Babaji
"The breath that arose 12 matras long if you control and absorb within well may you live a thousand years of land and sea; the body, perishes not."
Thirumandiram V722
High in the remote rocky mountains of the Kumoan Himalayas the eternal Babaji lives today, as he has for millennia, retaining his physical form only for the benefit of humanity. It has long been understood that those who descend from the celestial realm (avatars) often bring with them outward signs of their inward freedom. Thus there have been many such Avatars that cast no shadow or footprint. There are others as well who have breathed life into a corpse or instantly moved through time and space with impunity. There have been others too, who lived without food or drink, who walked upon water, or moved upon air. But few are they whose physical form, manifesting the golden light of immortality, does not decay. And few indeed are they who can move through the physical world fully active and yet with breathing stilled. Babaji reigns supreme as the great avatar of both Vedanta and Siddhantha. He is at the headwaters of all the sacred tributaries of Yoga and Tantra.
He is seen and recognized by those he chooses. Although he has appeared in many forms over the centuries he frequently manifests as a timeless youth. His black hair is aflame with copper-golden rays and his well toned body reflects that of an athletic youth. His dark eyes, awash with light and love, penetrate the soul. His countenance surrounded with authority and mystery. He is known as the great yogi, the youth of sixteen summers.
Who is this great mysterious yogi who cannot be reduced to a rule? Lahiri saw him as an incarnation of Krishna. Yogi Ramaiah maintained that he and Muruga, the Dravidian Lord of beauty, were one and the same. The disciples of Harikan Baba recognized him as an avatar of Shiva. Still other Kriya yogis have identified him with Kali or Christ. Like the cosmic Lord he manifests in the energy held dear by the devotee. The stellar star of his attainment is impossible for the mortal mind to comprehend. He is both multicultural and multi-linguistic and yet demonstrates a freedom from these conditions as well. Every aspect of his remarkable life reflects this freedom. Miraculous stories of his life, including the ability to appear and disappear at will.
In 1888 Madam Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society described Babaji in her great treatise, the Secret Doctrine, as follows, "It is He who changes form, yet remains ever the same, and it is He, again, who holds spiritual sway over the initiated adepts throughout the world. He is, as said, the nameless one who has so many names and yet, whose names and very nature are unknown. He is THE INITIATOR, called the GREAT SACRIFICE for sitting at the threshold of Light, He looks into it from within the circle of darkness which He will not cross, nor will He quit His post until the last day of this life-cycle. Why does the solitary watcher remain at His self chosen post? Why does He sit by the fountain of primeval wisdom, of which He drinks no longer, for He has naught to learn which He does not know - aye, neither on this earth nor in its heaven? Because the lonely sore-footed pilgrims, on their journey back to their home, are never sure to the last moment of not losing their way, in this limitless desert of illusion and matter called earth-life. Because He would show the way to that region of freedom and light from which He is a voluntary exile himself, to every prisoner who has succeeded in liberating himself from the bonds of flesh and illusion. Because, in short, He has sacrificed Himself for the sake of mankind, though but few elect may profit by the great sacrifice."
The Tamil Tantric, Rudranath Giri, has revealed that Babaji is the avatar of great sacrifice for the emerging golden age of Kriya and that his glorious Shakti, taking form as Bhairavi, has propagated the Vama Marg tantric path as well, for the benefit and spiritual growth of all humanity. For Babaji and Mataji, a hundred years is but a day. Together they performed dynamic tantra sadhana in a cave near Gangotri. They have always worked quietly behind the scenes. Thousands of world and spiritual leaders are influenced by their "tappings", although most in an unconscious way. They seek absolutely no acknowledgment as they guide many toward spriritual awakening. They work on all planes and are literally "a bridge for those who seek the farther shore. A siddha in the ultimate sense is one who has attained perfection in all planes, including the physical. As defined in the upanishads, A siddha is one who has progressed from the exalted state of freed while living (jivan mukta) to supremely free with full power over death (para mukta). This state is referred to in Siddhantha literature as soruba mukti or soruba samadhi.
“I am existance-knowledge-bliss absolute. I am the absolute and supreme Self, both within and without the finitude. I am truth, eternal and everlasting. I am the only one, all in myself: None exist save I, in and through all that exists. I am ever all-existence itself. I am the changeless one in the midst of all changes. I am the formless in all forms...I am the living ocean of ecstasy that rages wild and surges and storms and levels down the earth and heavens. I beat in every breast, see in every eye, throb in every pulse, smile in every flower, shine in the lightning and roar in the thunder. I flutter in the leaves, I hiss in the winds, and I roll in the surging seas. I am the wisdom of the wise, the strength of the strong, the heroism of the heroic. I am the impersonal personality of the whole universe. I am the infinite, the eternal, and the immortal Self. Truth flows from me just as light radiates from the sun and fragrance emanates from a flowerI am the immutable and indescribable Atman, the dynamic principle of existence and the infinite ocean of everlasting conciousness."
Kriya Babaji
