Quoting from Autobiography of a Yogi chapter 34 Materializing a Palace
in the Himalaya
“When one feels his unity with mankind, all minds become transmitting stations through which he can work at will.’ He added gently, ‘Lahiri, surely this cave seems familiar to you?’
“As I maintained a bewildered silence, the saint approached and struck me gently on the forehead. At his magnetic touch, a wondrous current swept through my brain, releasing the sweet seed-memories of my previous life.
“‘I remember!’ My voice was half-choked with joyous sobs. ‘You are my guru Babaji, who has belonged to me always! Scenes of the past arise vividly in my mind; here in this cave I spent many years of my last incarnation!’ As ineffable recollections overwhelmed me, I tearfully embraced my master’s feet.
“‘For more than three decades I have waited for you here-waited for you to return to me!’ Babaji’s voice rang with celestial love. ‘You slipped away and vanished into the tumultuous waves of the life beyond death. The magic wand of your karma touched you, and you were gone! Though you lost sight of me, never did I lose sight of you! I pursued you over the luminescent astral sea where the glorious angels sail. Through gloom, storm, upheaval, and light I followed you, like a mother bird guarding her young. As you lived out your human term of womb-life, and emerged a babe, my eye was ever on you. When you covered your tiny form in the lotus posture under the Nadia sands in your childhood, I was invisibly present! Patiently, month after month, year after year, I have watched over you, waiting for this perfect day. Now you are with me! Lo, here is your cave, loved of yore! I have kept it ever clean and ready for you. Here is your hallowed asana-blanket, where you daily sat to fill your expanding heart with God! Behold there your bowl, from which you often drank the nectar prepared by me! See how I have kept the brass cup brightly polished, that you might drink again therefrom! My own, do you now understand?’
“‘My guru, what can I say?’ I murmured brokenly. ‘Where has one ever heard of such deathless love?’ I gazed long and ecstatically on my eternal treasure, my guru in life and death.
Dear blog friends, this description and narration from life history of Shri Lahiri Mahasaya has strong and vivid description of past life of the disciple of Shri Mahavatar Babaji named Lahiri Mahasaya.
And those of you who are not familiar with this reference should read the invaluable book, “Autobiography of a yogi’ and thus you shall be able to appreciate these given examples and orientations.
When I was writing the post ‘What is renunciation-I’ I was pretty absorbed in it when on that particular evening Mahavatar Babaji said to me in a very sweet and soft tone, “Do you know that you have seen the samadhi of Lahiri Mahasaya?” I was quite perplexed when I heard this because in a flash I recalled that though I have been to Shri Yukteshwarji’s ashram Kolkatta and I know that his samadhi is in Puri. I don’t even recall ever trying to find out from others where was Shri Lahiri Mahasaya’s samadhi, leave alone visiting it to pay my respects. I felt a bit ashamed of myself because it was complacency of my mind I thought. At this juncture, Babaji spoke this, “Next time when you go to Haridwar, you can visit the site.”
I was very surprised to discover from Babaji that Lahiri Mahasayaji’s samadhi was in Haridwar. How come I never went there although I have been to Haridwar uncountable times? At this exact moment I recalled in a flash seeing a board in a modest, unostentatious area, a quiet and peaceful ashram like place at the banks of Ganga in Haridwar when I used to go. I must have seen that site so many times before my eyes and I recollected seeing the image of Lahiri Mahasaya which was quite washed out on a board and yet it was not in my destiny to have the blessedness to pay my homage to this highly illumined and high statured karmayogi of this century during those visits. How regretful I felt at that moment, only I know it.
Since then, I have been waiting intently to enter that premises which I have seen so many times before in my life. I have been wishing to have his blessings and the privilege of touching the holy site of the foremost disciple of Shri Mahavatar Babaji . So on this trip to Badrinath, I made it a point while I was in Haridwar to go to the samadhi sthal of Shri Lahiri Mahasayaji on 7th May 2012. My heart leapt with much elation and delight there. As no one knows about this obscure place and none were present there, my movements were not restricted and I was totally free in my mind space and thus relished each memorable moment at the feet of Shri Lahiri Mahasayaji. I thanked Babaji to have sent me to such a blessed spiritual site and I felt very fortunate being there throughout as my wish was fulfilled by my Param Guru. I must have done something good surely!!
Before I write more and in much detail regarding reincarnation, those of you who are reading this blog for the first time, kindly note that this segment D deals only with topics on occult science and the last few posts were of death and how we should die. Having said so much about death and life after that, the next apparent subject turns out to be on reincarnation because life does not end there. And before that I would also like to share one more personal chronicle which is quite relevant to what is being discussed here.
On my many visits to Yogoda Satsanga Society (YSS) Dakshineshwar between 2004 and 2008, I was very much fascinated by one diminutive meditating room in the ashram near the flowing river Ganga, which probably is made for a single person’s use. To my understanding not more than two persons can accommodate there easily. On my very first stopover, I was completely mesmerized by the small photo of Shri Mahavatar Babaji out of all the line of Gurus there and I don’t know why. I was transfixed to the face of Babaji because the moment I sat there, it began to talk to me just in the fashion two people talk on the physical plane in the world we live in. Therefore, I would go there again and again until I christened it ‘Babaji’s temple’ to my liking. I have an old photo for you to see after which you will understand better what I wish to express actually.
YSS Dakshineshwar
Only two days back, I got to know from Shri Mahavatar Babaji in my meditation that it was in this very ‘Babaji’s temple’ in Dakshineshwar that he opened a point in my third eye after which I have been gifted and am able to see several previous lives in abundant details. I don’t know how many more ‘kripa’ or grace has been bestowed on me without my being aware of it out of such humility of a kind hearted guru such as Babaji?! My dearest Babaji, wherever you are, please know that I cannot thank you enough for the infinite kindness, sweetness and unconditional love that you have showered on me since time immemorial . The only way I know of repaying you in a very small method is my blogging where I get an opportunity to sing your praises and chant your holy name. When I do so, I believe that God hears me definitely and my heart so full of thanksgiving to you also reaches the door of the Almighty. If by my writing on this blog helps even a small handful people, my life is worthwhile. Therefore, in spite of many deterrents, I will enter a new post today more so because 20th May is my fourth anniversary of blogging. Never could I have the confidence of continuously entering such dynamic and illuminating articles one after the other, had it not been for the unrelenting kind grace and unconditional compassionate love from God and you my beloved Maha Guru Shri Shri Mahavatar Babaji! I have been drawing uninterrupted, unparalleled mental energies from you since you blessed me with this rare gift of mental communication with you since I have known you……….in this life!!!
Just before the actual liberation of a disciple, the atmagyani guru helps the pupil or chela to travel back in time so that he can peep into some of his prominent incarnations. The Guru aids the disciple to recognize himself/herself by doing so. After seeing a few prominent lives, the disciple is thus able to identify his/her prominent drawbacks and strong plus points. This procedure helps the student to increase and heighten the good qualities and minimize the negatives. After all, it is the karmas which are of utmost importance before salvation. After liberation also, the disciple has to be extremely careful about what he does as reincarnation of a human soul takes place because of the left over impact of his/her doings. Our next incarnations depend on the karmas that we do at present.
This is my humble offering to sweet Lord on this special day and I dedicate this post to Shri Lahiri Mahasayaji, the foremost disciple of Shri Mahavatar Babaji. In this quiet hour this evening, I pray to him and all the saints to help us all to transcend our ordinary and conventional human existence and attain a life worthy of the illumined teachers residing either here or in the highest astral skies!!
Foot note
Here are some more pictures of the samadhi sthal of Shri Lahiri Mahasaya. The ashram is called Keshwashram Haridwar and Shri Lahiri Mahasaya’s disciple Shri Keshwanandaji made this ashram. His own samadhi is in this complex. They all have Shri Mahavatar Babaji as their Param Guru. A tabloid/tree of the lineage of all the gurus was shown in the resting place of Swami Keshwanandji.
