Blessings of Bhole Bābā

01

by Svāmī Fakīrānand (Svāmījī)

Original: Hindi, by Svāmī Fakīrānand — disciple of Śrī Haiḍākhān Bābājī

Italian: Natascia Valentini ("Tara bianca")

Italian to English: this library, 2026

The līlās of Bhagavān Śrī Haiḍākhān Bābā of the 1970–1984 manifestation, told by one who was

there — with Svāmījī's own life, from his birth at Dhanyān in 1912.

'Om Namaḥ Śivāya'

IN GRATITUDE TO THE LORD

The supreme God manifests from time to time in human form, for the salvation of mankind and for the guidance of His devotees. In our own day Lord Śiva manifested as Haiḍākhān Bābā (the Bābā of Haiḍākhān) for a very short span of time, from 17 June 1970 to 14 February 1984. Bābājī poured out the blessings of divine knowledge. He led His devotees to walk the path of Truth, Simplicity and Love, to practise Karma Yoga, and to chant the mightiest of all mantras, Om Namaḥ Śivāya (Oṁ, obeisance to Śiva). Because of this, devotees to this day are enjoying the fruits of material life as well as of spiritual life. Anyone may come to know it for himself, once he has read this book.

Śrī 1008 Mahāprabhu, Bhagavān Haiḍākhān, attained mahāsamādhi (a great soul's final, conscious leaving of the body) on 14 February 1984. He appointed Śrī Mahāmunirāj to lead the Haiḍākhāṇḍī Samāj, in worldly matters as well as in spiritual ones. Śrī Viṣṇudatt Miśra — a Śāstrī and 'Āchārya', a graduate in Sanskrit, formerly 'Rāj Guru' (guru to the princely family of Jaipur), living at Rājgarh, Alvar, Rājasthān — was inspired to take Śrī Munirāj as his guru, on the understanding that all work and all ceremonies would be carried out under Munirāj's guidance and direction.

Munirāj visited many places in India and abroad, and performed yajña (the fire-offering), pūjā (worship), satsaṅg (holy company) and other rites for the good of the devotees. He installed many images of Bābājī and of Mā Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī, both in India and overseas. By the grace of Bābājī, Munirāj was able to found new āśrams (hermitages; the homes of a spiritual community) in many countries of the world. He renounced all worldly greatness and was wholly absorbed in the lotus feet of Bābājī.

By the matchless blessings of the Lord, Śrī Viṣṇudatt Miśra (Śāstrījī — "the scholar of the scriptures") and I passed thirteen years together at the lotus feet of Haiḍākhān Bābā. It became possible to write of the līlās (divine play — the Lord's acts in the world) and of the divine blessings that Bābājī bestowed upon mankind, and to set them down as testimony, only through the encouragement and the inspiration I received from Śāstrījī. With His own hands Bābājī installed the image of Śāstrījī in a temple at Dhanyān Mokṣa Dhām Āśram (Almoṛā district), and honoured him with the title 'Ved Vyās' — the sage who set down the sacred scriptures of Sanātan Dharma.

Later there was Śrī Prahlād Bhāī Pāṭhak, a former commissioner from Ahmedābād, Gujarāt, in India, a great yogī and a scholar of the Vedas. In meditation he could see all the deities as plainly as with the naked eye. He would be so absorbed in them that afterwards he could not recall whether or not he had bathed or eaten. This great ascetic of the first rank inspired me to follow his path, and made it possible for me to gather the divine blessings of Bhole Bābā (the Guileless One — a name of Śiva) into the form of this book. To that yogī I remain forever grateful. During the pilgrimage of the Chār Dhām (the four sacred shrines) in the Himālaya, Bābājī made him understand, at Gaṅgotrī, that devotion is the highest form of divine knowledge.

For many years I waited eagerly for some scholar of spiritual bent to come and gather the Blessings of Bhole Bābā into the form of a book, so that the divine message might reach places far and near, for the welfare and the sustaining of mankind.

It was Bābājī Himself who sent Dr Gopāl Prasād Pāṭhak, M.A. (English, Hindi and Sanskrit) and Ph.D., from Lohvan, Mathurā, U.P., to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām, to carry out this work and to lift from me my anxiety over the book. Dr Gopāl Prasād Pāṭhak compiled it with the most sincere effort, with dedication, with selfless devotion and without the least prejudice. Despite his many commitments he spared his precious time for the task. He came to Haiḍākhān Dhām from time to time to consult me. Dr Pāṭhak is kind-hearted, a true servant of God; he is devotion itself made flesh. Almighty God dwells always in the hearts of such men, and rewards them by appearing in their visions.

Bhole Bābā rewarded Dr Prasād by appearing before his bodily sight, together with Mahendra Mahārāj, at Haiḍākhān in His latest form.

Svāmī Fakīrānand

INTRODUCTION

Blessings of Bhole Bābā is an excellent collection made by Svāmī Fakīrānand. In it Svāmījī has set down divine līlās of Bābājī that have never before been published in any literature. We were stirred as we read the miraculous events of Bābājī's līlā, and felt the blessings He gave to mankind.

Svāmījī has set forth and preached the practical principles of dhyāna (concentration, or meditation), and the beautiful effects of reciting the mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya. The importance of japa (repetition of a sacred name) is rightly marked in the Rāmcharitmānas, thus:

Mantra jāp mama dṛḍha viśvāsā!

Pañcham bhajan so ved prakāśā!!

(The repetition of My mantra, with firm faith in Me, is the fifth form of devotion, as declared in the sacred Vedas.)

The worship of God through this fifth form, Mantra Japa, is not easy. It becomes possible only by the blessings of the wise and holy. Lord Rāma described the company of saints as the first form of devotion.

Svāmī Fakīrānandjī is an eminent saint and devotee. He stands above all worldly care, above malice and above enmity. He is that devotee of rare wisdom whom Lord Kṛṣṇa described. The japa of various mantras, and the full recitation of the Durgā Saptaśatī (the sacred book in praise of the Goddess Durgā), are part of his daily round. Before leaving this world, Bābājī blessed Svāmījī and empowered him, sending mighty waves of divine light into his body. This enabled Svāmījī to cure diseases both curable and incurable. In this fearful world he is able to set men free from evil spirits and to drive them away. With the divine power Bābājī gave him, he has lifted many an ailing patient out of pain and agony. He has blessed the childless with children through the Putreṣṭi Yajña, the fire-offering made to obtain a child, and has enlightened many people with divine knowledge. Through Svāmījī, many devotees have had the darśan (the blessing of seeing, and being seen by, the holy one) of Lord Śiva and of other deities.

Svāmījī removed the obstacles and enabled devotees to have the darśan of Bābājī, simply by giving them the jhāṛā (the rite of sweeping a bunch of peacock feathers over the body). So the devotees are blessed, by the grace of Bābājī and the inspiration of Svāmījī. I have read the forty-eight letters that reached Svāmījī over a period of years, from devotees in India and abroad, describing the blessings of Bābājī that came to them through Svāmījī and through his intense yogic practice. These letters, full of teaching and guidance, are published in this book, together with the divine līlās of Bābājī during His different manifestations.

Dr Gopāl Prasād Pāṭhak

Śrī Mahendrālaya, Lohvan

Mathurā, U.P., India

He whose every undertaking is free from desire and from worldly thought, whose actions are burnt up in the fire of wisdom — him also the wise call a sage.

Bhagavad Gītā

WHY THIS BOOK?

Almighty God has made this universe a stage. According to its deeds (karma), the jīv (the individual soul) comes into the world and becomes an actor upon the world's stage. A man is born empty-handed and goes empty-handed. Performing many deeds in his life, he enjoys or suffers the fruits of his karma, and leaves behind him either the fragrance of virtue or the foul mark of wickedness and sin.

On coming into this world, the jīv forgets the blessed supreme Power. He spends his childhood in play and his youth in the pleasures of lust, and loses his true worth. He robs himself of a healthy body with forbidden food, with drugs and with liquor. He takes to lying and falsehood, and drifts without a rudder. So he loses his bodily strength and his powers of mind, and leaves this world when death lays its hand upon him.

To live through this materialistic world we must make our character strong, truthful and simple, with clean habits of eating and a strict daily routine. We must not cheat ourselves, nor the body in which our soul dwells. Only then will the soul move us to be worthy of God, to save mankind and to love our country. An attitude of readiness to help others would lead us to a wholesome and spiritual path.

Truth is the form of God. It puts out shoots of a gentle, carefree spirit within a man. Simplicity and love help to cement the bond between one human being and another — within the family, between brother and sister, husband and wife, disciple and teacher, between friends, and so on. Bābājī, the very embodiment of Truth, Simplicity and Love, in visible existence (in human form) and in invisible, has always blessed mankind and lifted it out of physical and mental agony. It is true and certain that those who read and recite the blessings of Bābājī will be raised up spiritually and delivered from bodily suffering.

The aim of this book is to move its readers to delight in these blessed events, sermons and incidents, which tell of blessings full of love and devotion towards the supreme Father, and so to receive their benefit. The great saint of Uttarāñchal, Nīm Karolī Bābā, said that whoever reads and follows the teachings of Bābā Haiḍākhān will become healthy and prosperous, and will be drawn towards the spiritual world. By repeated study of the Haiḍākhāṇḍī literature, and by contemplation, readers will be blessed in every sphere of life.

Svāmī Fakīrānand

For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of the wicked, and to establish Dharma (righteousness) upon a firm foundation, I am born in age after age.

Bhagavad Gītā

THE COMING OF BHOLE BĀBĀ

The fourth manifestation of Haiḍākhān Bābā became famous under the name Bhole Bābā. Bābājī appeared as a young boy on 17 June 1970 at Haiḍākhān, and re-established the dhūnī (the sacred fire kept ever burning). From Haiḍākhān He went to Siddheśvar for one night, and returned. Before Navrātra He went to Kūrmāñchal Kailāś, where thousands of people received His darśan. The radiance of His divine figure, and His way of speaking, drew many people to Him. Whoever came before Bābājī was blessed for the rest of his life.

Lord Śiva manifested Himself in human form for the welfare of mankind.

In a very short time the great saint of Haiḍākhān became known as one who fulfilled the desires brought before Him. It was my special privilege to have witnessed all four manifestations of Bābājī. They were Lama Bābā, Munīndra Bābā, Brahmachārī Bābā and Bhole Bābā. Disciples of every religion came to serve Him, and all of them were blessed, without any distinction.

The venerable Mahendra Mahārāj, in his compositions, described Bābā Haiḍākhān as a manifestation of Lord Sāmba Sadāśiva (Śiva together with Ambā, His Śakti). Among the special devotees of Bābā Haiḍākhān, Mahendra Mahārāj wrote of Ṭhākur Guman Siṃh Naulā, Śiromaṇi Pāṭhak and Śyāmā Charaṇ Lāhiṛī. The close devotees and disciples never made any distinction between Bābā Haiḍākhān and Mahendra Mahārāj. They held the two to be manifestations of one and the same Lord. The chief ground of this belief was the prophecy of Mahendra Mahārāj himself: that Haiḍākhān Bābā would manifest one year and four months after his own mahāsamādhi.

Haiḍākhān Bābā is known by many names — Śiv Bābā, Mahāvatār Bābā, Mahāmunīndra Bābā, Tryambak Bābā, Brahmachārī Bābā, Bhole Bābā and others. Viṣṇudatt Miśra (Śāstrījī, Viśvāchārya); Girdhārīlāl, Civil Judge of Bharatpur; Jagdīś Prasād Śarmā of Ajmer; Jīvan Chandra Jośī of Almoṛā; Dr Hem Chandra Jośī of Pithorāgaṛh — these and many other scholars and learned men have set down in their writings their own experiences of Bābājī's divine powers, and the divine līlās of His different manifestations.

All these scholars come to one conclusion. Bābājī descends upon the earth to lift mankind out of its pains and sorrows by His supernatural powers, and to inspire human beings to walk the path of truth, love and simplicity.

BHOLE BĀBĀ AT VṚNDĀVAN

On the fourteenth anniversary of Bābājī's appearance at Kāṭhgharia Āśram — the appearance fell on Phālgun Śukla Chaturthī, Vikram Saṃvat 2014 — the preparations were at their height. On that particular day everyone longed for Bābājī to come to Vṛndāvan.

After many requests and entreaties Bābājī came on Phālgun Chaturthī to Vṛndāvan Dhām, to Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj. With Him were Miśrīlāl Gupta, Devkī Nandan, Jīvan Chandra Jośī and a great many other devotees from Kūrmāñchal. Ṛṣirāj Baṅkelāl Pāṭhak welcomed Bābājī with ārtī, pañchopachār pūjan (worship with the five offerings) and abhiṣek. A procession then passed through every quarter of Vṛndāvan, Bābājī riding upon a decorated elephant.

A great number of devotees gathered and together performed the 'Pañch Dravya' bathing — an abhiṣek with five liquids: milk, curd, honey, ghee and Gaṅgājal. The devotees, firm in their faith in Śiva, worshipped Bābājī in the form of the liṅga. On that occasion the managers of Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj handed over the running of the āśram to Bābājī.

When the ceremonies were over, Bābājī went for parikramā (circumambulation) in a pālkī (palanquin). In the village of Lohban He was received by Hubbā Lāl, Hīrālāl Pāṭhak and Devīcharaṇ Rāvat. Every place Bābājī visited became holy, and prospered.

After Lohban, Bābājī visited the village of Bhainsa, then Madhuvan, and many villages besides. At Bhainsa He was welcomed by Chetrām Śarmā with the members of his family, and by Ghyāsīrām Pāṭhak. At Madhuvan, Mākhanlāl received Bābājī, washed His feet and took the charaṇāmṛt (the sacred water of the washing).

THE RENOVATION OF SĀMBA SADĀŚIVA KUÑJ

Bābājī stayed at Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj and had it renovated. An idol of Śrī Haiḍākhān-vāle Bābā, in His earlier form, was re-established in a newly built temple. Beside it Bābājī installed a beautiful idol of Mahendra Mahārāj. The first floor also was raised under Bābājī's own supervision. During His stay He arranged many a yajña and bhaṇḍārā. With a great many devotees Bābājī also arranged the immersion of the sacred ashes of Śrī Mahendra Mahārāj, which had been kept in a copper urn, in the holy waters of the Gaṅgā at Banāras.

While He was living at Vṛndāvan, Bābājī visited many towns and villages at the invitation of devotees, for their good and their spiritual rising. He went to Delhi, Gwalior, Patna, Ahmedabad, Nāsik, Mumbai, Banāras, Allahabad and Guwahati. At the houses of devotees Bābājī performed yajñas, religious rites, worship and the recitation of the Devī Bhāgavat. Devotees such as Viṣṇudatt Miśra (Śāstrījī), Śrī Munirāj (Trilok Siṃh) and Śrī Mahant Bābā (Dr V. P. Tivārī) had the fullest opportunity of being with Bābājī on these journeys. Śāstrījī set down the whole account of the visits — Bābājī's virtues, His divine līlās and the rites performed — in verse, in his book Śrī Sāmba Sadāśiva Charitāmṛt.

Jyoti jagat bich jag rahi re, jayati jag dhum machi re.

Prabhu karan kripa hi deh dhari re, sukh karan dalan dukh bhranti hari re.

O jīvas (embodied souls) of the world! The kindled light of Śrī Sadguru shines out everywhere. The thunder of His victorious acclaim spreads into every part of the world. Thou hast taken a body for the jīvas of the world alone. Thy coming uproots anguish and false understanding, and is meant for our well-being.

— Śrī Divya Kathāmṛt

AT KĀṬHGHARIA ĀŚRAM

Kāṭhgharia Dhām lies among the hills of Nainītāl district, five kilometres west of the town of Haldvānī. In His earlier form Bābājī performed many a yajña and satsaṅg there, through the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth. He built the temple of Lord Kedāreśvar with His own hands and installed the idol with the proper rites. At Kāṭhgharia, Bābājī always sat beneath the banyan tree in the middle of the āśram.

Mahendra Mahārāj built a temple at Kāṭhgharia Āśram and installed the idol of the old Haiḍākhān Bābā on Saturday, 24 February 1957.

(Phālgunī Śukla Pañchamī, Saṃvat 2014 Vikram.)

The evening before, on 23 February 1957 at about eleven o'clock, Bābājī appeared in a divine form of light. He moved about serenely for a good while, entered the room where the mūrti (image) was kept, and then vanished. Every year the devotees observe Phālgun Śukla Chaturthī as 'Pragaṭotsav', the day of the appearance, and the celebrations are held at Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj, Vṛndāvan, Mathurā, U.P.

Bābājī came to Kāṭhgharia Āśram in the summer of 1971, in June. A great crowd received Him, among them Bholā Dutt Suyāl, Govardhan Sūrya and Harigiri Pāṇḍey. The Śrīmad Bhāgavat Purāṇ and the Devī Bhāgavat Jñān Yajña were performed in Bābājī's presence. Thousands took part and delighted in satsaṅg, kīrtan and bhaṇḍārā.

As time passed, some unscrupulous men filed a case in the District Court at Nainītāl, charging Bābājī with seizing the āśram. Bābājī went to the court and proved that He was the same Haiḍākhān Bābā who had founded the āśram sixty years before. "The ownership rights of the āśram still stand in My name," He said.

So their ill-intentioned designs came to nothing.

On 20 September 1971 the newspaper Sandeś Sāgar published a number of testimonies proving that Bābājī was the manifestation of the old Bābā Haiḍākhān. Other papers in U.P., Rajasthan, M.P., Delhi, Maharashtra and Assam then wrote the same.

REFERENCE AT SŪRYĀDEVĪ

On 26 January 1972 the newspaper Sandeś Sāgar announced Bābājī's advent upon the earth. On 12 January 1972 a renowned saint of Kūrmāñchal, Śrī Nantin Mahārāj, came to Haldvānī. When he spoke of his wish to have Bābājī's darśan on the day before Makar Sankrānti, the news ran through the town like wildfire. Everyone waited for that moment with eager curiosity, and people began to stream towards Sūryādevī. Through the sincere efforts of Śrī Maheś Bhaṭṭ, at about ten in the morning on 12 January 1972, the editor of the Sandeś Sāgar, Śrī Padmadutt Pant, met Nantin Mahārāj, who told him that Bābā Haiḍākhān held every hidden power within Himself. Nantin Mahārāj said, "Thousands of people have had His darśan, so I too am going on the 13th, tomorrow, to Sūryādevī to meet Him."

On 13 January 1972 Śrī Nantin Mahārāj, with his disciple Maheś Chandra Bhaṭṭ, reached Sūryādevī at one in the afternoon. He sat down at the side of the road, some hundred feet from Bābājī's kuṭiyā (hut). Bābājī had not yet arrived. A great crowd of devotees was already gathered when Nantin Mahārāj came. The people put every kind of question to him, and ārtī was performed.

At exactly five minutes past five in the evening, Haiḍākhān Bābā reached Sūryādevī from Haiḍākhān, six kilometres away. Thousands greeted Him with jayakāras (shouts of victory). Yet Bābājī did not so much as look towards Nantin Mahārāj as He passed. This roused the curiosity of the crowd, and the people thronged about Bābā Haiḍākhān's kuṭiyā. Ārtī was performed. The uninhabited valley rang with bhajan, kīrtan and jayakāras to the two saints. For an hour, or an hour and a half, the devotees performed the ārtī of both saints, eager to see what would follow.

After this Nantin Mahārāj took up his articles of pūjā and went down towards the riverbank for Sandhyā Vandanā, the evening prayers. The kīrtan went on. No one dared ask anything about the meeting. At about eight in the evening Bābā Haiḍākhān was told that Nantin Bābā had come. Bābājī directed that food be offered to him. When it was said that the saint never took grain, Bābājī ordered fruit. Nantin Mahārāj ate the fruit and settled once more into his āsan. He stayed calm and composed, and showed not a trace of eagerness. About a thousand devotees were taking prasād, and afterwards they gathered around the two saints.

The editor of the Sandeś Sāgar told Bābājī that the people were longing to know when the meeting with Nantin Mahārāj would be possible. Bābājī answered that Nantin Mahārāj would come to Him before long. When an hour and a half had passed and the saint still did not come, the editor put the same question again. Bābājī pointed to the garlands lying there and said, "Go and put them all around his neck." The editor did so, but Nantin Mahārāj did not come. After some time the same question was put to Bābājī again, and He advised the journalist to begin japa — the saint would come soon. When Nantin Mahārāj did not come even after the japa, Bābājī told them all to go to their own places and begin kīrtan. "As and when Nantin Mahārāj comes, you may come too."

The night was wearing on. When Nantin Mahārāj was asked, he said, "I am going to meet Haiḍākhān Bābā, but I do not know where He is." When he was told the place, he said, "The appointed moment has not yet come." Fifteen minutes later Nantin Mahārāj rose and made himself ready for the sacred meeting. He took five kinds of sweets, five kinds of dried fruit, five rupees and a garland upon a thālī (platter), and held the editor's hand to walk forward. The moment he set out, the devotees followed him with jayakāras.

Śrī Nantin Mahārāj laid flowers at Bābā Haiḍākhān's feet and offered Him everything he had brought. Bābājī gave him a place directly facing His own. The two saints sat face to face and sank into deep meditation, still as figures carved in stone. Their eyes were closed and they spoke not a word, as though they were conversing in silence in the spiritual world. The gathered crowd was overwhelmed by the indescribable scene before them, and by the splendour of divinity shining all about in the presence of those Divine figures. It was as though heaven had come down to earth. Through that total silence, which lasted more than an hour, Sūryādevī Mahārāj offered ghee (clarified butter) into the fire of the dhūnī. The golden halo of divine light upon the faces of both saints was a sight to behold. The utter silence of the valley was filled with the melodious sound of 'Om Namaḥ Śivāya'.

The devotees could not restrain themselves. They longed to capture this rare gathering of three saints on camera. There was no flash, so a lamp was brought instead. Nantin Mahārāj was unhappy at this and refused to be photographed. He rose and walked away from his seat, and the congregation followed him. An elderly woman asked Nantin Mahārāj, "What did you see?" He answered that Haiḍākhān Bābā seemed to be old this time. The people laughed. One man said, "You are old, but He is quite young." At this he remarked, "I am a child, but He is very old." Then he reassured them all, saying that this was the same old Haiḍākhān Bābā. He was the manifestation of Rudra (Śiva). He was the master of the cosmos. He had taken on a new body in His present form. He was eternal, and the chief ordainer of creation. After some time He would come again in the form of a child of five years.

The next morning, after the sacred bath of Makar Sankrānti, Nantin Mahārāj went again to Bābā Haiḍākhān. The two saints sat face to face in complete silence. Those who witnessed that scene counted themselves greatly blessed. The same afternoon Nantin Mahārāj returned to Haldvānī. Every illusion about Bābājī's true being was dispelled, and a spiritual awareness and awakening began to spread. A new chapter had opened — the re-establishing of religion and peace in the world.

All the renowned saints — Nantin Bābā, Nīm Karolī Bābā, Premdās Bābā and Īśvar Dās Bābā — had given their judgement and their testimony concerning Bābājī.

'Bhole Bābā kī jai' (Victory to Bhole Bābā)

(Extracts from the newspaper Sandeś Sāgar of 26 January 1972)

"O people of Kūrmāñchal, how greatly blessed you are, for you have received Lord Śiva Himself in the form of a supreme yogī, come among you as a saint. All of them praised the good qualities of the Lord, and began asking one another where He dwelt."

Śrī Mahendra Mahārāj

DHANYĀN — THE PLACE OF SALVATION

The village of Dhanyān lies in the Himālaya, in Uttarāñchal, and falls under the Nagar Khan post office in Almoṛā district. Saints, sages, gods and goddesses have always nested there, in a village that is itself like a nest in the lap of nature. Living in this village and passing the time in japa and pūjā, a soul attains salvation. That is why Bābājī called this sacred grove 'Mokṣa Dhām' (the place of Salvation). Bābājī first visited it in 1907 in His old form, wearing the long cap that covers the ears (kānchhopī ṭopī). Between 1927 and 1930, in another form as Brahmachārī Bābā, He founded an āśram at Dhanyān. Bābājī and many other saints and sages performed many religious ceremonies in that āśram.

By the blessings of Lord Sāmba Sadāśiva, I (Fakīrānand) was born in the year 1912 into an ordinary farming family. My father, Rām Siṃh, and my mother, Yaśodā Devī, were deeply religious, and always helped those in distress. Lord Śiva and Guru Gorakhnāth were worshipped in our home.

My parents' nature and devotion left a deep impression on me. From childhood I too began to perform pūjā as they did, and to live my life in this world by it. I would weep at the sight of others in sorrow, and pray that they be given relief. I was about seven or eight years old when Bābā Haiḍākhān came to my father's house at Dhanyān together with nine saints. At that time He wore the kurtā and dhotī and the kānchhopī ṭopī. I remember my father greeting them and offering them khīr (a sweet made of milk, rice and sugar). By the blessings of those saints and sages I was drawn to bhajan and kīrtan and to meditation, and gave more and more of my time to the worship of God.

In the year 1925–26 Śrī Munīndra Bhagavān, in His third manifestation, came in the form of Bāl Brahmachārī Mahārāj and lived at Padampurī. I had the good fortune to live with Bābājī in those years, and I witnessed many of His supernatural and spiritual līlās. He stayed most of the time at Padampurī, at Dhanyān, or in the village of Kumna near Kausānī.

Neels O'Kresender, a native of Leningrad, was directed by Bābājī in his dreams to come to India for spiritual guidance. After visiting many places in India he arrived at Almoṛā, and met Jīvan Chandra Jośī at the Almoṛā bus station.

He stayed at Almoṛā for many months, and in 1940 he made a beautiful statue of Bābājī in plaster of Paris. That statue is installed in a temple in the village of Kumna near Kausānī. Many devotees went to see it. Mahendra Mahārāj too went to see the statue, in 1950, and was overwhelmed.

In His last manifestation Bābājī came to the Dhanyān āśram in 1972 and restored the temples. He built a new temple and set images of gods and goddesses within it. He had a hut built for Himself in the āśram. On arriving at Dhanyān, Bābājī went straight to His old room in the house — the room where He had stayed in His earlier form as Brahmachārī Bābā — recognising it at once. He remained in His newly built hut for two days, and then moved into that old room in the house.

Afterwards Bābājī came to Mokṣa Dhām, Dhanyān, several more times, with His devotees from India and from abroad. At the Dhanyān āśram, by Bābājī's blessings, the Śrīmad Bhāgavat kathā was held a number of times. He arranged bhaṇḍārās (free feasts offered to all) and many other religious rites, through learned and highly qualified men. With His own hands Bābājī installed at the Dhanyān āśram the image of Viṣṇudatt Miśra, Śāstrījī (Viśvāchārya).

In 1982 Bābājī took me to Dhanyān. He commanded me to install His image there in the form of Lama Bābā, having four arms, and to establish a middle school (up to class 8) at the Dhanyān āśram. Hearing this I fell at His feet and told Him humbly that such work would be possible only by His blessings. Bābājī remained silent.

Time passed. On 14 February 1984 Bābājī left His physical form and attained mahāsamādhi. Twenty-two days after His mahāsamādhi, while I was in my hut at Haiḍākhān, Bābājī reminded me in a dream of His ādeś (command). The prophecy, given in the form of an order, came to pass. An image of Lama Bābā was installed with great pomp and splendour. At the same time, with contributions from the devotees and help from the state government, the school was raised to the higher middle-school level. Today it has been upgraded to a high school (up to class 10). Even now Bābājī, who fulfils the desires of His devotees, performs so many līlās in His subtle form. The credit for bringing Lord Sāmba Sadāśiva to this planet in human form belongs to the devotion of Śrī Mahendra Mahārāj. On the spiritual plane the two are one, with no distinction between them.

THE ANCIENT AKṢAMĀLĀ (BEAD GARLAND) OF BHOLE BĀBĀ

During the summer of 1972 I was in Bābājī's service at Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj in Vṛndāvan. A saint, Gaṅgotrī Bābā of Jhālā village in the Himālaya, came for darśan, saying that he was an old disciple of Bābājī. I seated him and told Bābājī of his arrival. Bābājī asked me to bring him into the room and grant him darśan. He was overcome with joy, bowed at Bābājī's feet in salutation, and received His blessings. Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj told the gathering that in the year 1922 he had gone to the Kāṭhgharia Āśram for Bābājī's darśan, on the instructions of Somvārī Bābā — a renowned saint of Kūrmāñchal, who always spoke of Haiḍākhān Bābā as his father and gave up his own seat to Him whenever He came to his āśram. That, in 1922, was the last darśan of Bābājī that he ever had.

"Today, after fifty years, I am having Bābājī's darśan once more. Bhole Bābā has been my guru (spiritual teacher) through many births; Svāmī Fakīrānand has been in His service only for the last four births," said Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj.

Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj told many stories from the past connected with Bābājī. He said that Bābājī had been in Tibet in the thirteenth century. At that time Somvārī Bābā, Jai Kiśan Bābā and Fakīrā Bābā were with Him. The Dalai Lama of that day was His devotee, and joined Him in bhajan-kīrtan, yajña and satsaṅg. Jankshoo Lama was His personal attendant, and the very embodiment of deep love and devotion. Turning to the present, Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj told the gathering that Bābājī had come for a short while only. Humanity would be blessed by His messages and by His visits to different places. Not only human beings — even the birds and the animals would be blessed. He had come to teach mankind satya, saralatā and prem (truth, simplicity and love). Through these teachings He would draw souls towards the spiritual world.

The next day Bābājī charged me to ask Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj for His akṣamālā. The moment I mentioned it, the saint drew out a faded mālā wrapped in a very old cloth and said, "It gives me immense joy to return today the sacred mālā that Bābājī gave me fifty years ago at the Kāṭhgharia Āśram, in 1922." At the moment of handing that mālā to Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj, Bābājī had said, "Keep it with you. I am leaving this world for another. Whenever I return, I shall ask for it."

Gaṅgotrī Bābā told the gathering that in that same year, 1922, Bābājī had gone into mahāsamādhi at the confluence of the Kālī Gaṅgā (Śāradā) and the Gorī Gaṅgā (Sarjū) at Pithorāgaṛh.

Having heard Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj, the devotees were overwhelmed. They touched the sacred mālā and gazed upon it with great reverence, pressing it to their foreheads and to their hearts.

JALWI DORAB RECEIVES THE DARŚAN OF GAṄGOTRĪ BĀBĀ

In the presence of Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj, Bābājī charged me to call Jalwi Dorab for the saint's darśan. Jalwi Dorab had read of the saints Maru and Kuthmi [Morya and Koot Hoomi] in books, but had never seen them in the flesh. Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj, however, had both seen and met them. The sects of the saints Maru and Kuthmi, in the Himālaya, were well known.

At that time Jalwi Dorab was employed as a professor of English literature at Agra University. He was also general secretary of the World Theosophical Society. I sent a messenger to Agra and had him called. Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj too was a member of the Society.

Jalwi Dorab came from Agra and met Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj. The two of them discussed the spiritual aspects of many subjects concerning Bābājī. In the course of their talk every form of Śiva was examined. I was a witness and an onlooker; I listened to their conversation and set it down in my diary.

Afterwards I related to Bābājī the matters Dorabjī and Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj had discussed — the different forms of Bābājī (Śiva) and the questions bound up with them. Bābājī nodded in confirmation.

THE REBUILDING AT HAIḌĀKHĀN

Bābā Haiḍākhān built a small Śiva temple and a kuṭiyā one hundred and sixty years ago, in the year 1840, in one of His earlier forms. That temple of Śiva was octagonal in shape, and it still speaks of Bābājī's grandeur. It is said that whenever the masons of that time found the stones hard to carve, Bābājī would draw a single strange line upon the stone with His own hand. After that they could cut the stones as easily as if they were cutting paper.

In front of the temple stood a havan kuṇḍ and a dhūnī. A pīpal tree had been planted on the eastern side of the temple before it was raised. From the year 1972 onward Bābājī rebuilt Haiḍākhān. He renovated the old Śivālaya (the temple of Śiva) and put up a kīrtan hall, many rooms for devotees to stay in, offices, shops, a kitchen, latrines, bathrooms, cottages with attached baths, and many other administrative buildings. A great hall was built for kīrtan and satsaṅg. Bābājī also raised a boundary wall around the āśram.

After the āśram had been renewed and its facilities created, Bābājī turned the attention of all His devotees to the historic cave on the far bank of the Gautam Gaṅgā. A new plan was conceived. The ground to the north was smoothed and levelled by cutting away rock and hillside. Bābājī built nine temples to various deities. Among them were the temples of Mā Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī, of Lord Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, of Dattātreya, of Guru Gorakhnāth, of Lord Brahmā, of Lord Viṣṇu, of Kārtikeya, of Sūrya and of Mā Gautamī Gaṅgā. Their images were installed with sacred ceremony, Vedic rites and yajña, under Bābājī's own supervision. Quarters were made ready for the stay of priests and devotees. Under His guidance and supervision, shops, kitchens, stables and cattle-sheds were built as well. Bābājī also oversaw the making of what is popularly known today as the 'Society Garden', right on the bank of the Gautam Gaṅgā, where trees of every kind were planted. Fruit of all kinds, flowers and other ornamental plants grow there to this day. Bābājī rebuilt the āśram and, with modern amenities, made it useful, beautiful and fit to live in.

A hundred and sixty years ago, when Bābājī was busy with the building of the āśram in His earlier manifestation, a dedicated devotee gave Him eight acres of land in the neighbouring village of Pastolā. After Bābājī departed in 1922, that land lay barren for years. In 1972, after the renovation and re-establishment of the Haiḍākhān temple, Bābājī made arrangements for the land in Pastolā village. In that same year He appointed Lakṣmaṇ, a native of the village of Uḍavā, as its trustee. Later He granted him full right of ownership.

It is fitting to recall here that Harak Siṃh Sammal, head of the village council (Sabhāpati) of Haiḍākhān village, rendered great service in the renovation of the Śiva temple and in acquiring the land for the nine temples near Bābājī's historic cave. With Bābājī's blessings he was instrumental in making many other improvements to the āśram. Bābājī therefore blessed him with good fortune, and today he leads a healthy and prosperous life.

Seeing the immense development going forward in the āśram area of Haiḍākhān, at the historic cave and in Pastolā village, the people of the region came to be convinced that the old Haiḍākhān Bābā had now manifested as Bhole Bābā. This conviction was strengthened further by the devotion that Indian and foreign devotees showed towards Bhole Bābā. Everyone who surrendered himself wholly to Bābājī was blessed.

'Om Namaḥ Śivāya'

THE MASTERY OF SIDDHI AT HAIḌĀKHĀN

Two months before He came to Haiḍākhān on 17 June 1970, Bābājī had appeared to me in a vision at Dhanyān and reassured me: "You need not worry now, I have come." Thirteen years before that manifestation, Bābājī, in His subtle form, told us through the village deities that He would appear in a human body and that we would all have His darśan.

I was rewarded for the services I had rendered in my former births and at Dhanyān Mokṣa Dhām Āśram. Bābājī brought me to the abode of Śiva, the very seat of His emanation, Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām, where He commanded me to practise devotion until realisation came. I had to undergo hard penance, yogic kriyās and tāntric sādhanā, standing even in water for twelve hours together, day after day.

In the summer of 1979 Bābājī blessed me with this realisation: "I am you and you are Me." It inspired me and carried me to a greater realisation still. Nor was I the only one; Bābājī blessed many deserving devotees with sacred mantras. This is described in this book, in the chapter 'The Vision of God through Meditation'. Bābājī preferred bhakti to yoga. He had said to Śrī Prahlād Bhāī Pāṭhak (former Commissioner of Gujarāt), "Set your mind on bhakti rather than yoga. Without bhakti, yoga is meaningless." Bābājī blessed the most devout among them and brought them to the full fruit of their striving. Those who stood in the generous rain of His blessings and were granted siddhi include Prahlād Bhāī Pāṭhak, Mahāmunirāj, Viṣṇudatt Miśra (Śāstrījī, Viśvāchārya), Premdās Brahmachārī, Nānū Bhāī Vohrā, Baṅkelāl Pāṭhak and Chetrām Śarmā. Devotees still receive Bābājī's benefits and blessings, and still attain siddhi.

Bhole Bābā kī jai

"In this way all beings would attain complete happiness and be rid of ego. Spiritual practice leads to salvation. It is the supreme practice of Dharma. This would be My most pleasing avatār, in which there would be neither any enemy nor any war."

Śrī Divya Kathāmṛt

INSTANCES OF BĀBĀJĪ'S BLESSINGS

1) Bābājī's Judicial Inspiration

In 1940, while I was working under the Central Government at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi, the senior officers of my department tormented and humiliated me on official occasions. I was deeply hurt, and I prayed to Bābājī to help me. My prayers were accepted. Śivdatt

Upādhyāy, private secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister, decided the case in my favour. I had no connection whatever with Śivdatt Upādhyāy; it was by Bābājī's supreme blessings that my superior officers could do me no harm.

2) The Punishment of a Yoga Bhraṣṭa (the Corrupt Yogī)

The 'Sachidānand Viśva Śānti Āśram' stands on Pusa Road, Hardhyan Singh Marg, in Karol Bagh, Delhi. The Mahant of the āśram bought many acres of land for the Viśva Yoga Āśram. My cousin and I were members of it. Both of us went there every day at four in the morning to join the prayers and the yoga. Among Svāmī Sachidānand's disciples were scholars and men of great name. Others were administrative officers, judges, professors and vice-chancellors of universities. Svāmī Sachidānand planned a pilgrimage to Mount Kailāś and Mānsarovar by way of Nainītāl and Almoṛā. I took him to Dhanyān Mokṣa Dhām Āśram. When he reached Dhanyān the villagers welcomed him and rejoiced with kīrtan, bhajan and yoga. He was given a room on the ground floor, which happened to lie directly beneath Bābājī's room on the first floor. He retired for the night. Early the next morning, when we went to him, he seemed uneasy and disturbed. In his unhappiness he withdrew from the Mānsarovar–Kailāś pilgrimage and ordered us to return to Delhi. Everyone was astonished. On reaching Delhi he told the devotees that he had been insulted at Dhanyān and had not been treated with respect. He said that a sword had been hanging over his head. He asked them who would remain with him. During this period my cousin Kīrti Siṃh was deceived by him and cheated of thousands of rupees. Kīrti Siṃh had given up his work and had lived with him for the past two years. When Kīrti Siṃh had not been seen in the āśram for a long while, we searched for him in Delhi at the houses of relatives, and in holy cities, towns, shrines and places of pilgrimage. He was not found. At last we filed a case against Svāmī Sachidānand in the court and charged him with the death of Kīrti Siṃh. He was then arrested and sent to prison. Many lawyers, judges and high officials were his disciples, but they could do nothing to save him. We obtained divine justice through Bhole Bābā, and justice in the court as well.

3) The Sacred Thread Ceremony in 1966

I was directed to perform the sacred thread ceremony of my nephew and of my two sons at Vārāṇasī. It was not impossible, yet it was no easy task for me. Time passed, and I reached Vārāṇasī with my wife, my son Bhagavān Siṃh and my elder brother Bishan Siṃh. The most learned Prem Ballabh Tivārī performed the rites, and the ceremony was completed. God's blessings were with us.

4) The Flight of the Hypocrites

'Bhṛgu Darbār' was an institution in Punjabi Bagh, Delhi. Making lofty claims and showing off were its whole object. Its people deceived the innocent in the name of God. In June 1971 the Devī Bhāgavat and a yajña were performed in Bābājī's presence at B-1, Indrapuri, Delhi. One by one all the devotees of Bhṛgu Darbār came and became followers of Bābājī. They were hypocrites and cheats, every one of them. This institution, Bhṛgu Darbār, arranged a Devī Bhāgavat yajña at 'Qudsia Ghāṭ' on the bank of the Yamunā in Delhi and invited Bābājī. Śrī Gulzarilal Nanda, former Prime Minister of India, was also present on that occasion. Every day all the members of Bhṛgu Darbār took part in the Devī Bhāgavat and the yajña with great zeal. On the last day, as soon as the yajña was over, all of them vanished without eating the prasād (bhaṇḍārā). The reasons were well known to Bhole Bābā. They have not been seen to this day. This was a special līlā of Bhole Bābā.

5) AKṢAYA BHAṆḌĀR (THE INEXHAUSTIBLE STORE)

In Bābājī's kitchen the food was always more than enough. However great the demand, it was never found wanting. I saw this for myself at the B-1 Indrapuri āśram in Delhi, before I ever went to Haiḍākhān. Bābājī arrived in Delhi on 10 June 1971. He wished the Devī Bhāgavat to be conducted by Śrī Viṣṇudatt Miśra (Śāstrījī) from the following day onward. In the house there were provisions barely sufficient for one family for a month, and we made no special arrangement for more. Through the days of the Devī Bhāgavat a great many people ate the prasād twice a day. On the last day many more took the bhaṇḍārā. Even then there was food enough left for a whole month. Bābājī would go into the kitchen while the food was cooking and stir the dāl, the kheer or the vegetables with His own hands. On the day of departure He sat upon the sack of flour, still half full, and posed for a family photograph. After the yajña He took everyone to the Yamunā for the sacred dip and the offering of water (tarpaṇ).

6) MARRIAGE AND SANNYĀS

Bhole Bābā Himself fixed the marriage of my eldest son, Bhagavān Siṃh Rāṇā, for 28 June 1996. On that occasion some fifteen thousand people, Indian devotees and foreign, took food. It was possible only through Bābājī's special blessings. At my son's wedding Bābājī wished me to renounce all worldly ties, though He never once said so aloud. He asked me to wear ochre-dyed clothes, as sannyāsīs do. I began to dance for joy in the temple courtyard at Haiḍākhān. My friends offered me pakoṛās mixed with bhāṅg (the cannabis preparation taken as Śiva's own sacrament). The pakoṛās had their effect on me and set me dancing without pause. As I danced I kept calling out to the gathering, "Listen, O people of the world — Bābājī has manifested to bring change into the world. Lord Śiva has come. Go to His refuge and make your life a success."

7) THE ACCIDENT AT MY SECOND SON'S WEDDING

This is an incident that took place at the time of my second son Jīvan Siṃh Rāṇā's marriage. Bābājī wished the wedding to be held at Haiḍākhān, but He gave no specific instruction. The match was fixed with the daughter of a Ṭhākur at Bāgeśvar. The wedding party set out from Dhanyān for Bāgeśvar. The bridegroom travelled in a jeep. As the jeep took a turn it suddenly fell into a valley four hundred feet deep, near the village of Chitaī in Almoṛā. Everyone was hurt, the bridegroom among them. The jeep was wrecked beyond repair. All of them were admitted to hospital in Almoṛā with grave injuries. Hearing the news of the accident, the bride's father decided to marry his daughter to someone else there and then. But the bride refused, and said boldly, "I shall marry only Jīvan, who was to come from Dhanyān. I shall wait until he recovers. If he dies, I shall remain unmarried all my life." Seeing the girl's firm resolve, they began to pray to God for Jīvan's life. Bhole Bābā announced, "Jīvan's death is postponed. He will recover soon." A year later Jīvan's wedding took place at Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām, and Bābājī blessed the couple. God's will is supreme. There is no limit to His benevolence.

8) THE WEDDING OF MY THIRD SON

At my niece's wedding at Haiḍākhān, Bābājī foretold and said to me, "Bābā Fakīrānand, the marriage of your third son too will be celebrated at Haiḍākhān." After Bābājī's mahāsamādhi I all but forgot this prediction. Many proposals came for Yaśpāl's marriage, but somehow none of them came to anything. I grew anxious, and prayed to Bābājī in meditation. Bābājī inspired me to look for a simple girl from Almoṛā. Once again, by Bābājī's blessings, I fixed the match with Mañju Devī, of a Ṭhākur family of Almoṛā. Once the date was settled, the wedding took place at Haiḍākhān in May 1990, according to Bābājī's wishes.

9) THE SEARCH FOR THE BOOK WRITTEN BY DR HEM CHANDRA JOŚĪ

In the year 1968 Mahendra Mahārāj invited Dr Hem Chandra Jośī and his wife Durgā Devī to the Haiḍākhān-vāle Bābā Āśram, Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj, at Vṛndāvan. Dr Jośī was a great disciple of Haiḍākhān Bābā. His hosts gave the couple a house near the āśram and made every arrangement needed for their comfortable stay. Because of his years, Dr Jośī had retired from the editing of newspapers and magazines. After taking Bābājī's darśan at Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj, and after going through the literature written by Mahendra Mahārāj, Dr Jośī was inspired to set down his own experiences of Śrī Haiḍākhān Bābā. His age no longer allowed him to write with his own hand. A śāstrī was therefore appointed to do the writing for him. The manuscript, full of Dr Jośī's experiences with Haiḍākhān-vāle Bābā, was ready, and the title given to the book was 'Haiḍākhān Bābā — My Lord'. God's will was the stronger. Despite Durgā Devī's insistence, Dr Jośī did not give the right of publication to the Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj Trust. He kept the manuscript with him and said, "I shall publish the book at Lucknow or Allahabad." But the book could not be

published in the course of his lifetime. At the time of his death he told his wife that whenever Haiḍākhān Bābā Himself should come, He would have the book published. And whenever it is published, you must offer a bronze bell weighing one maund (50 kg) at Haiḍākhān Dhām. In April 1971 Bābājī was at Jaipur for the Devī Bhāgavat and the yajña. He directed me to search out the manuscript written by Dr Jośī and to arrange for its publication. I began the search for the book and made enquiries about Dr Jośī and his wife Durgā Devī. I had to face many difficulties in tracing the manuscript, for I knew nothing at all about Dr Jośī and his wife Durgā Devī. I learned from Jīvan Chandra Jośī, a resident of Almoṛā, that Dr Hem Chandra Jośī had handed the manuscript to Mr Śāh, a man of Almoṛā and at that time Tahsīldār at Pithorāgaṛh. Time passed. I was with Bābājī at Kāṭhgharia Āśram in September–October 1971. Devotees from Almoṛā came for Bābājī's darśan and invited Him to visit Almoṛā. Granting their request, Bābājī went to Almoṛā and stayed at the residence of Bachīlāl Śāh. One evening Mr Śāh, by then retired from the post of Tahsīldār, came for Bābājī's darśan during the kīrtan. I asked him about the manuscript of the book. The next day Mr Śāh handed me the manuscript written by Dr Jośī. It was in a wretched state. The manuscript was revised, improved, and given to Lakṣmī Nārāyaṇ Mittal (Seṭhjī) of Lashkar, Gwalior, for publication. Seṭh Lakṣmī Nārāyaṇ Mittal had the book published in the shortest time he could and offered it to Bābājī. Learning of its publication, Durgā Devī, Dr Jośī's wife, offered a bronze bell weighing 50 kg at Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām, according to her late husband's wishes. To this day that bell rings out with many others during the prayers at Haiḍākhān.

10) THE ANTIDOTE TO POISON

One day the daughter of Girīś Chandra, an employee of the Haiḍākhān Post Office, swallowed poison. She was carried unconscious to the hospital in the āśram. The doctor refused to treat her. The girl's family prayed to Bābājī without ceasing for His blessings. Bābājī ordered me to give her the jhāṛā. I began the jhāṛā, and by Bābājī's blessings the girl recovered and regained her normal health.

11) RECOVERY FROM PARALYSIS

It was a gift from heaven to be in Bābājī's company. The āśram was enjoying the bliss of solitude. Electricity and electrical appliances had not yet reached it. The air of the place was wholly natural. I count myself supremely fortunate to have lived at Bābājī's lotus feet and to have served Him. One day, as I stood watching Bābājī, lost in thought, He suddenly asked, "O Fakīrājī, do you do the daily reading of the Durgā Saptaśatī?" I confessed that I did not, and added, "Prabhu, being in Your service, I have no need to read any religious book." To this He replied, "Without effort you will gain nothing. You must read the Durgā Saptaśatī every day. Go, read it four times, and come back to me," said Bābājī. I went and sat down to the reading, which I completed in four hours. Afterwards I made three further readings and reported this to Bābājī. Bābājī said, "However gracious the Master may be, the disciple never gains anything unless he works hard. So read it every day, as part of your daily pūjā." I resolved to follow Bābājī's instruction for the rest of my life. My resolve has been blessed ever since. Slowly and by degrees my paralysis was healed, and I became whole.

12) INSTRUCTIONS TO INSTALL THE VILLAGE DEITIES

In 1964, while Bābājī was still in His subtle form, He charged me with building a thirteen-room āśram in Delhi. It was built by His blessings. Bābājī ordered the rebuilding and renovation of the deities' temples at Dhanyān Āśram. All the temples were built or renewed save that of Bhūmiyā Dev (the deity of the land). In consequence the whole family met with troubles of every kind, suffering many ailments and other hardships. Uṣā and Maniṣā, the elder daughters of my elder brother and of myself respectively, were afflicted with several incurable diseases. We were deeply worried. The girls were taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi for treatment, but there was no relief. The doctors could not diagnose the illness. Taking note of our suffering, Bābājī, through the village deity Guru Gorakhnāth, ordered the whole family to gather at Dhanyān Mokṣa Dhām in May 1999. Guru Gorakhnāth told them all that the village deities had been forgotten. Even Bābājī's directions had gone unfulfilled, for all our promises. Guru Gorakhnāth reminded us that the temple of Bhūmiyā Dev had still not been built. As soon as the temple was raised, the deities were installed once more, and every worry and every suffering vanished. Thus it will be seen that Bābājī, even in His subtle form, cared for His devotees, and through the village deities forewarned us and guided us. This is nothing other than Bābājī's infinitude and His matchless blessings.

13) THE HEART ATTACK AND THE DIVINE CURE

I had suffered from heart trouble since 1989, and I fainted many times at Haiḍākhān. For two years I was under treatment at the āśram hospital. In the winter of 1992 I went to Delhi. There I suffered a severe heart attack and was admitted to the Military Hospital, Delhi Cantonment. They carried me to the Intensive Care Unit. After examining me the cardiologist said, "An hour's delay could have been fatal." In the doctors' judgement my condition was very grave. But I was more anxious about my daily prayers, my worship and my rites. So I asked my son to bring my books, my mālā (rosary), the Śivaliṅg and the other articles for pūjā, so that my daily round would not be broken. Under the doctors' strict orders I was not allowed to leave my bed even to answer the call of nature. I was on supplementary oxygen. Yet I completed my daily worship and rites, against the doctors' instructions. They were displeased with me, but afterwards they were astonished at the unlooked-for improvement in my health. By Bābājī's blessings, after only three days the cardiologist declared me fit to be discharged from the hospital. The doctors, the hospital staff and the other heart patients were all amazed at how swiftly I had recovered. The Lord, Bhole Bābā, is boundlessly gentle of heart. Bābājī heals grave illnesses by His divine cure, and in very little time.

14) A CURE FROM A SNAKE BITE

This incident took place in March 1993, at Haiḍākhān Dhām. A morning walk in the river bed was part of my daily routine. As I walked I would gaze at the beauty of the mountains and sip the holy water of the Gautam Gaṅgā. I breathed in the sweet fragrance of the flowers and the freshness of the plants in the valley, reciting "Om Namaḥ Śivāya" and lost in deep thoughts of Bābājī. Most of all I was moved by the splendid sight of the temples and the ancient cave. One day, as I was returning from my morning walk, a poisonous snake bit me below the right knee, just outside my hut. Blood began to flow from the wound. I took courage, pulled the snake free with my left hand and threw it away. I was about to seek medical help at once when suddenly I had a vision of Bābājī in His familiar Āśīrvād Mudrā (the posture of blessing). He blessed me, as if to tell me not to worry. His blessing and that vision set my mind at rest. Bābājī's blessing is itself the cure of every disease. Meanwhile the āśram staff had given me first aid and treatment. From that day I was relieved of my arthritic pain, and I found a marked improvement in my heart condition as well.

15) THE DIVINE MIXTURE OF MEDICINE

Four years after the snake bite, I felt a sharp pain in my heart one day. I prayed to the Lord to relieve me of it. That same day Bābājī came to me in a dream, together with Munirāj and Viṣṇudatt (Śāstrījī). Bābājī gave medicinal herbs to Śāstrījī and charged him to grind them and mix them with the divine vibhūti (the sacred ash). Śāstrījī prepared the mixture, and Munirāj gave it to me to drink in the proper measure. The treatment and the medicine were given to me in a dream, yet by the next morning the pain had left me. There is no limit to Bābājī's blessings.

16) BĀBĀJĪ'S INSPIRED TĀBĪZ (TALISMAN)

In the autumn of 1999 I felt weak and had pain in my chest. I remembered Bābājī even in my half-waking state of mind. One day I dreamed of Motī Ṭhākur, a staunch devotee of Bābājī from Bihār, who came to me with a garland of red roses about his neck. I told him I was ill, and that my worry was not being able to go to Chiliyānaulā for the coming Navrātra. He said, "Do not worry — your whole plan will bear fruit." The next morning, as I sat outside my hut, Motī Ṭhākur came to me at about nine o'clock and asked after my health. He said, "Svāmījī, I have brought a talisman (tābīz) that will take care of your illness." He tied it around my arm. It was nothing at all but the commonest of medicinal herbs. He said, "Now you will be cured of the illness." By Bābājī's grace I was relieved of my pain, and I went joyfully to the Navrātra at Chiliyānaulā.

Svāmī Fakīrānand

THE SUPREME POWER OF THE SACRED MANTRA "OM NAMAḤ ŚIVĀYA"

This is the great redeeming mantra. It comes from the Guru... Chant it. Repeat it.

It means, "I bow to Lord Śiva." Śiva is neither Hindu nor Muslim, neither Buddhist nor Christian. He is one's own Self. He is the Self of all. Śiva is inner bliss. Śiva is boundless love. Śiva is power. Always repeat the name of Śiva.

The Guru, the mantra, the deity of the mantra and you are one. Repeat the mantra with this awareness.

The Guru is not the physical body. He is the grace-bestowing power of God. The Guru is your supreme inner being. "OM" is the all-pervading consciousness. The Guru is that "OM".

A mantra received from a Guru who has attained full realisation of its power is a living, self-awakening mantra. It vibrates with His śakti (divine power). And a mantra has the power to set you free, cutting every knot of your karma.

Kuṇḍalinī, the Universal Mother, who holds all the yogas within her, is the very form and essence of the mantra. She is therefore swiftly awakened by the mantra received through the Guru. Always repeat the mantra.

The Guru Himself enters you through the mantra. He opens a new world of yoga within you; He sustains you and dissolves all that is dark in you. He leads the seeker to total perfection.

Repeat the mantra at all times, and with such diligence that it soaks through your whole body, within and without.

Meditate always, and never let your mind be tempted by the objects of this shifting world, which changes from moment to moment.

In the course of meditation the individual ego dissolves and the sense of "I" leaves you. There remains only that pure, eternally blissful consciousness, the Supreme Being. You are That; do not make the mistake of thinking, "I am this body of flesh and blood."

That which vibrates within is the same as that which shows itself without. Hold the inner and the outer to be one. This is the vision of Śiva. And this is truly the highest realisation.

Understand yourself, study yourself, seek yourself and find yourself. Hari, Śiva, Śakti, Allah, Jesus and Buddha — all dwell within you.

Kneel to your own Self; honour and worship your own being. Meditate upon yourself, for God dwells within you. This is the teaching of Śrī Gurudev. Om Namaḥ Śivāya.

Svāmī Fakīrānand

Wholly rid of passion, fear and anger, wholly absorbed in Me and purified by the austerity of wisdom, many have become one with Me even in ages past.

Bhagavad Gītā

This Om Namaḥ Śivāya is like nectar; feed everyone with this nectar. Śrī Mahāprabhujī wishes that every word should vanish from the world save three — Om Namaḥ Śivāya. This is the original mantra. When the first Primordial Energy appeared, the first mantra She uttered from Her holy mouth was Om Namaḥ Śivāya.

Śrī Bābājī

MEDITATION — THE WAY OF GOD

By Bābājī's blessings my spiritual sādhanā began in my childhood days at Dhanyān, my birthplace, known as Mokṣa Dhām. Bābājī in His latest form graced and visited Dhanyān Mokṣa Dhām on 17 June 1972. Thirteen years earlier my family had learnt of Bābājī's manifestation through the deities of the village. The details are already set down in the book Divine Līlās of Śrī Bhagavān Haiḍākhān, Part Four. In this manifestation Bābājī visited Dhanyān many times. It was Bābājī who brought me from Dhanyān to Haiḍākhān. I felt overjoyed and blessed with good fortune. Bābājī blessed me with many powerful mantras. Through these mantras a great many grave and incurable diseases can be cured. To win the full benefit of them, a sādhak (disciple) must strictly observe the following:

1) Avoid liquor.

2) Avoid non-vegetarian food.

3) Cultivate a good and simple character.

4) Have faith and trust in God.

5) Harm no one — not by your wish, your speech or your deeds.

6) Win others over by good actions.

7) Love God; Love is God and God is Love.

8) Spend a part of your income on good works.

9) Pray out of pure devotion, not for material gain.

10) Read spiritual books. Do not waste your time reading useless books and watching films.

11) Avoid slander. It ruins you.

12) Follow the truth.

13) Do not misuse your body or your soul, for these are God's precious gifts.

14) Leave your bed early in the morning, between four and five. After your morning duties, sit for meditation. Concentrate between the two eyebrows, at the third eye. Meditate on your own God, whichever He may be.

15) Do the japa of Om Namaḥ Śivāya; close your eyes and hold the concentration steady. Increase your practice a little every day. After a few months you will see coloured clouds and divine light. After a few months more you will see the planetary lights. The japa of the mantra should go on without a break. Sing it while you work, while you rest, walk, speak, eat, play or sleep. If you keep it up for a couple of months you will find that it costs you hardly any effort. Meditation is the finest form of inward looking and of inner purification. You can wash your body with soap and shampoo, but the inner cleansing comes only through eternal knowledge, japa, meditation, yajña and satsaṅg. This will carry you to Self-realisation. Bābājī taught me how to concentrate. By His blessings, and by the divine mantras He gave me, many people have been cured of grave and incurable diseases. Many wandering souls were turned in the right direction, and some were even set free. Even rigid and dogmatic men bowed before the spiritual powers of meditation. Who would not wish to gain from it? Devotees from India and from abroad have enjoyed the divine darśan of Bābājī through meditation, Dhyān Yoga. Devotees who long for the darśan of God should come to the holy land of Haiḍākhān and set out upon Dhyān Yoga. They will taste for ever the nectar of devotion to Bābājī. Once you have command over yourself, afflictions of spirit and of body become small, ordinary things. I have received many letters from Indians and from foreigners who were initiated, or healed, through me by the blessings of Bābājī. At the devotees' insistence a few of those letters have been printed in this book. By the grace of Bābājī, those who were initiated into meditation through me had visions of God. Many of them have written to me of their experiences. The saying, "He who attains will preach," is very true. The childless were blessed with children by the power of the mantra Bābājī gave. The wishes of hundreds of people were fulfilled. There are no words to tell the blessings of Bābājī. Even today Bābājī's doors stand open to everyone. Visit the holy land of Haiḍākhān, have every wish fulfilled, and be happy. Visit Haiḍākhān again and again, and better both your worlds, the material and the spiritual.

THE AID TO MEDITATION THROUGH THE GEOMETRICAL INSTRUMENT

In Hindu devotional practice three kinds of outward symbol are used for the worship of the Supreme Being, who is without form and without name. The outermost is that of images cast in human shape, carrying the array of emblems that signify the superhuman divinity. The subtlest is that of the mantras, the divine names, made of certain sounds. A mantra is divine power clothed in sound. Between these two stand the yantras, or chakras, which set out the divinity in geometrical diagrams. The worshippers of Śakti hold the Śrīchakra to be the holiest and the most meaningful of all divine symbols. The Śrīchakra is conceived as Śiva–Śakti in the macrocosm and in the microcosmic aspects alike — as the cosmos and as the individual. The diagram consists of a series of nine triangles laid one over another about a small central circle, the Bindu, forming forty-three koṇas, or angular projections. At the centre is the Bindu, which represents Śiva–Śakti in union in the causal state, out of which all the other parts of the diagram, standing for the cosmos, have evolved. The Bindu lies within a central triangle whose apex points downward; or else beneath the base of the central triangle whose apex points upward, according as the figure is a saṃhāra-chakra or a sṛṣṭi-chakra. Enclosing and overlapping one another are the four Śiva triangles with their apexes upward and the five Śakti triangles, the central one among them, with their apexes downward. Two circles of lotuses surround them, one of eight petals and the other of sixteen. Outside these run three rings, and a rectangular enclosure of three lines around the whole figure, with four gateways on the four sides. In the Bindu, Śakti is represented as Mahā-Tripura-Sundarī, the great Mother. The Bindu holds within itself the whole potentiality of the universe. Three are spoken of, to mark the three forces that arise when the unified, non-dual Śiva–Śakti divides into its two aspects: prakāśa, the aham or I-consciousness, and vimarśa, the idam or this-consciousness. These three forces are technically called Nāda, Kalā and Bindu. Bindu is the potential universe, poised to separate out into its various categories. All three of these forces, the mudrās of Śiva and Śakti together, are represented by a central red line with an imaginary line drawn across it, to stand for the polarity of that supreme category as Śiva–Śakti. The Bindu, the creative Śakti, is Mahā-Tripura-Sundarī, "the pride of Śiva" — Śiva as prakāśa, luminosity or awareness, who realises Himself through Her, the vimarśa Śakti. The rest of the Śrīchakra represents the whole of the cosmos. The Brahmāṇḍa, the cosmic egg, has evolved out of the Bindu, which stands for Tripura-sundarī, the creative power of the cosmos. Just as Tripura-sundarī, the Divine Mother, is Śakti figured as the consort of Śiva, the Supreme Being, so Kuṇḍalinī is that cosmic power in one segment, the Śakti of the jīva — and the jīva is an aṃśa, a particle, of the Supreme Śiva embodied as the individual, the microcosm. It is this Śakti that unfolds within the individual the counterparts of all twenty-five cosmic categories. As the Supreme Will, Śakti is described as the Consciousness of Bliss. The Saundarya Laharī describes the universe, in its subtle and in its gross forms, as the transformation of Śakti. All these elements stand in their gross macrocosmic aspect as the universe now undergoing transformation, and in their subtle microcosmic aspect as the six chakras in the body. Yet Śakti is not lost in the effect; She keeps Her own identity as the Supreme Will, the Consciousness of Bliss.

(Extracts from the Saundarya Laharī of Ādi Śaṅkarāchārya)

A GERMAN DEVOTEE ASKS......

Vighneśvar (Rudolf B. Rueger), a German devotee, with his guru Svāmī Fakīrānand, in October 1999 — to clear away his doubts and to guide him upon the path of wisdom:

1) Devotee: Gurujī, how did you come to the spiritual path?

1) Gurujī: I came to this path by the grace and the blessings of Guru Gorakhnāth.

2) Devotee: Tell me about Guru Gorakhnāth.

2) Gurujī: Guru Gorakhnāth is known above all in the North of India as a great and immortal yogī of the sect of Lord Śiva. He grants His devotees their desires, material and spiritual alike. He is the tutelary deity of my family. Lord Śiva and Guru Gorakhnāth are both worshipped in my house. In my village there is a dhūnī of Guru Gorakhnāth (the place where holy men kindle a fire with wood from the jungle).

3) Devotee: At what age did you become a follower of Guru Gorakhnāth and of Lord Śiva?

3) Gurujī: In my childhood the religious atmosphere of my family worked on me strongly. It grew stronger with the years. I was too tender to see people in pain, and I had no love for the material world. Munīndra Bhagavān, Haiḍākhān Bābā, once came to the village of Dhanyān with nine holy men, when I was seven or eight years old. At His own wish He offered khīr, sweet rice boiled in milk, in my parents' house. By His blessings my faith and my devotion to God grew firm. Haiḍākhān Bābā went into mahāsamādhi in 1922 at the meeting of the rivers Kālī Gaṅgā and Sarayū, at Pithorāgaṛh in Uttarāñchal. He manifested again in the form of Brahmachārī Bābā, and I was fortunate enough to have His darśan at the age of fourteen or fifteen at Padampurī Āśram, in the district of Nainītāl. Brahmachārī Bābā came to my village many times and stayed there for long spells. Bābājī has a temple of Śiva and a small hut built at Dhanyān. My family was blessed beyond measure with the chance to serve Bābājī from time to time at the Dhanyān āśram for nearly twenty-five years. Bābājī has manifested four times. The first was in the form of Lama Bābā, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; then as Munīndra Bhagavān, Haiḍākhān Bābā, in the nineteenth and twentieth; the third as Brahmachārī Mahārāj (1926–1956); and the last as Haiḍākhān-vāle Bābā (1970–1984), commonly called Bābājī. In a few years Bābājī will manifest once more in human form. Western devotees have shown me books and writings which reveal that Jesus Christ came to India at the age of nineteen and stayed with Bābājī for ten years; he returned at twenty-nine and preached Christianity. Bābājī Himself confirmed this.

4) Devotee: I have learned that many foreign devotees who were disciples of Sāī Bābā, of Śrī Maharṣi Maheś Yogī and of other saints were enlightened, and had the darśan of God in the forms they desired, when they came to you at Haiḍākhān or elsewhere for meditation.

4) Gurujī: It is true that the clean hearts of genuine devotees of good character reach spiritual heights, and that they have had the darśan of Bābājī and of other forms of God through me. There was nothing exceptional in me. Bābājī made me an instrument for blessing the deserving. It is a great power that has made me able to serve human beings.

5) Devotee: What do you mean when you say that you have lived with Bābājī for many centuries, through many births?

5) Gurujī: A great old saint of a hundred years, Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj of Gaṅgotrī, a place in the Himālaya, came to Vṛndāvan for the darśan of Bābājī. He told me that Bābājī was a manifestation of Śiva, his own eternal Guru. Sombārī Bābā, Gaṅgotrī Bābā and I were in Tibet while Bābājī was in the form of Lama Bābā. Before His fourth manifestation, Bābājī let me know that He had come in physical form. In 1971, at my first darśan, I recognised the Lord to whom I had been bound through so many lives, and I fell weeping at His lotus feet. I was filled with a joy I had never known. Gaṅgotrī Mahārāj declared that Bābājī had come for a short while and would depart within a few years. He foretold too that Bābājī would manifest again in the form of a young boy.

6) Devotee: How many times did Bābājī ask you to follow brahmacharya and to keep away from family life?

6) Gurujī: He never gave any such instruction. The divine blessings work like a powerful magnet: they make faith and devotion stronger, while material desire and attachment grow weaker and weaker. Although I had not yet decided to leave my family, Bābājī never kept me away from His lotus feet for more than two or three weeks at a time — until at last I was kept permanently at Haiḍākhān Dhām.

7) Devotee: Can you tell me about Mahā Avatār Bābā?

7) Gurujī: Mahā Avatār Bābā is a descent of Lord Śiva and the master of the cosmos. A manifestation in human form, carrying all the divine powers so that they may be poured out upon man for the good of humanity in this material world, and afterwards disappearing — that is called a Mahā Avatār. In 1971 I met Professor Jalwi Dorab, a professor of English literature at Agra University, in Jaipur, during a Devī Bhāgavat recitation and yajña held in Bābājī's presence. Dorab had served for twenty years as Chief Secretary of the worldwide Theosophical Society. In the course of our talk he disclosed that Lord Śiva is known in their Society as Mahā Chaughan. It is worth noting that in northern India the village deities speak of Bābājī as 'Mahā Chaughan' or simply 'Chaughan'. According to the Society, Mahā Chaughan presides over a council of the gods that includes the Mother Goddess, Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Gaṇeśa. This council meets twice a year — at Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām in the north of India and at Śambhala in the south — to decide the destiny of every individual. It is the council's charge to grant each soul the recognition due to it, and a bright future, according to its good deeds.

8) Devotee: You are one of Bābājī's closest devotees. Tell me how the āśram came to be organised. Did you take Bābājī's counsel and instruction in the matter?

8) Gurujī: In the beginning I organised the āśram according to Bābājī's instructions. After that I never once felt as though I were doing any work of my own. I have always felt that Bābājī's divine power stands behind everything. Later Bābājī established the Haiḍākhān Trust. Munirāj and I were appointed its president and vice-president. Many Indian and foreign devotees became members of the Haiḍākhāṇḍī Samāj by paying the membership fee. There are working centres in many places, in India and abroad.

9) Devotee: Do you find any change in the number of devotees between the days of Bābājī's physical presence and now?

9) Gurujī: Yes, many changes have taken place. There is less coming and going of devotees now, because He is no longer here in physical form. Yet the fact remains that Bābājī is everywhere present. It is plain from the way He has appeared to worthy devotees during their meditation. Bābājī said that the late Mahendra Mahārāj, Girdhārī Lāl (Śāstrījī's younger brother) and Bishan Siṃh (my elder brother) were in Śivlok, the realm of Śiva. "They will come with Me when I come again," Bābājī said. I remarked that I could hardly be so fortunate as to live long enough for Your darśan. Bābājī kept silent. In 1972 a great saint, Nantin Mahārāj, having received Bābājī's darśan, declared that Lord Śiva Himself had manifested for the welfare of mankind. He was the creator and the protector of the universe. After some years He would appear again as a young man. Many great saints have foretold His reappearance. I put it to Bābājī that the works He had raised up in earlier manifestations had all been destroyed, and that what stood now ought to remain untouched until He came again. Bābājī replied, "You and Munirāj should look after it all the same."

10) Devotee: It is often hard for people to grasp the truth. Why is that?

10) Gurujī: Society has drifted away from truth, from virtue, from values and from the culture of devotion. It lies in the grip of a coarse culture. Civilisation is dying of the decay of the public conscience. Respect for elders and for the aged is gone. The audio-visual culture is one of the strongest forces leading the young astray. Truth is the essence of every religion. Truth is the essence of the Gītā. Bābājī said that truth, simplicity and love are the foundation of all religious observance and of all right conduct. Mahātmā Gandhi's rule of life was the same: truth, simplicity and love. Indeed, 'Truth is God' and 'God is Truth'. To practise truth is certainly hard, but it is not impossible. Be honest with yourself and with your body: take pure and natural food, keep a moderate routine, hold to good conduct. That will make you peaceful, healthy and wise, which is the very heart of happiness. So be serene and glad, and make others glad.

11) Devotee: One should not ask God for material gain — please make this clear to me. Many sādhus and sannyāsīs in India neither work nor perform sādhanā and pūjā. Is this true?

11) Gurujī: The Supreme divine Father knows our needs and our difficulties. He would never allow us to suffer, and He always provides what we truly need. Certain good-for-nothing people, disguised as sādhus, have made of it an easy way of living. They cheat others and deceive themselves. They are not true sādhus.

12) Devotee: Out of your long experience of the spiritual life, would you say that society honours a saint merely because he is a saint, or that he earns its respect by his service and his good deeds?

12) Gurujī: Good deeds and service to the needy are the essence of this path. A saint attains a divine dignity when he serves humanity selflessly in the name of the Almighty. His sense of 'I' and 'mine' dissolves. He feels the divine power at work in every task he carries out. He earns the respect of society by his good deeds and by his willingness to serve mankind. It is not very difficult to reach such a state at Haiḍākhān, where the supreme blessings of God are available at every hour. One has only to practise with full devotion and faith. At Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām there is no discrimination of caste, creed, colour or nationality. People from every walk of life are equally respected and equally loved, and they live as members of one world family. I feel that the whole world is a single household.

13) Devotee: Is there a remedy for the troubles of the world?

13) Gurujī: Though we are not almighty as God is, we can certainly help those in need in their daily life and lighten their suffering. It is our first and moral duty to extend to them financial, moral and physical help, and to the institutions that labour for such noble causes as well. This is the real service of God, and it is a form of worship.

14) Devotee: Can the ego be lessened, or wiped out altogether?

14) Gurujī: Service rendered selflessly to humanity, and action free of every desire and motive, gradually release a man from ego, and he gives himself to the lotus feet of God. The one feeling that remains is that he is merely an instrument through which the divine power gets things done. When the 'I' leaves you, only pure, eternal, blissful awareness remains; the Supreme Being remains. Such a man, empty of pride, would be a divine figure.

15) Devotee: Should we concentrate on any particular chakra while reciting 'Om Namaḥ Śivāya'?

15) Gurujī: It has been explained already that the simplest way is to concentrate on the third eye while sitting in siddhāsana.

16) Devotee: Before He left His body, did Bābājī give you any instructions for the running of the āśram?

16) Gurujī: The executive members of the Samāj were there to look after the āśram. Since I had lived in the āśram, it was my moral duty to care for it in every respect, according to Bābājī's instructions. Bābājī also blessed me with divine mantras, that I might relieve devotees and needy people of disease and secure their spiritual progress; and for these I underwent a most severe sādhanā (penance) for years.

17) Devotee: What is the jhāṛā?

17) Gurujī: The word jhāṛā means the removing of dust and dirt — the cleansing and purifying of the brain, the mind, the organs, the cells and the other parts of the body with peacock feathers, while the mantra is recited, in order to make a person whole.

18) Devotee: How many āśrams are there in northern India, and where do they stand?

18) Gurujī: There are many āśrams and temples in northern India, but the principal āśrams are only six, as follows:

1- Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām, established in 1840. Village and P.O. Haiḍākhān, District Nainītāl.

2- Kāṭhgharia Āśram, near Haldvānī, established in 1870.

3- Haiḍākhān Līlā Kṣetra Dhām, in the village of Dhanyān, established in 1890.

4- Bhagavān Haiḍākhān-vāle Bābā Āśram, at Vṛndāvan, Mathurā, established in 1960.

5- Ānandapurī Chiliyānaulā Āśram, Rāṇīkhet, established in 1973.

6- A-2/228 Janakpurī, Delhi, established in 1976.

The Haiḍākhān āśram is the original one, set among the hills of Kūrmāñchal Kailāś, which is the original Kailāś. The cave there, on the bank of the Gautam Gaṅgā, is Lord Śiva's primordial seat. As the population grew and the surroundings changed, Lord Śiva moved His throne to Mānsarovar Kailāś. Bābājī Himself confirmed this.

19) Devotee: Bābājī built nine temples for nine deities of God. Is it necessary to worship all nine forms?

19) Gurujī: Every man perceives the form of God differently, and his conviction, his devotion and his own choice shape that perception. It is not possible to concentrate on two or more points at the same time. So a person usually concentrates on one form alone. But devotees hold the other forms in reverence too.

20) Devotee: Do devotees receive the darśan of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Rāma and the other gods? How do they receive it? Is there a particular technique?

20) Gurujī: Everything depends on a devotee's faith, devotion and inward piety, and on his freedom from ego and from material craving. As I have said before, Bābājī blessed devotees with the darśan of the different forms of God, through me and by other means. For Self-realisation there is no road but absolute surrender, with entire faith and devotion. Repeat the mantra at all times, with such diligence that it soaks through your whole body. A state is reached in which you feel yourself one single being, within and without. That, truly, is the highest attainment of Self-realisation.

21) Devotee: Did Bābājī give any sign of His mahāsamādhi?

21) Gurujī: Yes, there were many signs. Bābājī often told me that His task was accomplished and that He now wished to return to His own country. Three or four months before His mahāsamādhi He showed me His departure in a dream. When I asked what the dream meant, He turned the matter aside. Many times He said lightly, before the devotees, that Rādhe Śyām — an American devotee — would die here, and that his wife would build his samādhi near the temple. We could not read His signs and remained in the dark, for we never once thought that He would truly leave us so soon.

22) Devotee: Will Bābājī return soon?

22) Gurujī: I have said already that the great and renowned saints Gaṅgotrī Bābā and Nantin Bābā foretold that Bābājī would return after a few years. Bābājī Himself told me that He would come back with those few devotees of His who are now in Śivlok.

23) Devotee: How did you feel when Bābājī departed?

23) Gurujī: It was an unbearable shock to me. Though I did not weep, I grew restless, and I began to lose both sleep and appetite. A high fever came upon me, with cough and cold. My body responded to no treatment. I thought my end was near. Twenty-two days after His mahāsamādhi, Bābājī appeared to me in a dream in a new and youthful body, and blessed me. He also chided me for having taken no steps toward opening a middle school at Dhanyān Āśram. He asked me, further, to place the order for the image of Lama Bābā — one form of His manifestation — as He had directed at Dhanyān in December 1982. I promised to act without delay. Day by day I recovered.

24) Devotee: Ten years ago a young Bābā came to Haiḍākhān, but he was not allowed to stay in the āśram. Why?

24) Gurujī: So many Bābās, young and old, came to the āśram from time to time. A few of them came to pursue the spiritual life; others came with dishonest intentions. All of them, however, left the āśram of their own accord after a few days. The tricksters among them had to be driven out by force.

25) Devotee: Did you feel any guilt in driving those Bābās from the āśram?

25) Gurujī: I have said already that it is that unknown divine power which makes me take such actions. Though I am an old man, physically weak and with an ailing heart, I have always been bold in standing against ill-intentioned people, and in opposing unfair dealings within the āśram.

26) Devotee: Does one need a special blessing to go to Kūrmāñchal Kailāś?

26) Gurujī: It is Lord Śiva's most holy seat for sādhanā. Only deserving devotees can reach it.

27) Devotee: Tell me something about the divine importance of Haiḍākhān Līlā Kṣetra Dhām, Dhanyān Āśram, Almoṛā.

27) Gurujī: This Mokṣa Dhām — the place of liberation — is an ancient house. In its north-western part there is a small room in which Bābājī stayed during His previous manifestation. It has now been turned into a room for pūjā, and Bābājī installed His own image there. Bābājī moved the Śiva temple, and had a small hut built beside this house. He stayed in the hut for only two days, and afterwards gave it to me. The images of Lama Bābā, Śrī Munīndra Bhagavān, Guru Gorakhnāth and Śrī Viṣṇudatt — Śāstrījī — were installed in the Śiva temple. This was the ground where Lord Śiva, that is Bābājī, and the village deities performed their divine līlā. The place is wholly charged with spiritual vibrations, most potent and strong. Bābājī has sent many deserving devotees to Līlā Kṣetra Dhām for their liberation. During ārtī and meditation He blessed many devotees with the darśan of Lord Śiva and the Goddess Pārvatī. Bābājī used to say that Dhanyān Āśram is a most holy and sacred place, where not only human beings attain salvation, but even the animals and the birds.

28) Devotee: Is there another āśram known as Svarg Āśram?

28) Gurujī: During the third manifestation, as Brahmachārī Bābā, He had a hut made for Himself two kilometres east of Dhanyān, high in the hills and deep within the thick forest. It was known as Svarg Āśram. Only its ruins can be seen there now.

29) Devotee: What is the meaning of enlightenment?

29) Gurujī: To know oneself in the light of God is enlightenment. In darkness we need a lamp to do our work. In the same way, to know and to understand the essence of life, enlightenment is most essential.

30) Devotee: Is sādhanā — devotion — a spiritual labour, or is it a spiritual progress?

30) Gurujī: Sādhanā is spiritual. Through continued practice the devotee advances spiritually and obtains the darśan of God.

31) Devotee: Are you an enlightened soul?

31) Gurujī: I hold no such notion, nor do I consider myself enlightened. I perform my duty with total devotion to God. I feel that I merely follow the instructions of the supreme power.

32) Devotee: Have you any relationship with the inner consciousness?

32) Gurujī: I have said already that the feeling of "I" never enters my mind. I am only an instrument of that divine power. Yes — I have never experienced the absence of Bābājī within me.

33) Devotee: What is your daily routine?

33) Gurujī: I wake every morning between three and four o'clock, and by four I have finished my bath and the rest. Following Bābājī's instructions, I read the Haiḍākhāṇḍī Saptaśatī and the Durgā Saptaśatī. Then I worship the Śrī Yantra, the Lakṣmī Yantra, the Śiva Liṅga and Bābājī, and perform the ārtī. The remainder of the day passes in japa, in the recitation of mantras, and in giving the jhāṛā to devotees and to those who suffer from illness. I preach in praise of my Lord, Bābājī.

34) Devotee: Do you always do the japa of the Mahāmantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya?

34) Gurujī: Yes, I do the japa of this mantra as much as I can, with the rudrākṣa mālā, which is of great benefit for japa. My effort is to keep the japa sounding while I sit, while I rest, while I walk, speak and work — as far as it is possible. Slowly, slowly the mind and the soul are purified.

35) Devotee: Is faith in the mantra necessary?

35) Gurujī: Yes, it is wholly obligatory. A devotee will progress without cease on his spiritual path if the Mantra Japa is done with complete faith, devotion and reverence. The guidance of a guru is indispensable.

36) Devotee: In Western countries children are widely exposed to the Internet, to television and the like, yet they receive no education of the kind sādhanā gives for the spiritual life. The old, likewise, know nothing of such sādhanā. What do you think of this?

36) Gurujī: The present system of education stands in need of change. The Internet and television have influenced and corrupted children at a tender age, and the old have not been spared either. Older people should read religious books, and should go to hear religious discourses from saints and from learned men. Avoid stale food; eat food that is fresh and wholesome. Vegetarian food is known to be the best food for human beings.

37) Devotee: Can a man's weakness be removed with the help of divine mantras?

37) Gurujī: Complete faith in the guru and the ceaseless recitation of the divine mantra do increase a devotee's confidence in himself. Step by step he conquers his weakness, and is led to the path of self-realization and to the darśan of God. This is the state of supreme bliss.

38) Devotee: What is the dhūnī?

38) Gurujī: A sacred place where sādhus and saints kindle firewood is called a dhūnī. It aids them in meditation, in steadiness and in practice, and also in the awakening of the divine chakras.

39) Devotee: Will you tell me something about satsaṅg?

39) Gurujī: The company of saints, sages and learned men is called satsaṅg. This is the one key to humanity's progress in the material and the spiritual life alike. It helps a man to the attainment of self-realization. It is said that self-realization cannot be won without the company of saints and sages.

40) Devotee: What is kīrtan?

40) Gurujī: To sing in rhythm in praise of God is kīrtan. This is the simplest form of yoga. Singing with devotion gives a feeling of immense fulfilment. It produces divine vibrations and purifies the surroundings.

41) Devotee: Which is the better way to have the darśan of God — sādhanā or kīrtan?

41) Gurujī: Many great saints prefer devotion, that is sādhanā, to kīrtan. But everything depends on the choice of the sādhak, the devotee himself. Both methods are equally effective.

42) Devotee: What is the havan, the yajña or fire ceremony?

42) Gurujī: The universe was created by the combination of a number of elements present in nature, and the celestial host of the gods regenerates and creates this creation, and helps in its nourishment and its protection, through those same natural elements. During the yajña, the offerings made into the fire with the utterance of mantra spread atoms and molecules beneficial to the environment, and supply energy to the gods who govern the elements of nature. In this way the cycle of nature is kept in order. The atmosphere, moreover, is purified as well.

43) Devotee: What is the difference between darśan and pūjā?

43) Gurujī: Darśan means to have the vision of God in physical form, and to experience complete peace and bliss. The whole body is filled with such divine energy, light and vibration as cannot be explained in words. It is a matter of one's own experience. Pūjā is an expression of the deep feelings of devotion, performed as a ritual after the deity — God — has been adorned with sandalwood paste, flowers, garlands, incense and other ornamental articles, including costly ornaments and, of course, garments. This is done to show the highest reverence to God, and it is completed with ārtī and kīrtan. It brings a good and peaceful feeling, supreme satisfaction, and energy.

44) Devotee: How can one follow the path of Truth, Simplicity and Love?

44) Gurujī: One can follow this path by reading spiritual books; by satsaṅg with great saints and sages; by self-control; by introspection through meditation and sādhanā; and by dedicating one's life to the service of humanity without any motive.

45) Devotee: What is chandan, and how does it affect us?

45) Gurujī: Chandan wood — sandalwood — has particular divine medicinal properties. Its supernatural fragrance gives a sensation of wonderful purity. Applied to the forehead and to the body, it keeps the mind and the eyes fresh and clear. It also keeps the body in health and guards it from many diseases.

46) Devotee: Is life in the āśram hard, compared with ordinary life?

46) Gurujī: There is much difference between the two. In the āśram one follows its rules, its regulations and its rituals strictly. Life here is ordered, and one must be very punctual, sincere and regular in carrying out the duties assigned. The atmosphere of the āśram is very good for every kind of spiritual progress. Self-discipline is the most essential thing in āśram life.

47) Devotee: Since you have lived in the āśram so long, what is your wish or desire now?

47) Gurujī: I want to remain healthy and fit, so that I may serve the needy in every way I can. This is what I pray to Bābājī for.

48) Devotee: Did Bābājī tell you anything about the destruction?

48) Gurujī: Bhole Bābā did not tell it to me alone. He said it again and again to people at large: that a mass destruction was near at hand. He asked them to be watchful, and to recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya, the Mahāmantra, at every moment; to follow the path of Truth, Simplicity and Love in daily life. This is the only way to be protected. I bow to Bābājī again and again. Bābājī's līlās — His divine plays — in that last form were singular, miraculous, and beyond the grasp of the human brain.

Bhole Bābā kī jai!

'Om Namaḥ Śivāya'

BLESSINGS

Fulwārī Sharīf

Bihār

Master of yoga, ascetic of the first order, the Samrāṭ — at the lotus feet of His Holiness Śrī Rāṇā Gurujī.

Śrī 1008 Śrī Haiḍākhān Bihārī Dev sends you His gracious blessings. You are the most fortunate of devotees, wholly absorbed in penance through these Navrātra, performing nine hours of jal samādhi (penance standing immersed in water) each day at the most sacred Dhām, Haiḍākhān.

Lord Haiḍākhān is greatly pleased with your devotion, and He has much praise for you.

O devotee, given up to penance — I, Viṣṇu, bow at your feet in salutation.

Yours sincerely,

Āchārya Viṣṇudatt

Dhanya dhanya Dhanyān śubhra, pragaṭe sant Fakīr!

Tyāge sab sansār sukh, jinhi vidhi hansi nīr!!

(Dhanyān, most blessed of holy places, where the holy yogī Fakīr appeared!

He who cast away all the luxury of the world, as the swan casts off the water!!)

Śrī Sadāśiva Charitāmṛt.

THE VISION OF HEAVEN

I, Gopāl Datt Śāstrī, was an āchārya (a teacher of the sacred texts) to the princely family of the Gwalior estate. For all the worldly comforts about me, my mind knew no peace. I longed above everything for the darśan of God. Yet the longing was never granted, though I gave my life to the study of the Vedas, to the performing of the sacred rites, and to concentration upon God. In those years I also suffered a stroke of paralysis. To satisfy my desire I gave up every comfort of the royal estate and went to Vṛndāvan on 1 October 1973. I moved in the company of celebrated saints and scholars, but found neither peace nor contentment. One day I came to hear of Haiḍākhān Bābā. I went for His darśan, and took Him for an ordinary saint like any other. During Navrātra, Svāmī Fakīrānand invited me to recite the Devī Bhāgavat at Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj. How could I dare refuse such an offer on so holy an occasion? Svāmījī always spoke of Bābājī as the Lord — Prabhu — and told me that Bābājī was Bhagavān Sāmba Sadāśiva of Kāśī Viśvanāth Dhām in person. I did not believe it, and went on calling Him a saint. Once Fakīrā Bābā came to me in great anger and said, "You read a man so well — why can you not recognise God?" Still I was not persuaded to accept Him as Lord Śiva. During the recitation of the Devī Bhāgavat, Bābājī asked me to read aloud the merits and the glory of Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām. I had never visited that place. So I began to describe it from the Uttar Mānaskhaṇḍ Purāṇ. It was about eleven o'clock. As I was reading the fifteenth śloka of the seventh chapter of the sacred book Uttar Mānaskhaṇḍ, I suddenly saw three mountain peaks. I was facing north. The middle peak could not be climbed; it was named Niṣād Parvat (mountain). The peak to its north was lower, and was named Mount Gandhamādan. To the left of Niṣād stood Ilāvat Parvat. The one who stood beside me describing all this told me that he was Kāl Bhairav, one of the chief attendants of Śiva. I began to tremble. "Do not be afraid," said Kāl Bhairav. The recitation of the book went on. Then I saw an open ground at the foot of Niṣād Parvat, which was pointed out to me as Amarāvatī. There I saw hundreds of gods. Kāl Bhairav said that the god wearing a golden crown, with a garland of lotus flowers in his hands, was Devrāj Indra, the king of the gods. To his north stood four-armed Brahmā. Lord Viṣṇu was in the form of Kṛṣṇa, and on His left was the goddess Lakṣmī. There were other gods and goddesses whom I could not recognise. Meanwhile I finished the seventh chapter and began to recite the eighth. Now Kāl Bhairav took my hand and led me west of Niṣād Parvat, to Siddheśvar Mahādev. Here, he said, Lord Viṣṇu performed tapasyā (penance) and received the darśan of Munīndra Bhagavān; that is why the place is called Siddheśvar Mahādev, and it lies to the east of Mount Kailāś. At the foot of Mount Kailāś I saw a divine cave, and Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām. Kāl Bhairav said, "You have all along been kept from the sight of Haiḍākhān Dhām. Now I have shown it to you." Then Munīndra Bhagavān appeared at the cave, wearing a kurtā and the kanchhopī ṭopī, the cap that covers the ears. He held a rudrākṣa mālā in one hand and a staff in the other. Suddenly the figure changed, and became the present form of Bhole Bābā, seated upright before me at Sāmba Sadāśiva Kuñj, Vṛndāvan. His dress was the same. He blessed me. I was greatly afraid, but Kāl Bhairav assured me of his protection, and vanished. I returned to the present. The recitation of the kathā was still going on, but my mind had no peace. The tears ran down. All at once I felt that my life had found its meaning. I rose, bowed at Bābājī's feet, and begged His pardon. Bābājī blessed me and signalled me to continue the kathā. Though this was a truly miraculous experience, the people of this age would still not believe it easily. That is why I have set my experience down, so that people may see it for themselves and be blessed by it.

Gopāl Datt Jośī (Śāstrī)

THE POWER OF THE MANTRA

We received a message from Svāmījī through Śrī Rām Tīrth Śarmā that we should come to Delhi for our son's treatment. We could not go, however, for circumstances at home were against us. Then, to our wonder, by the grace of God, Svāmījī himself arrived at Khetṛī Nagar on 25 February. He performed the yajña, the kīrtan and the rites. He gave the healing jhāṛā to all who were in need. We went for Svāmījī's darśan with our sick son, a graduate of twenty. Svāmījī gave my son the jhāṛā three times. Seeing the improvement, I was filled with hope. Svāmījī instructed me to bring the boy to Delhi for treatment. We agreed at once, and took our son to Delhi. Svāmījī gave him the jhāṛā for an hour, twice a day, until 3 March. It was a miracle: in twenty days my son's health improved beyond measure. Little by little Atul grew well. He began to feel hunger, and he was able to walk. The convulsions stopped as well. We had let go of every hope; now we were full of confidence. All the medicines the doctors had prescribed were stopped. His food was given strictly as Svāmījī directed. All this came about by the blessings of Śrī 1008 Bhagavān Haiḍākhān alone. True joy lies in reciting Om Namaḥ Śivāya and in bowing at His lotus feet. It is Bābājī alone who has sent Svāmījī into this world to lift the sufferings of humankind. We all bow to Svāmījī and touch his feet. With this I close my letter. We bow to Bhole Bābā.

Suresh Chandra Śarmā

Smt Manoramā Śarmā

THE DIVINE VISION

Śrī Bhairav Datt Śarmā, a Śāstrī, was an employee of the electricity department at Haldvānī. He came to Chiliyānaulā during Navrātra to receive Bābājī's blessings. He told me of his longing for the darśan of God. I asked him to sit on the mat and recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya, fixing his mind on the third eye, and I began the jhāṛā. After a little while his feelings were smoothed away, and the look on his face grew still. At the end of half an hour I stopped the jhāṛā. He rose and said, "I could not recognise Lord Śiva — Bābājī — in His physical form; that is a matter of remorse for me. Today He cleared away all my doubts and blessed me with His darśan in the divine form. My life is blessed now." Śarmā asked me, "Why could I not recognise Bābājī when He was in human form?" I answered that he had not been prepared within himself at that time. Today he was ready, with a pure heart, and for that reason the Lord had blessed him. I told him that he was the first devotee from the hills to come there with spiritual gain as his only object. Go, I said, and spread the message among the people, so that they too may make their lives fruitful. He wished to take dīkṣā (initiation) from me. I told him, "God has given you His darśan and has cleared your doubts, so there is no need of dīkṣā. Do your pūjā (prayers) regularly, and always recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya."

Bhole Bābā kī Jai

Svāmī Fakīrānand

PRAY TO HIM AND SING OF HIM

I, Revādhar Paneru, known to many by my pen name Rebonath, was appointed gardener at Haiḍākhān Dhām, to care for the plants and the flowers of the āśram. Bābājī had charged me to come to the Haiḍākhān Āśram for one day each month and to tend the garden. At that time I was teaching in a school far from Haiḍākhān. In those days it was very difficult to reach Haiḍākhān, and hardest of all during the monsoon. Yet I never once failed in that duty. I would take three days over the work instead of one, so that the garden might be properly done. I laboured from morning until evening, and I never felt tired. For most of that time Bābājī kept away from the devotees who came to Haiḍākhān. Very few people attended the ārtī and the pūjā in the āśram. There was then no means of reaching the Haiḍākhān Āśram except on foot, either along the river or over the mountain paths. Time passed, and Bābājī stayed on at Haiḍākhān. Within a few days many people were seen coming there. Many devotees experienced miracles that strengthened their faith that Bābājī is the embodiment of the mighty Lord Śiva. People realised that Bābājī is truly the centre of all powers and the original source of all energy. I too experienced such miracles many times, and Bābājī afterwards confirmed them. I met Fakīrā Bābā, and I found him to be a true devotee of Bābājī through many births. This was shown to me in my dreams. Once I dreamt that Fakīrā Bābā was seated upon a beautiful chair, telling the people around him that he was happy in the company of Bhole Bābā through so many births. I am a witness to Bābājī's handing over of the āśram's responsibilities to Svāmījī. I saw that Svāmījī had full knowledge of Bābājī, of the welfare of the universe, and of the secrets of Bābājī's manifestation — a knowledge no one else possessed. At so advanced an age, Svāmījī worked harder than many young men, and administered the āśram with great effect. His selfless devotion and love, his readiness to help, his service to those in need, his cheerful nature and his even-handed temper all reflect the greatness of his character. The measure of faith that Svāmījī has in Bābājī has not been seen in any other devotee. I saw him caring for the āśram and performing japa for the welfare of the universe, and I saw it even in my dreams. I have always found him anxious for the well-being of the devotees in the āśram. Every quality of the learned and of the saints is present in Svāmījī, beyond all doubt. Anyone could see his devotion and his knowledge of the sacred and powerful mantras. Svāmījī is always ready to relieve humanity of its suffering with the help of the mantras Bābājī bestowed upon him. He has lifted hundreds of people out of their pain. I am not competent enough to comment upon the matter. Twice I fell ill, and twice I was healed and revived by the divine treatment of the peacock feathers — the jhāṛā of Fakīrā Bābā. For this he had the divine blessings of Bābājī. Once, when I was still sick and no hope of life was left, I saw Svāmījī in my dream tying the vibhūti (sacred ash) around my arm. The next morning I was perfectly well. That was the finest example of his service to humanity. Svāmījī possessed the divine powers to grant you the darśan of God in many different forms.

Revādhar Paneru

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COMPANY OF SAINTS

I had the privilege of meeting Bābājī every day, from the day He came to Haiḍākhān until He attained mahāsamādhi in February 1984. After Bābājī's samādhi I had many more experiences of the divine power. I am neither a scholar nor an educated man, only a simple farmer who tells his experiences for the good of ordinary people. Once I was at Jālaun, at the guest house of G. R. Baruā (Home Secretary, U.P.), together with Svāmījī. I had the honour of sharing a room with him. That night I dreamt that the Divine Mother appeared to me in Her full śṛṅgār — adorned and ornamented from head to foot — and blessed me. I was overjoyed. Early in the morning I bowed to Svāmījī and touched his feet. Svāmījī asked what the matter was. I told him my dream. He was very pleased, and advised me to keep a daily routine: the morning pūjā, the recitation of Om Namaḥ Śivāya, time spent in the company of saints, and faith in God. May Mother Durgā bless me. Once, at Haiḍākhān, Svāmījī said, "I have seen Devakī [my daughter] in my dream; she was in the form of the Mother Goddess. It is surely a good sign, and an indication of good for you." Five or six days later a young man came to my house with a friend and said, "I propose marriage to your daughter Devakī." I went to Svāmījī and told him. He called Devakī to Haiḍākhān and, with her consent, settled everything concerning her marriage. By the grace and the blessings of Bābājī the wedding was celebrated that same month. The couple are very happy in their new home. My sincere request to the devotees would be this: go to the shelter of the Lord, and make your life happy, peaceful and fruitful. Svāmījī gave my daughter a book, the Haiḍākhāṇḍī Saptaśatī, and asked her to read it every day, and to keep a regular fast on Mondays. "Your future will be fruitful and blessed," said Svāmījī.

Bhavān Siṃh Sabhāl

THE DARŚAN OF BHOLE BĀBĀ

Respected Svāmījī,

Sādar Praṇām (respectful salutations),

I have received your letter. Forgive me for the delay in replying.

Svāmījī, from the day I came to Bābājī's shelter I have had many divine experiences, and especially from the day I met you. Some days ago the devotees of Haiḍākhān Bābā brought Bābājī's Charaṇ Pādukās (His holy sandals) from Jaipur to Khetṛī Nagar, to the house of Chiraṃjīlāl, and I too was invited. Being a latecomer, I performed the pūjā last of all. When it was over and everyone had gone, I asked Chiraṃjīlāl, "Where are the Charaṇ Pādukās? Where are we going to perform the pūjā of the Charaṇ Pādukās? I have not had their darśan yet." Chiraṃjīlāl said, "You have performed the pūjā of the Charaṇ Pādukās this very moment." I said to him, "I performed the pūjā of a Śiva liṅga, not of the Charaṇ Pādukās." Hearing my answer, he fell silent. I swear that I offered bel patra (bael leaves) and flowers to the Śiva liṅga, and not to the Charaṇ Pādukās.

One day, in a half-conscious state, I saw a great crowd gathered for the darśan of Bābājī, and I was among them. I stood at the very back. Thinking that so great a press of people left me no chance of the darśan, I began to eat something. Just then I saw Fakīrā Bābā — that is, yourself — and you said, "Bābājī, the Charaṇ Pādukās, has arrived, and you may have His darśan." Pointing to the vast crowd, I said, "Svāmījī, how can I?" At this you took my hand, drew me through the people, and we reached the Charaṇ Pādukās. You said, "Now take your darśan." I saw that the Charaṇ Pādukās were made of silver, and beautifully carved. There was no crowd at all. Only you and I were there. On the other side I saw devotees with white beards and faces of great sweetness, deeply absorbed in kīrtan. I felt grateful to you for having made the darśan of the Charaṇ Pādukās possible for me. When I turned towards you, you were no longer there.

You had made the impossible possible for me. I am truly grateful and indebted to you. I thank you. You have my reverence.

Yours lovingly,

Rām Tīrth

A DEVOTEE'S GRATITUDE

Respected Gurujī,

Śrī Gurudev Svāmī Fakīrānandjī, accept the warm praṇām of Pāpal, Chiraṃjī, Kiraṇ, Bindu and Dīp. I thank you from the depth of my heart for forming a group of devotees for regular satsaṅg at Khetṛī Nagar. We promise you to follow the path you have shown us, which has lit the lamp of Truth, Simplicity and Love. Every one of us took part in the pūjā held on 14 February 1994.

We received the sacred thread, sixteen in number. All those who received the jhāṛā from you are keeping quite well so far. No complaint has come except from L. K. Khannā. We pray you to relieve him of his sufferings and to heal him.

We bow at Gurujī's feet.

Yours,

Chiraṃjīlāl

THE LONGED-FOR GIFT

7.8.90

Most respected Svāmījī,

Bhole Bābā kī Jai (Victory to Bhole Bābā),

Sādar Charaṇ Sparś — I touch your feet with reverence. By the grace of God we are well, and we hope that you are healthy and vigorous. I have been blessed with a son by the grace of Bābājī and of yourself. He is now one year old. May Bābājī bless my son! We plan to visit Haiḍākhān during Navrātra and to give the bhaṇḍārā (the feast offered freely to all), as you instructed. We hope to stay at Haiḍākhān for nine days and to pay our homage to Lord Śiva. If the dates suit you, I would like to telephone Col. Chopṛā and ask his permission. We send you our many, many thanks for your kindness, and for the efforts by which you blessed us with a son. Kindly offer our greetings at the Lotus Feet of Bābājī.

Yours sincerely,

Madhu

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAIḌĀKHĀN DHĀM

My sister, Renu Narula, was suffering from an infection of the kidneys. My friend Sujit Chawla suggested that I take her to Fakīrā Bābā, one of the chief disciples of Haiḍākhān Bābā, for treatment. I decided to go to Haiḍākhān. I reached there with my sister and my mother on 1 July 1998. The natural beauty of that divine shrine, and the spiritual atmosphere all about it, gave us an immense joy that words cannot express. From the next day my sister's treatment began. Svāmījī gave her the jhāṛā for more than an hour every day and asked her again and again to recite the mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya. She improved steadily and was completely cured by 16 July 1998. Svāmījī gave the divine jhāṛā for meditation to my mother also. She tasted a heavenly bliss while meditating. She had the darśan of Lord Rāma, of Lakṣmaṇa and of the Goddess Sītā. She saw Śabarī too, offering the wild berries (ber) to Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. Thereafter Hanumānjī appeared and blessed her. "There are no words to describe the celestial bliss that darśan gave me," my mother said. Seeing me deeply worried and restless, Svāmījī initiated me into meditation through the jhāṛā. I recited Om Namaḥ Śivāya throughout it. Within moments I stood on the divine plane and saw Lord Brahmā. Next I saw Śiva and Pārvatī beneath the pīpal tree near the kuṭiyā (hut) of Śrī Haiḍākhān Bābā, and They blessed me. After that Lord Viṣṇu granted me His darśan. When the jhāṛā ended I could not hold myself back, and told Svāmījī that Lord Śiva is ever present here. Svāmījī said, "God is everywhere. He is present here in every particle." During my stay at Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām I learned by experience that Lord Śiva fulfils the desires of His children, and that He has made Svāmījī a source of welfare for mankind.

Yours sincerely,

Harish Kumar Budhiraja

THE IMPORTANCE OF HAIḌĀKHĀN SIDDH DHĀM

I, Renu Narula, a resident of Delhi, came to Haiḍākhān Dhām with my mother and my brother. I stayed at Haiḍākhān about sixteen days. I was suffering from an infection of the kidneys. Long treatment had brought no improvement. I went to every doctor and every hospital I could, and nothing came of it. Some friends advised me to go to Haiḍākhān and take the jhāṛā from Fakīrā Bābā. Svāmījī's jhāṛā cured me completely within fifteen days. This was the miraculous fruit of the blessings of Bhole Bābā and of the divinity of the sacred shrine of Haiḍākhān. One day Svāmījī gave me the jhāṛā for meditation while I went on reciting the powerful mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya. Within moments Lord Śiva and the Goddess Pārvatī appeared in my vision, beneath the pīpal tree near Bābājī's kuṭiyā. I saw Bābājī seated on a stone at the bank of the river Gautam Gaṅgā, His feet dipped in the water, as though He were saying, "Since you came you have not taken a holy dip in the water." Bābājī blessed me with both His hands. I felt blessed indeed. I felt strong, and for three days I sat beneath the pīpal tree in japa, reciting Om Namaḥ Śivāya. During the japa I had the darśan of Lord Śiva dancing in the divine heaven. I would set it down here plainly: whoever comes to this holy land will have his desires fulfilled. Again and again I bow to this sacred and holy earth. Fakīrā Bābā holds a treasury of divine powers. Words cannot describe him. So everyone is asked not to let the chance slip away. Through Fakīrā Bābā, Bābājī is relieving mankind of its sufferings and setting devotees upon the spiritual path. Elsewhere this might not be possible at all. I pray to God for the long life of Fakīrā Bābā, so that people may receive that bliss and be blessed with the darśan of Bhole Bābā.

Yours,

Renu Narula, Kṛṣṇā Devī

KINDNESS TO DEVOTEES

Respected,

Śrī Śrī 108 Śrī Fakīrā Bābā,

Sādar Charaṇ Sparś,

I have received your long-awaited letter and your news. As the long-awaited rain comes after the terrible heat of summer, and everyone feels relieved, so on receiving your letter I am relieved of my sorrows. By your blessings and those of Haiḍākhān Bābā every comfort is mine — yet all this belongs to the material and passing world. For all that, I am sad and troubled by the want of progress in my spiritual life. My longing is to grow spiritually, and I know it is not possible without your blessings. I have firm faith that you will help me in this. In material things I would pray only for enough to feed myself and my guests. When may I expect your sacred darśan here? With this I close my letter.

Yours,

GR Barua

RARE BLESSINGS

07. 10. 1995

Om Namaḥ Śivāya, Bhole Bābā kī jai,

A longing to have the darśan of God grew very strong in me through my contact with Svāmījī and his satsaṅg. My husband too, Colonel (Dr) SD Karlopia, Chief Cardiologist at the Military Hospital, Delhi Cantt, laid his own deep longing for God's darśan before Svāmījī. Svāmījī told us to come to him at about nine in the morning without eating anything. We presented ourselves as instructed. We were seated and asked to recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya while Svāmījī began the jhāṛā. After a little while my body grew light and all sense of the material world was gone. Powerful divine vibrations could be felt coursing through the body, with a sense of sinking deep into an ocean of bliss. My husband had the darśan of Bhole Bābā, and I had the darśan of the Divine Mother (the Goddess Durgā). On 21 September 1995 the famous milk miracle of the idols took place. We both witnessed it in a temple at Gopinath Bazar, Delhi Cantt. We too offered milk to the family of Śiva. My brother Sanjay, twenty-eight years old, had been afflicted with mental illness for the last ten years and wandered here and there like a madman. He had left his college ten years before. My parents were deeply anxious, for he was their only son and no kind of treatment made him better. At last, turned away on every side, we asked Svāmījī to relieve him of the illness. With his permission my father and my brother travelled from Jammu to Delhi. Every day my father went to Svāmījī at B-99, Neelamber Apartments, Sainik-Vihar, Pitampura at ten in the morning and returned about four in the afternoon. Svāmījī set my brother to reciting the powerful mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya and performed the jhāṛā with divine mantras three or four times a day. This went on for about twenty-five days. He improved day by day and in the end recovered altogether. Today, by Bābājī's blessings, he is in employment. I have deep trust that Bhole Bābā is helping mankind through Fakīrā Bābā. It is clear that the devotee and God are one. So I have asked all devotees of God to go to Fakīrā Bābā and obtain the blessings of Bhole Bābā.

Regards,

Vishno Devī Karlopia

BLESSED BĀBĀ

Col VK Chopra, Military Assistant to the then Chief of the Army Staff, his brother Col (Dr) Ashok Chopra (father of Priyanka Chopra, Miss World 2000) and their wives were army doctors at the Military Hospital, Delhi Cantt. Ashok Chopra and Pawan Chopra, the third brother, came to Haiḍākhān together with their wives. Each of them longed for a son. Svāmī Fakīrānand performed the Putreṣṭi (the fire-rite for the boon of a son) and tied a talisman around the arm of each of their wives. He gave the jhāṛā to them all. Both brothers had the darśan of Bābājī and returned home. In due course Bābājī blessed each of them with a son. The father of the Chopra brothers was bedridden with paralysis of the left side of his body. He had been taken for treatment to place after place, and all in vain. There was no improvement at all. In a family of doctors, the father went on suffering grievously. In the end they appealed to Svāmījī for their father's health. Svāmījī said, "Have patience and faith in God." In January 1993 they brought their father from Ambālā to Delhi for treatment. From the next day Svāmījī gave the old man the jhāṛā for more than an hour every day. He began to mend — first sitting up, then standing, and at last walking. Within twenty-four days of jhāṛā he was blessed and cured. Two years later all the Chopras gathered at the house of Ashok Chandra at Jorbagh for a function. Ashok Chandra is greatly devoted to Bābājī. The Chopra brothers told Svāmījī that their father was perfectly well and had taken to riding a scooter. Svāmījī said, "This is by the blessings of Bābājī." He must recite Bābājī's name and remember that supreme power always. Mrs Bimala Mata and Dr Arvind Lal, friends of the Chopra family, said, "It is not right that an old father of yours should ride a scooter. Do you wish him to be killed?" Ashok Chopra answered that his father felt suffocated in a car and preferred to ride a scooter. I would urge and appeal to all human beings to have faith in God — unseen, yet ever present to help mankind in one form or another.

Yours,

Yashpal Siṃh Rana

PAIN-KILLER BĀBĀ

Śrī 1008 Bhole Bābā Haiḍākhāṇḍī kī jai,

to comprehend and describe the fundamental greatness of the supreme God is beyond the reach of the human mind. I am alive today by His blessings. I set down my recorded experiences in the form of this letter, so that people may read them and restore their faith in God. I had heard of black magic — that through black magic anyone can be driven mad, made to suffer, even killed. I never believed it until I met it and suffered it myself. We had gone to Khetṛī Nagar three or four years ago. After a few months I began to feel dread and suffocation in my sleep. Furious voices and noises could be heard. To overcome the fear I tried to read the Hanumān Chālīsā, but I could not finish it. Thousands of rupees were wasted on every kind of treatment, and nothing came of them. Day by day I grew so weak that I could no longer do the housework. My husband, Dr Śarmā, and the other members of the family were sorrowful and deeply anxious. Our enemies did not stop at this. We even called in tāntriks (black magicians), who applied every kind of kriyā (rite) for nine days to relieve us of our suffering. But it had the opposite effect on me, and as a result I became so weak that I could not walk to the door to open it. I felt ill, with a high fever. The treatments went on for ten months. I was taken to every possible place, but the fever stayed constant. Three long years passed. I prayed to God always, and in vain. My prayers turned into complaints. I asked God, "Are You there or not?" One day, in my frustration, I complained to God and said, "You will not be spared. You will have to come to my house and answer for this." One evening I received a call from a devotee of Bābājī, who said, "I am sending Bābājī's prasād — please accept it. Kīrtan and satsaṅg will be held at your house next Monday; please do not refuse." We were advised to approach Svāmījī, who was known to be able to cure people of sufferings of this kind. My husband spoke to Svāmījī and obtained his permission to come to Delhi for treatment. The permission was granted. My husband and I reached Delhi on the morning of 22 December 1993. Svāmījī began my treatment with the jhāṛā four times a day. I recited Om Namaḥ Śivāya. Once, during the jhāṛā, I found Haiḍākhān Bābā standing before me, and I saw light coming from His eyes and falling upon my body. From that time on I felt relief growing with each jhāṛā. Once, in the course of the jhāṛā, I saw a horrible apparition. A black, grotesque boy of nineteen appeared before Svāmījī and, with folded hands, begged him to forgive his fault. He apologised to Svāmījī again and again for his duṣkarma (evil deed). He asked Svāmījī for peace and salvation for himself. Svāmījī warned him and said, "First leave her, and only then will I grant you peace." Hearing this, he vanished from that place. From that moment I was relieved of my sufferings. Then my health also improved, by Bābājī's blessings and Svāmījī's efforts. I became well. As a precaution Svāmījī handed over a bunch of peacock feathers, duly purified, and instructed my husband to give me the jhāṛā in case of distress. Now I am completely well and rejoice in my life. Since then Svāmījī has visited Khetṛī Nagar three or four times. He has lifted hundreds of people out of their suffering and imparted the knowledge of Bābājī for the spiritual uplift of the masses. He instructed the devotees to read the Haiḍākhāṇḍī Saptaśatī every day, and to perform the yajña, the kīrtan and the satsaṅg. In 1996 Svāmījī visited Khetṛī Nagar for a few days. We arranged the Haiḍākhāṇḍī Saptaśatī pāṭh (the ceremonial recitation), the havan and the yajña at my house. During the ārtī I saw Mā Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī carrying a basket full of red roses. In the evening I visited the house of another devotee, and there too I found beautiful red roses during the pūjā and the ārtī. I saw Bābājī and Mā Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī blessing everyone. I was overjoyed to receive this divine darśan. Most of the devotees began to dance during the kīrtan. Because of Svāmījī's visit to Khetṛī Nagar, and all the excitement of it, we could get no proper rest for many days. Even so, the devotees were wholly given to the divine work. On the morning of 29 September 1996, during the ārtī at Chiranjīlāl's house, I saw the Divine Mother blessing everyone. As I stood near the throne, the Divine Mother asked me, "What do you want? Speak." I said, "The flowers of devotion." The Mother said, "So be it." I asked, "How am I to believe that Your divine darśan is true and real?" The Divine Mother threw a flower towards me. I picked it up and felt blessed. I wish and pray for Bābājī's blessings upon all humanity through Svāmī Fakīrā Bābā, and that we may all bow to Lord Śiva and follow the spiritual path, and so progress and prosper.

Cordially,

Māyā Śarmā, Anandpuri Mohalla

Help yourselves by repeating the name of the Lord. You all know that the name of the Lord is the greatest thing there is. Why do your minds cling to the passing things of this world? Why do you not spend your time in meditation and in the repetition of the Lord's name? Attach yourselves to God.

26 December 1982

Śrī Mahāprabhujī

DIVINE HELP

It is my good fortune that I have come into contact with so broad-minded and great a man. I can only feel your great love; I have no power to describe it. My physical sufferings were a great trouble to me. You did not merely treat me — you also blessed me with a very high level of mental growth. This was made possible by Bābājī's divine blessings working through you, and by your kindness and your love. I suffered from heaviness and pain in the left side of my body. I consulted every doctor of repute, among them senior doctors of the King George Medical College, Lucknow, but found no improvement in my health. Dr Arvind Lal himself told me to go to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām and to take the jhāṛā from Fakīrā Bābā. I went to Haiḍākhān and stayed for a week, and Svāmījī gave me the jhāṛā with peacock feathers four times a day. Gradually I found improvement in my health. Now I am perfectly well and do all my work myself. Finally I pray to Bābājī, "May Fakīrā Bābā live a long life and bless everyone with the spiritual powers Bābājī has given him." My parents join me in offering you our humble salutations, and so do the other members of the family.

Dhīraj Pāṇḍey

YOGA ŚAKTI

Śrī P.K. Miśra, Senior Secretary of the Sales Tax Department, Lucknow, came to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām. After taking the darśan of all the temples he said, "This place is filled with divine light." He said further, "The atmosphere of society is extremely polluted, and it will be very hard to work in the Government departments." I offered him some literature about Bābājī to read, and told him that devotion to God through meditation could give him spiritual power. It would help him in dealing with his staff and with the public in daily life. His orders would then be received as the orders of a guru. During the satsaṅg he expressed his wish to receive initiation into meditation. But he had no time to extend his leave and stay at Haiḍākhān Dhām. So I held out an invitation to him for the following year. I advised him to come with his family and to stay about two weeks. I assured him that Bābājī would surely be gracious enough to show him His blessings and to enrich him with divine powers. The next year P.K. Miśra came with his family. I gave him the jhāṛā, trusting that Bābājī would certainly bless him with darśan and divine power. I had him recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya, and began the process of the jhāṛā. After a few minutes the expression of his face changed and his body trembled. Though he was seated, he began to leap a foot above the ground. I continued with the jhāṛā. Sometimes he went into deep meditation, and sometimes he went on leaping. I stopped the jhāṛā after forty-five minutes. He passed into deep meditation. He had no awareness of his physical self. Two hours later, when he came to himself, he said with great reverence, "Svāmījī, you have given me the darśan of that supreme power which cannot be described in words." Every day he came to me for the jhāṛā and went into deep meditation. He said, "Where else on earth shall I receive supreme bliss? Only at Haiḍākhān." Time passed, and after three years P.K. Miśra came to Haiḍākhān again. He brought fifteen young officers with him. He took the jhāṛā for meditation. His young officers asked what I had done to P.K. Miśra, that he remained always in deep meditation and took no care of himself at all. Even in the office he would say to everyone, "To remember God is the first and foremost duty of a human being. He has given us this body so that we may cross the stage of this world and play our part in it. This is the fundamental truth of life; this is the eternal truth." When I asked Miśra about it, he said, "Gurujī, tell me — am I doing wrong?" I said, "No." I told all those present that this is the work of a disciple: to preach the virtues of the divine guru among all people, for the spiritual uplift of human beings, which is their true welfare.

Bhole Bābā kī Jai

Fakīrā Bābā

Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām

This Viśva Mahā Dhām is no ordinary place. It is special because Lord Śiva, in His mortal body, lives and moves here. The earth touched by the sacred feet of Śrī Mahāprabhujī is the holiest of all, higher even than the heavens. We who are here forget even the date, the day and the hour. The mind gathers itself of its own accord, for this is the sacred place of Lord Śiva's penance. The Gautam Gaṅgā flows here without ceasing, with a roaring voice, and all the siddha yogīs, the demons and the gods worship in this place. Those who live here for some time obtain, of themselves, many kinds of yogic power.

Śrī Mahāprabhujī

GRACIOUS BĀBĀ

Respected,

Bhole Bābā kī jai! Gulābchand Śarmā drew me to this satsaṅg, and now I too go and take part in it. By Bābājī's blessings we are healthy and strong. May God grant you a long life for public service and for the good of all. This Sunday, that is, 9 January 1994, we placed around our necks the sacred threads you sent us. We fast on Mondays, apply the vibhūti both morning and evening, do our japa, and read the pāṭh of the Śrī Saptaśatī as a daily routine. About three years ago — from December 1990 to June 1992 — my wife developed pain and pressure in her heart, with a feeling that the heart was about to sink. The pressure later eased, but the nightmares went on. She was afraid that some evil power wished to choke her throat. The choking in her throat and the sinking of her heart both ended once she wore the sacred thread you had sent. Applying Bābājī's vibhūti, and placing a little of it in her mouth, my wife became well. On the morning of 15 January 1994 she felt her heart sinking for about a minute. In the evening the sinking came again. She heard someone say, "I will not let you enter here." Today, 16 January 1994, no sinking was felt at all. She was very happy. I should like to keep you informed of her condition from time to time. Respected Svāmījī, you are like a father to us. You have the devotion and the power of Bhole Bābā. We have suffered these last eight years. We went to every nook and corner of the country and gained nothing by it. In the end we came to Bābājī's lotus feet. We would ask you to free us wholly from our suffering by Bābājī's blessings. I shall remain grateful always, and shall remember Bābājī all my life.

Yours obediently,

Dr Sukhdev Chotia

BĀBĀ'S GENTLE HEART

Most revered Guru Bābā,

Kindly accept the sādar charaṇ sparś (the respectful touching of your feet) of Sukhdev and his whole family. Gurujī, I speak in truth when I say that I cannot forget your kindness. As you instructed, every time I received the jhāṛā you appeared to me as Haiḍākhān Bābā. It felt as though you had been ours for centuries. Your love and affection have set us free from every sorrow. By Bābājī's grace, and with the regular jhāṛā, my wife has regained peace of body and mind. One day, during the jhāṛā, Bābājī appeared and said, "You will be freed from your pain at Navarātra." Bābājī also instructed us to keep an akhaṇḍ dīpak burning, to recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya, and to read the Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī Saptaśatī regularly, morning and evening. The people of Kethari Nagar treasure your love and say, "Svāmījī is a siddha puruṣ and a saint of great benevolence." My wife writes her experiences in her notebook. We should like to bring it with us when we come to Delhi. Kindly convey our greetings to Mātājī.

Yours,

Dr Sukhdev Chotia

BĀBĀ IN EVERY CORNER

My neighbour, Dilīp Kumār Dutta, told me that Fakīrā Bābā had come to Calcutta from the Haiḍākhān āśram. At about eleven in the morning I went to meet Svāmījī at the residence of Col. B. S. Rana in Fort William. After sitting with him a while, I expressed my wish to be initiated into meditation. Svāmījī told me to lie down and asked me to recite the mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya. I did so, and Svāmījī began the jhāṛā, sweeping me from head to foot with the peacock feathers. After a little while I felt waves of current passing through my body, followed by a vision of light like a sunrise. Then a Śivaliṅga appeared, of two colours, white and black. I saw the moon shining, and a glittering began all around. I saw saints and sages absorbed in their prayers. At the last, Haiḍākhān Bābā appeared and blessed me. I was filled with divine joy and peace. It was the most precious moment of my life. I am grateful and deeply indebted to Svāmī Fakīrānandjī.

Kanilal Das Adhikari

BHOLE BHAṆḌĀRĪ

I am Naresh Kumār, of 110/30 Gopāl Nagar, Sonīpat, and for the last fourteen years a teacher at the Government Senior Secondary School, Harsana Kalan. I was troubled, and harassed beyond bearing, by some unknown evil power. It never let me sleep in peace. About a year ago, in March 1998, I came into contact with Svāmī Fakīrānandjī. Hearing of my suffering, Svāmījī gave me the jhāṛā with the peacock feathers for a few days. One day, during the jhāṛā, I had darśan of the different forms of Bhole Śaṅkar — the most perfected, the most mighty, His hair in matted locks. My torment left me. After that I was able to sleep deeply. All this was possible through the blessings of Bhole Bābā and the efforts of Svāmījī.

Yours,

Mahesh Kumar

OCEAN OF BENEVOLENCE

My late father, Śrī Girdhārī Lāl Miśra of Rājgarh, Alwar, in Rājasthān, was a great devotee of Haiḍākhān Bābā. At the age of fourteen or fifteen I went to Haiḍākhān with my uncle, my father's elder brother — Śrī Viṣṇudatt, Śāstrījī, Viśvāchārya. After that, through sheer carelessness, I never visited Haiḍākhān again, though I worked only thirty kilometres away at Bhīmtāl. My uncle told me again and again that Svāmī Fakīrānand sits at Haiḍākhān to relieve every kind of sorrow by Bābājī's blessings. On 19 March 1993 I was driving to Delhi with my wife and my daughter. Just beyond Rāmpur the car overturned and came to rest upside down. My wife Rāmeśvarī's right hand was dislocated and badly injured. My daughter Bulbul died a few hours later in the hospital at Rāmpur. Rāmeśvarī's hand was operated upon in Delhi. We returned to Bhīmtāl three months afterwards. Because of the injury Rāmeśvarī could not do the housework, so we engaged a boy of twelve, Dīpu, to help in the house. He used to sleep in the outhouse. My wife and I often spoke, in our grief, of the daughter we had lost. During the daily pūjā, morning and evening, my wife would often ask Bābājī, "Why do You not take care of us?" Once during those days, Rāmeśvarī, Dīpu and I went to the Kāṭhgharia Āśram to offer our pūjā. One morning, just as I was ready to leave for my office, Dīpu came to me wanting to tell me something. I refused to hear him and said, "Can you not see that I am ready for the office? I have no time to listen to you." "Sir, the matter is urgent and must be reported," said Dīpu. Then he said, "Last night, with every door and window shut, the Bābājī of the Kāṭhgharia Āśram came into my room, to my bedside, and sat down beside me. I asked Him how He had got into the house. Every door and every window was closed." Bābājī began to laugh. I said to Him, "My sāhib and bibījī weep every day at the pūjā before Your photograph." Bābājī said, "I know." I asked Him to meet you. He said, "I have seen them. All will be well now; do not worry. Tell your sāhib this, and tell no one else." Hearing it, I wept for many days. On 3 September 1994 I went to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām to have Bābājī's darśan. I told Svāmījī my story. He said, "Wish for Bābājī's darśan." I expressed my desire. He asked me to lie down and to recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya. After some twenty minutes of jhāṛā I received the divine vision and Bābājī's blessings. I felt a sense of divine peace.

Yours,

Brij Kumār Miśra

Today the instruments have sounded and the songs of good omen are sung. Let everyone come to Dhanyān and cry, "Victory, victory, victory!" — and let the Divya Kathā Amṛta be read.

Listen, my son Kamalo:

There are four Vedas, six śāstras and sixty-four Upaniṣads, yet the Divya Kathā Amṛta surpasses them all. Sāmba Sadāśiva made it known. The Divya Kathā Amṛta is the highest book on earth, and I have shared it with you in this age to fulfil every desire and to give pleasure, prosperity, dharma and liberation. Mahendra Mahārāj saw that the people were very sick and without peace, so he prayed to Lord Śiva, and the Divya Kathā Amṛta came forth. Whoever reads it, hears it and spreads it shall find Me.

Śrī Mahāprabhujī

DIVINITY

I, Rañjanā Oberoi, met Fakīrānand at the Military Hospital. I was deeply impressed by his account of the divine vision that comes through meditation. So, on 24 November 1997, I went to his residence at Neelambar Apartments, Pitam Pura, in Delhi. He asked me to lie down, to recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya, and to gather my mind for meditation. He began the jhāṛā with the help of the peacock feathers. After a little while I found myself as Śiva, and Mother Kālī appeared, dancing. I reached a divine palace and saw a huge Śivaliṅga. Beautiful golden flowers were being offered to the Śivaliṅga. I had darśan of my aged Gurudev. I was overwhelmed with joy. I heard the ringing of the temple bells. I was in a state of bliss and peace. On the 27th I went to Svāmījī again. During the jhāṛā for meditation, Lord Śiva appeared in the form of Haiḍākhān Bābā and said, "You are very dear to Me. You will prosper in every sphere of life." He told me so many things about my future, the words coming like a mechanical voice out of a computer. That state of supreme joy and bliss, which I knew through Svāmījī's blessings, is impossible to describe in words.

Yours lovingly,

Rañjanā Oberoi

THE GURU'S BLESSINGS

Sādar praṇām to Śrī Śrī 1008 Śrī Fakīrānandjī Mahārāj.

I had come to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām with Dr Gopāl Prasād Pāṭhak. After the ārtī on 1 September 2000, Dr Pāṭhak and I came to you and found you busy with the service of the Śrī Yantra Pūjā. When your daily worship of the Śrī Yantra was over, we asked you for the jhāṛā for meditation. You asked us to lie down on the floor, and you gave us the jhāṛā. In his vision during the jhāṛā, Dr Pāṭhak had darśan of Mahendra Mahārāj and Śrī Bābā Haiḍākhān together. I too had darśan of Śrī Bhole Bābā, of the old Haiḍākhāṇḍī Bābājī, and of His beautiful Dhām. With Bābājī I visited many other divine places. During the jhāṛā, Bhole Bābā also inspired me in many things, which I am trying to follow in my life to the letter and in spirit. To see so lofty a form of tapasyā at this late age astonishes not only me but everyone. We bow to you and ask you to shower your blessings upon us.

Ramlāl Gupta

KIND-HEARTED BĀBĀ

Delhi, 20-02-1995

Respected Svāmījī,

Here is a brief glimpse of the kindness of Śrī Bhole Bābā Haiḍākhān. I, Dr Inderjīt Śarmā, had been suffering from a serious illness since 1990. I was sad, wretched and miserable, for I could do nothing at all. Whatever I planned to do, I felt unwell. I could not even sleep in peace. My mind and my heart were at odds with each other, and as a result I could neither read nor write. I lived in a state of constant restlessness. In July 1991 my condition suddenly grew very grave. I was admitted to hospital. Instead of improving, I grew worse day by day. Indeed, my case passed altogether beyond the doctors' control. At last I was taken to Bābājī for the jhāṛā, and I got a little relief. In 1995 I fell seriously ill again. I was taken to hospital, and once more to Bābā for the jhāṛā. I was partly cured, but not wholly. I remained sunk in sorrow and unhappiness, and grew deeply despondent. One night, in my sleep, I saw an ugly man walking round my bed. I was afraid, and I became restless. It turned into an everyday affair. I told the members of my family what had happened. Luckily, Captain Pāṇḍey, a resident of B/32, Neelambar Apartments, Sainik Vihar, Pitampura, Delhi, came to my rescue. He took me to Fakīrānand Bābā, a close devotee of Haiḍākhān Bābā, and I described my condition to him. Fakīrā Bābā gave me the jhāṛā. By Bābājī's grace, within four or five days I recovered completely from my illness. For the first time in a long while I felt healthy, eager and full of courage. Bābā Fakīrānandjī is a priceless treasure in human form, blessed by Sadāśiva Bhagavān Haiḍākhān. We should always remember Almighty God with faith and devotion, for peace and happiness.

Dr Inderjīt Śarmā

THE GURU IS GOD

Respected Svāmījī,

I trust that by the grace of Bhagavān Haiḍākhān you are well and in good health. We too are quite well by your blessings. One day, in a dream, I saw you seated on a swing with your feet dipped in the water of the river. Many people were washing your feet. I stood behind them. You called me and asked me to wash your feet. As I washed them you shivered at the cold water, yet you said not a word and went on smiling. I have also seen Haiḍākhān Bābā many times in my dreams, but He never spoke to me. I saw Him lying on a bed, or else I was feeding Him. Sometimes the thought comes into my mind that there must be some flaw or fault in my worship and pūjā, since Bābājī does not speak to me in my dreams.

Bhole Bābā kī Jai!

Your devotee

Uṣā Siṃh

THE WONDROUS HEALING

Respected Svāmījī,

Words cannot express your greatness and your kind, carefree heart. My heartfelt greetings to you. I cannot find words fit to address you. You are not merely a saint but a great saint, a saint worthy of worship, to be remembered in the early morning next after God. Living in God's company, with so good a heart and so wonderful a power of healing, you stand in our eyes next to God. We were blessed by your coming to Khetṛī Nagar and by your darśan. We, the residents of Khetṛī Nagar, bow our heads at your feet, and we feel deeply indebted for your guidance and for your showing us the right path of life. By granting us the darśan of Mahāprabhujī in the form of Śiva, and the darśan of Mā Kālī, you have changed our whole philosophy of life. Your experiences and your divine teachings have enlightened us. You have given us spiritual power and strength. We are grateful, and we do not know how to express our gratitude. Seeing the sick, your heart melted, and you performed the anuṣṭhān (a set course of ritual worship) and a yajña for three days, and healed them of their incurable diseases. The fragrance of those days is still fresh in our memory. My family and I were blessed by touching the dust of your feet. Being a Brahmin by caste, I am a firm believer in God; so from the day you performed that healing, no doubt or uncertainty has ever risen in my mind. I have become your devotee. I feel great pride in saying, "I have left everything to you. Now it rests with you to make me a winner or a loser." I can picture those days when Mahāprabhu manifested and lived in human form at Haiḍākhān. I long intensely for His darśan in that same form in whose company you spent so many years of your life. We are waiting eagerly for the mercy and kindness of Mahāprabhujī. When I come to Haiḍākhān to serve you, I shall come with an open heart, so that nothing may hinder Mahāprabhu from entering it. Following your instructions, my son Atul and his wife have reached Delhi. I received their letter today, and I see that they come to you regularly, twice a day, for the treatment. Your kindness and the mercy of God cannot be told in words. May God bless your presence among us for ever! During the Holi holidays I shall try to be at your service in Delhi. My work, the examinations, is going on well. You have taught us to be ready and alert in performing our duty. I do my best to fulfil my responsibilities with all my heart. For the rest, all is well enough here. I offer my respectful greetings to Guru Mātājī and to all the elders. I close with a great longing for your darśan in the days to come.

Your devotee

Sureś Chandra Śarmā

Gosvāmī Tulsīdās said in his Rāmcharitmānas: "The Lord Himself made the law of karma — as you sow, so shall you reap." Keep this basic principle in mind. Our chief work should be to spread the message of Karma Yoga through the world, ourselves setting the example for all by practising it.

Śrī Mahāprabhujī

PILGRIMAGE TO HAIḌĀKHĀN

Here are a few instances of the endless blessings and grace of Bhole Bābā. Paṇḍit Gaurī Śaṅkar and Ṭhākur Vinod Kumār, of Gadrānā and Bhopālpur respectively, in Aligarh, had no children even seven or eight years after their marriage. Both families were unhappy and downcast, for nothing had come of modern medicine, Āyurvedic remedies or the local cures they had tried. I approached the two couples and advised them to make a pilgrimage to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām and to take darśan at the temple of Bhole Bābā, and to this they agreed. In May 1985 I reached Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām with a party of about twenty sick people, together with these couples. On reaching the Haiḍākhān āśram they took darśan at all the temples and felt at peace. The next day both couples were brought to Svāmī Fakīrānand for his darśan and his treatment, that their desire might be fulfilled. Svāmījī asked the women to keep a fast on Mondays and to repeat "Om Namaḥ Śivāya" as much as they could. He treated them with his divine jhāṛā of sacred peacock feathers. He told the women to offer sweets and fruit to Bābājī as bhog, and then, when the pūjā was done, to eat them as prasād. By the grace of Bhole Bābā, in due time each of the two women gave birth to a son. Bābā Fakīrānand relieved others too of their pains and diseases with his divine jhāṛā. There are many more instances of his divine miracles. On 6 May 1985 Bhole Bābā gave me His darśan in the lovely form of a boy of five or six years, together with Svāmī Fakīrānand, and blessed me. In that dream Bābājī held a laḍḍū (a sweet)

in His hand and offered it to me; but each time I stretched out my hands He drew back the hand that held the laḍḍū, while Svāmījī watched this līlā of Bhole Bābā keenly. After that darśan I felt peaceful and happy. By Bābājī's grace I have had all-round success in my life. Since then, every year, I bring a large party of sick people and devotees to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām for treatment and blessings, as Bābājī instructed. Svāmī Fakīrānand was a true saint indeed, who freed people from pain and suffering with his divine jhāṛā, and blessed them all.

Dr Surendra Pāl Siṃh

LOVE FOR CHILDREN

I, Dr Marvāh, of 470/1 United Street, Civil Lines, Ludhiana, Punjab, have a daughter five years old. She used to be restless the whole day long, and she would cry. I took her to many child specialists for treatment. They confirmed a hole in her heart and recorded her heartbeat at 60 a minute. The doctors said this was the cause of her restlessness. The treatment went on for several days, but no improvement was seen. Through some devotees of Ludhiana we came to hear of the glory of Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām. We made our plans accordingly, visited the various temples there, and took the darśan of Bhole Bābā. From the devotees we learnt of the divine power of the peacock feathers used by Svāmī Fakīrānand. So we went to him and told him of my daughter's illness. Svāmījī gave my daughter the jhāṛā twice a day for the next seven days. A few doctors who were devotees of Bābājī came to Haiḍākhān for darśan. We had our daughter examined by them. They examined her and confirmed that her heartbeat had come down to 40 a minute. After seven days we noticed a marked improvement in her health. From that day on she slept peacefully and ate her food properly. All this was possible by the grace of Bhole Bābā. Though Bābājī is not present in the body, He has blessed Svāmī Fakīrānand for the good of mankind. Bābājī Himself is healing and blessing humanity through Svāmījī.

Dr Ravi Marvāh

THE POWER OF BLESSING

Respected Bābājī,

I am well here, and I pray to God for your long life. Since the day I visited the āśram I have felt quite well, and my health too is in good condition. Many times I planned a visit to the Haiḍākhān Āśram, but for one reason or another I was forced to change my plans. Until and unless Bābājī grants permission, no plan can come to success. Everything depends upon His will and His wish. I shall get the chance to visit the āśram as and when Bābājī pleases to grant me leave. It is essential for every person to have faith in his guru. No one can win liberation from this material world without his blessings. From meditation upon Bābājī I obtain peace. Whenever I try to concentrate upon Bābājī, He turns into the form of Bhole Bābā, the divine power. Svāmījī, you were fully aware of my sick condition. Even after being treated by several doctors and specialists, my health did not improve. I suffered for twenty-five long years. In the end I was released from that long illness only through Bābājī's blessings. I would ask you to visit my home. My wife and I send our warm greetings to you and to all the residents of the āśram. Meanwhile we are also planning to visit the āśram together with my family. Manherām and Pūran Lāl are doing well at school. Smt Gomtī Devī looks after the children at home. With your blessings we are all well here. Kindly try to visit our house.

Master Pūran Lāl & Gomtī Devī

MAGICAL POWER

From the devotees of Haiḍākhān Bābā I came to know of Svāmī Fakīrānand, who could cure many ailments by the jhāṛā. I planned to take my sick wife and my son to visit the āśram. In April 1985 we went to Haiḍākhān. Having the darśan of all the temples and of Bhole Bābā, we felt deeply at peace. The next day we went to Svāmījī and told him about my son. I told him that one day, while my son was playing outside the house, a woman came and cut off his hair. From that day on my son grew weaker and weaker, and his health broke down. Many doctors treated him, but no improvement came. Svāmījī performed the jhāṛā over the next three or four days, and my son recovered completely. My wife Āśā Rānī too was suffering from a pain in the chest. She felt weak and had no wish to eat anything. I was myself tense and low, for much money and time had already been spent on her treatment. The doctors confirmed a large cyst (rasolī) in her stomach and advised an urgent operation. She was too weak to undergo an operation, so I put it off. Svāmījī gave her the jhāṛā for four or five days. Gradually her pain began to lessen and she began to feel better. By Bābājī's grace her pain was healed completely.

Captain Subhāṣ Chander

TANTRIC BĀBĀ

'OM NAMAḤ ŚIVĀYA'

The great Divine Blessings of 1008 Haiḍākhān Bābā are these:

I, Kishen Lāl, a resident of Rohiṇī, Sector D-514 (Avantikā), Delhi-85, was deeply grieved and troubled, for my wife Kṛṣṇā Devī had been suffering from unknown evil powers for the past twenty years. The life of every member of the family became wretched. We tried our utmost, but no doctor could bring her relief. Even tāntric treatment gave no relief. I was utterly broken. We abandoned every hope. One of my friends persuaded me to go to Svāmī Fakīrānand, a disciple of Śrī 1008 Haiḍākhān Bābā of Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām. On 22 November 1997 I brought my wife to him at his house in Delhi, B-99 Nīlāmbar Apartments. I told him the whole story of her illness and her sufferings. He asked her to lie down upon the floor and to recite the mantra 'Om Namaḥ Śivāya'. Svāmījī began the jhāṛā with the peacock feathers. Within a few minutes my wife began to weep, and she spoke of the sickness and of the evil powers from which she was suffering.

On the 2nd day of the jhāṛā she grew calm and quiet.

On the 3rd day she had the darśan of the Goddess Sarasvatī in the posture of blessing.

On the 5th day she had the darśan of Lord Hanumānjī (the Rudra avatār), who blessed her.

On the 7th day she had the darśan of Lord Śiva and Mā Pārvatī, with the divine dhūnī burning before them. They blessed her.

Gradually she recovered, and she gained a new life by the grace of Śrī 1008 Haiḍākhān Bābā and through the efforts of Svāmī Fakīrānand. I write these lines in the general interest of the public, that they may go to Fakīrā Bābā and make their human lives fruitful by following the divine spiritual path under his guidance. It is our birthright to know the true science that makes a human life a success.

Kishen Lāl Chāwlā

18-02-1994

BLESSED DHANYĀN

1 August, 1994

Respected Svāmījī,

Sādar charaṇ sparś,

we have received your letter and your special blessings through Chiraṅjī Lāl. We know that you have a most loving heart, and a very special soft corner for us. We valued it dearly, and we feel greatly blessed by your holy presence. We had wished to write ever since we left that holy place, but we did not know where to write. Kindly send us the address of Dhanyān, so that we may write to respected Mātājī and to the others of the family. My little ones are very happy in their sweet memories of Dhanyān. They often remember Dādījī and Auntie. They long to write to them and to visit them again. Punīt is standing beside me, reading this letter. I hope that all the members of the āśram are in good health. Every day we remember the temples, the Gautam Gaṅgā, and the members of the āśram. I asked Lord Śiva (Bābājī) for His blessings. We are waiting eagerly for His coming in physical form. Please convey our greetings to Pūjārījī, Parpanchjī, Mahārāj (the cook) and Sobina. We are truly grateful to them all for their kind help during our stay. By Bābājī's grace we are happy and well, and we hope it is the same with you. I am glad to tell you that I had the darśan of Bābājī on the road from Dhanyān to Lucknow. My mother was seriously ill and confined to her bed. Early in the morning I prayed for her, and for Hoary, my daughter. I saw Bābājī seated upon the cot in the house at Dhanyān. He asked me, "Daughter, what do you want?" I asked Him for the good health of my mother and my daughter. He said, "Why do you bring others for blessings? Ask for yourself." I said nothing, but I thought that Bābājī had given me whatever I wished, and that He would provide in time to come as well. So I prayed to Bābājī to bless the others. At Khetṛī Nagar I again had the darśan of Lord Śiva in the temple at Dhanyān, and I felt myself overwhelmed. I wanted to tell you all these experiences, because you represent Him. Will you reply soon? Please do. Our address is about to change. Kindly write to Chiraṅjī Lāl's address.

Affectionately yours,

Pratibhā Miśra

THE WONDERFUL DIVINE BLESSINGS

During my healing I saw many brilliant lights, until they settled into a deep, shining blue with a swirl of golden light moving in and out of it. Then a golden ball appeared, turning about very slowly. After my experience of the golden ball, everything settled into a deep blue ocean of consciousness, where I lost all sense of body and of self. When the healing ended I felt wholly expanded and filled with bliss. That bliss cannot be put into words (joy, peace, light). I have meditated for many years and worked as a healer. I have received many healing sessions too, but Svāmījī's healing through Haiḍākhān Bābā was like receiving darśan from Bābājī Himself. May Bābājī visit me during my healing — though of course I know that He is everywhere.

Thank you, Svāmī Fakīrānand.

(This was a healing straight from the divine source.)

I came to India only to be enlightened, and I have had an enlightening experience.

Jane Marston (Rāmjī)

OMNIPRESENT BĀBĀ

Dear Fakīrā Bābā,

three years ago I wrote to Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām. Your reply included instructions on how to meditate upon Bābājī. For that I thank you from the depth of my heart. This form of meditation has brought many visions of a kind I had never met before in years of regular mantra meditation (the TM-Sidhi programme). I ask for a clarification, if you think one is needed. After I began to meditate upon Śrī Bābājī, I had a vision in which a light appeared and struck me in the centre of the forehead with great force. An intense pressure was felt at the point of the "third eye". It was as though a thumb or a finger were being pressed upon my brow, with small grains upon the thumb. This lasted a short while and then faded. Is it a form of initiation? Later Śrī Bābājī appeared as a being of light, His right hand raised in the gesture of blessing. The light was whitish and yellowish, and it swirled swiftly about within the form. This was very clear to the inner sight. It puzzled me, because there was no "bliss" in it, only a clear recognition of what it was. More recently there came a series of inner visions. In one of them a most holy form appeared, gentle and full of sound. He was clothed in white, and after looking towards me He turned slowly and merged into a white light behind Him, with a sense that I was to follow and go into that light. The image was faintly indistinct, as though seen through frosted glass. Several times the image I held in meditation vanished into flames, or into a dark light. Another change was the feeling that I was somehow a mirror image of Śrī Bābājī, holding a posture identical to His — He seated in meditation, and I not. Once I was able to see the one from the other: I had shifted a little outside my own body, so that I could see the relation between them. As for the identity of this "other self", the feeling was of the utmost tenderness, so sweet. These last happenings shook me, and I stopped meditating for some weeks. I did not trust my own condition enough to continue at that time. All of this is new to me. My meditation is irregular. I do japa all day long, however. I thank you for the answer to my letter of three years ago, which has changed me. Love, joy and peace.

Peter Spellman

Yogināṁ yogamāyā tvam asi dhanavatāṁ

śrīḥ svayaṁ viśvabhartrī

hartrī mohāndhakāraṁ

nijakharakiraṇair jñānināṁ śāradā tvam.

Māhendrī tvaṁ manojñā

nijajana jayadā śaktir raudratvam eva

Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī tvaṁ

sakalasuranute devi mātar prasīda.

Thou art the power of the yogīs, and Lakṣmī Herself,

The giver of abundance to the rich (in spirit), upholding the world.

Thy shining rays destroy the night of ignorance

In those who adore Thee as Śāradā, the Goddess of Wisdom.

Thou art mighty Māhendrī, the enchanter of the mind,

Giving Thy people victory as the awesome power of Rudra.

O Mother Haiḍākhāṇḍī, praised by all the Divine Beings,

be pleased and be merciful.

From Haiḍākhāṇḍeśvarī Saptaśatī

THE WONDERFUL DIVINE ILLUMINATION

When I first saw Svāmījī, I thought, "Oh! I know him" — just as I had known Bābājī when I saw His first photograph. My feelings were so strong. I lay on the floor, and Svāmījī did his work with the feathers. I concentrated on the third eye and inwardly recited Om Namaḥ Śivāya. Then, after a little while, Sāī Bābā appeared before me in the third eye, as if to say, "Do not worry, I am here." I also saw Lord Śiva, smiling and blessing me, as if to say, "You are on the right path; go forward." Then I experienced many different forms of Bābājī, in vision after vision. My feelings were overwhelmingly powerful. Somewhere in my inner self there was the question, "Who am I?" In the third eye I saw a crystal in Bābājī's hand, and it was turning. The crystal looked like a bright star, and Bābājī explained, "That is you!" Truly, I still do not understand. Who am I? I said to Him, "Take everything away from me — all my faults, my fear, and the rest." At that moment I felt a fear that was terribly strong. I stayed in a state of watching the fear within my being, and I asked Bābājī to take this fear and transform it. He did so. I saw a tiger too, and the planets and the signs of the zodiac; I travelled in a spacecraft on the astral plane while still feeling my physical body. The bliss and the peace, the love and the joy that I felt cannot be put into words. I am deeply grateful to Svāmī Fakīrānandjī, whom Śrī Bābājī blessed with divine powers to give divine illumination to deserving devotees. This is the first time I have had such a marvellous experience of divine illumination, and it came through Svāmījī. I am going to see him again. I know he is always with us. I feel that I am also a disciple of Śrī Satya Sāī Bābājī. I am grateful to Svāmījī, who told us that we should never forget our guru Satya Sāī Bābā — the guru who prepared me to come to this place for the darśan of Lord Śiva.

Thank you, and love to you.

Vorgic Branislava-Ana

DEEP GRATITUDE

Dear Svāmījī,

Beloved Brother of light, Servant of Bābājī for the sake of humanity. I greet you with love and devotion, in deep gratitude and thanksgiving. Om Namaḥ Śivāya. In meditation with you I move through spiritual patterns of light that reveal the sacred geometries of consciousness and of the universe. Bābājī opens the path by which this light is received and the darkness released. The links of the past — this life and others — flood through my body at every stroke of your feathers. Ascended masters, avatars and angels take part in the transmutation of beliefs and structures across the many dimensions of consciousness. My body expands and contracts with these movements, and I go deeper into the silence where Bābājī is waiting. He assures me of the truth of this experience, and He awakens my gratitude and my humility as I accept Him as my master and my friend. I feel very light, strong, and more aware of the energy of God. I know that I have had a direct experience of God through this meditation. I am always thankful, and I send my blessings out to you. May you live for ever in the light, with God!

Om Namaḥ Śivāya

SELFLESS DEDICATION

1 March 2001

Dear Svāmījī,

How are you?

We, the whole group, are doing very well, and we are still passing through spiritual lessons and growth. The visit to Haiḍākhān was very beautiful for all of us. We are deeply grateful to you all, and especially to you, Svāmījī. My experiences with you helped me to connect with Bābājī and to clear away some of my fears; and being connected with love brought me trust and inner peace. My experiences are these:

26 February 2001 — During my first session my body shook as though I were cold. I wept, and my body relaxed. After twenty minutes I felt very light, and the pain in my right leg was gone.

27 February 2001 — I had a vision in which Bābājī put His hands under my arms, lifted me into the air, and said, "Fly out into the world and teach Love, Truth and Simplicity." I asked Him, "Will You fly with me?" I saw Him, great as a white bird. He took me upon His shoulders, and we flew together. He told me that He had been teaching me for some time. I asked Bābājī to help me feel more and to open my heart. He answered, "Svāmījī will do it, with the feathers and the mantras." I stood before Bābājī, and layer upon layer of dark energy peeled away from my aura. Bābājī and I danced. During the healing my body shook, and I felt a great deal of energy entering it.

28 February 2001 — In my vision I saw Bābājī inside a window of glass. He broke the glass and came towards me; then He carried me up a high mountain and showed me the houses and a great many people. He told me He wished me to speak with as many people as I could. I had many contractions in my stomach. My hands rose, as though trying to reach the sky. Energy would enter my body, I would relax, and my body would become very light.

1 March 2001 — I saw myself as a baby in my mother's womb. This child was joined to the light, but there was a black energy in the region of her heart. Bābājī came, took the child — me — lifted her towards the light, and blessed her. He stroked the child's heart, and the black energy vanished. The child became full of light. Bābājī nursed her at His breast. I felt His feminine essence; I felt that God loved me. My hands and my legs felt lifted towards the sky, and then I no longer knew where I was. It was as if I were not in the room, as if I had lost consciousness — yet I knew I was not asleep. Neither was I aware of being awake.

2 March 2001 — Bābājī embraced me, laid my head upon His shoulder, and stroked my body. He set me beneath a great tube of light that came down from the sky and entered my body. We danced and sang together. I asked Him to gather my family — my husband and my two children — into the light, and He did so. It was wonderful.

3 March 2001 — Bābājī sent discs of light from His heart to cleanse away what remained of the black energy. I asked why I had carried this energy. He said, "You made it in your past lives; it was the memory of the bad thoughts you had." He took this black energy from my heart and sent love and light, which burst the black point apart; the little heart grew freer, and more light came in.

4 March 2001 — Bābājī sent discs of light into my throat chakra. When I asked what fear lay there, Bābājī told me that in my past life I had spoken without exactness, and had not wished to give the whole truth. He said, "Now you must speak the truth of God that is within us, and not keep it shut inside." At the end of the session, Svāmījī told me that he and Bābājī would come to help me with knowledge, in my dreams and in my meditation. Svāmījī gave me a name: Gyaneshwari.

5 March 2001 — In my vision Bābājī held me very close and set a brown bird in my throat. On one of the bird's wings was written "Om", and on the other "Namaḥ Śivāya". Bābājī explained that I needed to tell people all the truth I knew. He took me upon His shoulders, and we went towards the sun through the tube of light. By now I had learned how to master the energy that entered my body during the healing. Thank you, Svāmījī; thank you, Bābājī. I hope this account will help your book. I hope you like the photographs. When I see your smile, it carries me back to Haiḍākhān and to your kindness. Please give my warm regards to your most kind son and daughter-in-law, Bhagavān and Devī.

Bhole Bābā kī jai!

Gyaneshwari (Tami Nora)

THE OPENING OF THE DIVINE CHAKRAS

By great good fortune I came to the place of Svāmī Fakīrānand. He called me and gave me a remedy through the meditative rite with the peacock feathers, reciting the great mantra Om Namaḥ Śivāya; and he began the work of meditation from my head down to my feet. I experienced a deep state of samādhi. I saw the shining divine light and was steeped in love and light. God was speaking to me with words of love. I received a message from the beings of light of Venus, the star. They told me that they would be with me, would work with me, would heal me, and would help me to heal others. I feel greatly blessed as I walk about in Bābājī's realm. I feel His presence and the sheltering Om Namaḥ Śivāya. In these last years I have been a disciple of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and of Sāī Bābā. On the second day, when Svāmījī gave me the meditation with the peacock feathers, within two minutes I went into deep samādhi. I lost all awareness of my body and was steeped in the divine light. I felt every spiritual centre (chakra) in the body open, and strong waves of divine energy entering and streaming through me. I felt the presence of God — the divine Person — speaking to me all the while, counselling me to trust Him utterly, for He would take care of me and would protect me. I feel waves of bliss and thankfulness. I thank Svāmī Fakīrānand also, from the depth of my heart, and I am full of gratitude towards him. It is through him that I knew the divine protection of Bābājī.

Yalia Barkol Soferman

IN THE FORM OF LIGHT

I came to hear of the divine śakti of Haiḍākhān Bābājī from some of His devotees. So I went to Haiḍākhān at the end of March 1997. After two or three days I learned of the teachings on meditation. I asked Fakīrānand to give me initiation into meditation and into healing with mantras. He asked me to lie down, to meditate upon the third eye, and to recite Om Namaḥ Śivāya, the divine mantra. Then he began the jhāṛā from my head to my feet with the peacock feathers. After fifteen or twenty minutes I felt energy passing through my body, and something passing out through my feet. The body became light, full of energy, and at peace.

Second day — I felt the light and saw Bābājī's face many times. My body became very light, peaceful, and full of divine energy. I could not feel the presence of my physical body at all.

Third day — The light was very strong; it overcame my whole body. Bābājī appeared to me in a beautiful form and blessed me.

Fourth day — Bābājī appeared to me in a beautiful white robe, with a golden aura about His face. He asked me to follow His instructions constantly, and to follow Him to a snow-covered hill filled with light. I followed Him, climbing the hill, and again and again He looked back, shining with divine light. We climbed to the very summit of that snowy hill, and from there Bābājī showed me the beautiful world, full of divine light. The happiness, the peace and the bliss I received will remain with me for ever. I am deeply grateful to Fakīrānand, who showed me this path of divine illumination, and I asked him to visit our country to give light to our people.

Vak Suzeen (Sukh Deva)

THE MIRACULOUS DIVINE HEALING

22 April 1996

After thirteen years I returned to Haiḍākhān. For many years I had suffered severe pain. After two bad falls and a car accident, my spine was twisted and knotted, and it gave me constant pain. I managed to live with this handicap, but I lacked vital strength and joy. No doctor or physician seemed able to understand my condition. I could find no relief. I went back to Haiḍākhān to ask Bābājī for guidance and help, and I was fortunate enough to find Svāmī Fakīrānand there. He gave me several sessions of jhāṛā.

First session — I could feel my body opening, and a presence very soft and calming. I was comforted. My mind and my chest opened, and the heart centre was revived. A deep energy of peace passed through me. I wept like a child, as though I had found my mother. I remained in profound peace.

Second session — At once I returned to that deep peace. The painful points in my spine vanished into the feeling of peace. Soft waves of divine energy were passing through my body, healing the memory of pain and replacing that memory with an impression of happiness and peace. Suddenly I perceived Bābājī in a form that was almost formless. He entered my body, and this happened several times. He became one with me. My heart opened wider still. He told me that He could heal me through my heart: I had to let Him in.

Third session — A very special presence came to me. Bābājī was there, filling the universe. He sent me the bird Garuḍa, with Lord Kṛṣṇa upon his back. Garuḍa embraced me with his wings, and Lord Kṛṣṇa leapt into my heart. I am so fortunate that the pain has lessened day by day. At times it is gone altogether. Now I know that the pain no longer belongs to me. I feel very happy, and I feel gratitude to Svāmījī, through whom I received this blessed healing. Open your heart and you will be healed. Together we are one. Bliss, peace and joy!

Bhole Bābā Kī Jai.

Tuka Ram (Paul Romek)

THE BLISSFUL LIGHT

Most revered Gurujī,

Dear Svāmī Fakīrānandjī,

Thank you for the blessings you have given me. Had I not met you, I would never have known Bābājī. During my first session with the peacock feathers I felt the impurities leave my body through my feet. The body became light, and I felt a pleasant bubbling move through it. This bliss cannot be told in words.

Second day — I saw light around the third eye, blue, red and white, and gradually I lost the sense of the body.

Third day — The lights grew more focused upon the third eye. I had the vision of Bābājī's feet, and I saw His face.

Fourth day — I saw Bābājī several times, and Lord Kṛṣṇa too, as a child playing the flute.

Fifth day — I saw Bābājī, Lord Śiva and Gaṇeśa.

Sixth day — I felt a white light over the whole forehead.

Seventh day — I saw Lord Sūrya seated in his chariot. I saw also the valley of Haiḍākhān, the Gufā and the Dhūnī. During these sessions the consciousness of my body gradually faded, and I had an experience of the all-pervading consciousness. Afterwards I felt light — relaxed, happy, at peace and blissful as never before. This was what I had longed for, and what I had hoped to find in India. I thank you for showing me the path of the true divine science, which is our one aim in life.

Bhole Bābā Kī Jai!

Satpal

Śrī Bhagavān Haiḍākhān performs the yajña with Śrī Mahāmunirāj and Svāmījī, while Śāstrījī recites the ślokas

THE VISION OF GOD AND OF THE DIVINE LIGHT

Om Namaḥ Śivāya

21 March 1999

During the divine time of my first and second initiation from Svāmījī, I felt at once a strong divine energy in the left side of my body. It was hot, as though I were lying beside a stove. Then I saw a brilliant light come in from the doorway, and through this light the divine form of Bābājī appeared. Bābājī had long hair and wore a beautiful white robe. I bowed at His feet with great humility. More light entered my third eye. Bābājī dictated to me the following divine mantra:

"Om Prem Bing Satsang"

After this Bābājī walked over to Svāmījī and said something to him. Then He turned, went out through the door, and disappeared into the light. I felt so much divine energy that my whole body began to tremble. I felt that I had become a young and strong girl. Others sitting around me were watching all this with great interest. When I came out of the meditation I felt absolute bliss, peace, energy, power in the heart, and an open mind. I could scarcely explain the feeling in words. I am deeply grateful to Svāmījī, who has been blessed by Bābājī to guide and help His devotees. I have walked the spiritual path these last years and have had many experiences in my life, but the Grace of Bābājī and His divine power are something apart. I am writing this note to Svāmījī for his information, and so that it may be shared with the other devotees.

Rashida

EXPERIENCES OF PAST LIVES

I am deeply grateful to Svāmī Fakīrānand for his spiritual help, through which I was able to receive the visionary insights that follow:

First day, first session — My whole body grew heavy, and I felt several other kinds of physical sensation as well. There were many lights and energies about me. At last I felt a ray of light at the point of my third eye, and I saw Lord Kṛṣṇa drawing that ray.

Second session — I made an effort to connect with my third eye at once, and I was swallowed into total black space. Within that blackness I saw a small red shape, which I could open like a window. Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, smiling through the opening, and tried to draw me through it. He showed me that my body was too large to pass through, so I had to become smaller. I felt myself leave the body, turning it into a small blue sphere that passed out through the region of my forehead. Now I could fly to Kṛṣṇa, who held me gently in His loving arms, and I felt that He was drawing me into Himself. Then He set the blue sphere back, wrapped in a golden light, in the right side of my heart.

Second day, third session — There were many red mountains, made of broken glass and covered with blood. It seemed to me that I felt great pain. Taking the form of the blue sphere again, I asked Kṛṣṇa how I could cross those mountains. At once He dissolved them with a white light. The blue sphere passed simply through the melted mountains. Kṛṣṇa entered a brilliant light, and He too dissolved into it. After this I felt as though I were nowhere at all, with neither darkness nor light, only total silence. But the mind soon begins to stir, and its disturbances kept me from remaining in that state for long.

Fourth session — The mind was running through many thoughts, and Kṛṣṇa said that I should turn my mental activity into an image. I saw a yellow colour, with a sharp red a little way inside it. Kṛṣṇa showed me that I could easily come out of this. Afterwards I travelled to many places: the forests of Vṛndāvan, and the bathing steps of the Yamunā River. I saw Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā together, but I was confused, for I was seeing Kṛṣṇa as Rādhā and Rādhā as Kṛṣṇa. At that moment Avatar Adi Da appeared, melted the two into one, and planted them together in my heart. I saw Bābājī watching the scene and laughing at my confusion. Then He told me that in truth my body belonged to Him.

Third day, fifth session — Suddenly I began to feel great pain, and fear of physical things. I saw the objects of my attachment as huge enemies, and I was very small. I could not escape these enemies. This left me deeply downcast.

Sixth session — Kṛṣṇa asked me again to leave my body. He flew with me over the landscapes and allowed me to take one form after another: a butterfly, a lion, a serpent, an ant, water, a mountain, a tree, a stone, fire, and at last air. Suddenly I saw myself upon a mountain top, and Lord Śiva appeared before me. He had four arms and beautiful dark eyes. He stood silent, looking at me, and I began to feel that the mountain where I stood was rising higher and higher, and that everything upon the earth was growing smaller and smaller.

Fourth day, seventh session — After a while I remembered to turn the wandering thoughts into colours and to step out of them. As though walking through a fog, I kept calling out to Kṛṣṇa. He advised me to fly to different places, and I began to explore. I saw my parents sleeping, and I appeared in their dream to tell them that I was well. I met Daishi Sevānand in England also, and received his darśan. I set out on a journey to many places upon this planet. I saw cruelty and suffering, and joy that is only limited. Nothing is truly outside me, since everything was a part of me.

Fifth day, eighth session — I asked Kṛṣṇa what we were to do that day, and He sent me to explore the different levels of energy within me. With the help of the third eye I came to perceive the lower bodies, and I learned that it is through the heart that divine energy is sent down from above into this world, to take form in the physical and mental realms. Śrī Svāmījī also told me to meditate upon Lord Kṛṣṇa, reciting the mantra "Om Klīṃ Kṛṣṇāya Govindāya Gopījana Vallabhāya Svāhā", since I had been one of the gopīs in His time.

With many thanks.

Eva Millaner

TRANSFER OF THE POWER OF HEALING

Dear Svāmī Fakīrānand,

I hope this letter finds you in good health and good spirits! I have never stopped thinking of you, and of the wonderful divine jhāṛā with which Bābājī blessed me through you. I am always truly grateful to have received this gift for healing people. It took me about three months before I felt the divine energy of the mantra pass powerfully through me, and could begin to use the peacock feathers. The first woman I tried it on felt nothing very particular, but in general higher dimensions of love, of light, and of oneness with all that is. It relaxed her as well. Giving the jhāṛā left me feeling purified, clean and spiritually lifted. I love, too, to think of the teachings you gave us about Bābājī, and of the jhāṛā you gave me, which made me feel and see nothing but love and light, and that the universe is myself, within and without. Thank you again for passing on Bābājī's gift in this way! I want to apologise for not writing at once. It was only because I was trying to find a proper way of sending you the money I had promised for the āśram. I asked several banks here, but every one of them advised me that it was not safe to remit or transfer money from Germany to India, especially without a six-digit postal code. So I asked friends who would be travelling to Haiḍākhān as soon as possible, and one of them has now gone to the Navarātri festival at Chiliyānaulā. I could trust her to carry it all safely into your loving hands. I am sorry it took so long, but I did not want to run any risk. Last year I posted photographs and a letter to Haiḍākhān, and they never arrived. That is why I was afraid to send the money. I wish you a wonderful day, and easy progress with your āśram and with all your other work. Bābājī's blessings are always with you. I hope to see you again next year at Haiḍākhān for Navarātri. I want so very much to come!

With love and best wishes.

I am sincerely yours,

Heike Ebe

P.S. — Rs 10,000/- will be handed to you by my friend.

SELF-PURIFICATION

Dear Svāmījī,

Many, many blessings of Bābājī upon you for the intense healing jhāṛā you gave. Those thirty minutes seemed to have no end. I had done healing work for thirty-two years, yet I had never known the wonders I lived through here. The sacred journey was beyond price. My aura spread wide like a peacock's tail, and I was left without words. I came out of it with a feeling of divine intoxication. May your divine gift draw many people to you!

Om Namaḥ Śivāya

Bābājī appeared to me wearing a turban, like the old Haiḍākhān Bābā, and He was full of rainbow light. The light grew pure and white, turned into a spiritual vortex, and He blessed me. That experience was beyond price.

Flafit Zolymingtonrd

BĀBĀJĪ IS EVERYTHING: SAID LORD KṚṢṆA

Om Namaḥ Śivāya

Svāmī Brahmānand, the Indian saint, initiated me into meditation on Lord Kṛṣṇa, the most divine and mighty God, during his visit to Germany. I was instructed to change my diet to a purely vegetarian one, since it would help my spiritual progress. I had long wished to visit India, ever since I had heard that many saints and gurus with divine powers were living there. I came to know of Haiḍākhān Viśva Mahā Dhām, and I planned to visit it in the summer of 1992. As planned, I reached Haiḍākhān at the end of April 1992. One day, at about four in the afternoon, as I was going down to the Gautam Gaṅgā river for Karma Yoga, Svāmī Fakīrānand called me and asked, "Are you interested in meditation?" "Yes," I said. "Since when?" Svāmījī asked. "For the last thirteen or fourteen years," I said. "Do you see any light during meditation?" Svāmījī asked. "Yes," I replied. Hearing this, Svāmījī called me to him and told me that through the jhāṛā I would have the darśan of Bābājī. I answered that I worshipped Lord Kṛṣṇa. Fakīrā Bābā said that I would have the darśan of Lord Kṛṣṇa as well. I agreed to the jhāṛā. Svāmījī spread a mat on the ground before him and asked me to lie down. He began the jhāṛā with the peacock feathers, from head to foot, over my whole body. After fifteen or twenty minutes my whole body was filled with divine light, and I had no sense at all of my material body. Then Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared before me. I prostrated myself at His feet and was blessed by Him. Only then did Bābājī appear, and I paid Him homage. Lord Kṛṣṇa pointed towards Bābājī and said, "Bābājī is everything." That bliss cannot be put into words. My body became extremely light, and I was filled with divine energy. I found myself weeping for joy, and I embraced the feet of Svāmī Fakīrānand, who had been the first instrument of that perfect bliss. I felt strongly that Bābājī dwells within Svāmījī. It was an experience unlike any I had known before in my life. My purpose was fulfilled by this visit to Haiḍākhān, and I felt supremely happy.

Gilbert R. Linn

O DEAR SVAYAMBHŪ

HAIḌĀKHĀṆḌĪ-KĀŚĪ-VIŚVANĀTH BHAGAVĀN

BHOLE BĀBĀ KĪ JAI!

Only one being in the Universe, Lord, could understand the depth of what happened this evening at sunset — the Being who created it — YOU. Words cannot express the feeling: the colours, the beauty, the joy of the bliss created by Your loving glance. And beyond the "outer mask" of my adored Lord of Haiḍākhān, Master of the five elements — yes, beyond the "Robe of Flesh" of Bhole Bābā — this evening, my dearest Love, You allowed me to behold Your dazzling Light. It was the Light of 10,000 Suns and hotter, at the "Centre" of the universe, yet not here, not there, but everywhere — within and beyond time and space. Oh, the Bliss!!! Oh adored Bābā, after two hours I finally stopped weeping long enough to try to write all this down. For a "spell" today (the first day of autumn, 1982) I felt the old feelings of being "abandoned" by You. Sometimes You have "put me on hold", as they say on the telephone. It can bring up strange sensations, and I felt cross with myself for being spoiled, trying to surrender all these negative things to You all at the same time. I have noticed several times in the past that when this "being on hold" happens, it means You are setting up the greatest surprise party of my 647,000 lives — the Festival of Light: enlightenment. At sunset (which was magnificent, around 7.15 in the evening, all pink, lilac and dark grey) the rain was pouring down, and that beautiful sunset was followed minutes later by more rain. When I noticed the sunset I put everything else right at once, went up to our little ārtī in the loft above Viṣṇu Ghandi's gym, and began with the Gāyatrī japa, followed by a mālā of Om Namaḥ Śivāya. During the Om Namaḥ Śivāya my body began to sway in a circle from the waist up; I relaxed and let myself go. At the last bead of the mālā the swaying stopped, and I went to Haiḍākhān, fully conscious of being in both places at once. I could "see" the sunset at Haiḍākhān and the gym clearly at the same time. I was simultaneously in the gym and in the Kīrtan Hall. You were on Your āsana, and the people were singing and living a beautiful moment. Then You looked at me with that dazzling smile, with all the love of the Great World Mother in Your beautiful Eyes — and, Bābā, I turned into a ball or sphere of glorious pink light, the beautiful pink of a bride's shot-silk sārī. At the centre of that radiant pink light was a beautiful golden AUM. As I — or the AUM — looked at You on Your dais, You turned into a dazzling, blinding, exquisite diamond light. The light was so intense, with thousands of suns combined in it, and it was also a great pulsing AUM at the level of Your āsana, beyond all description. Then, Bābā dear, You floated up and down towards my pink sphere. You stayed there a while, and then the pink light was absorbed into Your glittering diamond AUM; Your great AUM sparkled like hundreds of diamond facets. Then You floated "us" — truly only You, now combined — over the River Gaṅgā, and showed us Mount Kailāś, glittering gold in the late sunset, truly the "Golden Mountain" of the legends and the Vedas. You floated us to the side of that beautiful mountain, to a point high up just below the summit and to its left (perhaps in the region of the heart). You carried us deep into the mountain and showed me — not a room, but a "space" that seemed of solid gold — and said "Clearly: This is your place." There the vision ended, and I came back to the gym and to our little Bābājī loft. The vision ended, but the intensity of the contact began. Oh Bhole Bābā, this beautiful vision follows the vision of Your "Light" that You allowed me to see physically at Haiḍākhān that afternoon, when You came from the stars, all in white, and stood there holding Your dependent one and letting me see the radiant light of Your body. Thank You for the vision of God that day, my adored Lord. Oh, Bābā, I began this letter a week ago and was completely blocked, unable to write a word until this evening; now I understand why it was so. I sincerely wanted to thank You in writing for Your permission to come there in September — a Divine Blessing — and to apologise for not having been able to get the flight. I would have loved to come with Motu and fall in bliss at Your feet. The money to come in September did not materialise in time; but I asked You for the miracle (money), O Divine Lord, and it is beginning to take shape, and the money is coming in from several quarters. As I write, plans are forming for my flight out of San Francisco on 15 December, and I should be at Your lotus feet by the 19th or the 20th of December. We are forming a group of seven or more of our Haiḍākhān devotees from the Bay Area to come at Christmas time, and some to stay. Dearest Bābājī, next week I shall ask for six months' leave from my work, to place myself wholly surrendered at Your feet. I am 58 years old and frightened to death, but I trust You implicitly with my life. You are the Lord God of my Universe, and "Quo Vadis" — Bābā, You want strong people in this world. Alone I am nothing; You are my strength, and in Your strength I am Hanumān, or certainly as strong as Nandi, since I am a "Bull" (Taurus) by birth. Please grant my sincere prayer to love and serve You until my last breath, and beyond time and space. Lord, I am so grateful for Your loving kindness to our Hale; she is a loving girl, and her letters to us have been a source of inspiration. She has written affectionately of Your wonderful care of her during her time with You. Gora Devī's letter gave me good reason to write to her again, to thank her for her past kindness and to send my sincerest good wishes and love; and I am also asking her to speak to You, to see whether I might stay with You for an extended period.

Robert Linn

ĀNANDAPURĪ ĀŚRAM

6TH DAY OF NAVRĀTRI TO THE DIVINE MOTHER

15-10-99

6.30 TO 7.00 P.M.

JHĀṚĀ SESSION WITH SVĀMĪ FAKĪRĀNAND

Svāmījī asked me to lie down and to repeat "Om Namaḥ Śivāya" while he swept my body with the peacock feathers. My inner journey began with a vision of travelling back into the past, to the time of the Pharaohs of Egypt, where inside a pyramid I experienced the instruments of the secret ceremony. I felt the pain and the suffering of the people of ancient Egypt. There was much fear among them, and there were problems with holding water. I had a vision of three great pyramids, from which a golden light radiated against a starry blue sky. Then I had the sensation of being in Atlantis, where I felt the same fear and chaos among men. I felt waves of emotion between fear and pain, and a knowledge of the truth moved me to tears. I felt overwhelmed by the Falsehood that separated me from Truth and Love, and I was shown what to do and what not to do within this Truth. Inwardly I was asking forgiveness for this separation. I felt the Truth and the Love, yet I felt that I was not truly connected to them. All the while Lord Gaṇeśa, Lord Śiva and the Divine Mother were present within me; I could see them, ethereal. I had images of the consciousness of God and of the ascended masters, and then of Munirājī and Svāmījī. I had images of my wife and my children, and I asked their forgiveness for not being in the Truth. I also felt the love and the fear of the other people of the āśram and of the surrounding region. Then I felt the forgiveness of God, of Bābājī, of the Divine Mother and of all the deities. At last I felt myself resting in the Truth, awakened to Consciousness. I felt free — "one with God". Throughout this process I completely forgot my conscious material body, and I was reciting the Mantra "Om Namaḥ Śivāya" the whole time. I had been reciting this Mantra for fifteen years, ever since I received it from a Master in India. This was the most illuminating experience of my life. Peace, Blessings, Love, Truth and Simplicity — I realised that these cannot be described in words. I am deeply grateful to Svāmī Fakīrānand, from whom I received this wonderful illumination. I wish also to express my most sincere thanks for the grace, the guidance and the support of the Divine, not only throughout this wonderful and blessed experience but throughout my whole life. I have chosen to share this experience with you in a spirit of unity, and I hope that you too may be graced as I have been.

"Om Namaḥ Śivāya"

With Love and forgiveness

Thy Will be done.

Rudolf B. Rueger

BHOLE BĀBĀ KĪ JAI!

When I first met Svāmījī (Svāmī Fakīrānandjī) in March 1994, I was in poor health, having had bronchitis for three weeks. Neither homeopathy nor allopathic treatments could cure it, and I was fortunate to be taken to Svāmījī for the jhāṛā (healing with peacock feathers). Just as he had promised me, after a single jhāṛā treatment the cough stopped completely. By the next day it had passed. Greatly astonished at the powerful effect of the jhāṛā, I went for daily treatment for two weeks, and it had a great effect in my inner dimensions as well. I felt much energy: sometimes it came through the chakras of the feet and rose upward, sometimes from the crown downward, purifying my aura. During that time I felt myself in a deep, absorbing meditation. Om Namaḥ Śivāya in the third eye was always a kind of inner journey through different structures of light, more or less regular images, which helped me to deepen my meditation afterwards as well. For me it was a kind of initiation into meditation, into a direct contact with Bābājī that is hard to put into words. I can only recommend that everyone experience it for himself or herself. With thanks to Svāmījī.

Katia Wents

Translated from English into Italian by Natascia Valentini (Tara bianca).

↑ Indice