit lexicon, lists eight synonyms of Ganesha : Vinayaka, Vighnarāja (equivalent to Vignesha), Dvaimātura (one who has two mothers), Gaṇādhipa (equivalent to Ganapati and Ganesha), Ekadanta (one who has one tusk), Heramba, Lambodara (one who has a pot belly, or, literally, one who has a hanging belly), and Gajanana (IAST: gajānana) ; having the face of an elephant).
Vinayaka (Sanskrit: विनायक; vināyaka) is a common name for Ganesha that appears in the Purāṇas and in Buddhist Tantras. This name is reflected in the naming of the eight famous Ganesha temples in Maharashtra known as the Ashtavinayak (aṣṭavināyaka). The names Vignesha (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश; vighneśa) and Vigneshvara (Sanskrit: विघ्नेश्वर; vighneśvara) (Lord of Obstacles) refers to his primary function in Hindu mythology as the creator and remover of obstacles (vighna).
A prominent name for Ganesha in the Tamil language is Pille or Pillaiyar (Little Child). A. K. Narain differentiates these terms by saying that pillepillaiyarpallu, pella, and pell in the Dravidian family of languages signify "tooth or tusk of an elephant", but more generally "elephant". Anita Raina Thapan notes that the root wordpille in the name Pillaiyar might have originally meant "the young of the elephant", because the Palipillaka means "a young elephant". means a "child" while word means a "noble child".
