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Autobiography of a YOGI

P >> Paramhansa Yogananda >> Autobiography of a YOGI




"'No necessity compels you to leave the world, for inwardly you
have already sundered its every karmic tie. Not of this world, you
must yet be in it. Many years still remain during which you must
conscientiously fulfill your family, business, civic, and spiritual
duties. A sweet new breath of divine hope will penetrate the
arid hearts of worldly men. From your balanced life, they will
understand that liberation is dependent on inner, rather than outer,
renunciations.'

"How remote seemed my family, the office, the world, as I listened
to my guru in the high Himalayan solitudes. Yet adamantine truth
rang in his words; I submissively agreed to leave this blessed
haven of peace. Babaji instructed me in the ancient rigid rules
which govern the transmission of the yogic art from guru to disciple.

"'Bestow the KRIYA key only on qualified chelas,' Babaji said.
'He who vows to sacrifice all in the quest of the Divine is fit to
unravel the final mysteries of life through the science of meditation.'

"'Angelic guru, as you have already favored mankind by resurrecting
the lost KRIYA art, will you not increase that benefit by relaxing
the strict requirements for discipleship?' I gazed beseechingly
at Babaji. 'I pray that you permit me to communicate KRIYA to all
seekers, even though at first they cannot vow themselves to complete
inner renunciation. The tortured men and women of the world, pursued
by the threefold suffering, {FN34-7} need special encouragement.
They may never attempt the road to freedom if KRIYA initiation be
withheld from them.'

"'Be it so. The divine wish has been expressed through you.' With
these simple words, the merciful guru banished the rigorous safeguards
that for ages had hidden KRIYA from the world. 'Give KRIYA freely
to all who humbly ask for help.'

"After a silence, Babaji added, 'Repeat to each of your disciples
this majestic promise from the BHAGAVAD GITA: "SWALPAMASYA DHARMASYA,
TRAYATA MAHATO BHOYAT"--"Even a little bit of the practice of this
religion will save you from dire fears and colossal sufferings."'
{FN34-8}

"As I knelt the next morning at my guru's feet for his farewell
blessing, he sensed my deep reluctance to leave him.

"'There is no separation for us, my beloved child.' He touched my
shoulder affectionately. 'Wherever you are, whenever you call me,
I shall be with you instantly.'

"Consoled by his wondrous promise, and rich with the newly found gold
of God-wisdom, I wended my way down the mountain. At the office I
was welcomed by my fellow employees, who for ten days had thought
me lost in the Himalayan jungles. A letter soon arrived from the
head office.

"'Lahiri should return to the Danapur {FN34-9} office,' it read.
'His transfer to Ranikhet occurred by error. Another man should
have been sent to assume the Ranikhet duties.'

"I smiled, reflecting on the hidden crosscurrents in the events
which had led me to this furthermost spot of India.

"Before returning to Danapur, I spent a few days with a Bengali
family at Moradabad. A party of six friends gathered to greet me.
As I turned the conversation to spiritual subjects, my host observed
gloomily:

"'Oh, in these days India is destitute of saints!'

"'Babu,' I protested warmly, 'of course there are still great
masters in this land!'

"In a mood of exalted fervor, I felt impelled to relate my miraculous
experiences in the Himalayas. The little company was politely
incredulous.

"'Lahiri,' one man said soothingly, 'your mind has been under a
strain in those rarefied mountain airs. This is some daydream you
have recounted.'

"Burning with the enthusiasm of truth, I spoke without due thought.
'If I call him, my guru will appear right in this house.'

"Interest gleamed in every eye; it was no wonder that the group
was eager to behold a saint materialized in such a strange way.
Half-reluctantly, I asked for a quiet room and two new woolen
blankets.

"'The master will materialize from the ether,' I said. 'Remain
silently outside the door; I shall soon call you.'

"I sank into the meditative state, humbly summoning my guru. The
darkened room soon filled with a dim aural moonlight; the luminous
figure of Babaji emerged.

"'Lahiri, do you call me for a trifle?' The master's gaze was stern.
'Truth is for earnest seekers, not for those of idle curiosity. It
is easy to believe when one sees; there is nothing then to deny.
Supersensual truth is deserved and discovered by those who overcome
their natural materialistic skepticism.' He added gravely, 'Let me
go!'

"I fell entreatingly at his feet. 'Holy guru, I realize my serious
error; I humbly ask pardon. It was to create faith in these
spiritually blinded minds that I ventured to call you. Because you
have graciously appeared at my prayer, please do not depart without
bestowing a blessing on my friends. Unbelievers though they be,
at least they were willing to investigate the truth of my strange
assertions.'

"'Very well; I will stay awhile. I do not wish your word discredited
before your friends.' Babaji's face had softened, but he added
gently, 'Henceforth, my son, I shall come when you need me, and
not always when you call me. {FN34-10}'

"Tense silence reigned in the little group when I opened the door.
As if mistrusting their senses, my friends stared at the lustrous
figure on the blanket seat.

"'This is mass-hypnotism!' One man laughed blatantly. 'No one could
possibly have entered this room without our knowledge!'

"Babaji advanced smilingly and motioned to each one to touch the
warm, solid flesh of his body. Doubts dispelled, my friends prostrated
themselves on the floor in awed repentance.

"'Let HALUA {FN34-11} be prepared.' Babaji made this request,
I knew, to further assure the group of his physical reality. While
the porridge was boiling, the divine guru chatted affably. Great
was the metamorphosis of these doubting Thomases into devout St.
Pauls. After we had eaten, Babaji blessed each of us in turn. There
was a sudden flash; we witnessed the instantaneous dechemicalization
of the electronic elements of Babaji's body into a spreading vaporous
light. The God-tuned will power of the master had loosened its
grasp of the ether atoms held together as his body; forthwith the
trillions of tiny lifetronic sparks faded into the infinite reservoir.

"'With my own eyes I have seen the conqueror of death.' Maitra,
{FN34-12} one of the group, spoke reverently. His face was
transfigured with the joy of his recent awakening. 'The supreme
guru played with time and space, as a child plays with bubbles. I
have beheld one with the keys of heaven and earth.'

"I soon returned to Danapur. Firmly anchored in the Spirit, again I
assumed the manifold business and family obligations of a householder."

Lahiri Mahasaya also related to Swami Kebalananda and Sri Yukteswar
the story of another meeting with Babaji, under circumstances which
recalled the guru's promise: "I shall come whenever you need me."

"The scene was a KUMBHA MELA at Allahabad," Lahiri Mahasaya told
his disciples. "I had gone there during a short vacation from my
office duties. As I wandered amidst the throng of monks and sadhus
who had come from great distances to attend the holy festival, I
noticed an ash-smeared ascetic who was holding a begging bowl. The
thought arose in my mind that the man was hypocritical, wearing
the outward symbols of renunciation without a corresponding inward
grace.

"No sooner had I passed the ascetic than my astounded eye fell on
Babaji. He was kneeling in front of a matted-haired anchorite.

"'Guruji!' I hastened to his side. 'Sir, what are you doing here?'

"'I am washing the feet of this renunciate, and then I shall clean
his cooking utensils.' Babaji smiled at me like a little child; I
knew he was intimating that he wanted me to criticize no one, but
to see the Lord as residing equally in all body-temples, whether of
superior or inferior men. The great guru added, 'By serving wise
and ignorant sadhus, I am learning the greatest of virtues, pleasing
to God above all others-humility.'"

{FN34-1} Now a military sanatorium. By 1861 the British Government
had already established certain telegraphic communciations.

{FN34-2} Ranikhet, in the Almora district of United Provinces,
is situated at the foot of Nanda Devi, the highest Himalayan peak
(25,661 feet) in British India.

{FN34-3} "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
sabbath."--MARK 2:27.

{FN34-4} The karmic law requires that every human wish find
ultimate fulfillment. Desire is thus the chain which binds man to
the reincarnational wheel.

{FN34-5} "What is a miracle?-'Tis a reproach,
'Tis an implicit satire on mankind."
--Edward Young, in NIGHT THOUGHTS.

{FN34-5} The theory of the atomic structure of matter was expounded
in the ancient Indian VAISESIKA and NYAYA treatises. "There are vast
worlds all placed away within the hollows of each atom, multifarious
as the motes in a sunbeam."--YOGA VASISHTHA.

{FN34-7} Physical, mental, and spiritual suffering; manifested,
respectively, in disease, in psychological inadequacies or "complexes,"
and in soul-ignorance.

{FN34-8} Chapter II:40.

{FN34-9} A town near Benares.

{FN34-10} In the path to the Infinite, even illumined masters like
Lahiri Mahasaya may suffer from an excess of zeal, and be subject
to discipline. In the BHAGAVAD GITA, we read many passages where the
divine guru Krishna gives chastisement to the prince of devotees,
Arjuna.

{FN34-11} A porridge made of cream of wheat fried in butter, and
boiled with milk.

{FN34-12} The man, Maitra, to whom Lahiri Mahasaya is here referring,
afterward became highly advanced in self-realization. I met Maitra
shortly after my graduation from high school; he visited the
Mahamandal hermitage in Benares while I was a resident. He told
me then of Babaji's materialization before the group in Moradabad.
"As a result of the miracle," Maitra explained to me, "I became a
lifelong disciple of Lahiri Mahasaya."



CHAPTER: 35

THE CHRISTLIKE LIFE OF LAHIRI MAHASAYA

"Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." {FN35-1} In
these words to John the Baptist, and in asking John to baptize him,
Jesus was acknowledging the divine rights of his guru.

From a reverent study of the Bible from an Oriental viewpoint,
{FN35-2} and from intuitional perception, I am convinced that
John the Baptist was, in past lives, the guru of Christ. There are
numerous passages in the Bible which infer that John and Jesus in
their last incarnations were, respectively, Elijah and his disciple
Elisha. (These are the spellings in the Old Testament. The Greek
translators spelled the names as Elias and Eliseus; they reappear
in the New Testament in these changed forms.)

The very end of the Old Testament is a prediction of the reincarnation
of Elijah and Elisha: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."
{FN35-3} Thus John (Elijah), sent "before the coming . . . of the
Lord," was born slightly earlier to serve as a herald for Christ.
An angel appeared to Zacharias the father to testify that his coming
son John would be no other than Elijah (Elias).

"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer
is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou
shalt call his name John. . . . And many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him
{FN35-4} IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIAS, to turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of
the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." {FN35-5}
Jesus twice unequivocally identified Elijah (Elias) as John: "Elias
is come already, and they knew him not. . . . Then the disciples
understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist." {FN35-6}
Again, Christ says: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied
until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was
for to come." {FN35-7} When John denied that he was Elias (Elijah),
{FN35-8} he meant that in the humble garb of John he came no longer
in the outward elevation of Elijah the great guru. In his former
incarnation he had given the "mantle" of his glory and his spiritual
wealth to his disciple Elisha. "And Elisha said, I pray thee, let
a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast
asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken
from thee, it shall be so unto thee. . . . And he took the MANTLE
of Elijah that fell from him." {FN35-9}

The roles became reversed, because Elijah-John was no longer needed
to be the ostensible guru of Elisha-Jesus, now perfected in divine
realization.

When Christ was transfigured on the mountain {FN35-10} it was his
guru Elias, with Moses, whom he saw. Again, in his hour of extremity
on the cross, Jesus cried out the divine name: "ELI, ELI, LAMA
SABACHTHANI? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This
man calleth for Elias. . . . Let us see whether Elias will come to
save him." {FN35-11}

The eternal bond of guru and disciple that existed between John and
Jesus was present also for Babaji and Lahiri Mahasaya. With tender
solicitude the deathless guru swam the Lethean waters that swirled
between the last two lives of his chela, and guided the successive
steps taken by the child and then by the man Lahiri Mahasaya.
It was not until the disciple had reached his thirty-third year
that Babaji deemed the time to be ripe to openly reestablish the
never-severed link. Then, after their brief meeting near Ranikhet,
the selfless master banished his dearly-beloved disciple from the
little mountain group, releasing him for an outward world mission.
"My son, I shall come whenever you need me." What mortal lover can
bestow that infinite promise?

Unknown to society in general, a great spiritual renaissance began
to flow from a remote corner of Benares. Just as the fragrance of
flowers cannot be suppressed, so Lahiri Mahasaya, quietly living
as an ideal householder, could not hide his innate glory. Slowly,
from every part of India, the devotee-bees sought the divine nectar
of the liberated master.

The English office superintendent was one of the first to notice a
strange transcendental change in his employee, whom he endearingly
called "Ecstatic Babu."

"Sir, you seem sad. What is the trouble?" Lahiri Mahasaya made this
sympathetic inquiry one morning to his employer.

"My wife in England is critically ill. I am torn by anxiety."

"I shall get you some word about her." Lahiri Mahasaya left the
room and sat for a short time in a secluded spot. On his return he
smiled consolingly.

"Your wife is improving; she is now writing you a letter." The
omniscient yogi quoted some parts of the missive.

"Ecstatic Babu, I already know that you are no ordinary man. Yet I
am unable to believe that, at will, you can banish time and space!"

The promised letter finally arrived. The astounded superintendent
found that it contained not only the good news of his wife's
recovery, but also the same phrases which, weeks earlier, Lahiri
Mahasaya had repeated.

The wife came to India some months later. She visited the office,
where Lahiri Mahasaya was quietly sitting at his desk. The woman
approached him reverently.

"Sir," she said, "it was your form, haloed in glorious light, that
I beheld months ago by my sickbed in London. At that moment I was
completely healed! Soon after, I was able to undertake the long
ocean voyage to India."

Day after day, one or two devotees besought the sublime guru for
KRIYA initiation. In addition to these spiritual duties, and to
those of his business and family life, the great master took an
enthusiastic interest in education. He organized many study groups,
and played an active part in the growth of a large high school in
the Bengalitola section of Benares. His regular discourses on the
scriptures came to be called his "GITA Assembly," eagerly attended
by many truth-seekers.

By these manifold activities, Lahiri Mahasaya sought to answer the
common challenge: "After performing one's business and social duties,
where is the time for devotional meditation?" The harmoniously balanced
life of the great householder-guru became the silent inspiration
of thousands of questioning hearts. Earning only a modest salary,
thrifty, unostentatious, accessible to all, the master carried on
naturally and happily in the path of worldly life.

Though ensconced in the seat of the Supreme One, Lahiri Mahasaya
showed reverence to all men, irrespective of their differing
merits. When his devotees saluted him, he bowed in turn to them.
With a childlike humility, the master often touched the feet
of others, but seldom allowed them to pay him similar honor, even
though such obeisance toward the guru is an ancient Oriental custom.

A significant feature of Lahiri Mahasaya's life was his gift
of KRIYA initiation to those of every faith. Not Hindus only, but
Moslems and Christians were among his foremost disciples. Monists
and dualists, those of all faiths or of no established faith, were
impartially received and instructed by the universal guru. One of
his highly advanced chelas was Abdul Gufoor Khan, a Mohammedan. It
shows great courage on the part of Lahiri Mahasaya that, although
a high-caste Brahmin, he tried his utmost to dissolve the rigid
caste bigotry of his time. Those from every walk of life found
shelter under the master's omnipresent wings. Like all God-inspired
prophets, Lahiri Mahasaya gave new hope to the outcastes and
down-trodden of society.

"Always remember that you belong to no one, and no one belongs to
you. Reflect that some day you will suddenly have to leave everything
in this world-so make the acquaintanceship of God now," the great
guru told his disciples. "Prepare yourself for the coming astral
journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception.
Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh
and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles. {FN35-12} Meditate
unceasingly, that you may quickly behold yourself as the Infinite
Essence, free from every form of misery. Cease being a prisoner
of the body; using the secret key of KRIYA, learn to escape into
Spirit."

The great guru encouraged his various students to adhere to
the good traditional discipline of their own faith. Stressing the
all-inclusive nature of KRIYA as a practical technique of liberation,
Lahiri Mahasaya then gave his chelas liberty to express their lives
in conformance with environment and up bringing.

"A Moslem should perform his NAMAJ {FN35-13} worship four times
daily," the master pointed out. "Four times daily a Hindu should
sit in meditation. A Christian should go down on his knees four
times daily, praying to God and then reading the Bible."

With wise discernment the guru guided his followers into the paths
of BHAKTI (devotion), KARMA (action), JNANA (wisdom), or RAJA (royal
or complete) YOGAS, according to each man's natural tendencies. The
master, who was slow to give his permission to devotees wishing to
enter the formal path of monkhood, always cautioned them to first
reflect well on the austerities of the monastic life.

The great guru taught his disciples to avoid theoretical discussion
of the scriptures. "He only is wise who devotes himself to realizing,
not reading only, the ancient revelations," he said. "Solve all
your problems through meditation. {FN35-14} Exchange unprofitable
religious speculations for actual God-contact. Clear your mind of
dogmatic theological debris; let in the fresh, healing waters of
direct perception. Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance;
the Divine Voice has the answer to every dilemma of life. Though
man's ingenuity for getting himself into trouble appears to be
endless, the Infinite Succor is no less resourceful."

[Illustration: LAHIRI MAHASAYA, Disciple of Babaji and Guru of Sri
Yukteswar--see lahiri.jpg]

The master's omnipresence was demonstrated one day before a group
of disciples who were listening to his exposition of the BHAGAVAD
GITA. As he was explaining the meaning of KUTASTHA CHAITANYA or
the Christ Consciousness in all vibratory creation, Lahiri Mahasaya
suddenly gasped and cried out:

"I am drowning in the bodies of many souls off the coast of Japan!"

The next morning the chelas read a newspaper account of the death
of many people whose ship had foundered the preceding day near
Japan.

The distant disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya were often made aware of
his enfolding presence. "I am ever with those who practice KRIYA,"
he said consolingly to chelas who could not remain near him. "I
will guide you to the Cosmic Home through your enlarging perceptions."

Swami Satyananda was told by a devotee that, unable to go to Benares,
the man had nevertheless received precise KRIYA initiation in a
dream. Lahiri Mahasaya had appeared to instruct the chela in answer
to his prayers.

If a disciple neglected any of his worldly obligations, the master
would gently correct and discipline him.

"Lahiri Mahasaya's words were mild and healing, even when he was
forced to speak openly of a chela's faults," Sri Yukteswar once
told me. He added ruefully, "No disciple ever fled from our master's
barbs." I could not help laughing, but I truthfully assured Sri
Yukteswar that, sharp or not, his every word was music to my ears.

Lahiri Mahasaya carefully graded KRIYA into four progressive
initiations. {FN35-15} He bestowed the three higher techniques only
after the devotee had manifested definite spiritual progress. One
day a certain chela, convinced that his worth was not being duly
evaluated, gave voice to his discontent.

"Master," he said, "surely I am ready now for the second initiation."

At this moment the door opened to admit a humble disciple, Brinda
Bhagat. He was a Benares postman.

"Brinda, sit by me here." The great guru smiled at him affectionately.
"Tell me, are you ready for the second technique of KRIYA?"

The little postman folded his hands in supplication. "Gurudeva," he
said in alarm, "no more initiations, please! How can I assimilate
any higher teachings? I have come today to ask your blessings,
because the first divine KRIYA has filled me with such intoxication
that I cannot deliver my letters!"

"Already Brinda swims in the sea of Spirit." At these words from
Lahiri Mahasaya, his other disciple hung his head.

"Master," he said, "I see I have been a poor workman, finding fault
with my tools."

The postman, who was an uneducated man, later developed his insight
through KRIYA to such an extent that scholars occasionally sought
his interpretation on involved scriptural points. Innocent alike of
sin and syntax, little Brinda won renown in the domain of learned
pundits.

Besides the numerous Benares disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya, hundreds
came to him from distant parts of India. He himself traveled to Bengal
on several occasions, visiting at the homes of the fathers-in-law
of his two sons. Thus blessed by his presence, Bengal became
honeycombed with small KRIYA groups. Particularly in the districts
of Krishnagar and Bishnupur, many silent devotees to this day have
kept the invisible current of spiritual meditation flowing.

Among many saints who received KRIYA from Lahiri Mahasaya may be
mentioned the illustrious Swami Vhaskarananda Saraswati of Benares,
and the Deogarh ascetic of high stature, Balananda Brahmachari.
For a time Lahiri Mahasaya served as private tutor to the son of
Maharaja Iswari Narayan Sinha Bahadur of Benares. Recognizing the
master's spiritual attainment, the maharaja, as well as his son,
sought KRIYA initiation, as did the Maharaja Jotindra Mohan Thakur.

A number of Lahiri Mahasaya's disciples with influential worldly
position were desirous of expanding the KRIYA circle by publicity.
The guru refused his permission. One chela, the royal physician
to the Lord of Benares, started an organized effort to spread the
master's name as "Kashi Baba" (Exalted One of Benares). {FN35-16}
Again the guru forbade it.

"Let the fragrance of the KRIYA flower be wafted naturally, without
any display," he said. "Its seeds will take root in the soil of
spiritually fertile hearts."

Although the great master did not adopt the system of preaching
through the modern medium of an organization, or through the
printing press, he knew that the power of his message would rise
like a resistless flood, inundating by its own force the banks of
human minds. The changed and purified lives of devotees were the
simple guarantees of the deathless vitality of KRIYA.

In 1886, twenty-five years after his Ranikhet initiation, Lahiri
Mahasaya was retired on a pension. {FN35-17} With his availability
in the daytime, disciples sought him out in ever-increasing numbers.
The great guru now sat in silence most of the time, locked in the
tranquil lotus posture. He seldom left his little parlor, even
for a walk or to visit other parts of the house. A quiet stream of
chelas arrived, almost ceaselessly, for a DARSHAN (holy sight) of
the guru.

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