Brahman, Self, Atman, Shiva: India's seers

Unknown story of Mahavatar Babaji

Great Avatar Father-ji

Mahavatar Babaji (Maha = "Great," avatar = "appearance," "vehicle," Baba = "Father," -ji = honorific suffix (Mahāvatāra Bābājī, lit. "Great Avatar (Revered) Father") is the Himalayan Hindu yogi and transcendent guru who taught Kriya Yoga to Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895) [2, 3, a], who was the teacher of Paramahansa Yogananda's teacher.

Babaji first became recognized through the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda, who devoted a chapter of his Autobiography of a Yogi to Babaji and founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), a modern yoga movement with which Babaji is associated [3].

The cave where Babaji met Lahiri Mahasaya, located near Ranikhet, India, is now a tourist attraction and place of pilgrimage [4]: 170.

Read original unaltered 1946 text better than the popular SRF version

• Autobiography of a Yogi | Ananda New York

In popular culture

Mahavatar Babaji gazing up

Mahavatar Babaji was on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [5, 1, 6]. He can also be seen on the cover of George Harrison's 1974 album Dark Horse.

Songwriter Roger Hodgson of English rock band Supertramp composed a song called "Babaji" in reference to Mahavatar Babaji. This song was recorded and released on their 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments [7]...

In Book 3 of Conversations with God (1998) by Neale Donald Walsch, it is mentioned that Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, like the Jesus (St. Issa) legend [8].

The 2002 film Baba featured a fictional encounter with Mahavatar Babaji [4]: 235, 314.  The film was produced by Rajinikanth, a devotee of Babaji [9]. See also this List of Hindu gurus and saints. More

• Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Boating, camping in New York City (video)

Overnight on NYC's tiniest island

Could we recreate Wes' travels on an inflatable in Central Park or would thugs stop us?

.

Waterways of Manhattan, NY

(Wes Wherever) June 28, 2024: Wes is crossing New York's "East River" (which is not a river but actually an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean) for a solo camping mission to the city’s smallest island, U Thant Island as dubbed by Sri Chinmoy, where rats and fish go to die and cormorants to roost. Rooms average $300-400 a night in the Big Apple, and they don’t even have a view!

HELP SUPPORT THE ADVENTURES As an Amazon Associate, Wes gets a small commission with no extra cost to buyers if they purchase from some of these gear links. Thanks for the support. 🙏 Music: Mo Green (buy@mogreen.store, mogreen.store).

Who was Sri Chinmoy?

Indian Guru Sri Chinmoy

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose (Aug. 27, 1931–Oct. 11, 2007), better known as "Sri Chinmoy" [2], was an Indian spiritual guru who taught meditation in the United States after moving to New York City in 1964 [3]. Sri Chinmoy established his first meditation center in Queens, New York, and eventually had 7,000 students in 60 countries [4, 5]. He was an author, artist, poet, and musician; he also held public events such as concerts and meditations on the theme of inner peace [5, 6]. Sri Chinmoy advocated a [Hindu] spiritual path to God [Great Brahma or the Ultimate Brahman] through prayer and meditation. He advocated athleticism including distance running, swimming, and weightlifting. He organized marathons and other races and was an active runner. Following a knee injury, he became a weightlifter [5, 6]. Some ex-members have accused Sri Chinmoy of running a cult [7, 8]. More

The dark and divine side of kundalini yoga

Asangoham, Sept. 26, 2022; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Vanessa (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

WARNING: This is neither the path the Buddha took nor the one he recommended. It does not lead to awakening or Buddhist enlightenment (bodhi and nirvana and the end of all further rebirth and suffering) but rather only to Vedic/Hindu samadhi (a wonderful experience often mistaken for final liberation or Buddhist moksha but far from it). This is also not Guru Nanak and Sikhism's dharma as taught in the West under the brand name Kundalini Yoga, a hazardous mishmash of Ashtanga Yoga limbs, fraudulent Yogi Bhajan inventions tailored to impress Westerners, and cultish nonsense not representative of the Sikh or Hindu religions. See the sex and money scandals of Yogi Bhajan and Guru Jagat as cautionary tales. This discussion of the Eightfold Path of Raja or Ashtanga Yoga within Hinduism, extending to esoteric Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist practices, as these schools are very influenced by Brahmanism and Vedic Hinduism.

The "dark" and "divine" side of kundalini yoga

(Asangoham) The term yoga has its roots in the Sanskrit word yuj, which means "to yoke together, to conjoin."

Hence, yoga implies a spiritual union of the individual consciousness with the all-pervading, universal consciousness, or Brahman (Ultimate Reality behind all maya or "illusion"), according to the Upanishads.

In this way, yoga is the empirical part of religion, says Gopi Krishna in his work, Kundalini: The Secret of Yoga (3).

Of all the different yoga traditions and schools that developed in ancient Vedic times, Kundalini Yoga [the Hindu not Sikh version] is considered to be the most powerful and therefore the most dangerous.

It is part of the Shaiva Tantra system. Kundalini is considered to be a form of sacred feminine energy that lies dormant at the base of the human spine, called the muladhara, coiled like a serpent.

This is pure, formless energy which has immense potential if awakened. Shaiva Tantra calls this "energy" or shakti, Mother Divine, or the formless aspect of the Goddess.

Swami Satyananda Saraswathi, a great master of kundalini yoga and author of Kundalini Tantra says that although one may be generally aware of what yoga is, one requires some kind of awareness of what tantra is in order to appreciate the mysterious working of kundalini yoga.

Tantra says that the range of mental experience can be broadened. With the help of the senses, our mind can have an experience based on an object. There can be an experience within the framework of time, space, and object. But there can also be an experience beyond the framework of time, space, and object.

The second form of experience can happen when the present mind expands beyond its given definitions and borders. When this experience occurs, energy is released from oneself (Saraswati 6).

This concept is the tantric basis of kundalini yoga. The dormant kundalini energy, when awakened, will rise in a spiraling motion up through different energy nexus points in the body called chakras.

The literal meaning of chakra is "circle" or "wheel," but in the context of kundalini tantra, it also connotes a vortex-like motion.

There are many chakras in a human body, but the principal ones within the body are seven. And the highest one, the seventh, is at the crown of the head.

The mind of a worldly person with base desires and passions moves in the muladhara and svadhishthana chakras or energy centers situated near the anus and the reproductive organs respectively.

If one’s mind becomes purified, the mind rises to the manipura chakra, or the center in the navel, and experiences some power and joy.

If the mind becomes more purified, it rises to the anahata chakra, or the center in the heart, experiences bliss, and visualizes the effulgent form of the ishta devata or the "tutelary deity."

When the mind is highly purified, when meditation and devotion become intense and profound, the mind rises to visuddha chakra, or the center in the throat, and experiences more and more powers and bliss.

Even when the mind has reached this center, there is a possibility for it to come down to the lower centers.

#kundaliniyoga #spirituality #chakras #kundaliniawakening

• Voiceover: Surjit Singh
• Script: Shaiju Koottucheradil Chacko
• Editor: Medo
• Score: Epidemic Music

References

1. Halliday, Sandra Tan. Kundalini Yoga: Unlocking the Secrets to Radiant Beauty and Health. Kundalini Research Institute, 2003.

2. Kason, Yvonne. Farther Shores: Exploring How Near-death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives. Harper Collins, 1994.

3. Krishna, Gopal. Kundalini- The Secret of Yoga. F.I.N.D. Research Trust, 2000.

4. - --. Kundalini The Evolutionary Energy in Man. Stuart & Watkins, 1970.

5. Paulson, Genevieve L. Kundalini & the Chakras: Evolution in This Lifetime. Llewellyn Publications, 2002.

6. Rele, Vasant G. The Mysterious Kundalini. D. B. Taraporevala Sons and Co., 1927.

7. Sannella, Lee. Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence?

8. Saraswati, Swami Satyananta. Kundalini Tantra. Yoga Publications Trust, 2002.

9. Swami, Sivananda. Kundalini Yoga. Divine Life Society, 1994.

10. Grant, Kara-Leigh. The Hidden Dangers of a Kundalini Awakening | UPLIFT

DISCLAIMER 01: All ideas expressed on this channel are for entertainment and general information purposes only. There is no advice on what an individual should or should not do. Any response made by anyone after hearing this communication is their interpretation and is his or her own responsibility. Ideas expressed by this channel should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice or professional help. If expert assistance or counselling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

DISCLAIMER 02: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If one is, or represents, the copyright owner of materials used in this video and has an issue with the use of said material, please send an email to doseofquotes02@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2022 Asangoham. All rights reserved.

Rapist? Bikram Yoga's founder a fugitive (video)

Nightline ABC 7 News; CNN; Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The "Trump of Yoga" Bikram Choudhury -- the founder of the phony Bikram "McYoga" system taught to Pres. Nixon (which exacerbates and leads to an imbalance in the pitta dosha or "fiery element" of a person's constitution) -- is now an international fugitive from justice -- too cheap and too proud to pay out after lawsuit.

(CNN, Apr 2, 2015) Bikram yoga founder denies [rape and] sex assault allegations. In part two of this CNN exclusive, Bikram Yoga creator Bikram Choudhury denies allegations of rape and sexual assault by six of his former students.

Stressed out Western capitals love harshness calling it "yoga" when it's not.

• DUMPED BY WIFE: Bikram's wife gets to keep LA and Beverly Hills homes, Ferrari, and Bentley cars in divorce
• VIDEO: Bikram Yoga founder is a hopeless PERVERT
• Bikram asked me to massage his private parts: Yoga instructor Mandeep Sandhu
• New RAPE charges slapped on yoga guru Bikram

(March 15, 2017) Rajashree Choudhury, ex-wife of Bikram, talks on radio

Bikram Yoga founder ordered to pay over $7 million in sexual assault lawsuit

(ABC News, Jan. 27, 2016) Scam businessman, egomaniac, megalomaniac, deluded romantic "guru" Bikram Choudhury is accused of rape. His former legal advisor brought a successful lawsuit against him, but the yoga icon has faced other more shocking allegations in the past.
 

(Nightline)  Sarah Baughn and Larissa Anderson claim Bikram Yoga founder Bikram Choudhury sexually assaulted [or raped] them at his home.

Maniac sells ego in name of "yoga"
Why is Bikram in the USA? Blame it on Republican President Dick Nixon.

"Decoding Deepak" Chopra (trailer)

IndianFilmFestival.org; Gotham Chopra; Wisdom Quarterly

(TheChopraWell) Journalist and filmmaker Gotham Chopra, son of famous Indian guru/American icon Deepak Chopra, spends a year traveling the world decoding his father, resolving the picture of the spiritual icon. Who is Deepak the icon versus the real man known to his family? What starts as an intimate biopic becomes a deep plunge into the meaning of identity itself.

• Screens tonight, April 12th, 8:30 pm, at the 10th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
  

Sathya Sai Baba dies on Easter

Hindu.com

(Namaha)

Satya Sai Baba's Life and Legacy

Sri Sathya Sai Baba passed away at the age of 84 [long before he predicted he would die] in Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, India, on April 24, 2011. In a country that has never been short of self-proclaimed godmen peddling spiritual succor with commercial motives, he stands out as a rare phenomenon:

He was a spiritual leader whose mass following transcended linguistic, national, and religious boundaries. He channeled the fervor and quest of millions of devotees into giving and sharing. He steered clear of divisive political and communal activities all his life.

In the complex spiritual spectrum of modern-day India, Sai Baba may not have been associated with a metaphysical and transcendent philosophy like Sri Aurobindo, or the fervent devotion to the divine that often sent Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa into a trance, or the self-enquiry and non-dualism that made Sri Ramana Maharishi a silent yet eloquent preceptor. But Sai Baba's simple message of love and harmony -- mostly soaked in the language of Hindu philosophy, often in a universal strain -- was enough to draw the masses towards him....

His early reputation was built on a series of miracles such as producing holy ash (vibhuthi) or rings or miniature Shiva lingas [transferring them somewhere seemingly] out of thin air. This invited disdain from rationalists who saw these as nothing more than sleight of hand [as is clear from some YouTube videos]. But there were other controversies as well [alleged pederasty and sexual abuse]. His ardent devotees, on the other hand, saw the miracles as mere expressions of his divine powers, and his teachings and the manner in which he touched their lives as far more important. More

Re-visiting Walden Pond (video)

Thoreau the Buddhist
Rick Fields (How the Swans Came to the Lake, Shambhala)
Thoreau's Walden experiment had as many aspects as the man who lived it. Certainly one of them was to demonstrate how little one really needed to live well. But his primary purpose was to demonstrate something to himself, to "transact some private business with the fewest obstacles. This "private business" was in the nature of what we would call contemplation. Thoreau was constantly tracking his own nature, which to him was not necessarily other than nature itself. His method was quite simple: More>>

George Edward Loper

Henry David Thoreau's woods surrounding Walden Pond in 1996 (george.loper.org)

Transcendentalist Thoreau was a young man with a wild nature, sophisticated, original, unattractive, rustic, with good manners. "But his ugliness is of an honest and agreeable fashion, and becomes him much better than beauty" (Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks).

The Woods at Walden Pond
Fed up with business distractions, Thoreau set out to find some peace and quiet to work on his first book, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Ralph Waldo Emerson (whose constant companion were early translations of Indian spiritual literature) offered him free use of his woodlot along the northern shore of Walden Pond.

While at Walden, Thoreau walked, studied, wrote, traveled about, and even hosted an anti-slavery fair. In 1846, Thoreau stayed in jail overnight for refusing to pay his poll tax as a protest against his state's role in upholding slavery.

In his 1849 essay "Resistance to Civil Government," Thoreau states "I did not for a moment feel confined and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar." Of course, his stay in jail was among the shortest in Middlesex County's history (Carlos Baker, Emerson Among The Eccentrics, p. 269).

Thoreau's Cabin at Walden

Austerity in nature like a Buddhist monastic, he strove to reduce his needs and to work efficiently. "The cost of a thing," says Thoreau, "is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run."

In his essay "Walden" (The Cambridge Companion To Henry David Thoreau edited by Joel Myerson, Cambridge Univ. Press, p. 99), Richard J. Schneider notes that Thoreau's cabin is the antithesis of the fancy homes admired by many New Englanders. More>>

Thoreau said, "Some will chide me for putting my Buddha next to their Christ."

• Punishing Haiti (the first to help slaves)
• Are atheists more religious?
• 5 things to do this weekend in MI (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Eat, Pray, Love. Then What?

Author Elizabeth Gilbert, Gilbert with journey mates, and Julia Roberts as Gilbert.

Mr. Dorje Andersson (WQ Book Reviewer)

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love is a remarkable feel-good read -- particularly for females. Every woman around the office lavished attention on any other female holding a copy. They could not get enough, praise enough, nor (it seemed) envy one another enough. I thought, it's not for me. It's obviously not for any man. But eventually, I browsed through it. I saw her talk about it. (See short video below).

And as with all great spiritual literature, I was drawn in. There is much for a man to be put off by but far more that intrigues. Ms. Gilbert's description of meditation is spot on. Her explanation of the attendant phenomena as kundalini awakens on her trip to India is compact and fascinating. I venture to guess that her guru is a man, yet for the best she leaves her unnamed.

Starting off as a gastronomic journey in Italy, searching for love and fulfillment -- or anything to fill the void after a divorce -- she travels as she goes along a momentous internal journey so many thoughtful people embark on. It is the Heroine's (and Hero's) Journey Siddhartha Gautama is famous for successfully completing. This is a remarkable read, and readers are quickly rewarded with much to learn from this author. And now there's a follow up:

Eat, Pray, Love. Then What? Get [re-]Married.
Motoko Rich (NY Times, Aug. 20, 2009)

A year after completely scrapping a 500-page follow-up to “Eat, Pray, Love,” Elizabeth Gilbert has delivered a new book that Viking will publish in January.

Titled “Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage,” the book is a memoir of a tumultuous year that came 18 months after “Eat, Pray, Love” leaves off, as well as a meditation on wedlock.

Ms. Gilbert, 40, said the book, which recounts how she came to marry the Brazilian-born Australian lover she met in Indonesia in “Eat, Pray, Love,” was not just a straightforward memoir of what happened and how she felt about it. More>>

Elizabeth Gilbert Takes On Marriage
Catherine Strawn (Aug. 21, 2009)
Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, was published in 2006, and her followup book was touted in the back of at least 200,000 copies of the book.

Tentatively titled Weddings and Evictions, it was described as a memoir about Gilbert’s “unexpected journey into second marriage” and was supposed to hit shelves in 2009. But Gilbert scrapped her 500-page draft of the book and told her publisher she needed more time. What she had wasn’t working.

Because Eat, Pray, Love had been such a huge success, staying in the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list for 57 weeks, Viking wanted the followup to come out as quickly as possible. But her editor gave her another year, and this second draft, now called Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage will be published in January.

The delay wasn’t such a bad idea, in my opinion, since “Eat, Pray, Love,” the movie version starring Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup, and Javier Bardem, is currently filming in New York City, and Gilbert is back on everyone’s minds. More>>

Buddhism through Indian engineering

Scheduled event dates run between January 21 and February 17, 2009 (www.ishafoundation.org).

The ancient masters of India taught an "inner engineering" through the eight limbs of yoga. The Buddha brought this to perfection -- going beyond samadhi (purification by the temporary suppression of mental defilements) to enlightening insight (purification by permanent transformation of the heart). Yogis like Vasudev Sadhguru teach the preliminaries to bring forth well being. Buddhism completes the process of inner transformation.