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.”
[Illustration: LAHIRI MAHASAYA, Disciple of Babaji and Guru of Sri
Yukteswar—see lahiri.jpg]
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.”
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.
To the awe of all beholders, Lahiri Mahasaya’s habitual physiological
state exhibited the superhuman features of breathlessness, sleeplessness,
cessation of pulse and heartbeat, calm eyes unblinking for hours,
and a profound aura of peace. No visitors departed without upliftment
of spirit; all knew they had received the silent blessing of a true
man of God.
The master now permitted his disciple, Panchanon 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 {FN35-18} medicines.
In accordance with ancient custom, the master gave to people in
general a NEEM {FN35-19} oil for the cure of various diseases. When
the guru requested a disciple to distil 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.
[Illustration:—lmwriting.jpg]
Lahiri Mahasaya’s handwriting and signature, in Bengali script,
are shown above. The lines occur in a letter to a chela; the great
master interprets a Sanskrit verse as follows: “He who has attained
a state of calmness wherein his eyelids do not blink, has achieved
SAMBHABI MUDRA.”
(SIGNED) “SRI SHYAMA CHARAN DEVA SHARMAN”
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 his penetrating
interpretations were recorded and arranged by various disciples.
Some of these voluntary amanuenses were more discerning than others
in correctly conveying 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 Ananda 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 knot-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.
{FN35-20} It was the commentaries of Lahiri Mahasaya which brought
to light, clear of allegories, the very science of religion that
had 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 a 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 bred 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. In science our relation with nature is one
that exists between 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. Every man may
find a way through KRIYA to understand his proper relation with
nature, and to feel spiritual reverence for all phenomena, whether
mystical or of everyday occurrence, in spite of the matter-of-factness
of physical science. {FN35-21} 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, its 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 JNANAVATAR or Incarnation of Wisdom, so Lahiri
Mahasaya may justly be called YOGAVATAR, 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 Christlike stature and in his wide dissemination
of truth among the masses, Lahiri Mahasaya ranks among the saviors
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 YOGAVATAR reached the zenith of all wonders in reducing
the ancient complexities of yoga to an effective 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 YOGAVATAR 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 key, persons who cannot bring themselves
to believe in the divinity of any man will behold at last the full
divinity of their own selves.
{FN35-1} MATTHEW 3:15.
{FN35-2} Many Biblical passages reveal that the law of reincarnation
was understood and accepted. Reincarnational cycles are a more
reasonable explanation for the different states of evolution in
which mankind is found, than the common Western theory which assumes
that something (consciousness of egoity) came out of nothing, existed
with varying degrees of lustihood for thirty or ninety years, and
then returned to the original void. The inconceivable nature of
such a void is a problem to delight the heart of a medieval Schoolman.
{FN35-3} MALACHI 4:5.
{FN35-4} “Before him,” i.e., “before the Lord.”
{FN35-5} LUKE 1:13-17.
{FN35-6} MATTHEW 17:12-13.
{FN35-7} MATTHEW 11:13-14.
{FN35-8} JOHN 1:21.
{FN35-9} II KINGS 2:9-14.
{FN35-10} MATTHEW 17:3.
{FN35-11} MATTHEW 27:46-49.
{FN35-12} “How many sorts of death are in our bodies! Nothing is
therein but death.”-MARTIN LUTHER, IN “TABLE-TALK.”
{FN35-13} The chief prayer of the Mohammedans, usually repeated
four or five times daily.
{FN35-14} “Seek truth in meditation, not in moldy books. Look in
the sky to find the moon, not in the pond.”-PERSIAN PROVERB.
{FN35-15} As KRIYA YOGA is capable of many subdivisions, Lahiri
Mahasaya wisely sifted out four steps which he discerned to be
those which contained the essential marrow, and which were of the
highest value in actual practice.
{FN35-16} Other titles bestowed on Lahiri Mahasaya by his disciples
were YOGIBAR (greatest of yogis), YOGIRAJ (king of yogis), and MUNIBAR
(greatest of saints), to which I have added YOGAVATAR (incarnation
of yoga).
{FN35-17} He had given, altogether, thirty-five years of service
in one department of the government.
{FN35-18} Vast herbal knowledge is found in ancient Sanskrit treatises.
Himalayan herbs were employed in a rejuvenation treatment which
aroused the attention of the world in 1938 when the method was
used on Pundit Madan Mohan Malaviya, 77-year-old Vice-Chancellor
of Benares Hindu University. To a remarkable extent, the noted
scholar regained in 45 days his health, strength, memory, normal
eyesight; indications of a third set of teeth appeared, while all
wrinkles vanished. The herbal treatment, known as KAYA KALPA, is
one of 80 rejuvenation methods outlined in Hindu AYURVEDA or medical
science. Pundit Malaviya underwent the treatment at the hands of
Sri Kalpacharya Swami Beshundasji, who claims 1766 as his birth
year. He possesses documents proving him to be more than 100 years
old; ASSOCIATED PRESS reporters remarked that he looked about 40.
Ancient Hindu treatises divided medical science into 8 branches:
SALYA (surgery); SALAKYA (diseases above the neck); KAYACHIKITSA
(medicine proper); BHUTAVIDYA (mental diseases); KAUMARA (care
of infancy); AGADA (toxicology); RASAYANA (longevity); VAGIKARANA
(tonics). Vedic physicians used delicate surgical instruments,
employed plastic surgery, understood medical methods to counteract
the effects of poison gas, performed Caesarean sections and brain
operations, were skilled in dynamization of drugs. Hippocrates,
famous physician of the 5th century B.C., borrowed much of his
materia medica from Hindu sources.
{FN35-19} The East Indian margosa tree. Its medicinal values have
now become recognized in the West, where the bitter NEEM bark is
used as a tonic, and the oil from seeds and fruit has been found
of utmost worth in the treatment of leprosy and other diseases.
{FN35-20} “A number of seals recently excavated from archaeological
sites of the Indus valley, datable in the third millennium B.C.,
show figures seated in meditative postures now used in the system
of Yoga, and warrant the inference that even at that time some of
the rudiments of Yoga were already known. We may not unreasonably
draw the conclusion that systematic introspection with the aid of
studied methods has been practiced in India for five thousand years.
. . . India has developed certain valuable religious attitudes of
mind and ethical notions which are unique, at least in the wideness
of their application to life. One of these has been a tolerance in
questions of intellectual belief-doctrine-that is amazing to the
West, where for many centuries heresy-hunting was common, and bloody
wars between nations over sectarian rivalries were frequent.”-Extracts
from an article by Professor W. Norman Brown in the May, 1939
issue of the BULLETIN of the American Council of Learned Societies,
Washington, D.C.
{FN35-21} One thinks here of Carlyle’s observation in SARTOR RESARTUS:
“The man who cannot wonder, who does not habitually wonder (and
worship), were he president of innumerable Royal Societies and
carried . . . the epitome of all laboratories and observatories,
with their results, in his single head,-is but a pair of spectacles
behind which there is no eye.”