The Christlike Life of Lahiri Mahasaya

The Christlike life of Lahiri Mahasaya. Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. In these words to John the Baptist and in asking John to baptise him, Jesus was acknowledging the divine rights of his Guru. From a reverent study of the Bible from an oriental viewpoint 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 spell the names of Elias and Elisios. 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. Thus John, 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 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 in the spirit and power of elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the wisdom of the just to make ready a people prepared for the lord jesus twice unequivocally identified el if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

When John denied that he was Elias, Elijah, he meant that in the humble gob 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 should be so unto thee and he took the mantle of elijah that fell from him the roles became reversed because el 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, 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. 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 Lithian waters that swell 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 re-establish the never-severed link then after their brief meeting near raniket the selfless master banished his daily loved disciple from the little mountain group releasing him for an outward world mission me, what mortal lover can bestow that infinite promise? Unknown to society in general, the 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 made this sympathetic inquiry one morning to his employer. "'My wife in England is critically ill. I'm 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 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 sick-bed in london at that moment i was completely healed soon after i was able to undertake the long ocean voyage to india 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 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 turn to them with a childlike humility the master often touched the feet of others but sadham allowed them to pay him similar honour even though such obeisance towards the guru is an ancient oriental custom of Lahiri Mahasaya's life was his gift of Kriya initiation to those of every faith.

Not Hindus only, but Muslims and Christians were among his foremost disciples. Monasts 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 Gufur 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 prophets, Lahiri Mahasaya gave new hope to the outcasts and downtrodden of society. Always remember that you belong to no one and no one belongs to you.

Reflect that someday 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 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 use the secret key of kriya learn to escape into spirit the great guru encouraged his various students to adhere to the their lives in conformance with environment and upbringing.

A Muslim should perform his namaj, 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 . 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 discussions 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. 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 Sako is no less resourceful.

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 Kutashta 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 ofingly to chelas who could not remain near him i will guide you to the cosmic home through your enlarging perceptions go to Banaris, the man had nevertheless received precise Kriya initiation and 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 Yukteswarvara 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 yktasvara that sharp or not his every word was music to my ears Lahiri Mahasaya carefully graded Kriya into four progressive initiations.

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 meet 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 initi more initiations please how can i assimilate any higher teachings i have come to-day to finding fault with my tools the postman who was an uneducated man later developed his insight through he 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 Banaris disciples of Lahiri Mahasaya, hundreds came to him from distant parts of India. He himself travelled 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 honeycomb with small kriya groups particularlyiri Mahasaya may be mentioned the illustrious Swami Vaskarananda Saraswati of Benares and the Deogar ascetic of high stature Balananda Brahmachari. For a time, Lahiri Mahasaya served as private tutor to the son of Maharaj 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 Jyotindra 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. Banchela, the royal physician to the lord of Benares, started an organized effort to spread the master's name as Kashibaba, exalted one of Benares. 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 raniket initiation, Lahiri Mahasaya was retired on a pension. 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 parlour, 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.

To the awe of all beholders Lahiri mahasaya's habitual physiological state exhibited the superhuman features of breathlessness sleeplessness cessation of pulse and heart-beat calm eyes unblinking silent blessing of a true man of God. The Master now permitted his disciple, Panchenon Bhattacharya, to open an Arya Mission institution in Calcutta. Here the saintly disciple spread the message of Kriya Yoga, and prepared for public benefit certain yogic herbal medicines. In accordance with ancient custom, the Master gave to people in general general neem oil for the cure of various diseases when the guru requested a disciple to distill the oil he could easily accomplish the task if anyone else tried he would encounter strange difficulties finding that the medicinal oil had almost evaporated after going through the required distilling processes.

Evidently the Master's blessing was a necessary ingredient. The Arya Mission Institution undertook the publication of many of the Guru's scriptural commentaries. Like Jesus and other great prophets, Lahiri Mahasaya himself wrote no books, but penetrating interpretations were recorded and arranged by various disciples. Some of these voluntary amanuenses were more discerning than others and correctly conveyed the profound insight of the Guru. Yet, on the whole, their efforts were successful. Through their zeal, the world possesses unparalleled commentaries by Lahiri Mahasaya on twenty-six ancient scriptures. Sri Anand Mohan Lahiri, a grandson of the Master, has written an interesting booklet on Kriya.

The text of the Bhagavad Gita is a part of the great epic, the Mahabharata, which possesses several knot points. Vyas Kutas, Sri Ananda wrote, Keep those knot points unquestioned and we find nothing but mythical stories of a peculiar and easily misunderstood type. Keep those knock points unexplained and we have lost a science which the east has preserved with superhuman patience after a quest of thousands of years of experiment to light, clear of allegories, the very sights of religion that have been so cleverly put out of sight in the riddle of scriptural letters and imagery.

No longer a mere unintelligible jugglery of words, the otherwise unmeaning formulas of Vedic worship have been proved by the Master to be full of scientific significance. We know that man is usually helpless against the insurgent sway of evil passions, but these are rendered powerless and man finds no motive in their indulgence when there dawns on him a consciousness of superior and lasting bliss through Kriya. Here the give-up, the negation of the lower passions, synchronizes with the take-up, the assertion of a beatitude. Without such a course, hundreds of moral maxims which run in mere negatives are useless to us.

Our eagerness for worldly activity kills in us the sense of spiritual awe. We cannot comprehend the great life behind all names and forms just because science brings home to us how we can use the powers of nature. This familiarity has spread a contempt for her ultimate secrets our relation with nature is one of practical business we tease her so to speak to know how she can be used to serve our purposes we make use of her energies whose source yet remains unknown a man and his servant, or in a philosophical sense, she is like a captive in the witness box.

We cross-examine her, challenge her, and minutely weigh her evidence in human scales which cannot measure her hidden values. On the other hand, when the self is in communion with a higher power, nature automatically obeys without stress or strain the will of man this effortless command over nature is called miraculous by the uncomprehending materialist the life of lahiri mahasaya set an example which changed the erroneous notion that yoga is a mysterious practice to feel spiritual reverence for all phenomena, whether mystical or of everyday occurrence, in spite of the matter-of-factness of physical science.

We must bear in mind that what was mystical a thousand years ago is no longer so, and what is mysterious now may become lawfully intelligible a hundred years hence. It is the Infinite, the Ocean of Power, that is at the back of all manifestations. The law of Kriya Yoga is eternal. It is true like mathematics, like the simple rules of addition and subtraction. The law of Kriya can never be destroyed. Burn to ashes all the books on mathematics. The logically minded will always rediscover such truths.

Destroy all the sacred books on yoga, his fundamental laws will come out whenever there appears a true yogi who comprises within himself pure devotion and consequently pure knowledge. Just as Babaji is among the greatest of avatars, a mahavatar, and Sri Yukteswar a yana-vatar or incarnation of wisdom, so Lahiri Mahasaya must justly be called yoga avatara or incarnation of yoga. By the standards of both qualitative and quantitative good, he elevated the spiritual level of society. In his power to raise his close disciples to Christ-like stature, and in his wide dissemination of truth among the masses, Lahiri Mahasaya ranks among the saviours of mankind.

His uniqueness as a prophet lies in his practical stress on a definite method, Kriya, opening for the first time the doors of yoga freedom to all men. Apart from the miracles of his own life, surely the yoga avatar reached the zenith of all wonders in reducing the ancient complexities of yoga to an effect of simplicity not beyond the ordinary grasp in reference to miracles lahiri mahasaya often said the operation of subtle laws which are unknown to people in general should not be publicly discussed or published without due discrimination if in these pages i have appeared to flout his cautionary words it is because he has given me an inward reassurance.

Also, in recording the lives of Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Sri Yukteswar, I have thought it advisable to omit many true miraculous stories, which could hardly have been included without writing, also, an explanatory volume of abstruse philosophy. New Hope for New Men Divine Union, the Yoga Avatar proclaimed, is possible through self-effort and is not dependent on theological beliefs or on the arbitrary will of a cosmic dictator. Through use of the Kriya Ki, persons who cannot bring themselves to believe in the divinity of any man will behold at last the full divinity of their own selves.