Let it be at once stated clearly that nothing about Babaji will satisfy any notions of scientific verification or validity. All that we know about him is frankly hearsay, the accounts of men who claim to have encountered this awesome force of divinity. These are men of unimpeachable spiritual integrity however, men who would never consider lying, no matter what the reason. If they say they met Babaji, then that is that. But it is not 'proof'. As the old and very wise saying goes:

"For those who do not believe, no proof is possible
those who believe, no proof is needed."

India has always regarded empirical verification as beside the point, trusting implicitly in the veracity of spiritual experiences. From that cultural standpoint, it makes no difference even if each and every one of these sightings are dubbed the products of imagination. As Shaw's Saint Joan retorted when told her voices were only her imagination, "Of course. That is how God speaks to us." Once we accept that qualification, the rapidly ascending influence of Babaji is easy to appreciate and indeed participate in.

The presence of Babaji was first announced to the world by Paramahamsa Yogananda in his famous book, Autobiography of a Yogi, in the mid 20th century. It was there that Babaji was revealed as the Great Master who oversees the important version of yoga known as Kriya Yoga. This has become one of the most important forms of yoga in the world today, practiced by millions every day and most of them outside India to boot. Babaji would appear to Yogananda's guru, Sri Yukteshwar, and he was the direct physical guru to Yukteshwar's guru, Lahiri Mahashaya. Babaji was and is considered to have been a great Master in charge of cosmic processes, diligently overlooking the spiritual evolution of mankind. He had a sister called Mataji or Mother, another generic title, who had also achieved immortality in the body. It is now revealed that Mataji is actually his cousin-sister, a relationship that in India is considered as close as the real thing. No real details about who Babaji was were given in the first book.

Now an entire army of disciples have emerged to proclaim the greatness of the Deathless One. Many books about him have been written, there is a foundation dedicated to propagating Kriya Yoga and there is even a temple constructed at his birthplace, which, I predict, is going to become one of the most popular sites in India by the end of the century. The following account attempts to harmonize all the strands of the Babaji story, which is very much a work in progress! The Deathless One was born in the year 203 AD on November 30th in a village known today as Parangipettai in Tamil Nadu state. Portuguese traders had a colony there many centuries later and called it Porto Novo or New Port. The astrological conjunctions of the heavens at his birth were supposed to be identical to those of Krishna's birth and portended a great spiritual future. The boy was named Nagaraj, "Serpent King", by his Nambudri Brahmin parents who had migrated from Kerala state. The Nambudris are a community famed for spiritual knowledge and they also produced the great Adi Shankara who is supposed to have been initiated into yoga by Babaji.

Little is known about his childhood, as Babaji apparently does not see fit to talk about it. Two incidents however seem to stand out. The first was something that took place when he was only four years old. A jackfruit had been obtained for a family feast, but the young Nagaraj found it unattended and managed to eat it all up by himself, jackfruit being a very tasty delicacy. This by the way is a little miracle in itself, as the fruit grows into the size of a small child when ripe. His furious mother lost her reason for a moment and stuffed a piece of cloth into the young child's throat, almost suffocating him to death. This un-motherly action was a great spiritual revelation to the young child. He found out that he still loved her but there was no longer any attachment or illusion clinging to the love as is common to the rest of humanity. His mother taught him detached Witness compassion and love by this shocking act.

When he was five the young child was kidnapped! The man carrying him off was identified as a foreigner from Baluchisthan, of all places, in the present day Pakistan. What was this man doing almost four thousand miles away from his homeland? In those days that area was a Buddhist stronghold, Islam not even in existence. And how did they know he was from Baluchisthan? It is a weird and completely incongruous note in the narrative. In any case, he kidnapped the child and then made a long haul across the country to somewhere near the present day Calcutta where he sold Nagaraj as a slave. First he comes down all the way from Pakistan and then he travels 1500 kms to the east to get rid of his victim; this is one very strange bird indeed. However, the geographical significance may explain why Babaji began to appear with such regularity to spiritual practitioners living in that area.
The nameless man who brought the young child Nagaraj soon realized he was dealing with no ordinary human and set him free. The boy joined a small band of wandering yogis as by now he was thoroughly purged of any attachments to people or places and only wanted the experience of God. He spent many years in the classic Wander- jahre of Indian yogis, and soon accumulated a formidable reputation for learning, and as an invincible debater on theological subjects. The more he succeeded the less content he felt, for while he knew, he had not experienced. At the age of eleven, he made a long journey to Katirgama, a sacred shrine in Sri Lanka. He met the first of his great gurus here, the Siddha Boganathar.

The Siddhas are a semi-historical, semi-legendary group of yogis who had an enormous formative influence on the culture and religion of South India but especially that of Tamil Nadu. They were the Renaissance men of their time, much learned in many disciplines, compilers of vast volumes, and setting high standards for spiritual striving. Siddha Boganathar had established a Skanda temple at Katirgama which had no image of god but merely a Yantra, an abstract geometric design which is the energy signature of that particular aspect of divinity. The temple still exists. For six months the boy wonder Nagaraj practiced extensive yogic disciplines under the great master. He rapidly experienced the various stages of Samadhi, until a great day when he incarnated the consciousness of Murugan or Skanda within him. Since that day he has resembled a young man, as befits the Kumara [Peur Aeternus - Eternal Youth] form of the god. However, the last accomplishment of Siddha Yoga eluded him, the complete transformation of the organic being by the descent of the divine.

Boganathar advised Nagaraj to seek the help of the great sage Agasthya. This worthy is one of the great culture heroes of India, a rishi or seer of the highest possible stature in the universe and his status in the Tamil region is not less than that of a god. Nagaraj made the trip back to India and the shrine of Courtrallam in Tamil Nadu, where there is one of the 64 Shakti Peetams, or Shrines of the Divine Mother, which have special significance. He resolved to stay there in meditation until Agasthya initiated him as a disciple. For 48 days he endured. The body was on the verge of collapse but the will was adamant. The great Agasthya finally appeared and taught him the secrets of Kriya Kundalini Pranayama, a series of meditative and breathing techniques, formidably difficult but capable of awakening the highest levels of consciousness and spiritual enlightenment. Its final aim is the transformation of all five bodies or Koshas, the physical, vital, mental, intellectual and spiritual. Since the energy released by such practices is enormous and even dangerous, his guru advised him to travel to Badrinath, one of India's most ancient and sacred spots in the Himalayas, where for at least four millennia, yogis have been adding to the power of the spot with their meditations.

For eighteen months Nagaraj practiced the Kriyas. Finally he entered the unique state of Soruba Samadhi - a merging with the divine that renders the body ageless, incorruptible and immortal. India has many examples of saints who, upon death, become a mass of light and melt away into the ether or into their favorite form of god - it is one of the standard templates of the faith. It is akin to the Rapture, the transformation into light of all the true believers before the End of Days. Even George Lucas uses this belief in Star Wars. Whenever a great Jedi dies, he converts completely to energy that merges with the universe. To bypass this seemingly inevitable end and become physically immortal is Babaji's great achievement. In the great days of Indian mythology, many great rishis had achieved this end, but it was still a rare and spectacular achievement. To pull it off in what is universally regarded as a spiritually degenerate epoch is a staggering, unheard of, achievement. Babaji automatically becomes the most powerful spiritual power on the planet for those who believe.

As said earlier, Babaji is reputed to brood over the world like a benevolent mother hen, intervening decisively whenever humanity's stupidity rises to dangerous levels. Almost all spiritual and yogic impulses arising in present day India are credited to him and his silent influence. His sister, who was Nagalakshmi Deviyar in the world, became his disciple and she too achieved the deathless state of Soruba Samadhi. She is also credited with keeping the great master on the earthly plane when he once announced his resolution to quit it. Babaji answered all his disciples' agonized protests with the question, 'Does it make a difference to my work if I am in a body or not?" "In that case," answered the witty Mataji, "please do not forsake the body at all." In a narrative full of portentous seriousness, this strikes an authentic note of humor. It is just how a favorite younger sister would have persuaded a brother. A similar situation had a different ending when the great Buddha hinted, three times at that, to his beloved cousin and disciple Ananda that the Tathagatha could choose to be immortal if he was so pleaded with. Ananda was dense and the moment passed, but he alone of all Buddha's disciples did not attain to Nirvana for his great blunder. Perhaps Babaji was testing his faithful and they obviously seemed to have done better. A third person is now supposed to have made the transition to physical immortality. He is Swami Pranabananda, also known as Dadaji, or Grandfather, and he too was a long time disciple of Babaji in his previous incarnation. This time round he has attained Soruba Samadhi.

The Deathless Master looks like a drawn sword in the few pictures of him that have been allowed to emerge. There is not a single curve in that face. Even his hair is straight as an arrow. There is a lean and efficient sense of power that palpably radiates off him. The eyes are extraordinary pools of infinite depth. Babaji is also known as the Maha-Avatar, the great incarnation of god. His sister looks rather like him, though she seems to be taller. Many spiritual practitioners report encounters with one of the Three. It is becoming somewhat normal now, and India always takes such things in her ancient stride with great insouciance. Many books are written about Babaji, there is an organization dedicated to propagating his yoga which also organizes tours to sacred places associated with him, and as I said there is even a temple at his birthplace. The Babaji energy is rushing through an India that seems to be greatly appreciative of it.

For more information on Babaji, books, music, religious tours etc. please contact

Babaji's Kriya Yoga Order of Acharyas Trust
P.O. Box 5608,
Malleswaram West
Bangalore
India -560 055.

Email:babajiindia@lycos.com or kriyayog@vsnl.com

Website:babajikriyayoga.org and www.babaji.ca