The Journey of a Yogi

Contents

The Earlier Phase………. 14

The Siddha Yogi……… 18

Yoga Vidya & Modern Science……….. 21

The Power of the Mantra………. 24

The Preceptor………. 26

Foreword

One looks back in history to find that belief in the allied doctrines of reincarnation and transmigration of souls is more widespread than is commonly known. Contrary to the popular view, it is not exclusive to Hinduism and its numerous offshoots that subscribe to the theory of karma. However, the concept of rebirth as a fundamental tenet of faith is integral only to creeds of Indian origin, among the world’s major religions.

The definition of transmigration, as given by The Encyclopedia Americana is “the belief that the soul, after the death of the body, passes into the bodies of the lower animals or other human bodies, or of plants or inanimate objects. In the teaching of the Brahmanic Hindus, among whom the doctrine can be traced further back than in any other race, it has its foundation in the belief of the connection of all living beings and of the gradual return to the common source and origin of all things - God”.

The Encyclopedia Britannica says: “Usually found in the Asian religions and philosophies, belief in reincarnation, sometimes referred to as the transmigration of souls, metempsychosis (or, more properly, metensomatosis, the changing of bodies) or alingenesis (Greek: to have an “origin again”), also has been found in the religious and philosophical thought of primitive religions (eg., the Greek Orphic mystery, or salvation religion), Manichaeism, and Gnosticism, as well as such modern religious movements as theosophy”.

Most religious systems accept the existence of a nebulous entity, known as the spirit or soul, allied to the supreme power, surviving the death of the body. What happens before and after determines differences in metaphysics. From the sixth century BC onwards, Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato, and the movement known as Orphism affirmed faith in the doctrine of rebirth, and the soul’s eventual liberation from the bondage of the body. In Persia, modern Iran, of the third century AD, the prophet Manichaes’s teachings also hinged on this doctrine. And, long before Christianity left its imprint in Europe, there is evidence of belief in transmigration among the druids, the priests among the ancient Celts. The druids were credited with possessing magical powers. The Judaic-Christian theology represents a sharp departure from the earlier conception of the soul’s onward journey from one body to another. The Semitic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - share the belief in a single birth and atonement for sins on the Day of Judgment. There is a sense of finality about the fact of death. But, deviant viewpoints, related to mysticism, persist. In the Jewish ethos, the concept of transmigration occurs in the esoteric system known as the Cabbala. And, in the case of Christianity, Gnosticism, a twelfth century heresy, accepted belief in rebirth.

Mystics everywhere appear to have had revelations and experiences at variance with systemized theology. Thus, if in the Greco-Roman world of the twelfth century, belief in reincarnation was an unorthodox indulgence, the Bhakti poets of India, in seeking direct communion with God, rejected all conventional differentiations of caste, creed and gender as being detrimental to their quest. So is it with the mystics of the Sufi tradition.

Upto our times, anthropologists have found evidence of belief in the transmigration of souls among the supposedly primitive tribes of Africa, Asia and Australia. It is often linked to Totemism, prevalent also among the indigenous people of the two Americas. The interchangeability of bodies, between a human being and an animal after death, renders the animal chosen by the soul as its new resting place, sacred. Clearly, outside the Judaic-Christian world, faith in the concept of the soul’s onward journey is not an aberration.

In their sweep, the Indian religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism - cover a large part of Asia, with new adherents to these creeds surfacing in the developed world particularly, as traditional systems of thought drop away. The four are bound together by their acceptance of the premise of rebirth as the foundation of their philosophy, though they differ in details. In Buddhism, it is the cumulative karma of an individual that is carried on, from one birth to another, manifesting as vijnana, the seed of consciousness, in the mother’s womb. Nirvana or release from enslavement by the body, occurs when all desires and cravings are quelled, and with it, the false sense of the self. Jainism stresses extreme penance and self-denial as the means for freedom from the

cycle of rebirth. In Sikhism, the final goal is ascent to the Godhead through devotion to the supreme power and the performance of good deeds.

In view of its syncretic tradition, Hinduism encompasses diverse philosophical systems, even admitting to an atheistic point of view, propagated by the sage, Charvaka. However, the conviction that there is a power that is supreme and which joyously brings forth all creation, only to draw it back, in a continuous replay, is dominant. The popular term used to describe this sportive play is Lila.

According to this theory, the soul, present in all beings, forgets its divine origin under the deluding power of Maya or the cosmic illusion. Propelled by ignorance and desire, it travels from one body to another, over a period of time beyond human reckoning, graduating painstakingly from the lower species to the human, considered the highest because it is the only one that is so self-conscious as to be conducive to the soul’s release from the cycle of rebirth. This must rank as the earliest known theory of evolution. Some western thinkers, too, clearly grasped the unitive character of all creation. Lorenz Oken, in his Nature Philosophy, published in 1809, described natural science as “the science of the everlasting transmutations of the Holy Ghost in the world”. And, George Bernard Shaw, in the preface to Back to Methuselah, a play on evolution, observed that “the earlier philosophers, from Plato to Leibnitz, had kept the human mind open for the thought of the universe as one idea behind all its physically apprehensible transformations”.

To return to the Hindu perspective on life, liberation occurs when the fetters of Maya are removed by means of spiritual aspiration, yogic practices and, simply, Grace. It entails the soul’s realization of its own effulgence, concealed by the darkness of ignorance. At the end, one question eludes a satisfactory answer: whether the whole exercise actually owes to oneself. In the case of the being that is already free of the compulsions of rebirth, return to the world after the annihilation of the body is believed to be motivated by a specific purpose. It involves consciously seeking another body, suited to the fulfillment of a preordained task. This is transmigration, in a different context, unraveling one of creation’s manifold mysteries.

Preface

Among the legion of saints whose presence has sanctified the world, Yogiraj Devraha Baba’s appointed role was that of savior, friend and guide. One of the foremost spiritual teachers of this century, with followers from all walks of life, his jalsamadhi in Vrindavan on June 19, 1990 left his disciples grief- stricken. They consoled themselves with the thought that the spirit is eternal.

To quote an immortal line:

The yogi who is in Samadhi is neither consumed by time nor controlled by karma.

Devraha Baba was known as an ageless yogi, one who had been witness to the march of time. The term, ‘ageless yogi’, does not denote one who is forever in the same body. For, the physical frame is sure to die. It is the spirit that never dies. Lord Krishna in The Bhagwad Gita dwells on the doctrine of reincarnation in the following verse:

As a man takes off an old garment and puts on a new one, so does the soul, on leaving the old body, enter a new one?

Here, however, we are concerned with the kindred doctrine of transmigration, known as parkaya pravesh, which entails the conscious transference of the self from one body to another. The siddha yogi is credited with the power to do so, and it is in this sense that Devraha Baba is ageless. For, thousands of Yogiraj’s followers and I believe that his soul has transmigrated to the body of Hans Das, his foremost disciple. I shall refer to this avatar as Devraha Hans Baba, or simply, Hans Baba and Baba. Yogiraj denotes the earlier incarnation.

This, then, is the journey of the illumined yogi: from one body to another; from one place to another; from one manch6 to another. It unfolds the mystery of the distinct world of the yogis. Why they come; their practices; and what they do for humanity. Nobody knows where Devraha Baba started his spiritual odyssey. But we know where he has come to rest and where and how he commenced the voyage, this time, again to be with us, and how it is with the devotees. I have no doubts that Yogiraj has resumed his journey as Hans Baba, who, in the years to come, will be known once more as Devraha Baba. My book deals with his transmigration. The old body had become aged, but now, ensconced in the new one, he will be able to work better for the good of mankind.

The doctrine of transmigration belongs to an esoteric system of belief. On first encountering it, surprise and skepticism are both natural. But if one were to delve into the subject, it would become more credible, as most unfamiliar phenomena do on closer acquaintance. Some among Yogi Raj’s followers are not easily convinced about the miracle. To cite an example, one of the old disciples of Devraha Baba, who was an academic, came for Hans Baba’s darshan at the Shree Gurudev Ashram on the outskirts of Delhi in March, 1994. This was during the seer’s first sojourn in the capital. Initially, he was unable to accept the premise of the return. It was after a relentless struggle with the arid logic of his discipline that he surrendered to the master. Perhaps, it was my prayer to Baba to make him understand the miracle of his return that effected the change. I should say that would be the best proof, if any is needed, of Hans Baba’s identity!

There are precedents for the transfer of power by gurus to their disciples. Ramakrishna Paramahans, before entering Samadhi, did so with Vivekananda. This is well documented in biographies of the illustrious pair. In the case of a siddha yogi like Devraha Baba, he is able to transfer his very being to another body.

This book touches on abstruse aspects of the science of yoga. Today, there is a greater need than ever before for an enduring remedy for the ills plaguing society. The cure may well be contained in this ancient spiritual discipline. One can even remove the afflictions of daily life by assiduously following a chosen path. The methods of realization are too numerous to expound. I have only delineated a few of these. While I have drawn on my personal experiences, needless to say, the essence can never be captured in words.

I was with Hans Baba at the ashram in Delhi, where his manch had been set up. Some people wanted a book in English on Baba. A comprehensive exposition of esoteric phenomena is difficult in a language not geared to it. But I have tried my best to address the need. The books on Swami Muktanand, available at the ashram, provided both inspiration and guidance. My friends and fellow devotees, C.K. Sharma and A.N. Johan must be thanked for encouraging me to write this book. I am very grateful to all those who helped me prepare the manuscript. Above all, the immense grace of Hans Baba showed me the way. For, without his blessings, nothing was possible.

Dr Ram Naresh Tripathi Brahmarshi Shree Devraha Baba Ashram Bhagdevar Village, Mahuwarikala, Vindhyachal March 28, 1994

The Journey

And death shall be no more. Death thou shalt die.

Successive ages have left behind the debris of man’s aspirations. Only one thing endures: his dream of sovereignty. The vision of that realm which lay beyond “the way to dusty death” drove him in his quest for the eternal. The great seers had revelations of truth, and they knew his real nature to be divine. He was not meant to perish. Ancient treatises on yoga expound on the doctrine of immortality and the several methods to realize the Godhead, which is not separate from the self. The frailties of mortal existence belong to an inferior realm of being, a state of ignorance, induced by the sportive play of the one source of all creation. “Be thou a yogi, Arjuna”! Lord Krishna tells the Pandava prince on the eve of the war of Kurukshetra, when, overcome with sorrow at the prospect of killing his kinsmen, Arjuna expresses his resolve to desert the battlefield.

The Bhagwad Gita, a profound sermon delivered to a heroic disciple by the Lord in his human avatar, dwells on the divine origin of all creation and the deathless nature of the soul. Lord Krishna exhorts Arjuna to fight, disinterestedly, assigning all his work to God, and heedless of the results of his labor. To do so is to be a yogi. This is yoga both in the moral and practical sense: action performed with detachment, in a spirit of surrender to the divine. Action performed with attachment binds one to the cycle of rebirth, the wheel of karma, which turns relentlessly, extracting its price. Liberation occurs when no karmic debt remains to be paid, to anyone or anything. Lord Krishna’s advice to Arjuna is the key to removing the veil of Maya. And, the war of the Mahabharat symbolises the battle of life.

Derivative religions such as Buddhism and Jainism, which also subscribe to the doctrine of rebirth as a fundamental tenet of faith, do not, however, positively affirm t h e existence of Brahman, the immutable Godhead. In Buddhism, karma supercedes the function of the soul, being carried on from one birth to another, becoming the vijnana or “germ of consciousness” in the womb of each new carrier. Nirvana is the state of complete absence of desire, which is the force that turns the wheel of karma. It is attained through negation of the notion of the self. Jainism does hold by the traditional concept of an unchanging soul. But, contrary to the Hindu view, the act of liberation is not a positive assertion of divinity. It is, rather, self-negation, effected by means of extreme penance and practice of non-violence (ahinsa). Mahavira, the twenty fourth Jain tirthankar or preceptor, starved himself to death in conformance with the ideal of not threatening any life form, entailed by the very process of existence. This indeed was the supreme irony.

Sikhism agrees with Hinduism on major points, but rejects the caste system and the pantheon of Hindu gods. Both Sikhs and Hindus hold Guru Nanak, the 16th century founder of the faith, to be a divinely appointed prophet savior.

There is a more esoteric doctrine which emerges when Lord Krishna tries to convince Arjuna of the soul’s immortality, to make him cast off remorse over the annihilation of the physical body in battle. “As the Spirit of our mortal body wanders on in childhood, and youth and old age, the Spirit wanders on to a new body”. And, “Far beyond time he dwell s in these bodies, though these bodies have an end in their time; but he remains immeasurable, immortal. Therefore, great warrior, carry on thy fight”. Lord Krishna goes on to say, more explicitly: “I have been born many times, Arjuna, and many times hast thou been born. But I remember my past lives and thou hast forgotten thine”.

The Hindu belief is that man’s descent on earth is for reasons very different from God’s and his emissaries’, who come for “the salvation of those who are good, for the destruction of evil in men, for the fulfillment of the kingdom of righteousness”. He is bound by the cycle of karma, forced to take birth repeatedly, and prey to the messengers of Yama, so long as he lives in ignorance of his true nature. His duty is to ascend to the Godhead by removing the fetters of mortality. The siddha yogi embodies to the fullest the state of attainment. He defies all limitations of the ego and the body, to master time and space.

One must induce “willing suspension of disbelief” to be able to visualize the powers of the siddha yogi. The whole of nature is within his grasp and he acts like Brahma the Creator, to remould the existing order according to the divine plan. The dualities of good and evil and related opposites do not cloud his vision. Wherever he may be, he attracts supplicants for his grace. For, he holds the promise of redemption.

Ageless Master

“And God fulfils Himself in many ways.”

The impulse to ascend is the world’s shared heritage. In Back to Methuselah, the brilliant Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, drawing on the Biblical character of Methuselah, who lived 969 years, envisages a time when homo sapiens, by an irresistible effort of will – the French zoologist, Lamarck’s theory of creative evolution as opposed to Charles Darwin’s circumstantial selection, entailing the survival of the fittest – would be able to extend their life span to hundreds and even thousands of years. He writes: “Conceivably, however, the same power that has taken us thus far can take us further. If Man now fixes the term of his life at three score and ten years, he can fix it at three hundred or three thousand...” Shaw elaborates on his argument, alluding to the German philosopher; Schopenhauer’s the world as Will: “.... the driving force behind Evolution is a will-to-live, and to live, as Christ said long before, more abundantly”. Yoga carries this surmise to its logical end in the person of the siddha yogi. In our century, Yogi Raj Devraha Baba emerges as a timeless figure, whose antecedents get lost in the remote past. Popular tradition holds him to be ageless. Some of his followers claim to have received indications of his having been a disciple of Ramanujacharya, the great south Indian saint of the 11th century AD. Still others believe that he traversed an earlier era of time. There is historical evidence of the British monarch, King George V, having had his darshan at Allahabad in 1910. A host of presidents, prime ministers, rulers, lesser politicos and savants sought his sage counsel and benediction. It is all too well documented by newspaper reports to need recounting. His vast following encompassed people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs.

When he relinquished the body, termed an act of samadhi, on June 19, 1990, his disciples were disconsolate. They were so accustomed to his comforting presence that they suddenly found themselves adrift. He lived in their hearts, no doubt, but they still needed t o see him and talk to him. They should have remembered the master’s quiet assurance that the siddha yogi never dies. “He is Eternity: he is forever more... he does not die when the body dies”.

Even as they were lamenting, a strange sequence of events began to unfold. Yogiraj had taken up Samadhi in the sacred town of Vrindavan, on the banks of the Yamuna. Some months later, Hans Das, a siddha mahatma, who was Yogiraj’s foremost disciple and a priest in the Radha-Krishna temple in the secluded Vindhyachal ashram of the guru, began to undergo a metamorphosis. He began to behave like Devraha Baba, displaying the powers and traits of the great yogi.

The transmigration system in yoga has the support of such authoritative texts as the Yoga Vasishtha, Narad Bhakti Sutra and Bhagavata Puran.

The yogi, who wants his consciousness to enter the body of a disciple, should transmit his power and soul to the latter’s body. The prana or life force, which is present in the form of pranavayu or air, like a bee that moves from one flower to another, moves to the being of the disciple.

In the same vein:

The disciple was not as he was before. One sees an illustration of tadakar vritti in Hans Baba, as he affirms, simply: “I am no longer Hans Das. I am Devraha Baba.” In this context, an incident acquires relevance. A curious and somewhat sceptical disciple asked him, “If you are Devraha Baba, then where is Hans?” Baba replied, “Hans has flown away.” The common meaning of the term, ‘hans’ is swan. But, it is also used to signify the soul, as in ‘Paramahans’, or supreme soul, a title bestowed on a great saint. Just as the swan is credited with the power to sift milk from water, the Paramahans is able to differentiate the real from the unreal.

The cardinal principle of the guru-shishya parampara16 is that the disciple should ascend to the state of the guru, whom he views as the embodiment of the Supreme. Hans Baba raised the question as to why Yogiraj chose him as a vehicle in preference to others. Apparently, since Hans, too, was a siddha yogi, he was already in the guru’s mind. Devraha Baba accordingly prepared him for the future. The master had even told some disciples that Hans was a siddha. The metamorphosis of the temple priest, however, owed entirely to the volition of the guru.

While a great deal of research has been done on the subject of reincarnation, t he doctrine of parkaya pravesh or transmigration of souls remains largely ignored. The assumption of Devraha Baba’s return is tantamount to throwing a gauntlet to the world of science. No mythical entity but a renowned guru with a large following, whose public appearances are well documented, his appearance as Hans Baba is extremely mystifying. The doubts are too pressing to be stilled as it is not easy to repudiate the arid legacy of urban upbringing, which is the same everywhere. And the questions that arise shake the very foundations, so carefully laid, of the mundane view of reality that governs our life.

Is the claim of transmigration plausible? Or, is it a clever subterfuge? Much simpler to credit the second viewpoint, but there is no commerce here, none of the wielding of influence encountered in the echelons of power, which has brought infamy to the fraternity of contemporary gurus. The arrangements are simple; his teaching is simple; and the rudiments of the exercise are reduced to simplicity.

With the Jehovical prophecies of doom, made by latter-day Adventists under different guises, nearing fruition, one must look again to the sermon on the battlefield.

“... I come to this world in the ages that pass”. By tradition, avatars and seers appear to control the tama sic vritti or base tendencies that periodically threaten to destroy civilization, and to restore the sattvik vritti, which is the sublime in man. Their descent heralds the advent of a new order, much less iniquitous and degenerate than the old. Hans Baba has hinted at the dawn of a satya Yuga, but not before the agents of death takes their toll.

The Quest

I will weep and weep for you, my Soul.

There is natural curiosity about the antecedents of Hans: how he met his guru and came to be chosen as his vehicle. Little is known about him. The questions about age, place of birth, caste, family background and parents must remain unanswered. This is because the sanyas and yoga traditions hold the past to be dead.

The story which Baba once narrated to me goes like this. Hans was very young, though Baba is silent about his age. His mind became unstable, and he began to search for truth, for the tantalizing entity called God. It was like a dream. He wandered about, even reaching a stage where he decided to end his life by drowning. He went down a well for that purpose. Perhaps, the place was Jhunsi, near Allahabad. At the critical moment, Saraswati, the Goddess of learning, miraculously appeared before him and advised him to seek out Devraha Baba. The great sage was possible stationed at Allahabad, on a manch on the banks of the Ganga. Hans went to him and was accepted as his disciple. Yogira j gave him the name of Hans, and sometimes lovingly called him Muraila, which means peacock.

There were a few disciples who always stayed with Devraha Baba. After receiving diksha, they secretly practiced yoga under his guidance. Hans was made to stay at the ashram in Vindhyachal, a place renowned for tantrik sadhana. The ashram is hemmed in by hills, an idyllic retreat for a hermit. The area, which is located close to the sacred town of Varanasi, derives its fame from the temple of Vindhyavasini Devi and two subsidiary shrine of the goddess, Ashtabhuja and Kalikhoh. The deity who dwells on the Vindhya hills is credited with the power to fulfill the wishes of supplicants for her grace. Certainly, a great many politicians seem to have thought so, judging by their attempts at propitiating her. The late India Gandhi and her arch foe, Raj Narnia, also deceased; both sought her grace, recount local residents. While it is not clear whom she favored more, death was impartial to both, as it is to all mortals!

The practice among politicians of trying to enlist divine, though usually occult, intercession in their affairs is a phenomenon peculiar to third world societies, where the ethics of self-help is interpreted among the ruling class as literally helping oneself, one’s family members, friends, and numerous hangerson to the public coffers. Thus, God and his emissaries on earth are seen as instruments for such self- aggrandizement and, if needs be, accomplices whose services must be acknowledged in some way, generally, pecuniary. All partners in crime, one assumes. The temple is located 10 kilometers from the ashram along the Amravati Road. The legend of Vindhyavasini Devi is ascribed to the story of Krishna in the Mahabharat. It is briefly recounted here. Kansa, the diabolical ruler of Mathura, ritually killed the children of his sister, Devaki, and her husband, Vasudev, whom he had imprisoned on learning that the son to be born to Devaki was destined to kill him. He murdered seven babies in this fashion. When Devaki was expecting her eighth child, Kansa was especially wary. At midnight of ashtami, the frightened woman gave birth to a boy, who was none other than Krishna. He showed his divine form to Devaki and Vasudev, and directed his father to carry him across the Yamuna to the house of Nand, a cowherd. There, the father was to perpetrate a subterfuge by substituting Krishna for a baby girl, born to Yashoda, Nand’s wife. The gate of the jail opened by itself and the guards fell asleep. Vasudev, carrying the boy in a basket, left the prison and went to the river. A terrible storm was raging, and it was pitch dark. As the water touched the child’s feet, the river became very still. Vasudev crossed over to the village of Nand and placed the child beside Yashoda, who was asleep. He picked up her daughter and brought her to Devaki. This was done so quietly that no one came to know of it.

In the morning, when Kansa heard that Devaki had given birth to a girl, he was surprised. He had expected a male child to be born. He initially dismissed the idea of killing the girl, as there was no danger to him. But, he later resolved to get rid of her in the fear that she might eventually prove harmful. The distraught parents pleaded

with him to spare the child, but he was adamant. As he picked her up and raised his sword to strike, she flew skywords, crying, “Your killer has already taken birth!”

That girl was Yogmaya, the great goddess. She came to Vindhyachal and took up her abode there. The name, Vindhyavasini, means she who dwells on the Vindhya hills. Scores of people daily visit the shrine for her darshan. The ashram, too, is rapidly becoming a place of pilgrimage. A pile of rocks marks the spot where Devraha Baba sometimes used to sit. He used to call it the “durbar”, which translates to mean high court. Disciples use the English term to refer to the site. Apparently, the rishis used to gather there to deliberate on the divine plan for the cosmos, and their part in it. Devotees do parikrama of the sacred mound. The ashram radiates sanctity. After the building of the temple of Radha-Krishna, it has become a second Vrindavan. There, in the sylvan environs, as peacocks dance, both Krishna Lila and yoga Lila unfold together. Hans Das was deputed to be the priest of the temple by his guru. He did his sadhana in solitude, under Yogiraj’s guidance. Though Devraha Baba often visited the ashram, there were long periods of absence. Even so, he was present in his subtle form, preparing Hans for the transformation.

In 1989, Yogiraj graced the Allahabad Kumbh Mela. The greatest religious gathering of Hindus, it occurs by rotation every three years at one of four sacred sites, thereby completing a 12-year cycle. These are Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. He subsequently went to Vindhyachal for a day’s stay and blessed Hans Das. At that time, he possibly energized the ashram and prepared his disciple, unbeknown to him. The visit to Vindhyachal was undertaken for this purpose.

The Last Post of Hans’s Life

Hans Das had totally surrendered to the guru. On the final visit to Vindhyachal, Devraha Baba had left instructions regarding the ashram, temple and goshala.

Hans was ignorant of what awaited him. When Devraha Baba relinquished the body in Vrindavan on June 19, 1990, Hans Das was overcome by sorrow. He visited Vrindavan and resolved to follow his immortal master to the abode sacred to yogis, known as Gyanganj. Yogis are believed to go to this place after they enter the state of samadhi. For common folk to try and reach there is virtually impossible. He was impelled by the vision of that light shown by the guru.

He departed for the mountains and reached Gangotri, the source of the Ganga. He traversed the difficult path, hungry and forlorn. It was a most severe trial, with the forces of nature ranged against him. The weather was fearful. He decided to end his life by leaping into the river. Just then, the disembodied voice of Devraha Baba asked him to go back. He had wanted to proceed to Nandan Ban and from there, to Gyanganj. But, he was forced to return, after receiving the blessings of the master. Soon after coming back to the ashram, Hans Baba ascended the manch.

The Ascent

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand.

The manch of Devraha Baba was considered too sacred for anyone to dare sit on it without inspiration from the master. How, then, could a temple priest do so?

It came about in this way. Hans was sitting near the manch one day, meditating on his guru, when he was suddenly impelled to climb onto the stone wall behind the wooden structure. He began to wonder what had made him do so. He was immersed in thought when he was seized by an impulse to close the door of the hut upon the platform. There was no sense of himself, and he felt that he must obey the silent directive. He climbed onto the manch and closed the door of the hut. Once on the manch, he was not allowed to descend.

A place has its own importance.

The immortal guru’s light began to play within him, and his mind became fully attuned to Radha-Krishna bhakti. This was the state of tadakar vritti, mentioned earlier. The news of the ascent spread like wildfire. The followers of Devraha Baba began to pour into the ashram for his darshan. Who was he? The question was on everyone’s lips. He displayed all the signs of a siddha yogi. This is illustrated by an incident that occurred a year after Yogiraj’s jalsamadhi.

A bhandara was being held at the ashram. The sky looked heavily overcast, and the disciples who had assembled feared that the feast would be ruined if it began to rain. They expressed their apprehension to Hans Baba. It did not rain while the bhandara was on. But, as soon as it was over, water poured down, washing away the remains of the feast and leaving the place clean. Those who witnessed the miracle were wonderstruck.

There were other manifestations of power. One sign of a siddha yogi is his control over the elements. He would make the ground hot or cool just where a visitor was standing. Hans Baba was then in the early stage of the transformation. Few disciples came to the ashram. The big stone images of Radha-Krishna and Hanuman that stand near the manch were already there. Radha - Baba calls her Radhikaji - said one day: “He has studied nothing. We will have to teach him.” He says that there is continuous interaction between the deities and him. Hans Baba relates an interesting incident to illustrate the process of the transition. There is a pond at a short distance from the manch. The heat in summer was so intense that none could partake of the water of the pond, which also became heated. Even he was not able to quench his thirst. Devraha Baba had a pitcher, which he used for providing water, milk and other refreshments to devotees. The pitcher lay on the manch. Hans Baba was inspired to use it to draw water from the pond, which could then be cooled. Formerly, this would have been a great sacrilege. But now, it was done quite naturally.

The ashram at Vindhyachal, which had become desolate after Yogiraj’s samadhi, came to life with Hans Baba’s ascent. The cows of the goshala also looked visibly better. Work on the incomplete cowshed resumed. And the ashram inmates rejoiced that they had got back their Baba.

The Patanjali Tradition

The use of the manch, characterized by a hut on a raised wooden platform, is part of the Patanjali system of yoga. A siddha yogi should not live either on the ground or among people. He should preferably live on the banks of rivers, as Devraha Baba used to, between the sky and the earth. Yogiraj used to say that there is a regular radiation of rajasik and tamasik waves from the bodies of ordinary people. To avoid their contact, the siddha yogi

is advised to live on a wooden structure at a reasonable height from the ground. Another reason for ascending the manch is that the yogi can easily see visitors from that height. It facilitates transmission of his power for the welfare of supplicants.

The siddha yogi’s link with God is said to be omnipresent, and he implements the divine mandate for the good of mankind. One gets a sense of complete peace in Baba’s presence. This is because of the radiation of sattvik waves from his body. Devraha Baba used to become uncomfortable when people came too close to the munch. His discomfort owed to the tamasik and rajasik vibrations from their bodies. They were not permitted to approach the manch. Hans Baba differs somewhat in this respect. Supplicants can approach the platform, but not presume to touch the guru. He permits them to place flowers on his feet.

There is an interesting explanation for Baba’s accessibility. Some of his disciples believe that the earlier incarnation represented the phase of Ram lila. Among the avatars of Vishnu, Ram is considered maryada purushottam. This term signifies a custodian of dignity and honor. Hence, Ram is venerated as an honorable king, who was always true to his word. Devraha Baba’s persona was suitably aloof and imposing. Hans Baba, however, often generates fun, though he always retains the aura of remoteness, inherent in the divine. This is the phase of Krishna lila. And, Krishna is beloved as much for his joyous sportive play with his companions and the gopis of Vrindavan as for his profound discourses.

The Earlier Phase

But when I saw Thee in mine own Self, O joy! Then thou and I disported ourselves in ecstasy.

Here, I shall trace the successive phases of the transition. The earlier stage was that of samarpan or complete surrender to the master. Then came another stage: that of Radha-Krishna bhakti. At the end of his last sojourn on earth, Yogiraj was in Vrindavan, the place beloved to Lord Krishna, who is called ‘Yogeswar’ or lord of the yogi. Now, Hans Baba, after ascending the manch, began the sportive play of Radha-Krishna. The followers of Yogiraj were taken by surprise, but gradually, understanding dawned. Power initially began to manifest from the Muladhar chakra, the lowest of the seven spiritual centers in the body on the ladder of ascent to God. These chakras contain subtle energies, corresponding to the spiritual attainment of the seeker as he moves upwards through successive stages. And, siddhis also manifest through the chakras.

When I first visited the ashram, I was apparently not known to Hans Baba. I was extremely surprised to see him on the manch. Some of his actions stirred me. However, his assurance that he was Devraha Baba made me uncomfortable. Sadly, I was not convinced. Devotees of Yogiraj from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had started flocking to the ashram, as news of the return began to spread. Though Baba had forbidden publicity, Amarnath Ojha, an old disciple from Bihar, had reported on the miracle for Pavan Prasad, a monthly journal that has for long been propagating the message of Devraha Baba, and which has his blessings.

Baba would now have to explain to all those who were congregating at the ashram the secret of parkaya pravesh as well as why one disciple was selected in preference to others. There were so many questions to be answered. On my part, after a three-hour long discussion with Baba, I returned in a pensive mood to Allahabad. I was preoccupied with all that had transpired and the enigma of the avatar. It was my first experience regarding the transmigration.

How I Reached Hans Baba

I considered myself fortunate to have had frequent access to Yogiraj, who had drawn me closer to himself. My first book on him in Hindi, Devraha Gina Ganga, owed to his blessings. I was among the few whom he had blessed at the last stage in Vrindavan. He had then said: “Child, you have received the grace of Saraswati. Your writing will become immortal.” My mind was naturally full of memories of the departed guru, and it seemed impossible for me to accept someone else in his place.

C.K. Sharma, an old disciple from Allahabad, who belonged to the inner circle of devotees, had often visited Vindhyachal to meet Hans Das. The latter had been kept in seclusion by the master. Sharma had become quite close to the priest. But, he never imagined that Hans would become the vehicle of Devraha Baba. At the time of the bhandara, Sharma had observed a change in Hans, which he could not fathom. This was because of his ignorance of the transmigration system. After the third visit, Sharma commented on the distinct change in Hans. His actions were like Devraha Baba’s. The baffled disciple wrote numerous letters in this regard to other devotees. On one of my visits to his home, Sharma recounted his impressions. We were glad to note the similarities, but still unaware of the truth. I felt a desire that day to go to Vindhyachal. After a few days, Sharma went to the ashram and received prasad, for me as well, from Hans Baba. Sharma was surprised as he had never mentioned me. Yet, Baba not only seemed to know me, but had even sent prasad for me. Just as with Yogiraj, this was makhana, tied in a piece of cloth called ambar. Again, I was reminded of Devraha Baba.

After getting the prasad, I resolved to go to the ashram and meet Hans Baba. I chose to do so on the same day that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, was scheduled to reach Allahabad from Jhansi in the course of his symbolic journey from Kanya Kumari at the southernmost tip of the country, to Kashmir, the last post in the north. I was asked to cover the journey from Jhansi for my paper. This meant that I would not have been able to go to Vindhyachal. Owing to a sudden development, I was relieved of the assignment. The Lucknow correspondent was told to cover the event.

Freed of my office duties, I embarked for the ashram with Sharma and a few others. That was my first visit. I was there till the evening, talking to Baba. And then, I returned to Allahabad. Just as I reached there, Joshi and his entourage were entering the town. I covered his visit and sent my dispatch to the Lucknow and Delhi offices. The synchronicity of events surprised me, especially how I had managed to reach Baba.

A month later, I observed a more distinct change in him. Brahmavani issued from his lips. The lila of Radha-Krishna had begun, and a growing number of disciples were coming to the ashram. They were amazed by what they saw. Baba was playing with the forces of nature and controlling the elements. He, the one who had “studied nothing”, was also recording his own utpatti vani, the divinely inspired language of the illumined sage.

He questioned me about himself: What am I? What do you see? Do you see your Baba? Till such time as I needed to understand his Lila in some degree, I requested him, again, to let the phenomenon be publicized through media reports for the benefit of his followers. This time, he gave his assent. He said: “Child, I am now in Sahas rar! You can write as you wish.”

I have given here a chart of the ascent, as it occurred in successive stages, till the culmination of the process. It should be studied base upwards.

Sahasrar chakra (Union with God)

Agya chakra

Vishuddha chakra

Anahat chakra

Manipur chakra

Swadhishthan chakra

Power first manifested in Mooladhar chakra

Worship of Radha-Krishna Paravani

The Kundalini vidhan details a similar process of evolution. One needs the guru’s grace to assimilate the miracle. But even if some disciples were not immediately able to accept the fact of the return, they witnessed the other miracle themselves: the one who had “studied nothing”, busily writing thousands of sutras in Sanskrit, the language of scholarship, and Awadhi and Braj Bhasha, both dialects of Hindi. He credited his writing to the inspiration of Radha- Krishna, who, he says, frolic with him and talk to him like beloved companions.

Hans Baba’s familiarity with these languages surprised the disciples, because they had not observed it in the past. They were able to ascertain at first hand how the siddha yogi, even without having had the benefit of study, could speak and write in unfamiliar languages. One recollects the words of Jesus Christ - “And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall.... speak with new tongues” - as he enumerates the miracles.

Earlier, Yogiraj had asked me whether I thought that if one was ignorant of a particular speech, one could not know it. He meant the speech known as Paravani, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari. Hans Baba’s Brahmavani, which is the same as Paravani, is proof of the transcendental happening. The Hans dhara, or stream of divine wisdom, originated in the ocean - the infinite expanse – and then, Brahmavani began to flow. It was somewhat abstruse. Baba wrote it down, faster than anyone else could. The stream of creativity was so explosive that hundreds of copy books of his writing lay on the manch.

Briefly, the revelation of the Vedas and the Vedangas is ascribed to the Paravani of the rishis. The individual attainment of the sage determines what he can obtain from the pool of divine knowledge, to give to humanity. It is in the paravastha, that is, when the consciousness of oneness arises - soham - that the Parvani flows. Soham also signifies the atma or soul as in Hans. Evidently, the name chosen by Yogiraj for his foremost disciple was imbued with meaning.

The Holy Trinity: Gomaata, Ganga and Gayatri

Reverence for the cow and cattle are an attitude peculiar to Hindus. It would be difficult for those alien to the Hindu way of life entirely to understand this sentiment, which appears as an irrational response to advocates of utilitarianism. Hans, the priest of the Radha-Krishna temple, was a devout worshipper of cows. He was also their protector. The master encouraged him to participate in the Goraksha Andolan in 1967. The cow holds a special place in the Hindu worldview. She is affectionately referred to as gomaata or Mother Cow since human beings partake of her milk. Worship and protection of the gentle creature is enjoined as a sacred duty, a tenet of dharma or right action. Hans Baba lays great importance on the need to worship cows and save them from the slaughterhouse. There are reasons for this apart from the purely sentimental.

The esoteri c weltanschauung holds the cow to possess mystical associations. It is considered a symbol of the deities as well as the divine trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. The planets can be propitiated by worshipping her, since it is believed that the solar system is contained in her body, as a microcosmic reflection of the larger order. Sincere devotees may even be able to attain moksha. In material terms, cattle enhance the wealth of the country by providing milk and cow dung for use as fuel and fertilizer. Thus, goseva substantially benefits society, even if the attendant symbolism may prove too baffling for the uninitiated.

There is a Sanskrit saying that considers every part and aspect of the animal to be divine. Nothing related to the creature is detestable:

Brahma the Creator resides in the hind portion. Vishnu the Preserver has his abode in the neck. Rudra the Destroyer manifests in the mouth. And Goddess Lakshmi, with her eight glorious boons, is omnipresent in the cowdung.

Baba’s directive is to build goshalas throughout India, for the protection of old and infirm cattle. There should be no slaughter for meat. This may not necessarily makes good economic sense, but the line has to be drawn somewhere between sentiment and commerce, with the balance tilted towards the former, if civilization is not to become brutalized. However, continuity in tradition should not be retrogressive. For instance, Hans Baba dismisses the caste system and other tendentious divisions, stressing on the unity of existence and the ideal of harmony. “All one,” is his refrain. As Yogeswar Krishna, the Lord protected and worshipped the cows at Vrindavan in his youth. Hans, the priest of the temple at Vindhyachal, also did the same. He was, therefore, the natural choice as the divine vehicle. Even now, the raising of funds for the Ocala at the ashram is an important part of the disciples’ work.

The deep regard that Baba has for the divine creature is extended to the Ganga and the Gayatri mantra. A Puranic myth recounts that the river, which is India’s lifeline and the very source of the great Indo- Gangetic civilization, flows from the feet of Vishnu and the kamandal or jar of Brahma, falling to earth through the matted locks of Shiva. The more mundane account is that the river originates in the icy Himalayan peaks and flows into the Bay of Bengal, to merge with the sea.

The love felt by Indians, not just Hindus, for this sacred river is reflected in Devraha Baba’s words:

All the places of pilgrimage are contained in the Ganga.

It is an integral cultural link that binds the country together. The scriptures affirm that the acts of bathing in the river16 and providing succour to the needy show the path to Heaven. And devout Hindus would like to believe so. The four purusharthas or efforts of human life are for dharma, arth, Kama and moksha. These are said to be embodied in the Ganga, and can be successfully attained through shraddha, vishvas and samarpan.

The Galati mantra is a hymn to the sun in the Rig Veda, chanted by millions of Hindus over thousands of years.

Om is the giver of life, the dispeller of miseries and the bestower of happiness. We should meditate on that creator, most adorable and incandescent. May his light illumine our minds.

This mantra is considered so potent that its continuous jaap can make one an accomplished yogi and facilitate union with the divine. Hans Baba insists on respect for the Gayatri, as well as for gomaata and the Ganga, which together constitute the holy trinity, best symbolizing the Hindu ethos.

The Siddha Yogi

To wipe the tear from every eye.

The characteristic feature of Hans Baba’s lila is that he is not sedentary. He moves from one manch to another by car, so far in the northern half of the country. He began his travels from Vindhyachal. The wooden platform at the ashram was erected for a duration of 15 years on the directive of Yogiraj. On one of my earlier visits to the ashram, Baba had indicated that he would periodically leave Vindhyachal and move throughout the country. Wherever he chooses to halt, a manch is erected, to be dismantled as soon as he departs.

Within a year of this indication, Baba ascended his twentyfirst manch, at Delhi. Prior to this, he travelled through Bihar, Bengal and the border areas of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. The nineteenth manch was erected at Allahabad during the Magh Mela in the months of January-February 1994. He came to Delhi from Obra in Bihar. In this period, the trustees and disciples of Varanasi’s Dwarkadhish temple, the original peeth, and the bulk of Yogiraj’s oldest devotees, have accepted Hans Baba as the successor. Thousands of people have had his darshan. Those who had felt forsaken in the wake of Devraha Baba’s samadhi, have been only too happy at the emergence of Hans Baba.

The Plan for the Manch at Delhi

Hans Baba began to plan the manch at Delhi in Vindhyachal and Allahabad. Initially, no one could understand why he wished to go to the city. But, later, they were able to perceive the reasons. The most obvious one was that he wanted to fulfil the prayer of Trilokinath Khanna, the chief trustee of the Shree Gurudev Ashram, where Baba stayed during his sojourn on the outskirts of the city. Apparently, Khanna and his wife had gone for Yogiraj’s darshan at Haridwar, before his Samadhi in 1990, and had requested him to grace the ashram with his presence. The master had acceded to their prayer, but soon afterwards, surrendered the body.

When the plan to go to Delhi materialized in early 1994, the organizers of the visit began to search for a suitable site for the guru’s stay. Nothing seemed apt. They were at a loss as to what they should do when the prospect of the Shree Gurudev Ashram surfaced. It was built for Swami Muktanand of Ganeshpuri, who has since relinquished the physical frame. The ashram is both secluded and spacious, with fruit trees covering the sprawling grounds. Swami Muktanand had received the special grace of his guru, Avadhoot Nityanand, after the latter went into samadhi. It is believed that Muktanand attained the state of tadakar vritti.

A shivling6 had been installed in the Shiva temple on the ashram premises, but the pran pratishtha was still to be performed. The Khannas’ prayer to the master was that he should participate in the ritual. It was to fulfill this prayer that Hans Baba, four years later, stayed at the ashram. The secret was duly revealed and the ceremony conducted. The ashram, which was in a state of slumber till then, came alive with power.

Why is a Yogi among People?

Many have raised this question. They feel that a yogi should be reclusive, possibly hidden in a Himalayan cave. There should be no need for him to be in the midst of worldly people. I once put this question to Devraha Baba. He replied: “You are right. But, for the welfare of humanity, we appear and give guidance to people. Man is wracked by worries and pain. He receives succour from our darshan and blessings.”

The flow of supplicants, especially the ailing, to the ashram in Delhi was so incessant that he observed: “My manch has become a hospital. So many sick people have come to me.” Many were healed. The problems that drove people to seek him out were diverse, usually concerning themselves or those close to them.

All great seers are opposed to sectarianism of any kind. They acknowledge the diversity of paths leading to the supreme; one only need tread a chosen way with absolute devotion, in a spirit of love - Baba stresses this emotion most of all- and never swerving from the truth.

God is one, there is no other.

This too, is the message of Islam, Christianity and other world religions that hinge on the primacy of the Godhead. But, confounded by disparities in approach, different sects are ever in conflict with each other. They fail to see the obvious: that the truth being indivisible, God is not subject to the quibbling of petty minds and the designs of divisive forces. It is His prerogative to manifest where He wills, and in whatever fashion He likes. The most remarkable change effected by Hans Baba was the spiritual awakening in a part of the city’s enervated populace. A notable fact is that some Muslims took initiation from him. While they now chant the name of Rama, they continue to remain true to their faith.

This is the new phase of Baba’s lila: to bring about an inner transformation in as many people as possible by turning their minds to the “One”, immanent in the multifarious concepts and their actualization. His travels, which have become ceaseless, are undertaken towards this end. The great sage, Sri Aurobindo, observed: “The only change is the revolution of the integral yoga”. Rather than striving just outwardly, if the world is to become a better place, this internal change in human beings must first occur. Man, as a grasping, shortsighted creature, can hardly hope to further anyone’s happiness, leave alone his own. Since, by the laws of karma, and, one might add, of evolution as a biological fact, all forms of life are interrelated, the ideal of Christian love must become a reality. This is the only hope of redemption for the world, which, lacerated by fears and desires, appears to be hurtling headlong towards an abyss.

Gautam Buddha, who preached compassion for all creatures, once explained why one should love all beings equally. “Because, in the numerous and varied life spans of each man, every other being has been dear to him”. He never tires of repeating it. For, this is the first and final revelation, of seers and of the great religions: the unitive character of all creation. “It’s all one life”, observed Coleridge. Similarly, o n e finds in Dante’s Paradiso, a poignant statement of unity: “Within its deep infinity I saw ingathered, and bound by love in one volume, the scattered leaves of all the universe”. If more people, other than mystics, could realize this, wars might cease altogether.

“It is the pure, undefiled flower that finds a place at the feet of the Lord and nowhere else”, said Anandamayi Ma, a great spiritual teacher of this century. The world, clearly, has never wanted for saviors and prophets. But, man’s indolence and enslavement by the ego and the senses, makes him tread the path of impermanence, devoured by the transient impulses of the mind and passions of the body.

However, the prayer of The Upanishads - “Lead us from the unreal to the real” - finds fulfillment in the descent of great sages into the world, who appear to free man from the relentless cycle of misery and joy; of hope and despair; of birth and death. Their aim is to restore him to his eternal self: “Cut of your littleness, He makes you perfect, whole, and then nothing remains to be desired or achieved”.

A Political Interlude: Ramjanmabhumi

During Hans Baba’s sojourn in Delhi, several politicians sought his blessings. As the capital, this city happens to be the nerve centre of the country. It is the source of corruption in high places, which, in turn, infects the whole nation. I believe that the more portentous reason for Baba’s stay in Delhi was to initiate a process of change among the arbiters of India’s destiny. He has already done so at other places in the north.

The visits of two important rightwing leaders, who are forcefully propagating Hindu resurgence, must be mentioned. The driving force behind the resolute Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Ashok Singhal, and the BJP leader,

Murli Manohar Joshi, solicited his blessings for the building of the proposed temple of Lord Rama at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. It may be recalled that in 1989, Devraha Baba at Vrindavan had reportedly interceded in the dispute over the Ramjanmabhumi by directing the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, who has since been assassinated, to allow the shilanyas o r foundation stone laying ceremony of the temple near the Babri Masjid. The revivalist Hindus tried to exploit this for their own benefit and, thereafter, the situation went out of control, culminating in genocidal killings. This completely violates Baba’s precept of communal harmony and national integrity.

Earlier, Yogiraj had blessed the efforts to build the temple and had appreciated the work done in this regard by the saints and the VHP. But he did not wish the matter to be politicized. Unfortunately, the issue has become political and this has pained him immensely. As one who propagates the commonality of faith, he strongly condemns violence and divisiveness in the name of religion. He says: “The temple should be built, but not at the cost of the nation.”

The master’s ideal was that of Indians of all faiths getting together to build the shrine to commemorate the birth place of the sanatan purush, Shri Rama, who came to the world for the protection of dharma.

This is not to suggest that Yogiraj was opposed to the existence of the mosque. He favoured unanimity on the issue of constructing the temple. Lord Rama would not have wanted divisiveness, since he was a sworn foe of the asuri vritti that divides and rules, perpetuating injustice and suffering. In Rama rajya, the kingdom of Rama, there was no place for disruptive forces. Baba wants the same harmonious conditions to prevail in society. This might appear confusing to those who identify the temple issue with the worst kind of fissures. Evidently, the lessons of history have not been learnt correctly. Vested interests have acted in a manner, calculated to magnify the issue, eschewing any compromise, acceptable to the feuding factions. Their aim is to polarize India on the basis of religion by keeping the dispute over the Rama temple alive. This is a corollary of the colonial legacy of ‘divide and rule’, the essential principle of British statecraft during the days of the Raj.

To queries about whether the temple would be constructed, his reply, invariably, is: “All together.”

He appears to have given an assurance that the Ram Mandir will be built when the time is right. These words have a divine portent. He told Singhal: “Rama is one. He is everywhere. He will build the temple. One can only be a medium for that.” On the VHP leader pointing out the opposition to the plan for the shrine from powers outside the country, he replied, obliquely: “Child, the fall comes only after the ascent”. This, however, should not be construed as encouragement for militancy. He advises placing the temple issue on the back bench and giving top priority to problems of development. In the meantime, one should wait for events to unfold, rather than precipicetating a crisis by forcing a confrontation over the contentious issue between members of the two communities.

On more than one occasion, Baba has indicated that his return has been motivated by anxiety for the nation which, today, is precariously positioned between the past and the future. While displaying concern at the state of the world, he is doubtless, partial to his “beloved India.” He has also hinted that “he will go away” once his mission, ordained by the Almighty, is complete.

The master’s words, uttered before his relinquishing the old body at Vrindavan, are given here.

“India will be prosperous and trouble free. Cows will be protected. The Rama Mandir will be built at the Ramjanmabhumi with the help of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. My blessings and infinite mercy are for all. After leaving my body, I will remain in my subtle form in India and work for its welfare. The world is mine and I belong to the world.”

These words, rightly interpreted, intimate the dawn of a better time - and not a descent into the past and its orthodoxies - in which the selective perpetuation of India’s eclectic heritage is the key to a great future. For this, non-Hindus too must show their willingness to cooperate.

Yoga Vidya & Modern Science

“Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?”

To understand the state of attainment of the siddha yogi is to know that nothing is impossible for him. Devraha Baba once described such a yogi to me.

The body of a yogi should not be heavy. He should always be happy. His eyes and body should be free from desire. There should be control over the sex instinct and the nadis - the Ida and Pingala - and the Sushumna. He should be pious. These are the signs of a yogi.

The supreme secret, revealed by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, in The Bhagwad Gita, was yoga. It is the eternal science, and is supposed to have been first taught to the Sun God by the Almighty. The Sun God handed it down to the coming generations of men through his son, Manu, who, in turn, instructed Ikshwaku. In this manner, the secret doctrine was passed down the ages, guarded closely by the rishis, until our times. It is an unbroken tradition, sustained by great masters.

“The yogi is greater than body-disciplining ascetics, greater even than the followers of the path of wisdom on the path of action; be thou, O disciple Arjuna, a yogi”. This was Lord Krishna’s advice to the heroic warrior, when his resolve to fight weakened on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. That epic war was an allegory for the battle of life, which constantly places moral choices before man. To act disinterestedly, with one’s mind fixed on God and full of determination, is yoga in the highest metaphysical sense, as one does not incur karmic debts, which would have to be worked out in subsequent births.

There is also the allied technique of yoga to overcome the limitations of time and space imposed by the body, so that the adept can indeed become “master of all he surveys”. The Gita explains how this can be achieved: “That meditation expert becomes eternally free who, seeking the Supreme Goal, is able to withdraw from external phenomena by fixing his gaze within the mind spot of the eyebrows and by neutralizing the even currents of prana and apana within the nostrils and lungs; and to control his sensory mind and intellect; and to banish desire, fear and anger”. The same technique is explained by Patanjali: “Liberation can be attained by that pranayama which is accomplished by disjoining the course of inspiration and expiration”.

This method to control the life force frees the yogi from the sensory delusions of Maya, restoring his consciousness to the Godhead by drawing it inwards, away from the outward world of the senses, that distracts and entangles. It is the accomplished guru alone who can successfully impart this yoga vidya or science to the spiritual aspirant. The complete yoga encompasses “body discipline, mental control, and meditating on Aum”, to quote Patanjali. It is contained in his Ashtang yoga, a system of eight kinds of practices. Baba stresses that the true yogi must tread the eightfold path for the attainment of his goal.

The illumined being is one who masters body consciousness.

The yogi who attains the sajavastha, the state of oneness with God, acquires Godlike powers. The religious lore of all cultures is replete with allusions to the miracles induced or performed by men of God. And, miracles are but

phenomena whose laws defy the logic of mundane reality. Those with access to other dimensions of being know that there is much more in heaven and earth than the limited faculties of man can grasp.

“And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear and healed him.”

Hagiographies of saints recount all kinds of wondrous phenomena that recreate the magic of fairy tales. Yet, this is the very stuff of popular religion as much as of esoteric philosophy. When Devraha Baba stated that his form was vast, he was everywhere, and, that his words were Bahamian, he was describing the condition of divinity. Patanjali details the siddhis that bestow the accomplished yogi with the qualities of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience. He can see everywhere while being stationary at one place. He can move through the sky; he can move through water; he can move without fear through a forest. He can reach the other worlds of the cosmos. That is, he can go anywhere he wishes. He can assume any form and age and appear in more than one place at the same time. He can also disappear. If he wants, he can become smaller than an atom, and then magnify his size beyond all reckoning. And, most intriguing of all, he need never eat or drink water, in order to survive.

So the enumeration runs on. The gift of healing is possibly of greatest benefit to ordinary supplicants. Hans Baba’s modus operandi is somewhat different. The utterance of the words, “mercy” and “grace,” herald an inner change. He does shanty pat: transmits some of his inexhaustible store of energy to sufferers. Some get cured instantly, and others gradually. The degree of faith and resolution determine the outcome. The onus for recovery is on the supplicants, as the process of Shakti paat is meant to activate their dormant will to get better. Chronic physical and psychosomatic diseases are known to have thus been cured.

Baba started blessing the sick at the Vindhyachal ashram, and is still doing so. His acts of healing are intended to provide irrefutable proof of the power of God, to whom he credits all the wonderful happenings. “I do nothing. It is by His will that it happens,” he says, pointing skywards. His advice to seekers is to take refuge in the Supreme for the solution of every problem. “The sovereign and universal remedy is the contemplation of the One”, observed another great seer.

The power of the siddha yogi cannot be computed by science. The stories about the master are legion. Two incidents demonstrate the perfected yogi’s mastery over the phenomena of life and death through control of the life force. When Yogiraj was at his Ballia ashram in Uttar Pradesh, he would bathe in the Ganga at four every morning. On one such occasion, the family members of a pious bhajan singer, who had died, brought her body for cremation to the river bank. The master enquired of them what had happened. The mourners replied to the point, adding that she was very pious and had excelled at singing bhajans. He at once cried out: “Mother! Arise and sing!” Much to everyone’s amazement, the inert woman got up and began to sing. The immediate fulfillment of the dictate owed to the great yogi’s leher and jivanti drishti, which restored life to the corpse.

The other incident is somewhat similar. A lady once came for Devraha Baba’s darshan to Vrindavan. After being in his presence for a while, she suddenly collapsed. The assembled people rushed to her side. One of them, a doctor, informed Yogiraj that she was dead. Thereupon, the guru tersely said: “Child, take the dust from near the manch and put it on her forehead. She will be alright.” This was done, and the body came to life.

The siddha yogi, as one in perfect communion with the whole of creation, attracts also the creatures of the wild. Nothing is alien for him. The big cats, elephants, even reptiles – the most menacing of the earth’s denizens – are known to have come to Devraha Baba for darshan as well as prasad. The kingdom of St Francis of Assisi included nature’s hunted creatures. Birds, in particular, sought him out. Old disciples of Devraha Baba recount how he stopped the car by which he was travelling to a particular destination in the dead of night, so that a lion that had emerged from the wilderness could have his darshan. “He, too, is my devotee”, the master is supposed to have remarked. And, there is far more that can never be known.

Devraha Baba once told me: “Child, a yogi can do anything. Nothing is impossible for him. He can fly through the sky. He can run over a bed of thorns. He can sleep on the waves of a river. But if you reveal this to someone who does not know the power of the yogi, he will never believe you. So, nothing should be told to a sceptic.”

Yoga Vidya

In Delhi, after witnessing numerous individuals getting relief from ailments through his intercession, I asked Hans Baba whether he possessed a remote- control mechanism to make them immediately feel better. He replied, smiling, that the button was God’s. And, added that yoga vidya was the mechanism for the cures, though he also recommends ayurvedic remedies. The ancient yogic science was used long ago for the treatment of disease, along with Ayurveda, the Hindu system of medicine, founded by Maharishi Bhardwaj. Now, the emphasis on sadhana has obscured the other applications of the vidya.

While modern science has made remarkable progress in the sphere of technology, even attempting to master the forces of nature and the universe, it is at a loss when it comes to investigating the realm of human consciousness. Where the work of the scientist ends, the yogi’s begins. He has his own methods for the exploration of consciousness. To compare the idea yogi with the scientist would be facetious. For the former has access to the infinite pool of knowledge, whereas the latter works with imperfect tools.

The yogi dwells in the state of turiya that is beyond the play of phenomenal activity. He sees all phenomena as emanating from the one supreme consciousness, with which he is united. His faculties, consequently, are not limited, and he need not enlist the aid of anything outside himself to undertake his explorations. The secrets of the universe, as of existence, are within his reach; and his knowledge is whole. The yogi has his own laboratory, which is different from the scientist’s: he grasps everything by the light of the supreme revelation.

A major preoccupation of scientists is to reach the different worlds of the cosmos. The yogi moves about easily in these worlds. He is able to see them clearly, through the supernal grace, as distinctly as astronauts who have examined the moon from close. There is no mystery that he cannot uncover, whereas the ordinary mortal, blinded by sensory perceptions, fails even to recognize his own reality. The truth is that the outer and the inner, the mundane and the spiritual, are really one. The yogi, who dwells in the realm of the spirit, realizes this, while the scientist, as one whose domain is matter, is unable to do so unless he takes recourse to metaphysics. Ultimately, excessive emphasis on arid reasoning is a debilitating exercise. There is no reason for science and religion to spar with each other, since their common goal is the attainment of truth. They would both serve humanity better by turning willing allies.