Baba Onkarnath - The Unknown Sudar Singh?

[Mahamantra Naam]

Who could be the unknown master behind the fictionalised Sudar Singh character?

For Paul never once visited Allahabad in India.
He never met Sudarshan Singh either.
There is no master, guru, sadhu, teacher by any religion or spiritual path named Sudar Singh who taught *eckankar*
Sudar is in fact a girls name, and not that of a man.
It isn't Sawan Singh, no matter how many times his name was redacted.
Paul never walked the bank of the Jhelum River in Kashmir with Rebazar Tarzs.
Paul never walked the hills of Darjeeling Sikkim either, at least not in his physical body.

Paul did spend an obsessive amount of time in Libraries and skimming books about India and Religion and History and Psychology etc., that a true fact at least.

Another true fact is that dear original Eck master Sudar Singh has pretty well disappeared from the Eckankar lexicon, and consciousness of the group entirely, courtesy of Harold Klemp, whilst not saying a word about it. Disappearance by stealth in other words. That means something, how could it not?

Then there's the Doug Marman theory, that goes first that's it's all *poetry*, and secondly that the lineage of 973 Eck Masters since the dawn of time is a *spiritual lineage* (unlike those *lower* religious forms such as Radhasoami, Sant Mat, and Buddhism etc) and not a direct physical one at all. This theory goes against the doctrinal teachings where each Eck master trains and appoints the next one before passing onto to the abode of the Alone, or whatever Golden Wisdom Temple they might get assigned to by the next Living Eck master or the Nine Silent Ones, (I presume).

So there appears to be somewhat of a quandary here for those who do and say such things, and for those that listen to them and believe them, for it is in total disagreement with Paul's own teachings, his words, and his writings of what the go is or isn't.

It's another true fact that it was Paul Twitchell the creator of Eckankar who wrote up the doctrine and beliefs and mission of Eckankar and that is to be found within the Shariyat books primarily, but then also in the *secret discourses* not available to the public, and in his many other materials. The trouble is that today both Harold Klemp on the one hand, and Doug Marman on the other hand, are saying things that are completely different in all kinds of ways, not just about Sudar Singh.

Don't they believe Paul any more? Maybe they know better than Paul what his teaching was about. Sure most of it is supposed to come via the inner resources and the writings etc don't matter, but then at the same time Harold very much says they do. He was quite happy to rely upon a pencilled in edit to Paul's early SKS books of the Mahanta reappearing every five to a thousand years, to help the chelas see that he, Harold, could indeed be a genuine Mahanta, but that obvious Darwin couldn't be because he came 5 days later, not 5 years later.

You see? It must mean something these things, or why would the likes of Harold even mention it? Or delete Sudar Singh from the existence? How is that Doug Marman knows more about the spiritual lineage of Eckankar, than Paul did, when it was Paul that wrote the Spiritual Notebook which his primary book for listing more past physical Eck masters than any other in the Eckankar lexicon? Doug is therefore saying that Paul was wrong. harold is saying that Paul was wrong. harold also says that darwin was never the Mahanta, totally lost the plot in the 1970's and yet it was darwin who appointed Harold as the new living Eck master.

Hang on now, if Darwin wasn't a genuine Eck master, and he trained Harold, and it was Darwin that gave Harold his higher initiations, and Darwin who appointed Harold .... ummm .... then ..... that must mean something.

Oh there must be an out here. Yes, of course! It's a *spiritual lineage*, not a physical one, that's right, and it's all poetry anyway. <smile>

But hang on .. if it is only a spiritual lineage, then that means that Harold's replacement could come from anywhere, any path, any country, any race, any person, maybe even a highly masculine lesbian woman even?

I really mean it, why not a woman? For all have been told already by the current master (and others) that the *written doctrines* of Eckankar, and the words of the Mahanta the Living Eck master don't really count anyway. The rules and guidelines and the doctrine can change at any time. It's all up to the SUGMAD.

Then there is the long long conga line of High Initiates 8ths and above who over the years since the early 1970's who have all been privately instructing members of Eckankar that it is NOT the Living Eck master that is important in the teachings anyway. No siree, that's what many maybe even most have been saying for 40 years now.

Hang on, let me check what Harold has to say about that. ooops, apparently he doesn't agree. Almost any Mystic World will make that clear, any seminar talk, any video, and any reading of the Master series discourses will lay it out plain as day for even the slowest chela.

That must mean something, right? Like when people such as Patti Simpson, Millie Moore, Helen Baird, and Doug Marman and many others say that what Harold says is irrelevant and doesn't matter, his role as the living master makes no difference to the true essence of Eckankar the great *universal teaching* of Paul's, the Mahanta the living ECK master isn't KEY to the teachings of Eckankar. Shouldn't that mean something? Can't image how it couldn't.

How many Eckankar's are there? Whew! A lot!

OK, well in the American spirit of *let's just make it up as we go*, and *image* is all that matters and not the letter, well I propose a new candidate for the role of being Sudar Singh as an Eck master who may have taught Paul Twitchell on the inner, and who may have passed on to master power to Paul all those years ago.

Let's see how it fits, OK? I am now fitting out this Indian Guru for Eckankar, as so many have done before me. I hope I can do it as well and as creatively as others have before me.

OK, here goes; and hey, I am being serious here ok, so don't make fun of my Sudar Singh, nor me! I expect that everyone be NICE, polite and respectful as every good Eckist should be, and is at all times. :-)

Given the Mahanta and the Vairagi adepts are able to appear to Soul under any guise or form, maybe some may have seen this master in their dreams or contemplations now and then, but didn't know who he was seeing there's drawing of him on the local Eck centre walls. Anything is, so it's said, is possible.


======

There was a Great Guru from India known as Shri Shri Sitaramdas Omkarnath Dev

He is also known, with different spelling as:
Shri Baba Sita Ram Das Onkarnath (1892- 1982)

It has been said:
"To restore Dharma I shall be born from age to age."
Bhagavad Gita

and also said:
"The Mahanta, the Living ECK master is the Vi-Guru, the Light Giver who lights up the worlds of God when he inherits the spiritual mantle of the title. There is only ONE who appears in this world every five to a thousand years. .... The ECK masters are of a true, clean-line spiritual family that does not include those commonly known in the orthodox religions."
Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad Book Two Page 246

"The Hierarchy began with the SUGMAD (God), followed by the ECK, and the Mahanta. AFTER this came the living Eck masters, the adepts of the Vairagi, the lords of each plane within the higher worlds, the guardians of the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, and then the lower worlds were formed for those entities named the Atma, or Soul."
SKS Book One page 75

"It means the mission of the MAHANTA on this Earth is to stir the millions of non-Initiated into revolt against all orthodox religions."
SKS Book One Page 181

Surely, all that means something. Otherwise, why say it, why print it?

On the night of 24 April 1937, while he was in samadhi, Jagannath Deva appeared before Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath Thakur, holding the flute, aureoled in transcendental light, accompanied with sweet sound of the bell and gave the divine command: “Go, go and gift the Name (Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare) to the people of this world at large.

Jagannatha (or Jagannath) is a deity worshiped primarily by Hindu and Buddhist people. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu (God) by the Hindus and Buddha by Buddhists. Jagannatha is worshipped as part of a triad "Ratnabedi" along with his brother Balabhadra deva and sister devi Subhadra.

Jagannath is non-sectarian and has not been associated with any particular denomination of Hinduism in entirety, though there are several common aspects with Vaishnavism, Saivism, Shaktism, Smartism, as well as with Buddhism and Jainism.

Jagannath is described as an Avataree i.e. the cause of the Avatars, and not merely an Avatar. The incarnations emanate FROM Jagannath, who is the CAUSE of all material creation. Therefore, Jagannath does not have any life stories and lila, in contrast to Avatars like Parshurama, Rama, Krisna etc.

Isn't that interesting?

Shri Baba Sita Ram Das Onkarnath, has an interesting name too. It can be broken down thus: Onkar - Omkar - Ankar & Nath. The other words arew basically titles of respect. he seems to have more than most. Ram Das, is interesting in itself. Ram and Rama are interchnageable in most situations.

Onkar or Oankaar is represented in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture as ; that is as Ura, the first Gurmukhi character with an extended "tail".

ONKAR means God or Transcendental being. This word is the second part of the first word in the holy Sikh scripture. The first word that appears in this granth is Ek Onkar ie: which can be translated as "God is One" or "There is only one God."

Everyone in Eckankar would of course know about the Mool Mantra, and it's connection to Paul's Eckankar roots.

The Sanskrit word nāthá or नाथ, is the proper name of a Hindu initiatory tradition and the word itself literally means "lord, protector, refuge".

Another Hindu tradition from Assam Bengal India I have already spoken about here. It is Eka Sarana Hari Nama Dharma, where sarana means refuge etc. Both traditons are all about The Word, Naam, EK, bhakti devotion, and so on.

The related Sanskrit term Adi Natha means first or original Lord, and is therefore a synonym for Lord Shiva, Mahadeva, or Maheshvara, and beyond these supramental concepts, the Supreme Absolute Reality as the basis supporting all aspects and manifestations of consciousness.

The NATH tradition is a heterodox SIDDHA tradition containing many sub-sects. It was founded by Matsyendranath and further developed by Gorakshanath. These two individuals are also revered in Tibetan Buddhism as Mahasiddhas (great adepts) and are credited with great powers and perfected spiritual attainment.

Isn't that interesting too? Coincidecnes with Naam, Shabda, EK, absolute god, refuge, perfected spiritual adepts, and both belonging to Hinduism and Buddhism history. Just like Theosophy drew from both rivers in the 1800s.

To impart spiritual knowledge to the world at large, Shri Baba Sita Ram Das Onkarnath wrote as many as 200 books based on his direct experiences as well as the intensive studies of the religious texts, both ancient and modern.

Wow, 200 books! Amazing. Read any of them lately? Anyone connected to any light and sound teaching ever mentioned these to you before? No? I thought so. That's why I am sharing, let's go on then.

And Onkarnath established as many as 65 Mathas/Ashrams ALL OVER India – from Jagannath Puri to Dwaraka Puri, from the Himalayas to Kannyakumari.

And also expounded a dozen magazines in different languages, a good many charitable dispensaries as well as schools, both Sanskrit and English. Well who knew?

In a long life spanning over ninety years (1892- 1982) he did much to give a fresh fillip to the Renaissance of Hinduism, or for that matter universal spiritualism. Wow, UNIVERSAL SPIRITUALISM. Such a grand mission sounds very familiar to me.

Just as he spent months, sometimes years, in austerities or in total seclusion, from time to time he also traveled through out India to preach the NAME as ordained by Lord Jagannath.

In course of his journey he met many great saints from the various faiths and religions of India, and had rare spiritual exchanges:
Sri Anandamayi Ma (woman Yogi), Sri Maharshi Mahesh Yogi(Rishikesh), Swami Sri Chidananda (Rishikesh), Sri Daya Mata (International Head, Yogoda Satsanga), Shri Dongreji Maharaj (Gujarat), Paramhans Hariharanand (Kriya Yoga), Barfi Baba (Famous yogi of Amarkantak), Shri Sushil Muni (Swetambar Jain), the Dalai Lama, Sujan Singh, Pir Inayat Vilayat Khan (Sufi) to name a few.

A few very well known or familiar names there for sure. All of them came in close contact with him and accepted HIM as THEIR YOGI GURU.

Lakhs (100,000s) of his devotees of course belong to the Hindu faith, but there are also a good many who subscribe to Non-Hindu faiths, both in India and abroad.

Shri Baba Sita Ram Das Onkarnath was a holy child born on 17th February 1892 in the village Keota on the bank of the holy Ganga, in Hooghly district, Bengal.

At the time of birth, the child’s astrologer and maternal great grandfather Prankrishna Bandopadhyaya said after casting the horoscope, “Look here, a great man (Mahapurush) has come”.

"Anandamayee - The Universal Mother" has a webpage about Ram Das Onkarnath with a few photos, and their contact & letters which is an interesting background of how things go with Gurus in India. All are welcomed, all are honoured, and all are grateful for each other: No need for one-up-man-ship. It isn't a competition, it's about *service* and following the Divine Command.
http://www.anandamayi.org/ashram/sitaramdas.htm

Here's images of Sitaramdas Omkarnath via Google
http://www.google.com.au/search?q=sitaramdas+omkarnath&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Q5ZAUJ66FMW0iQfKioGQDA&ved=0CCEQsAQ&biw=1400&bih=779

HE DESCENDS – THE COMPACT INFINITE
"Whenever shall Dharma languish and Adharama be basely ascendant, then Will I incarnate myself. To restore Dharma I shall be born from age to age. True to His Words , He descends from Vaikuntha – in human form – the magnificient manifestation of the SUPREME on this planet earth in His eternal LILABHUMI"

PARAM GURUDEV Sri Dasharathi Dev of Digsui was the Guru Of Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnath. His life of total surrender to his Guru is indeed a unique example of exclusive devotion to one's Guru. At the age of forty-five, He was commissioned by His Guru, to preach the Naam or the Mahamantra.

In the days before He gave up His mortal body, Dashrathideva saw a dream set in celestial space. The dream contained a message: the Mahamantra was the only means to universal succour, in the present age.

Dashrathideva conveyed this message to His disciple. By now Prabodhchandra Chatopadyaya had formally become a renunciate; he had donned the robe and assumed the name of ‘Sitaramdas Omkarnath'.

The Maha Mantra is:
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare

[ or use Rama v Ram - has many reflections with that of Kabir's Guru Ramananda as well - it is similar as ISKONs Hare Krishna movement, as well as Eka Sarana Dharma of Assam. Sikhsim also has a connection, as we will see later.

Main Website for more detailed info and insight connections co-incidences etc:
http://www.omkarnathmission.org/

You're welcome,

Cheers Sean

[Santim Vah]

Ok, the following extracts are from the book .. The Gurus of India by
Sujan Singh Uban

It was published in 1974 - Chapter 21

The author appears to feel that this Guru was very different than all
the others he said he had met. Uban was born a Sikh and throughout the
book he refers back to Guru nanak and the other Sikh Gurus, and
includes many quotes from the SGGS and other texts.

Shri Baba Sita Ram Das Onkarnath

My meeting with this prince amongst the loving saints of India
took place under miraculous circumstances. My mind greatly
urged me towards a spiritual life, and I had read several
inspiring books and met a few saints, but my mind still craved
for someone who could generate true love for himself in my
heart, for it is only MUTUAL love which can weld a disciple and
his Master into an inseparable union of hearts, and act as a
stimulus to spiritual advancement. Faith, knowledge and such
other things are of secondary importance.
-
On reaching Onkareshwar, we found that Baba was in
mauna (silence) for an indefinite period; he did not meet even his
disciples who had surrounded his underground cell with straw
matting and he came out only to collect his sparse and tasteless
meals. However, at such times, the main disciple sometimes
exchanged written notes with him on important matters. On
the morning of our visit a disciple called Govind Ji was going
to Ujjain and had sought permission for parnan, or obeisance,
through a written note, which was not granted. He told us
there was no chance of us seeing Baba on that day.
However, on our insistence, he wrote a note to tell Baba that
two army officers awaited his kind permission, fOr darshan
and, after leaving the note in front of the closed door of the
meditation room, he tip-toed back out of the matting enclosure,
apprehensive lest Baba be annoyed with him. We
waited outside, occasionally glancing through holes we had
made with our fingers in the straw matting to see the fate of
our note. After some time the door opened. Baba came out,
saw the note under a pebble in front of his door and took it
inside. He soon returned and, replacing it under the pebble,
turned his back and stood aside. We alerted Govind Ji: he
hurried inside, retrieved the note and, reading it, his whole
face lit up. Baba had replied: 'They can see me and do
parnam from a distance. You can also do the same. I will go
back in after a couple of minutes.' We almost ran in and after
one glance lay down prostrate in the hot dust that surrounded
his room on this mid-summer day. We got up and he went in.

That was all. We were very happy and thanked Baba for his
kindness, and Govind Ji promised to let us know by telegram
the day Baba broke his silence so that we could meet him.

During this brief darshan I noticed that Baba looked intently
into the eyes of my companion and it appeared as
though he had passed something, through his powerful stare,
to my companion while Baba's glance at me was cursory. I
mentioned this fact to my companion who had perceived
nothing unusual.

On our way back, we went to meet a nanga or naked sadhu
in the jungle at Onkareshwar about whom we had heard a
great deal. ... On our arrival, he came
out of his flower bushes and, laughing innocently, he said,
'Have you been to the great one?' We nodded our heads in
confirmation. How did he know all about our movements?

After making us sit down on a gunny bag clcse to the fire
which he kept burning day and night, he took a conch shell
and started blowing it. My companion trembled, caught hold
of my hands and said, 'Request the sadhu to stop making this
sound.' He was trembling all over and clutching me with all
his strength. When the sadhu stopped blowing, my companion
recovered but said something had happened to hirrand that
the earth appeared to have left from under his feet.

That night when my companion sat for his meditation, he
saw a vision of himself being transported by a strange zooming
sound, on both s!des of his body, which carried with it his tiny
self sheathed in light. He got terribly frightened, forced his
eyes open and walked out of his room. His second attempt
produced the same results. He woke up his wife, asked for
some tea and went peacefully to sleep. When he told me all
this the next morning, I told him that Baba had clearly
'poured' something into him, finding his body receptive. He
replied that he had not undergone any initiation from a guru
and as, therefore, afraid that he might happen. Baba was to
endorse this experience later at the time of my companion's
initiation.

--

I met Baba and was delighted with the opportunity. He
appeared to know all about Sikh religion. He had been
associated with some highly evolved followers of Baba Siri
Chand, the famous son of Guru Nanak, and he recited Japuji
and Sukhmani and had studied the Guru Granth Sahib. I
explained to him my natural love for my own religion, and he
was kind enough to take me under his wing to guide me along
the path I had followed since childhood.

In Baba I saw my own father who had died after an
exemplary life of virtue. But Baba's love was greater by far; I
had never come across such disinterested love anywhere else,
even amongst the great sadhus I had met. Baba was love personified,
and I soon became very relaxed with him though intensely
respectful. I had found a fathomless treasure and I was
determined not to part with it at any cost.

In his ashram the main emphasis is on the recitation of the
Maha Mantra or the Lord's Nam. At all hours of the day and
the night, the sweet melody of the nam kirtan could be heard
in Baba's ashram. I was to find out later that this was Baba's
trademark.

I am a dealer in Nam
Nam is my total stock in trade
Guru Nanak

Talks by Baba are rare but whenever he talks, the stress is
on Nam. He would sleep, if consistent consciousness of God
can be so termed, on the bare floor where nam was being
sung, unconscious of the bodily discomfort. He would wake up
the moment people doing nam kirtan dozed off at night.

I live only when I recite your name I die when I forget you.
Guru Nanak

Next to nam, the stress is on dharma. He insists on strict
adherence to the holy scriptures, the revealed Vedas and
Shastras, and no deviation is permitted. Pure, something more
than vegetarian diet is prescribed and ancient disciplines are
enforced. He knows they are difficult to follow, but to achieve
something worthwhile the effort has to be proportionate. He is
strictest with Brahmins and very rightly so since they are
supposed to be the spiritual leaders and any flaws in them
would be repeated by their numerous followers.
--
Hence, the stress by all present-day saints is on the
recitation of nam, which is equally efficacious to all castes.
In order to prepare the body as a proper vehicle for the
descent of the Nam, the Holy Ghost, certain disciplines are
considered essential by all great saints for a spiritual aspirant:
pure food, social contacts mostly with those who are devoutly
religious, patience, continence, austere practices and selfless
love, qualities Baba stresses by his own personal example. I
have not come across anyone who lives, or even can live, in as
'God-saturated' a fashion as Baba has lived from his
childhood. His impact is immediate on all those who come in
contact with him, provided their system is prepared to receive
a powerful dose of his influence.

--

Love, nam and dharma disciplines attract only those who
are no longer in the firm grip of the material attractions of the
Kaliyuga. When people talk of gurus today, the speak mainly
about the miraculous powers mostly affecting material wellbeing.
There are miracles of the body and those of the spirit.

I have known him make people conscious of their present,
past and future, by a mere touch of his hand on their
forehead.

Many see visions after practising austerities but how many
can transfer this power to ordinary people by the mere touch
of a hand?
--

I would like to relate some of the experiences I personally
have had of the life of Baba Sita Ram Das Onkarnath, each of
which left an indelible mark on my mind.

Baba celebrates the four months of Chaturmash from about
15 July to 15 November every year in intense spiritual activity
involving a programme of nam sankirtan, recitation from
sacred books, such as the Ramayana and the Gita, Sukhmani,
Pooja and Arati. Disciples dance in ecstasy around the altar
doing hari kirtan, with Baba solemnly leading the party,
reminding one of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

There was a man who brought his only son, who was
suffering from double pneumonia, to the feet of Baba and
said 'My saviour, I have no one to go to. I am poor. Doctors
tell me my son won't live. Please help me.' Baba said, 'Nam
karo', meaning Recite God's name, and touched the child,
which cured him, but brought the disease upon Baba. The
child went home cured by the miracle, but Baba was left lying
in bed for two weeks with double pneumonia. In another
similar situation, doctors advised Baba to rest, and prescribed
drugs. Baba immediately proceeded in a third class compartment
to Puri, so that he could visit the Jagannath Temple
there and take prasad as his only medicine. Amazingly, he was
cured.

Once Baba had synovitis in one knee and was lying in bed in
great pain and with a high fever in the house of the late
Padma Lochan Mukerjee, a Calcutta industrialist. Mrs
Mukerjee, popularly known as 'Lakhima', energetically
ensured that no one disturbed Baba in his room. She
upbraided the hundreds of men and women gathered outside
hoping for darshan and blessings, saying, 'Don't you understand
he has a high temperature and is in such severe pain that
even to touch his charpoy increases the pain? He won't see
anyone. Please go away. Come only when he is better.'
Suddenly Baba shouted from his room, 'Don't send them
away. Open the doors. Let them come in and meet me.' The
doors were thrown open and hundreds poured in, they
surrounded Baba on his bed, each one telling his or her own
tale of woe. Baba listened intently; blessed each one in turn
and said: 'Remember God, all your legitimate desires will be
fulfilled. '

I went with my wife to Calcutta at this time to enquire about
his health. The doctors had warned me not even to touch his
bed since even a slight jerk would increase his pain. On seeing
us, Baba smiled his gracious smile and simply said, 'Have you
ever heard me singing?' I was taken aback at this strange
question and reverently said, I never had the good fortune.
Baba immediately began to sing a Bengali song in praise of
God. He exuded joy and we were greatly touched by this
kindness and amazed at his composure under such circumstances.
Childlike, he then said, 'They have recorded a tape of
this music. Go upstairs, ask for it and listen to it. You will like
it.'

Recently, a panel of eminent Calcutta doctors, who are
either his disciples or admirers and who regularly examine
him, discovered in an X-ray that Baba had large patches of
TB in both lungs. They had examined him two months earlier
and found the lungs perfectly clear. They could not
understand how this disease could attack Baba so extensively
within two months. In their natural anxiety, they advised
complete rest and appropriate drugs to which Baba said, 'Can
this treatment be delayed one week? During this week, I shall
try to clear it myself by meditation. If, in a week's time, you
find the disease has not gone, you can start your treatment.'
The doctors agreed, but were certain that no amount of
meditation could cure TB.

A week later, the X-rays showed both lungs to be clear, to
the astonishment of these eminent physicians.

--

Some time later, when in Kulu, 1 saw a beautiful woollen
shawl which was light and very warm. 1purchased it for Baba
and took it to Bethur. Knowing his austere nature, 1 felt some
hesitation in broaching the subject of this present to him, but
the cold winds of the severe winter encouraged me to put the
shawl round him and 1 looked at him with the delight of a
lover. He graciously accepted it, made much of it by moving
round and showing it to all and sundry, saying, 'Look, Sujan
has brought this Toosh shawl for me.' Simultaneously, he told
a sadhu, 'Let Sujan go, 1will give this to you', which he did.

That is Baba. Can youclothe the sun or the moon? Nol they
shed whatever is not consistent with their nature so that they
continue to shine in their pristine glory. Baba is the same; he
accepts your adoration and love and passes the gifts on to those
in greater need. He is the great giver, one who continues to
give without looking at your merit.

A giver goes on giving. Only the recipients get tired of receiving.
Guru Granth Sahib

--

All presents brought to him are distributed. All money is
spent. There are no bank accounts, the money being spent
either on propagation of nam or feeding and looking after the
needs of the poor, he would incur debts. You cannot imagine
his delight when he is feeding people who look famished and
hungry.

--

Some sceptical people will call the above a coincidence, but
I have personally seen so many similar instances that I have no
doubt of the unbelievable powers of Baba.

Another incident stands out. My younger son became involved
in the indiscipline that shook the administration of his
college. A young college boy was run over and killed by a truck
which was later burnt by students. The rigid and unsympathetic
attitude of the college authorities resulted in a
strike and acts of serious recklessness. Then the College
Authorities took yet another vicious step and expelled several
students from the college, including my son. He was on the
verge of completing his education and his expulsion at this
stage came as a great shock to my wife and myself.

Fortunately, Baba was staying with us at our farm house which
we have called 'Onkarnath Dham'. I was hesitant, but my wife
almost dragged me to Ba:ba's room and told Baba the whole
story. My son had also arrived and was taken along with us to
Baba.

Baba abruptly said, 'Who can expel this boy? I sent for him
myself since all others in the family have had my darshan and
he alone has been deprived of it. He will go back and take his
engineering degree.' We felt relieved at once. Next morning, a
telegram reached me from the college authorities requesting
the boy to be sent back at once to resume his studies. Was this
also a coincidence? It is amazing how our minds refuse to be
convinced, even after seeing irrefutable proof of these spiritual
powers day after day.

I had gone to Benares, to meet Baba after taking a week's
leave. Earlier, I had almost gone through hell. Duty had
forced me to take severe action against a few corrupt and
characterless officers who happened to be quite influential in
certain quarters. Severally and jointly they had made life very
difficult for me and both myself and my wife passed through
an undeserved ordeal, though, possibly, it was a result of our
past 'karmas'. Baba had earlier told us that 'God, which is
Truth, will protect you', which he did.

Immediately upon my arrival at Baba's ashram in Benares,
Baba dispersed all his followers saying, 'I am going into agyatbas,
an unknown place, and would not like to be disturbed.'
I too felt worried. We had just arrived and if Baba was
disappearing into the blue, we should have to return home
very disappointed. He sensed this, took me aside and said,
'You will stay with me.' But, I said, 'Baba, I have brought my
wife as well.' He said, 'She will also stay with you.' Tbis was
most unusual and very heartening, more so, when we learnt
that Baba had hired two boats, one for the attendants and the
kitchen and the second one for himself where we could also be
accommodated. We cruised on the river Ganges at Benares,
with Baba as our constant companion, and nam kirtan going
on day and night. The food, as usual, was delicious, and the
fruit plentiful. Above all, there was heavenly peace, which is
natural amidst such a powerful sangam of spiritual forces. We
felt rejuvenated. After four days of this exhilerating experience,
Baba brought us back to his ashram at Benares and
then took me to the Durga Temple.

In the temple, there were just the two of us. I requested
Baba to introduce me to Ma Durga. Baba said, 'All right.'
'Ma, this is Sujan. He will be going to war. Protect him and
destroy his enemies. Make him a powerful instrument to bring
victory to the country.' This was December of 1970. There
were no signs of war anywhere, as the trouble in Bangladesh
did not start until March 1971. Baba knew what even Sheikh
Mujib-ur-Rahman, the great leader of Bangladesh did not
know; that there would be a war ofliberation in his country. I
was to participate in this war, in December 1971 and win one
of the highest awards for gallantry, the Param Vishist Sewa
Medal, for what Ma Durga did for us on the intercession of
Baba. How can this be a coincidence? What actually happened
in the war cannot be described here but it proved to me
and my command that a force of immeasurable magnitude
was working for us, destroying the enemy's will to fight and
protecting us like an impenetrable shield.

---

Baba's devotion to his own guru is unparalleled. He served his
guru physically throughout the guru's life so faithfully that the
whole of his guru's family became very fond of him. But he did
more. He was the one who, taking his guru and his guru's wife
to his prayer room one day, got them the darshan of God. The
guru lay semi-conscious for several days after this and was so
awe-struck that he told his wife never in future to offer prasad
to this disciple any more, because he was not sure if God
himself had not come to them in the shape of this disciple.

Baba carried his guru's wooden sandals on his chest, saying,
'This is my armour'. Baba also takes 'charnamrit', the water
poured over the guru's sandals daily, and he shows remarkable
respect to all members of guru's family. Incidentally, all
ashrams of Baba have been registered in the name of the eldest
son of his guruji and there is nothing in his own name or those
of his sons'. Guru Mata, his guru's wife, served her husband
with great care, and now, very old. bears witness, with trembling
lips, to that day when Baba showed them the 'darshan of
God'. How richly spiritual must this couple have been to have
had such a disciple as Baba.

By the age of only twenty-six, Baba had attained the highest
spiritual position possible. At Gaya, he met Bhagwan Das, a
great sadhuy of the Nanakshahi order, who appears to have
influenced him to keep nauna and read the vani of the Sikh
gurus, particularly, Sukhmani, Japuji and Rahras, which had
been translated into Bengali. Baba read Sukhmani with relish
and all his own disciples are enjoined to read this daily. One
disciple possesses as a momento, a copy of Sukhmani, every
page of which is smiked with Baba's tears.

Some 350 years ago, a great sage of Orissa, named
Achytananda prophesied that a great bhakta by the name of
Probodhchandra Mukhopadhyaya would be born. Later in his
life, he would have one leg damaged. In him the Lord himself
would incarnate. He would be the preacher of maha mantra
and wear guru's sandals on his chest. The sage went on to say
much more about the great spiritual powers of this saint, and
how he would protect thousands of his disciples in dangerous
times.

===

Although at the age of twenty-six, Baba wasalready a Master,
he was very sparing in giving initiation. He would lay down
difficult conditions necessitating years of practise before
accepting a disciple. But on 22 April 1937 while Baba was in
Samadhi, Lord Jagannath Deva appeared before him and
urged him to give initiation to all men and women who come
to him, irrespective of caste and creed. That is how people like
myself began availing themselves of the limitless spiritual
powers of this great saint.

The diksha or initiation that Baba bestows is called by
various names like 'niradhara' or 'jnanvati' or 'vedha diksha'.

It is best known as Sidha Yoga, in which the guru infuses his
power into the spiritual content of the disciple by touch, look
or sound. He charges the mantra with life and it becomes
sentient. In the course of time, the dormant kundalini
awakens and starts its upward journey without any effort on
the part of the disciple, who can enjoy the whole operation as a
spectator. No rigorous spiritual exercises and hours of
specified postures or control of breath or abstinence are
prescribed, only respectful surrender to the guru and the
verbal or mental repetition of the mantra at all times or
whenever possible.

The Master, while eXplaining this powerful method of
initiation to a disciple, said, 'You are now in a lift. You do not
have to worry about the route; nor is any personal effort
required, except concentration on the mantra and you will
experience jyoti, light, and nad, astral music. Concentrate on
nad and the chitta will dissolve, the finite and the infinite will
merge'.

There are very few today who can claim to be in a position
to give the sidha yoga type of diksha. Privileged are those who
can take advantage of Baba while he adorns our world in his
physical form.

Although Baba does not prescribe any special discipline, it
is amazing how, whatever he has said to you, is recalled several
times a day and night, proof that the 'lift' keeps working.

You need not stop your everyday work nor live in a forest.

While waiting, or travelling or working one can, without any
special effort, repeat the mantra in your mind. It becomes a
pleasant habit, dispelling the boredom of tedious work or long
journeys. All times of the day and night are good but Baba
says twenty-four minutes before and twenty-four minutes after
sunrise and at midnight, noon and sunset are the best for
concentration since at those times the sushama is working and
concentration is easiest.

You need not change your guru, since Baba himself is
against it. You can, however, put life into the mantra given by
your own guru or your own religion by hearing the same words
of the mantra repeated by Baba. This is known as 'mantra
chaitanya' .

Many people are spiritually advanced, but very few of them
have been nominated by God to act as gurus or buddhas.
Gurus have seen God while in their own physical body and are
always in touch with Him, and they alone have the power to
take others with them to the ultimate reality that is called
God.

I and my father are one.
Jesus Christ

Many Europeans and American men and women come to
India hoping to meet accomplished sadhus for their spiritual
advancement, but go back disappointed. Many are misled by
self-seeking men posing as sadhus and Masters, educated
professionals, who, by their mastery of the English language
and knowledge of religious literature, can easily sway them.
They hardly get an opportunity of meeting the real Masters
who mostly have no knowledge of any foreign language, and
often lack eloquence, even in Indian language. Spiritualism is
a matter of personal experience and coming face-to-face with
the truth, a process which needs no logic or philosophy or
'modern education'. Many Europeans who come to Baba will
not take prasad or blessed fruit since his disciples distribute
this with their bare hands, which they regard as unhygienic.

Some Masters abjure common society, whilst others stay
within that society observing all the injunctions of the holy
scriptures and setting a perfect personal example. Both types
constantly influence society by their powerful spiritual
vibrations to change for the better. They may not be difficult
to contact but it is extremely hard to identify them as Masters
once they are contacted. No wonder, therefore, that
westerners hardly ever get a chance of coming near them.

I remember many westerners who used to visit Baba at his
Rishikesh ashram. One old French lady would be permeated
with joy on meeting Baba, who said she was filled with God,
hence the joy she exuded. There was a young English boy
named David Brian Farley, who was hardly sixteen, shy and
reserved but very sincere and had met several sadhus. Baba
somehow attracted him and he came to stay at Baba's
ashram where Baba initiated him, and he became a true
vegetarian. He would join the sankirtan party with a pair of
nensis given to him by Baba and sing and dance in real
devotion. He left for London via Kabul, and wrote to Baba of
the miraculous escapes he had had on this hazardous journey.
He continues to write to 'Mother' and adores Baba.

There was an American lady, rather plump and always
wore ochre robes, who was disgusted with some of the gurus
she had met. She asked me to ask Baba if there was no one in
India who could give her the spiritual satisfaction she had
come to India to find ... She said it was no use taking
initiation since it was all a hoax. She was really blunt, for
which I do not blame her after the experiences she had had
with some of our educated frauds.

Baba listened to all this attentively and asked me to tell her
to come the next day at dawn, if she wanted to have the
experience, to which she gladly agreed. Next morning, Baba
asked me to take her to the cowshed, make her sit on a woollen
blanket provided by the ashram and do japa or repetition of
guru nam. This I did and a few minutes later, Baba went with
me into the cowshed, stood behind her and, giving a mantra
asked her to repeat it within his hearing so that there was no
mistake in pronunciations. She said the mantra given by Baba
could not be a proper one, since she had been told by some
Masters that every mantra must have the word 'aum' as a
constituent part of it. Baba laughed and said whoever told her
this did not know even the alphabet of spiritualism. Baba said
very few people are entitled to have aum in their mantras.

Those who are not so entitled, or anadhikari, would go mad if
they repeated such a mantra. I explained all this to her and at
the same time told her that however brilliant the patient, he is
always well advised to leave the prescription to the physician.

She agreed and then sat with eyes closed. Baba now pressed his
thumb onto the middle of her forehead and asked her to
repeat the mantra, after him, which she did. Baba instructed
her to keep sitting and concentrate on the sound of the mantra
as repeated by herself, until he came back. Then he and I left
her for a few minutes. When we went inside again, Baba asked
her through me if she had experienced anything. She said,
'Yes, I have got what I was after. Firstly, there was some force
welling up within my body which was so overwhelmingly
powerful that I thought I could not bear it and I would burst.

But, then through Baba's kindness it settled down into a deep
and inexpressible peace and joy.' She asked me to ask Baba if
he could also reduce her weight as she was very conscious of
her figure. I told Baba this and all of us laughed heartily.

One American Jew was initiated by Baba and he stayed for a
long time in the ashram sincerely following all he could
understand. He had left the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh
Yogi, owing to some differences.

The military camps located adjacent to Baba's ashram were
so influenced by Baba, who would lovingly invite and feed
hundreds of soldiers on festive occasions such as Durga that
they gave up drinking and started nam sankirtan in their offduty
hours. Their officers noticed that the discipline and sense
of duty of these soldiers improved remarkably.

Police Officers of the highest rank have become Baba's
disciples and, through their influence, many policemen have
started taking interest in singing God's name in their units,
and leading the clean lives of religious people. This is no small
miracle. How I wish the Indian Government would utilize the
immense powers of this saint by inviting hi mto address all
Government establishments and transforming their very
nature.

=======

The Philosophy and the Methods of Spiritual Evolution

It may sound strange, but a person only uses about a millionth
part of his mental powers during his lifetime. Only the lower
centres are activated, since they are concerned with the
individual's daily needs, and are fed by external stimuli; to
which the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing, have
to respond.

The ego is the commander of these senses and also
the recipient of the fruits, good or bad, since people judge
everything by their own experience and take action in
accordance with their preconceived ideas. Some of the latter
are legacies of past births or sanchit karmas.

By daily exercise,
these sense instruments get so powerful, that they dominate
the whole thinking process of an ordinary individual, starting
the chain of cause and effect and the perpetual cycle of births
and deaths.

God has endowed man with such tremendous potential that,
when aroused, nothing is beyond man's capabilities. But
millions have never heard of these powers which are known
only to a limited number of the initiates of spiritually evolved
saints and yogis. A common man often finishes his earthly
sojourn in utter misery, unaware of his rich inheritance:

Our condition may be likened to a prince who, while sleeping on
his throne, dreams himself to be a beggar.

Guru Granth Sahib
How little do we know that which we are;
Still less that what we may be!
Byron