English - 9880062706
Hindi - 9902062706
English - 9880062706
Hindi - 9902062706
Heard about the immortal master of the Himalayan? Aged over several thousand years but ever youthful, he is a great server and saviour of humanity, has every power, travels by mere thought, and manifests anything needed from the air and still stays in his physical body youthfully like a twenty-five old youth guiding matured, aged Saadhus, sanyasins and seers seated around the great master!!!
The Upanishads have minutely classified every stage of spiritual advancement. A Siddha (perfected being) has progressed from the state of a jivanmukta (“freed while living”) to that of a paramukta (supremely free - full power over death); the later has completely escaped from the mayic thralldom and its reincarnational round. The paramukta, therefore, seldom returns to a physical body; if he does return, he is an Avatar, a divinely appointed medium of supernal blessing, on the world. An avatar is unsubject to the universal economy, his pure body, visible as a light image, is free from any debt to Nature.
Babaji Nagaraj is the present sage or the Himalayan seer who is spreading the message of unconditional universal love and works of the Yoga Siddhas. Babaji’s mission in India has been to assist prophets in carrying out their special dispensations. He thus qualifies for the spiritual classification Mahavatar (Great Avatar). Babaji has stated that he gave Kriya Yoga initiation to Sankara [2] and Kabir, famous medieval master. Lahiri Mahasaya was the revivalist of the lost Kriya art in the 19th century. Babaji was very much present besides the manger when Christ took birth.
The Himalayan Master Babaji’s spiritual state is beyond human comprehension. The dwarfed vision of man cannot pierce to his transcendental star. One would attempt in vain even to picture the avatar’s attainment. It is inconceivable. However, if one can meditate upon the adorable effulgence of the glowing immortal Great Master;
Babaji will illumine his intellect and whole life. By just repeating Babaji’s name with reverence, one receives the spiritual blessings of Babaji. Just try to hear “the truth” by approaching a spiritual master.
Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen “the truth”
In the year 562 B.C on the Tamil month of Karthigai, when Moon was transiting Karkataka rashi at 140-48’ Babaji was born in Parangi Pettai “Porto Nova” now a small village near Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, South India [3]. Babaji was named Nagaraj by his devout parents, which means king of serpents. Nagaraj’s father was a temple priest at the local Shivan Koil (Shiva temple). In the background of dedicated and devout priestly duties of his father the early formative years of child Nagaraj was greatly influenced by the spiritual practices, public ceremonies and festivities associated with temple.
Parangi Pettai is situated 7 kilometers from Chidambaram, one of the greatest pilgrimage centres of Southern India, which has Akash as the Tatwa / primordial element. Chidambaram derives the name Chit Ambaram, which literally means the sky permeated with an atmosphere of intelligence and wisdom. Lord Nataraja is supposed have emerged from the sacred space, ether and performed his cosmic dance before his two devotees, Vyaghrapada and Pathanjali. This is the place where great Siddha Thirvmooolar attained Soruba Samadhi thousands of years ago. Chidambaram has thus become surcharged with the spiritual vibrations of this experience to millions of devout pilgrims from those times. Needless to say that Nagaraj’s pilgrimages to Chidambaram along with his parents added a new impetus to his spiritual growth.
Once when Nagaraj was a young lad of 4 or 5 years, his mother procured a jackfruit and left it in the care of Nagaraj. It was Nagaraj’s favourite fruit. When she left the house on some errand, Nagaraj relished and ate the entire fruit. On her return, his mother noticed that the entire jackfruit had been eaten. She flew into a blind rage and stuffed a cloth down Nagaraj’s mouth, almost suffocating him and killing him. Nagaraj though a young lad forgave his mother and thanked God for showing him that she was to be loved unconditionally without attachment or illusion.
One day when Nagaraj was over five years old, he was standing near the Shiva temple watching the crowd gathered for a religious ceremony. A foreigner rogue from Baluchistan suddenly seized the child and carried with him. Seeing the potential of the child, for sale as a slave, due the handsome features of the young boy, he took Nagaraj in a sailboat northwards by sea for more than a thousand miles. They reached a port, which could be the modern Kolkata. There he was sold to a wealthy man. The man who purchased Babaji being kind hearted freed him soon thereafter. Thus Babaji Nagaraj was set free from the duties and limitations of a householder. Then he never returned home.
Like many sanyasins and renunciaters, Nagaraj becomes wandering Saadhu, by joining a small group of wandering sanyasins. He studied the sacred scriptures of India, such as the Vedas, the Upanishads, the epics Mahabharatha, the Ramayana, and the Bhagawad Gita. Soon grew as a scholar and his reputation reached far and wide. He was often invited to debate with other pundits and leaders belonging to various metaphysical schools of thought. The young Nagaraj could clarify points and resolve disputes with such erudition that astonished everyone.
Nagaraj was conscious that his erudition did not take him anywhere closer to self-realization. His dissatisfaction grew by the day and as the days passed, he understood that a permanent change in consciousness was required to bring in fulfillment. He was thirst to get enlightened. But alas, he had no Guru or any method to help him reach his goal.
A little was known about Siddhas and their Kriya yoga tradition. The Siddhas number about 18 and were concentrated in many part of India, more particularly in present Tamil Nadu, still influencing the entire universe. They attained a state of perfection called as “Soruba Samadhi”. The state of perfection, which the Siddha Yogis or the Yoga Siddhas have attained, is due to their penance, magnanimous in selfless contributions and their unique life style. For the Siddhas addressing Shiva, Krishna, Vishnu, Shanmuga, Shakthi or Christ, or Allah so on and so forth are one and the same.
Shiva Purana describes the way Lord Shiva meditates on Mount Kailash since time immemorial. Shiva is worshipped by the Yogis as Lord, and by all the Gods as the supreme Lord. It is said that the history of the Siddha tradition has begun millions of years ago. Lord Shiva initiated Parvathi Devi into Kriya Kundalini pranayama, the scientific art of mastering the breath, in a huge cave at Amarnath in the Kashmir Himalayas (Ramaiah, 1968, p. 108). Siddhas are those who concentrate and hold their breath in the mooladhara, navel, heart, middle of stomach, neck, hairs and raise the Kundalini power.Later Yogi Shiva initiated others, including the Siddhas Agastya, Nandi Devar and Thirumoolar on Mount Kailash. Subsequently Agastya initiated Babaji into Kriya Kundalini pranayama.
The ancient Siddhas had realized that the divine would also descend further into lower planes of consciousness viz., the intellectual, mental, vital, and physical bodies. They become the virtual embodiment of the ultimate Divinity. Such a state is very difficult to be conceptualized by our limited intellect. The Siddhas discovered that through a complete surrender of their being, their ego, and their very lives, the Divinity would in some exceptional cases descend and completely transform them down to their very cells. This transformation was speed up by the intensive practice of various Kriyas, including hatha yoga asanas, meditation, mantras and bhakti yogas, but above all the Kriya Kundalini Pranayama.
According to the traditions and in particular, there are eighteen Siddhas who attained perfection, which included their spiritual, intellectual, mental, vital and physical bodies. The names of these eighteen Siddhas vary according to different sources. This could be due to the fact that each is given the name of the place where they have attained the state of perfection and also it was customary to call them in several names as was in practice since several centuries. Apart from these eighteen Siddhas, popularly known as “Pathinettu Siddhargal”, there are many others like Konkeyar, Punnakeesar, Pulastiyar, Poonaikannar, Pulipanni, Kalangi, Aluganni, Agapaiyer, Theraiyar, Roma Rishi, and Avvai.
A state of being one with the universe and bringing back the universe within themselves is an act only possible for elevated souls. Siddha means an adept or one who attained perfection or “Siddhi”. The 18 Siddhas attained perfection, which included their spiritual, intellectual, mental, vital and physical bodies. Just as a salt doll dissolves and merges into the oceans, the Siddhas have thrown their personality into the ocean of God or the ultimate reality within, and experienced a progressive transformation of their intellectual, mental, vital and physical sheaths. Thus a divine transformation of their entire human nature takes place after attaining such a unique realization. This unique realization is possible only through the Grace of God and the techniques used by the Siddhas to prepare their flesh and lower bodies for the descent of the divinity. These techniques are collectively known as Kriya Yoga Siddhantha.
At the age of eleven, along with a group of scholar ascetics from Banaras, young Nagaraj made an arduous journey on foot and partly by boat to the sacred shrine of Kathirgamam.
The famous sacred temple at Kathirgamam in southern most tip of the Sri Lanka is a Shanmuga shrine, which is most revered place of worship for Hindus and Buddhists, and off late to Muslims. Centuries ago Gowthama Buddha took a long pilgrimage to the above shrine. This temple established by Siddha Boganathar contains no carved image of God. The Siddha Boganathar had only installed a Mystic-Yantra (Geometrical symbol) carved into gold plate, representing within its form and mantra syllables, a crystallization of great deity Shanmuga. Siddha Boganathar imparted the mystic power of this Yantra for the benefit of all those who seek the blessings of lord Shanmuga. Down through the centuries Kathirgamam has been the scene of miracles to millions. The Kathirgamam shrine is deep inside the forest, beside the river Manika Ganga. From a very long time Saints, Sages and Siddhas of yore practiced severe austerities and one can imagine how the place would be filled with their vibrations.
Babaji Nagaraj met the Great Siddha Boganathar and became his disciple. Boganathar was the grandson of famous immortal Siddha Thirumoolar. After initiation from Boganathar, Nagaraj performed intensive yoga sadhanas, particularly various “dhyana kriyas” under Bogar’s guidance. The penance was done for long period without a break and gradually intensified. On looking at the devotion and dedication at which Babaji Nagaraj performed the penance, Bogar also further initiated his sincere disciple into more advanced kriyas. His consciousness expanded and Babaji Nagaraj realized the divinity within him. His consciousness merged in the cosmic spirit. The Samadhi experiences gradually deepened over the months and climaxed with a vision of Lord Kumaraswamy or Shanmuga. Babaji realized that he was incarnating the consciousness of Lord Shanmuga. Under Boganathar’s guidance, Babaji delved into the mysteries of the ten systems of sanathana philosophy to understand and appreciate the full significance of Siddhanta of the Siddhas.
Babaji was inspired by Bogar’s advice to seek out the powerful sage and Siddha Agasthya for his further initiation into Kriya Kundalini Pranayama. Sage Agasthya was at Courtrallam in the Pothigai hills of Tamil Nadu.
Babaji moved to Courtrallam on foot and on arriving there resolved to remain at that place until Agasthya initiated him into the secrets of yoga. Babaji adopted a suitable asana, and began to pray for the appearance of the great sage. He was fed at times by the pilgrims. He never left the place, in spite of the forces of nature like rain, shine, dust, insect bites etc., He prayed with great fervour and patience by surrendering his life to God. On the 48th day, when he was whiskers away from complete collapse, he fervently repeated the sage Agasthya’s name. No sooner the message reached the Sage telepathically, than he was by his disciple’s side immediately. Babaji Nagaraj’s love & fervour melted the heart of the Siddha. Agastya embraced Nagaraj, fed him and later imitated him into Kriya Kundali Pranayama or “Vasi Yoga”.
Siddha Agastya was in total control of the entire southern India. He was the savior and guardian. On the instruction of lord Shiva Siddha Agastya stays in southern India, near Kanyakumai. The Himalayas were so tall that the shadow engulfs the entire south making it dark. So Sage Agastya turns his journey towards north. On seeing Siddha, the Himalaya bends to half and bows its head to pay tributes to the sage. Sage Agastya blesses Himalaya to remain as such, and hence the height of Himalayas reduces to the present height [4].
Sage Agastya, after giving due emphasis to the strict conditions under which it was to be practiced and its potential for awakening the higher levels of consciousness, enlightenment, and the ultimate transformation of the Pancha Koshas, directed Babaji to go to Badrinath in the upper ranges of the Himalayas.
Badrinath is in the Himalayan Mountains at a height of 10,243’ above MSL a few miles south of the border of present Tibet. It lies at the confluence of the Rishi Ganga and Alaknanda Rivers. Heavy snowing at about mid October causes people to move out of Badrinath. Only the most courageous of yogis can live in Badrinath then. The place is sanctified by the presence of the hermitages of many sages, Rishis, Yogis and Siddhas as well as a temple dedicated to Sri Badrinarayan or Lord Vishnu.
Adi Shankara re-enshrined the image of Lord Vishnu, which lay asleep in the NaradKund Lake. Pilgrimages are under taken to Badrinath to overcome evil karmas and also to attain Moksha (liberation) from the cycle of births and deaths.
As per the directions of Agastya, Babaji moved to Badrinath and spent 18 months practicing intensively all the Kriya yoga techniques taught to him by his gurus Boganathar and Agasthya.
After 18 months of rigorous yoga Sadhana, Babaji entered a state of Soruba Samadhi, wherein the Absolute Divinity descended, merged with and transformed the spiritual, intellectual, mental, vital as well as the physical bodies. From then on, Babaji’s physical body ceased to age and sparkled with a golden luster of divine incorruptibility.
Babaji and the 18 Siddha traditions by M Govindan
Note: [2] Babaji has revealed to Dr. N Rajgopal that he gave Kriya Yoga initiation to Abhinava Sankara and not to Sri Adi Sankaracharya. Abhinava Sankara was the Guru of Kamakoti peeta and the 38th in succession to Sri Adi Sankara. Abhinava Sankara, a very learned and pious man, was born in 788 A.D in the cyclic year of Vibhava, solar month Vrishabha, on the 10th day of Shukla Paksha. It is said that like Adi Sankara, Abhinava Sankara also traveled length and breath of India, held discussions with learned men and intellectually conquered many of them. He left his body in A.D 839 – Notable Horoscopes by Dr. B V Raman.
Note: [3] Babaji’s divine revelation to Dr. N Rajgopal
Note: [4] Babaji’s divine revelation to Dr. N Rajgopal
