Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogi's Autobiography

by Sri. M

Babaji (father), as I called my teacher, often said, ‘Keep things simple and direct. No mumbo jumbo. Live in the world like anybody else. Greatness is never advertised. Those who come close, discover it themselves. Be an example to your friends and associates of how you can live in this world happily and, at the same time, tune in to the abundant energy and glory of the infinite consciousness.’

I also understood the value of food and was taught to cook for the first time. The food could be very simple, but it had to be perfect. No compromises—from cutting the vegetables properly to boiling just enough. ‘If you cannot cut your vegetables properly or cook your rice to perfection, how on earth are you going to seek the ultimate perfection,’ Babaji said to me once. ‘It is like the man who speaks lies day and night, and says he is seeking the Ultimate Truth, Satya. Don’t politicians swear by Truth? Satyameva Jayate’—Truth Alone Triumphs. ‘Begin with perfecting your daily life. That’s the way to perfection.’

In ancient times, there were no matchboxes. To produce fire, one went through the elaborate ritual of rubbing dry sticks together with invocations to the fire god. When the spark appeared, it was indeed a miracle. Where was this fire before it manifested, asked the ancient thinkers. Surely, it was hidden in the wood always and needed the right conditions to manifest. So, fire became a symbol of the spirit, all pervading, yet manifesting only under certain conditions. ‘Another reason fire was used as a symbol of the spirit, is that fire always burns upwards. Try holding the firewood downwards, the flames always move upwards. Also, just one spark is enough to set a whole forest on fire. You can light a thousand candles from one flame with no loss to the original mother flame. What better symbol of the spirit? ‘When it turns destroyer, it burns everything to ashes, reduces everything to dust. The sacred fire of love and compassion burns all self-centredness to ashes. The ascetics apply ashes on their bodies, to show how they are free of limitations. ‘It is not only the visible fire which is called Agni. All forms of combustion are Agni. Even the catabolic and anabolic processes that sustain the human body are called the digestive fires; as also, the fire of desire, higher or lower.

‘I concede that one needs certain qualities to qualify as a student of the Upanishads: a clear, unprejudiced mind, sufficient intellectual capacity, and a sound body. A sick person does not have the energy to persist with such deep enquiry as is required in this process of self-study. Nor does an ailing body have the quality of patience, a great deal of which is required in this search. Therefore, the practice of yoga, a proper and healthy diet, and a certain peaceful mode of being is essential.’

but no teacher is better than a wrong teacher. The job of a teacher is to guide, not make the student dependent on him eternally. A spiritual teacher should guide the student to attain that level of knowledge and realisation at which he can stand on his own feet. Independence, Swatantrya, is the soul of the Vedantic teaching.

‘So now, when I say Upanishads, I mean the eleven principal Upanishads which are the earliest: the Isavasya, the Kena, the Chandogya, the Brihadaranyaka, the Mundaka, the Mandukya, the Katha, the Prashna, the Svetashvatara, the Aitareya and the Taittiríya.

‘The ordinarily wandering mind should learn to “shad”, sit—the last syllable of the word Upa-ni-shad, which means, all unnecessary movement of thought has to cease and in that restful moment of the otherwise constantly agitated mind, that which is beyond the confines of thought, is revealed.

‘The Kena Upanishad which belongs to the Sama Veda says, “That, which the mind cannot conceive but to which the mind owes its very existence, know O! disciple, that alone is the Brahman, the Truth; nothing that you worship here.”

‘Guidance does not depend on the physical body. Also, don’t get attached so much to this body. The aim of all your training is to make you independent. You should stand on your own feet. Even dependence on a guru is an obstacle. Be free.’

“Sri Gurubhyo Namah.” Anyone who chants that with attention and humility is immediately blessed by Sri Guru Babaji.’

‘As you watch, you will become one with the flow of universal life that has no limits. Don’t imagine anything. Just observe with an open mind, and have no fixed goal. “Let go and rejoice,” as the Isa Upanishad says. Tena Tyaktena Bhunjitha.’

The tantric dictum, “Yogo Bhoga Yathae” is based on the fact that sometimes you cannot get rid of an obsession without indulging it.

‘If you can meditate perfectly for thirteen years, for thirteen hours a day, but cannot hear the cry of pain of a living being in distress, all your thirteen years of meditation have been wasted. If meditation has not softened your heart, throw it out of the window. It’s of no use.’

“Truth” cannot be something in the past. It is the “eternal present”, and therefore, cannot be stored in the memory, which is a thing of the past, the dead past. “Truth”, on the other hand is in the present, the now, eternally flowing, pulsating with life, and therefore, cannot be touched by knowledge.

‘All the different theories and practices are moulds into which the shapeless, pliable, virgin material needs to be put in to bring about some order. But remember, you cannot take the product out until you break the mould.’ ‘So, the mould is necessary, and so also, the breaking of it ultimately.

The whole idea of the spiritual teachings is to make you truly independent, and therefore, free. The yogi whose consciousness has broken free from the cage of the limited self, needs no crutches, not even that of a guru.’

The deeper the humility with which we conduct ourselves, the better it is for us. Everything that is offered to others is really an offering to the One Self. Not to desire anything extraneous to one’s self is Vairagya or dispassion. To hold on to one’s true Self is Jnana or Enlightenment. Vairagya and Jnana are the same. Everyone must dive deep into himself and realise the precious Atman. God and Guru are one. He that has earned the grace of the Guru shall never be forsaken but the disciple should…

Shiva is represented as Ardhanarishvara, his left side representing female energy, and the right representing Shiva in his male aspect. This, Babaji had said, is a symbol of the perfect yogi, who balances male and female characteristics in himself, brought about by the conjoining of the ida and pingala energies on both sides of the spine, thereby opening the central channel called the shushumna in the cerebrospinal system. The enlightened yogi was one whose central channel was open, so that the great creative energy, Shakti, could without obstruction dance up towards the supreme presence, Shiva, to be embraced by him at the crown chakra. This union of great ecstasy transformed man into a superman, with greatly expanded consciousness.