The Sadhu

That is a great story, Judy. Over the years I've put together quite a collection of biographies of saints from all sorts of traditions and they never cease to amaze me.

As a teenager I had an interest in eastern philosophy, but I was particularly interested in Vedantic philosophy and all things Indian. Christianity as I understood it at that time didn't seem to have the answers I needed but I had the feeling that the answers were out there.

During college I was drawn to the philosophy of the Hare Krishna movement, I had a friend who was a follower of Rajneesh, and also at that time I looked into the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and had a go at TM, but it was when I was in my early twenties that I think I said the first really heartfelt prayer of my life, and I asked for guidance.

A short time later, after a series of strange events and 'chance' encounters I found myself sitting in front of a man called [url]Guru Sri Subramanium[/url]. I'd read of people who radiated Divine authority, but I'd never met one before.

On that first occasion I found myself sitting with a small group, and people were asking Guru questions. I felt much too self conscious to ask anything so just listened, and every answer he gave made me think 'Wow'. As I sat there the thought went through my head that finding a guru meant you were as good as enlightened, job done, and it seemed I'd found a real one and he'd sort me out!

I had that thought when Guru suddenly turned directly to me and said, with a big smile, "Don't think that you can just press a button and fly out of this window on angel's wings. There's work to be done."

That was about 22 years ago now and I couldn't begin to describe some of the amazing experiences I had with Guruji. I started to write them here, but they sound unbelievable, so I thought it best not to try.

One miracle for me though was that through contact with Guruji I came to truly appreciate the teachings of Jesus, and it was through Gurji's example, and the example of the monks that followed him, that I also developed a great respect and love for the example set by Saint Francis. For me, 22 years ago, God became a reality and the adventure began.

That was about 22 years ago now and I couldn't begin to describe some of the amazing experiences I had with Guruji. I started to write them here, but they sound unbelievable, so I thought it best not to try.

Thank you Barafundle, that was beautiful and so true about work needing to be done! 😉 Your Guruji has the most soul-filled, radiant face!

But please do share your experiences here. If you're not able to share spiritual experiences here, where can you? So what if there are skeptics - no-one can argue with your own personal experience. A deaf man can deny the ocean's roar and a blind man the rainbow, but what of it? One day they will know.

Love and peace,

Judy

But please do share your experiences here. If you're not able to share spiritual experiences here, where can you?

I'll give a bit of thought to what I can put down then. I got out of the habit a while ago of saying anything about Guruji to people who hadn't met him. In the early days of my experience with him I know I was a babbling enthusiast until I calmed myself down.

Dear Barafundle,

Just to echo Judy's wish to encourage you to try and relate your experiences with "Guriji" that are relatable in words at all. I have another friend in Oxford who loved him very much and goes to Skandavale every once in a while.

I do think that is beneficial for people to try to relate these kind of things; they happen all the time and so few do talk about them openly. Sometimes there is good reason for this of course and care should be taken not to open your heart to misunderstanding of others.

I don't know if you've ever come across Irena Tweedie's account of here experiences with here Guru in India, who was a Sufi. Her Guru instructed her to write a diary of here experiences for others to read. It's a very useful document.

I'll start the ball rolling here if you like. I have mentioned parts of this story before on HP:

I attended the Dala Lama's teaching in Glasgow six or seven years ago. For me this was a highly skilled delivery of Buddhist philosophy which brings insight combined with explanations about mediation practice and the development of positive qualities as the path. I was listening with full focus on each translated part of the argument often in a meditative state with my eyes closed, in full awareness. A day and a half into the teaching my breath stopped and I felt a sensation of light pressure in the middle of my forehead. The breathing stopped several more times during the teaching. After the teaching I spend a whole week in bed remaining in meditative concentration. There was intense heat down my left side and my breath would stop for what seemed like extended periods of time and there were the sensation of the forehead became more focussed and other sensations developed. My breath has never stopped since but the sensation on my forehead is still there and many more sensations that related to subtle body structures have developed in meditation since this time. These are the easier bits to describe. The things that really matter are coming closer and more familiar with an ever loving, knowing benevolence that is deeply embedded in reality, which is all, yet nowhere to be found.

I did meet the Dalai Lama briefly in another context some time later and didn't really feel anything at all apart from immense respect for a "human being" who is committed to his responsibilities and consistently practices what he preaches with grace, intelligence and humour. But this is a very great thing to be, is it not?

Norbu

That's lovely, Norbu. Thanks.

I think I'll say something in a general way about my experiences with Guruji on this thread if that's OK. I'll happily go into more detail in PMs if anyone's interested, but Guruji himself never sought publicity. He didn't want the focus of attention to be on him, but rather on God, so I won't create that distraction myself. He often used to say he was just a divine traffic cop, directing people on their journey towards the Divine.

Part of that work involved giving talks to groups of devotees. Guruji's words always struck a chord deep within everyone who listened to him. His responses to devotees were not merely answers to their words, but he knew what they needed to hear and spoke to something very deep within them.

I've been in groups where people speaking languages unknown to Guruji would ask him questions, but before waiting for a translation he could give very specific answers. As I experienced on the occasion of my first visit, he would subtly adjust his discourses so that he answered what was unspoken amongst his audience.

He would say he knew us better than we knew ourselves and I experienced the truth of that for myself many times. On one occasion he explained to me in some detail how the circumstances of my early life, which I'd never described to him, had influenced the person I later became. He said it so casually, almost in passing, but for me it answered so many questions.

Guruji's work also resulted in the establishment of the community at [url]Skanda Vale[/url] where his aim was to create a place of pilgrimage where God could be worshipped by followers of all faiths, free from commercialism.

Over the years I've seen Buddhist priests, Anglican vicars, Hindu pujaris and countless other representatives of many faiths attending services there. The most moving Christian services I've ever attended have been in Skanda Vale. I was staying there one Easter when, after the midnight service, a few of us sat in the temple with Guruji in the early hours of the morning. As we sat we were treated to an impromptu rendition of Ave Maria given by a devotee who was a professional opera singer. It was one of the most beautiful and moving experiences.

There are other times that really are indescribable, such as when I had the privilege of accompanying Guruji on a visit to Sri Lanka where we visited various Buddhist and Hindu holy places, as well as churches and cathedrals, or the seminars he gave in Switzerland which I was lucky enough to attend.

Skanda Vale has never advertised itself but it attracts many tens of thousands of pilgrims every year, from all faiths and traditions. It found itself in the spotlight in the Spring of 2007 when the whole world seemed to be watching the drama of DEFRA vs. Shambo the temple bull (it was discussion of Shambo that got me onto HP).

What wasn't widely known as that drama drew towards it's climax was that Guruji left his body. For months up to Guruji's departure press from all over the world, Japan, Brazil, America, Russia, were visiting and covering the story of Shambo's plight. The whole world was watching.

Despite all of that a strange lull appeared in the middle of it all and in that lull Guruji passed on. The quiet time lasted for a few days and allowed the community to concentrate on Guruji's passing and the arrangements for his funeral, the day of which was very beautiful and not at all a sad occasion. The day after that, just as strangely, the Shambo drama started up again. Guruji had bowed out gracefully. The monks were left to carry on his work and, thanks to Shambo, for a while they did that in dramatic style and a blaze of publicity. Today, as always, the selfless service being provided by the monks and nuns is an inspiration to me.

As I'd thought when considering what to write here, words can't do this topic justice. What I can say is, that when I think of Guruji I remember his smile and the love he radiated, and I'm immensely grateful for the contact I had with such a great soul.

Thank you Barafundle for sharing all that with us. Well, I’ve learnt a lot about you today – let alone Guruji! How very privileged you were to have had the personal contact with such a great teacher!

Love and peace,

Judy

Dear Barafundle,

Thanks for relating some of your experiences with your Guruji. I wish I'd been able to visit when he was around and giving talks. I've never really experienced the kind of relationship you describe with any teacher. Maybe that's just because it's different for different people.

Norbu

I recently came across this story and thought this might be a good place to share it. I've read it in a few places now and have paraphrased the main elements...

In 1879 when the British were ruling in India Lt. Col. Martin of Agar Malva was away leading the army in the war against Afghanistan.

Col. Martin used to regularly send messages from the front to his wife reassuring her that he was alive and well. The war continued and after a time, to Lady Martin's great dismay, the messages stopped.

One day, whilst out riding she passed by the temple of Baijnath Mahadev and was drawn by the sound of mantras and temple instruments. She went inside and found that the priests were carrying out worship of Lord Shiva. Seeing her distress they asked what was wrong and she explained everything to them.

They told her that Lord Shiva listens to the prayers of devotees and that He could help her if she wished. Following the advice of the priests Lady Martin learned a mantra and started to recite it for the next eleven days, all the while praying that if her husband could be returned to her safely, then she would renovate the temple.

On the last of the eleven days of mantra recitation a messenger came with a letter. It was from her husband who had written: “I was regularly sending messages to you from the battle grounds but suddenly the Pathans surrounded us on all sides. We were trapped and there seemed to be no chance that we would escape death. Suddenly I saw a Yogi with long hair, wearing a lion skin and carrying a trident-like weapon. Seeing this great man, the Pathans started running away and suddenly our perilous moment turned into one of victory. That great Yogi told me that I should not worry and that he had come to rescue me because he was very pleased with my wife’s prayers.”

On reading the letter Lady Martin’s heart was overwhelmed as she realised that the description of the Yogi was exactly how Lord Shiva is depicted. Lady Martin fell down at the feet of Lord Shiva's statue and burst into tears.

After a few weeks Col. Martin returned and Lady Martin narrated the whole incident to him. Both husband and wife became devotees of Lord Shiva and in 1883 they donated 15,000 rupees for the purpose of renovating the temple. The stone plaque is still there celebrating it as the only Hindu temple built by the British.

On the last of the eleven days of mantra recitation a messenger came with a letter. It was from her husband who had written: “I was regularly sending messages to you from the battle grounds but suddenly the Pathans surrounded us on all sides. We were trapped and there seemed to be no chance that we would escape death. Suddenly I saw a Yogi with long hair, wearing a lion skin and carrying a trident-like weapon. Seeing this great man, the Pathans started running away and suddenly our perilous moment turned into one of victory. That great Yogi told me that I should not worry and that he had come to rescue me because he was very pleased with my wife’s prayers.”

What a remarkable account. Thanks for sharing it.

Norbu

Hi Barafundle,

Sorry but I hadn’t realised you’d added this wonderful story (Norbu was the last poster for ages and I hadn’t noticed that the date had changed and I can’t get email notifications) I’m glad I found it in the end! Thank you so much for posting it – just wonderful. How great that Col and Lady Martin were so open-minded too – and followed up on it!

What is so encouraging to me is the universality of divine protection and to me, the best way to win battles! It reminded me of the Angels of Mons – did you ever read my post on them? Of course, sceptics always try to put these visions down to tiredness and an earlier similar story in a book influencing the men's imaginations.

During WWI the Allies were facing certain defeat at the hands of the Germans. when two remarkable events occurred on 23 and 24th August 1914 near the town of Mons. The Germans just laid down their arms and fled, their horses reared up and wouldn't go further after seeing white horses with white soldiers advancing towards them, or a bright shining light with luminous beings. This was widely reported in the newspapers of the day and became known as the Angels of Mons. (These same newspapers had already prepared their headlines for news of the certain defeat)

I found a link here;

Love and peace,

Judy

I do like the account of the angels, Judy.

I told this story in a thread quite a while ago, but thought this would be a good place to recount it for newer members...

In 1990 the great yogi Sri Shivabalayogi was on a tour of the US and Britain giving public appearances. During the tour he made it known to his devotees that he would only travel back to India on a certain flight out of London, and his insistence on this inconvenient arrangement puzzled the devotees at the time.

In his discourses Sri Shivabalayogi had explained that it is the duty of yogis to prevent destruction caused by wars and that he would be present at the place where an imminent world war was to break out.

During Sri Shivabalayogi's short visit to Britain on this tour I went with a friend, who was a devotee, to receive the great saint's darshan in London. I was in his presence on three occasions during his visit, in the venue where the public had access to him, at the home of devotees where he was staying, and the last at Heathrow airport on a day in August of 1990 to see him board his flight to India.

On the evening of the day he left Heathrow I watched the news and saw that Sri Shivabalayogi's plane was the subject of the lead item. It had made a routine refuelling stop in Kuwait, and landed just as the first bombs of the Gulf war dropped on the airport.

I later learned that, as the drama at the airport unfolded, other great yogis were working with Sri Shivabalayogi to prevent a greater conflict than the one that transpired. After his return to India, Sri Shivabalayogi was interviewed for a local newspaper during which he explained that his presence in Kuwait was necessary to prevent the breakout of a world war.

You can make of this story what you will, but I'll never forget the amazing experience of being in the presence of Sri Shivabalayogi.

A touching incident occurred after Sri Shivabalayogi had gone into departures. A cleaner at the airport, an Asian lady, had seen him surrounded by devotees who had been throwing petals as he left, and knew that he must have been someone important. She asked a devotee who he was, and when she was told, instead of sweeping up the petals, she collected them and put them in her pocket.

I've read accounts of this sort of thing before. I'm just wondering why though, in India, a land of many miracle men and women, this man is currently attracting so much attention.

It's a little disturbing that the military are interested, though I don't think the mystery behind it is something that the military minds could grasp.

"A team of doctors in western India are carrying out a study on a hermit who claims to have survived without food and water for 70 years."

[url]The Holy Man[/url]

Truly amazing experience 🙂

Hi Barafundle – please keep them coming! I love hearing of experiences like this!

To me, the mystery is why this hermit is allowing the doctors to do this research on him! I hope he is strong enough spiritually to resist the negative beliefs swirling around him.

Love and peace,

Judy

I read the biography of Tapaswiji Maharaj quite a few years ago. I'd heard of him because of his connection with Shivabalayogi and I wanted to know more.

It seems the book I read is quite difficult to get hold of now, and there's surprising little mention of him online, but he was an amazing saint. What most people in the west, who've heard of him, know him for is that he lived to the age of 185.

From what I remember of his biography he was born in 1770 and his father was a Raja. When he was about 50 his family had been killed in a local conflict, and after that he decided to renounce the world and make his way to the Himalayas to live the life of a sadhu.

Tapaswiji was greatly revered in India, but most of what there is about him online is in relation to Sri Shivabalyogi...

At that time there lived a saint popularly known as Tapaswiji Maharaj. He was a [url]hatha yogi[/url] who had performed such austere that he became known as Tapaswiji, a name meaning respected tapaswin, one who performs tapas.

He had mastered the ayurvedic science of [url]kaya kalpa[/url]: a regimen of , specially prepared herbs, silence, and complete isolation in a cool environment devoid of all light. Three times Tapaswiji underwent kaya kalpa and each time his aged body was restored to youthful vigor. He was 181 years of age when he first met Swamiji (Shivabalayogi), and he dropped his physical body in 1955 at age 185.

In January of 1951 he was in nearby Kakinada to inaugurate a new ashram. There he heard about a young balayogi (child yogi) doing tapas in the area and he expressed a desire to meet him. Tapaswiji came to Adivarapupeta and had darshan of the balayogi. Swamiji was in deep samadhi so Tapaswiji could not talk with him. Nevertheless Tapaswiji Maharaj immediately realized the high spiritual status of the yogi, then only sixteen years old. He devotedly placed some flowers at Swamiji's feet and instructed his companions to do the same.

Tapaswiji was deeply impressed by this first and he returned several more times.

On one occasion Tapaswiji immersed himself in meditation to discover the yogi’s history. At once he recognized the incarnation of Lord Shiva in the young yogi, so when he emerged from his meditation, Tapaswiji prostrated before Swamiji, and worshipped him with flowers, exhorting his own devotees to do the same.

Tapaswiji told his companions that Swamiji was a siddha purusha (a perfected soul) who had reincarnated of his own free will for the spiritual regeneration of mankind. He described Swamiji as the embodiment of the yoga of meditation and told them that in one of his former incarnations Swamiji was Shri Chandra, son of [url]Guru Nanak[/url] and founder of the Udasi sect of <a class="go2wpf-bbcode" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="sannyasins">sannyasins. In that birth, Tapaswiji Maharaj was one of Shri Chandra’s disciples.

[url]ShivaBalaYogi - His Life & Words[/url]

Tapaswiji Maharaj lived into the age of photography...

Thank you for resurrecting this thread Barafundle! I've just re-read it and there are some wonderful accounts in it.

One little thing though - the next time you post, could you please do a 'select all' and choose a size 2 font. I have really struggled to read your last two or so posts on my laptop! 😮

Thanks
Judy

Tapaswiji told his companions that Swamiji was a siddha purusha (a perfected soul) who had reincarnated of his own free will for the spiritual regeneration of mankind. He described Swamiji as the embodiment of the yoga of meditation and told them that in one of his former incarnations Swamiji was Shri Chandra, son of [url]Guru Nanak[/url] and founder of the Udasi sect of <a class="go2wpf-bbcode" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="sannyasins">sannyasins. In that birth, Tapaswiji Maharaj was one of Shri Chandra’s disciples.

[url]ShivaBalaYogi - His Life & Words[/url]

Tapaswiji Maharaj lived into the age of photography...

Hi Barafundle
It is like being a child again Rather than listening to someone tell the stories, I am reading them but it still has the same sense. Keep them coming and might I say you have an impressive collection of them.

One little thing though - the next time you post, could you please do a 'select all' and choose a size 2 font. I have really struggled to read your last two or so posts on my laptop! 😮

According to my computer it is size 2, Judy (it's the default size that I don't alter). On my screen my font is the same size as yours. Seems to be a gremlin in the works.:)

(This is size 2 too)

Hi Barafundle
It is like being a child again Rather than listening to someone tell the stories, I am reading them but it still has the same sense. Keep them coming and might I say you have an impressive collection of them.

When I was younger, Jnani, I used to read a lot of science fiction, but I gave up on it when I discovered that real life was a lot more marvellous than fiction.

According to my computer it is size 2, Judy (it's the default size that I don't alter). On my screen my font is the same size as yours. Seems to be a gremlin in the works.:)

(This is size 2 too)

It must be the font then Barafundle! Are you doing a copy and paste? Perhaps fonts come up different sizes on Macs? Janani's post above is also tiny with the top para, then OK with the rest.

Perhaps we should ask Mike? I don't know what the default font is here - Verdana? On another forum I write on, I have to change everything to Ariel, or my posts either come up huge or tiny. 🙁 Why is life so complicated? :025:

okei, i see it's very useful for me and hope guys to do it
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Ghous state, levitation & carnage

It's true, there's a very rich vein in the Hindu and Islamic traditions of India.

It's possibly why a large bulk of the Perfect Masters in this cycle of time
have been kilned in these traditions.

One memorable tale relates to the now famous Sai Baba of Shirdi.

It is said that the events and the ebb & flow
of the First World War
were directed from a small tin shed
near a dusty dirt road
in a poor, remote village in Maharashtra, India
where Sai Baba lived.

Each night this fakir would enter the ghous state
completely dismembering the different parts of his body
which then levitated in the air of his mosque
only to reunite with the rest of his body in the morning,
once that aspect of his work was finished.

It is said that in this way the Qutub,
and Perfect Master,
directed the carnage on the fields of Flanders
from over six thousand miles away.