At one time a solar eclipse was predicted. Because of the auspicious
occasion, many people in the small town of Ranibag planned to take a
dip in the River Gatum Ganga which ran along the outskirts of town.
Babaji Maharaj happened to be staying there near the Shiva temple. As
generally happened in his presence a large group had gathered, anxious
for the chance to take part in the ceremonial bath along with Babaji
during the eclipse. A group of others had already planned to bathe at
Kurukshetra where the famous battle recorded in the Mahabharata had
taken place long ago. That place was made even holier as the site where
the Avatar Krishna had delivered his discourse to his companion Arjuna
as recorded in the Bhagavad Gita. As it turned out, part of the group
remained in Ranibag and the other part proceeded to Kurukshetra. When
the moment of the eclipse arrived, the group that had gone on to
Kurukshetra were amazed and delighted to see Babaji in their midst,
wading into the River Ganga along with them.
When the group returned back to their homes in Ranibag, they were surprised to see that Babaji Maharaj had already arrived back from Kurukshetra. They asked the others when he had returned and were told that he had never left. He had remained in Ranibag to bathe with the people that had stayed behind. Thus they came to know that he had satisfied both groups by being simultaneously present in both places.
In 1911 Babaji Maharaj went to the city of Prayag and was seen by many people bathing in the river at one of the public baths. A photographer named Sorabji took two pictures of him while he was there. To everyone's surprise, when the pictures were developed, in one Babaji was wearing his shirt and tibetan cap, and in the other he was wearing no clothes at all. This even though both pictures were taken at the same time. The two pictures are shown below.
Babaji Punished for Smiling
During the summer of 1914, Babaji Maharaj had enlisted to help in the building of some military barracks in the Ranibag area. On many occasions he was seen working on projects such as this as an ordinary laborer. The workers were carrying rocks on their heads moving building materials by hand.
At that time, the Minister of Education, one Pandit Jwala Datt of Almora happened to be passing through the area in his horse cart, on his way back to his home town. As he passed the line of laborers, he saw one of the men smiling at him. He was incensed that a mere laborer would act so familiarly with a man of his position. So he instructed his secretary to tell the laborer that he would be punished for his rude behavior. The secretary confronted the worker but the worker, who was of course the saintly Babaji, seemed completely unruffled. He merely told the secretary that he was smiling because the bell of the Badrinath temple had fallen down and many people were there trying to raise if back up again but there efforts were not working. Pandit Jwala Datt became even angrier at this and vowed to inflict his punishment if the story proved to be a lie. So he sent off a telegram to distant Badrinath to find out if the incident had happened. The reply came back confirming that the bell indeed had fallen down and people were trying to raise it back up.
Pandit Jwala Datt was humbled by the experience and baffled by the apparent omniscience of the saint posing as an ordinary laborer. This event completely changed his outlook on life. Before he had been learned but egotistical. Now he became humble and very devoted to Babaji. He spent the rest of his life in religious devotion.
Babaji took a job as a laborer when the dam at Lake Bhim Tal was being constructed. There had been several previous attempts to build a dam at the same location but they had all failed. But this time, with Babaji present, the construction was successful. For a time none knew his identity but after a while some people recognized the famous saint and shortly after that he disappeared.
The Proper Way to Meet a Saint
Near Nainital at the foot of the Himalayas there is a lake called Khurpatal. At the site of the lake, a village had sprung up and the people there planted gardens and sold produce in neighboring Nainital for their livelihood. Babaji Maharaj occasionally would stay in this quiet town along the placid lake and people from the region would visit to enjoy the blessings of his noble and loving presence.
Once while he was staying there a well educated young man learned of his presence and began to wonder about his identity. It was well known that Babaji had appeared to people unexpectedly in various places at widely scattered intervals of time. He was believed to be centuries old and quite a few thought he had been present for thousands of years. This man had heard that Babaji had been present at the battle of Kurukshetra which took place over 5,000 years ago. He reasoned that Babaji must really be Aswathama, one of the immortal warriors that had taken part in the battles. In the Mahabharata it is recorded that Aswathama was wounded on the top of his head and so the man concluded that this was probably the reason why Babaji Maharaj was habitually seen wearing a Tibetan cap or some other form of head covering.
The man was excited to prove his theory so he proceeded to Khurpatal and sought out the presence of Babaji. As soon as Babaji saw the man he informed him that as it was very hot, he was going to bathe in the cool waters of the lake and so he requested the man to help him by carrying his possessions to the edge of the lake. The man was very happy at this because he knew that Babaji would remove his cap before entering the water and thus he could verify whether his suspicions were true.
As they stood at the edge of the lake, Babaji asked the man to help him off with his clothes. As soon as the man touched Babaji, he was filled with an inexpressible bliss. In an ecstatic mood he helped Babaji into the water, bathed him and then dried and redressed him. As they were returning to the hut where Babaji was staying the man realized with great chagrin that in his blissful state he had completely forgotten to look for scars on the top of Babaji's head.
But Babaji knew his thoughts all along and said to the man with great equanimity, "Whenever you go to meet a saint or high spiritual soul, go with much devotion and faith. If you have any doubts, ask him for their clarification. Only those who are blessed by God can recognize a saint. Those who have a pure heart and those who are humble and egoless attain the grace of saints.The man then realized the omniscience of the saint and instantly became a true devotee.
In the winter of 1952 Baba Hari Dass was living in a room attached to a cave near a burial ground by the name of Ghati. The room was very cold in the winter and so he kept a fire burning inside the cave and meditated sitting close to the fire. It happened one time that as he was meditating, he lost consciousness and his body slumped to the left and his arm fell into the fire pit. When he came to awareness he saw the tall figure of Babaji Maharaj bending over him and removing his arm from the vicinity of the flames. Without a word, Babaji turned and left as quickly as he had come. Baba Hari Dass jumped up quickly in order to catch up with Babaji and bow to his feet but when he stepped outside Babaji had disappeared.
When the group returned back to their homes in Ranibag, they were surprised to see that Babaji Maharaj had already arrived back from Kurukshetra. They asked the others when he had returned and were told that he had never left. He had remained in Ranibag to bathe with the people that had stayed behind. Thus they came to know that he had satisfied both groups by being simultaneously present in both places.
In 1911 Babaji Maharaj went to the city of Prayag and was seen by many people bathing in the river at one of the public baths. A photographer named Sorabji took two pictures of him while he was there. To everyone's surprise, when the pictures were developed, in one Babaji was wearing his shirt and tibetan cap, and in the other he was wearing no clothes at all. This even though both pictures were taken at the same time. The two pictures are shown below.
Babaji Punished for Smiling
During the summer of 1914, Babaji Maharaj had enlisted to help in the building of some military barracks in the Ranibag area. On many occasions he was seen working on projects such as this as an ordinary laborer. The workers were carrying rocks on their heads moving building materials by hand.
At that time, the Minister of Education, one Pandit Jwala Datt of Almora happened to be passing through the area in his horse cart, on his way back to his home town. As he passed the line of laborers, he saw one of the men smiling at him. He was incensed that a mere laborer would act so familiarly with a man of his position. So he instructed his secretary to tell the laborer that he would be punished for his rude behavior. The secretary confronted the worker but the worker, who was of course the saintly Babaji, seemed completely unruffled. He merely told the secretary that he was smiling because the bell of the Badrinath temple had fallen down and many people were there trying to raise if back up again but there efforts were not working. Pandit Jwala Datt became even angrier at this and vowed to inflict his punishment if the story proved to be a lie. So he sent off a telegram to distant Badrinath to find out if the incident had happened. The reply came back confirming that the bell indeed had fallen down and people were trying to raise it back up.
Pandit Jwala Datt was humbled by the experience and baffled by the apparent omniscience of the saint posing as an ordinary laborer. This event completely changed his outlook on life. Before he had been learned but egotistical. Now he became humble and very devoted to Babaji. He spent the rest of his life in religious devotion.
Babaji took a job as a laborer when the dam at Lake Bhim Tal was being constructed. There had been several previous attempts to build a dam at the same location but they had all failed. But this time, with Babaji present, the construction was successful. For a time none knew his identity but after a while some people recognized the famous saint and shortly after that he disappeared.
The Proper Way to Meet a Saint
Near Nainital at the foot of the Himalayas there is a lake called Khurpatal. At the site of the lake, a village had sprung up and the people there planted gardens and sold produce in neighboring Nainital for their livelihood. Babaji Maharaj occasionally would stay in this quiet town along the placid lake and people from the region would visit to enjoy the blessings of his noble and loving presence.
Once while he was staying there a well educated young man learned of his presence and began to wonder about his identity. It was well known that Babaji had appeared to people unexpectedly in various places at widely scattered intervals of time. He was believed to be centuries old and quite a few thought he had been present for thousands of years. This man had heard that Babaji had been present at the battle of Kurukshetra which took place over 5,000 years ago. He reasoned that Babaji must really be Aswathama, one of the immortal warriors that had taken part in the battles. In the Mahabharata it is recorded that Aswathama was wounded on the top of his head and so the man concluded that this was probably the reason why Babaji Maharaj was habitually seen wearing a Tibetan cap or some other form of head covering.
The man was excited to prove his theory so he proceeded to Khurpatal and sought out the presence of Babaji. As soon as Babaji saw the man he informed him that as it was very hot, he was going to bathe in the cool waters of the lake and so he requested the man to help him by carrying his possessions to the edge of the lake. The man was very happy at this because he knew that Babaji would remove his cap before entering the water and thus he could verify whether his suspicions were true.
As they stood at the edge of the lake, Babaji asked the man to help him off with his clothes. As soon as the man touched Babaji, he was filled with an inexpressible bliss. In an ecstatic mood he helped Babaji into the water, bathed him and then dried and redressed him. As they were returning to the hut where Babaji was staying the man realized with great chagrin that in his blissful state he had completely forgotten to look for scars on the top of Babaji's head.
But Babaji knew his thoughts all along and said to the man with great equanimity, "Whenever you go to meet a saint or high spiritual soul, go with much devotion and faith. If you have any doubts, ask him for their clarification. Only those who are blessed by God can recognize a saint. Those who have a pure heart and those who are humble and egoless attain the grace of saints.The man then realized the omniscience of the saint and instantly became a true devotee.
In the winter of 1952 Baba Hari Dass was living in a room attached to a cave near a burial ground by the name of Ghati. The room was very cold in the winter and so he kept a fire burning inside the cave and meditated sitting close to the fire. It happened one time that as he was meditating, he lost consciousness and his body slumped to the left and his arm fell into the fire pit. When he came to awareness he saw the tall figure of Babaji Maharaj bending over him and removing his arm from the vicinity of the flames. Without a word, Babaji turned and left as quickly as he had come. Baba Hari Dass jumped up quickly in order to catch up with Babaji and bow to his feet but when he stepped outside Babaji had disappeared.
No comments:
Post a Comment