The Incredible Life of a Himalayan Yogi: The Times, Teachings and Life of Living Shiva: Baba Lokenath Brahmachari

by Shuddhaanandaa Brahmachari

presence. He asks for ALL that we are, good and bad, strong and incorrigibly weak. Baba tells us, through Rajani, that we must never allow our faults, or our guilt and shame for having them, to keep us away from the altar of the Divine, even for an instant. Instead, we are to bring our most stubborn self-indulgences to him, in the very instant of our failure to control them — again and again, if we have to — until we are healed by his grace. There is no sin so great, no weakness so entrenched, that the Satguru cannot and will not heal in those who remain lovingly in his Presence.

Rajani asked, “May I know the causes?” Baba replied, “The

shot of abusive and insulting words, the shot of the pain of separation from loved ones, and the shot of pain from losing wealth, if one can bear with patience these three shots, he can transcend even death.”

him,“Brahmachari Baba is all merciful. Whatever he says must be for my good.”

“Can’t you have a room like mine to sit in meditation?” He further explained, “Until you sever all connections with your relations at home and retreat into a deep, meditative state with a single-pointed mind, you cannot realize yourself. You must hasten to do this to reach the final state.”

have realized that whatever I do, it is his doing. Whatever I think, it is his thinking. I have no responsibility

whatsoever.

am dying in the pit dug by me. I am stuck in the mundane plane by my own will and caught in the trap laid by my own ignorance. I am bound by the fetters of attachment and cannot overcome this bondage. You are an Enlightened One. Why not grace me in such a way that I become free from this bondage of maya? If you do it, then kindly reveal the technique by which you have transcended this bondage

“Transcend Maya by worshipping Her.”

With his mind full of information gathered through the various scriptures, Tarakanta Ganguli thought that he could conquer Nature with the grace of Baba. But Baba had pulled an invaluable gem from his bag of rich spiritual treasures and presented it to Tarakanta Ganguli. Maya, Invincible Mother Nature, is the primal energy of existence. She can never be conquered. By worshipping her, by pleasing her through sadhana (spiritual discipline), one receives her Divine Grace.

Lower nature is transformed and spontaneously transcends all bondage, ignorance, and attachment. Through worship, Maya ceases to be maya. She becomes Mahamaya, the Divine Herself, the Universal Mother. The realization comes that She Alone...

Chandra Kishore exemplifies why

scriptures place so little importance on spiritual powers. The great saints have always warned against them. If misused, they cause the fall of the seeker. As Baba has said, “Only in a state of egolessness can these powers become a true blessing to society at large.”

Unless the mind gravitates toward the center within, to the Divine sitting deep in the heart of the seeker, the seeker will be unable to feel the Presence of the Divine, or to receive light from the higher domains of spiritual consciousness. Baba taught that all action is inseparable

from God, because it is the Divine who is the Doer in all things.

In the words of Baba, “Action is Brahman.” As the Cosmic Dancer, Lord Shiva cannot be separated from His dance. So ...

awareness of God as the Doer is transformed into Divine Dance. The human doer disappears, absorbed in the Divine Doer. Action becomes worship, consciously transcending the imperfections of ego through selfless action … and the ordinary human being becomes instrumental in working for the peace and blessedness of the world. The Divine Will manifests as energy in everything around us. Becoming conscious of the Divine hiding in all circumstances, we align ourselves with the higher purposes of all that life gives us. All grumbling and negativit...

perfection. If we behave rudely toward anyone, we unknowingly throw a mantle over their mind and our own. Instead of helping to lift the world, we perpetuate the darkness that enslaves the world. The Divine searches for the instrument which is always open to receive and give higher energy. Offering ourselves and all our actions to the Divine Doer, then surrendering the result of those actions to God, i...

“This body is the temple of God. If I don’t decorate this, what else am I to decorate?”

Baba teaches all of us a strong lesson through the life of Akhil Chandra. The past, however abhorrent, is not important. The

present is all that matters. Akhil, with his sensual background, was not rejected by God. He was accepted with love, given the opportunity to become a saint and to explore the infinite potentialities of being.

“Unconditional surrender to the will of the Master and the

Supreme Lord.”

To the seeker of wealth, Baba gave wealth. To seekers of the spirit, he gave

inspiration and guidance. To seekers of knowledge, he gave knowledge. The hungry received food; the unsheltered, shelter. Those dying from incurable diseases who had given up hope found that they were healed. Like Master Jesus, Baba’s word alone could to heal the sick.

”I do not care for any rules or dictums, for I am free. I am free to do that which I think is right.”

After attaining Brahmanhood, Baba became the living expression of the Astasiddhi, which manifested as spontaneously as fragrance from a flower. These eightfold powers are called Anima, Laghima, Mahima, Prapti, Prakamya, Ishita, Vashita, and Kamavasayita.

Anima is the power with which a yogi can move about in his subtle body without being seen by others.

Laghima is the power with which the yogi can levitate and become as light as air. Prapti is the power with which a yogi can manifest any object or create any situation the moment he wishes to do so. This is the power to heal. Prakamya is the power that enables a yogi to see through an object at a distance. Mahima allows the yogi to experience the seamless unity of the entire universe a...

An example is given in the Bhagavad Gita, when Lord Krishna reveals His all-pervasive form to Arjuna. Baba’s gift to Vijay Krishna, who saw the Cosmic manifestation in Baba’s body, is yet another example. Vashita is the power with which the yogi can move about freely, at will. Kamavasayita is the power with which...

“Once you have offered, you have no say over that milk anymore,”

It also underscores our vulnerability, as devotees, to overlooking and forgetting the Divine Grace at work in our lives. By failing to fully honor the action of grace in our lives, by letting it fall into the invisible background of our consciousness, we short circuit the magnitude of its potential, transforming effect — not only for our own spirit, but in the life of the world.

The mind, intellect, and all material human knowledge, however advanced, pale to insignificance before the ultimate science of life, the science of the spirit.

The life of the spirit and spiritual

practice are properly viewed as research. The seeker continuously conducts personal research in the laboratory of his or her body, mind, and intellect. The success of this research earns the seeker the attainment of siddh...

The King of Bhawal subsequently became one of the most devoted followers of Baba. He began worshipping Baba as ‘The Living Shiva.’ He always sought Baba’s guidance for both personal problems and delicate matters concerning the management of his large estate. The King accepted Baba’s words of guidance as final.

Sitting comfortably erect for meditation, with eyes closed, draw the

breath slowly in, deeply relaxing with each breath. Observing the energy rising through your body with each in-breath. Imagine the breath culminating in your forehead, at the high altar of Divine Omniscience and Omnipotence. Offer all that you are into the rising light within the breath, utterly surrendering yourself at the high altar. Draw its grace down into your fully relaxed and open body with each out-breath. Lose yourself in the energies of the high altar. Before you close your meditation, imagine those energies flowing out through your heart to all the world, blessing every heart, uplifting every life, healing every ill.

Then thank God, Baba, your Guru if you have one, for all the beauty a...

The living Buddhas who have walked the earth, however, have demonstrated the reality of the egoless state. They have

demonstrated too that it is only the egoless, unified being that can lead individuals, society, and the world to any abiding happiness.

“Do it and see. I asked you to perform all actions consciously. Once you become conscious and aware, you will find that your conscience will prevent you from doing harm to yourself or others.”

All evil actions are the result of unconsciousness. If a person becomes fully conscious of anger and its consequences, anger can no longer cast its evil spell either on that person or on the people around him.

Baba says, “The action which brings you a sense of repentance after it is done is a sin, for it throws you into unhappiness. Any action which helps you have more confidence on yourself and creates a happy state of mind is a virtue.” However, Baba says sin and virtue are relative terms; the attitude of mind is the important factor. The consequence of vice is always unhappiness and that of virtue is happiness.

To seekers of truth and bliss Baba gave fruitful instruction.

“If you intend to become spiritual, you must analyze your actions and thoughts each day bef...

You must assess the good actions and the evil actions and come to a firm resolution not to re...

A seeker should try to perform all activities in state of awareness. This is the most important spiritual practice for the spiritual aspirant. Most recurring actions that flow from lust, anger, greed, jealousy and the like manifest only in a state of unawareness. The seeds of ...

Nevertheless, Baba says that unless you take the path of “Vichara,” the path of conscious discrimination of action and thought, you can...

It is only a desireless mind which can take the aspirant to t...