Many people have been motivated to hunt for the great Siddha Mahavatar Babaji because of his narrative. He has lived in the Himalayas for hundreds of years and yet seems to be a young guy. (A Siddha is an ideal person with exceptional abilities.) In the book “Autobiography of a Yogi,” authored by Paramahamsa Yogananda, he made his public debut by revealing the existence of a great yogi who had initiation to his guru’s teacher, Sri Lahiri Mahasaya, in a Himalayan cave.
Not much is known about his past life. What little we do know comes from Babaji’s own confessions to writer Sri V.T. Neelakantan and geology student S.A.A. Ramaiah of the University of Madras. In 1942, Babaji came to them on his own, gathered them to work for his goal, and shared tidbits of his early life with them.
He is believed to have been born on November 30, 203 AD, in the Tamil Nadu hamlet of Parangipettai, a tiny coastal community. He was dubbed the “serpent king,” or Nagaraja. Although this name is popular in Tamil Nadu, it may also hint to his future skill in controlling the “serpent power,” or “kundalini shakti.”
He was an extremely unique youngster who was clearly skilled in Kundalini Yoga from a past life. His father served as a priest at the nearby temple of Muruga, also known as Kartikeya. It is clear that he prayed for Kartikeya to be born his son.
The Lord answered his prayers by sending his son, Nagaraja, into the world. Lord Shiva’s eldest son is Kartikeya. He is revered by several names, including Skanda, Shanmuga, Subramanya, and Muruga. There are more of his temples in India’s south than its north.
According to legend, Nagaraja was abducted when he was five years old and sold as a slave to a Calcutta merchant. However, his owner was a good man who let him go and instructed him to go anywhere he desired. The youngster became part of a community of itinerant yogis who were deeply devoted to God.
He followed them everywhere they went because he was drawn to the brightness in their features. He traveled the subcontinent with them for the following 10 years, learning all of Hinduism’s sacred texts, including the Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas.
He traveled with the ascetics to the village of Dhanushkodi, which is the closest location to the island of Sri Lanka, on India’s southern coast when he was fifteen years old. The group then took a boat to Sri Lanka and walked to the northern city of Kartargama, which is considered a sacred site. Only yogis could find their way to this sacred sanctuary back then, and the trek was extremely challenging, yet the boy Nagaraja had no trouble. Since that was the location of his former incarnation, he knew he had to get there.
All of the great siddhas have visited Katargama, a heavenly location. It is referred to as the Kailasa of the South or Dakshina Kailasa. Shiva’s home in the Himalayas is called Kailasa. Intriguingly, Kailasa in the far north and Katargama in the far south are located on the same line of longitude 80.10 degrees east. It is believed that this line alludes to the subtle nerve center, or sushumna nadi, which passes through the human spine.
The spine is home to all of the chakras, or subtle centers of mental energy. Katargama is the Muladhara Chakra, which is located right above the anus in the human body, whereas Kailasa is the Sahasrara Chakra, or the thousand-petaled lotus, which is located above the fontanel on top of the head in the human. The Muladhara Chakra is the entrance for everyone who wants to do Kundallini Yoga.
According to legend, Subramania traveled around the Indian subcontinent before arriving at Katargama from Kailasa in the north. Here, he adopted the Katargama name, which is the source of the region’s name. An analogy for Spirit’s descend into matter is Subramania’s journey from Kailasa in the north to Katargama in the south. This is where Subramanya, also known as Muruga, met and wed Valli, a tribal girl.
The tribe known as the Veddas, to which Valli belonged, still provides the food items for the daily sacrifices to the Lord at this temple. According to Valli’s portrayal, we might allegorically state that the Supreme Spirit came to earth in order to marry the longing human soul. “Kama” denotes love, and “katir” indicates effulgence or light.
Kailasa is the source of the effulgence, or supreme soul. To marry the ambitious jivatma (embodied soul), it takes on the human form. Kataragama is an intriguing site where odd phenomena happen that seem to defy the laws of science, even in this age of skepticism. Magic and mystery permeate the atmosphere. Here, innumerable miracles continue to occur.
Lord Subramania took on the form of Katargama when he first appeared there. Oddly enough, though, Subramania’s idol or icon is absent from this place. Here, he is revered only in his aspect as pure consciousness. There are two apartments in the main temple. The shat-kona yantra, a mystic pattern with two interlocking triangles, is found on a little casket in the sanctum sanctorum. It has seven drapes and is heavily shrouded.
There is no idol of Kataragama (Subramania) in it. Rather, it has a coffin that holds the enigmatic yantra, or magical diagram, which is engraved on a gem-studded golden tablet. It is believed that the divine force resides here. The yantra contains the Lord in his nada bindu form, which is a combination of letters and sounds.
The yantra’s two overlapping triangles form six points, which correspond to the six cardinal points of space. Therefore, Subramanya, also known as the six-faced Shanmukha, is the Lord of Space. He is the sentient being that resides at the origin and core of our three-dimensional reality, a realm of limitless potential. Because the six cardinal points of space collapse and return to their undivided singularity here, Sri Lankans believe that Subramania’s whole career took place on this hill.
Up until recently, Kataragama could only be reached on foot. The trail wound through dense tropical bush, teeming with untamed creatures and snakes. The only people who could survive this perilous trek and return home alive were the brave and the devoted. Naturally, the town is now connected to all of Sri Lanka’s main towns by road, so most people choose the safer option of traveling by car. Nonetheless, a small number of individuals continue to walk along this historic trail today. Every year, Tamil Hindus go all the way up to the temple of Katargama from the southern region of Sri Lanka.
They think that only if Lord Muruga personally extends an invitation would the journey to Kataragama be possible. Getting this invitation was a true blessing. Something compelled me to try to visit this enchanted location where Babaji had been imitated ten years ago.
Nagaraja met Bhogarnatha, his master, in Katargama. He had been sent here for this reason. He spent a lot of time with him doing rigorous sadhana. The technique of “Kaya Kalpa,” or how to keep the body in a young state for thousands of years, was one of the numerous powers bestowed upon him by the great siddha Bhogarnatha. This is how, despite being millennia old, Babaji still has the appearance of a young kid.
He was subsequently instructed by Bogarnatha to travel to Coutrallam, Tamil Nadu, where the renowned sage Agastya was secretly residing. One of the seven sages sent by Lord Shiva himself to restore the Sanatana Dharma knowledge in southern India was Agasthya. Unaware of his identity, Nagaraja went to sit with him. Agastya saw his immense potential and guided him into the Kriya Kundalini Pranayama, popularly referred to as “vasi yogam,” a very effective breathing method for achieving higher realms of consciousness.
The elder suggested that he visit the well-known Badrinatha temple in the Himalayas after completing his studies. According to the Srimad Bhagavad Purana, Lord Krishna counseled his companion and pupil Uddhava to visit Badrinatha after deciding to drop his body. He was informed by Krishna that he could only be located in Badrinatha after leaving his body. This temple, called Alagananda, is located on the banks of the Ganga in the high Himalayan highlands.
In the winter, when the temple and the surrounding areas are covered in snow, yogis gather around the nearby hot spring. There are a lot of sacred energies in that location. Babaji and the idol of Lord Vishnu that is located there are very similar. Additionally, this temple has a picture of a yogi that closely matches the descriptions we have of Babaji. I’ve seen year-round residents who say they’ve seen this half-naked yogi wandering the mountains.)
Following his guru’s guidance, Nagaraja traveled to Badrinatha and began assiduously putting what he had learned from his two gurus, Bhogarnatha and Agastya, into practice. Until he became a real siddha, a perfected soul who had conquered his body and the elements and had merged into the limitless, ultimate force that dwelt in both him and the cosmos, he spent many years living alone in a cave and practicing the yogic practices that had been given to him. His name was Baba Brahmananda.
Lahiri Mahasaya is the most well-known of Babaji’s many outstanding pupils since Paramahamsa Yogananda’s renowned book, “The Autobiography of a Yogi,” mentions him. The period between 1861 and 1935 was when he met Babaji. He was taught a potent set of yogic methods called “Kriya Yoga” by Babaji in 1861. In the Kumaon District of Uttarakhand, close to Dwarahat, this was taught in the cave that is now known as Babaji’s cave.
Later, the method was taught by Lahiri Mahasaya to his pupil Yukteswara, who in turn taught it to Paramahamsa Yogananda, who writes in his book that Babaji himself gave him the instruction to travel to the west and teach the technique to Westerners.
Devendranath Tagore, the father of the well-known Rabindranath Tagore, was another outstanding pupil who claimed to have spent a significant amount of time with Babaji in the Himalayas. Additionally, he sent his teenage son Rabindranthath Tagore to reside with Babaji for three years.
The majority of people believe that Babaji solely taught Kriya Yoga. This isn’t true. This is contradicted by two of his students. Another devotee of the Vaishnava school was the well-known Bengali saint Vijay Krishna Goswami. He acknowledged that Babaji was the one who had given him the Kalisantara Upanishad’s well-known Maha Mantra. All of the Hare Krishna organizations, as well as many others, employ this 22-syllable mantra of Krishna, which Sri Prabhudananda brought to the west.
“Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama Hare Hare,
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna Hare Hare.”
According to Sri M, the author of “Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master,” he first encountered Babaji close to the Neelkant hill. According to him, he had a golden complexion, was bare-chested, and had flowing brown hair that hung down to his shoulders. He was dressed in a gleaming white loincloth that was just knee-length. There was a wonderful scent coming from him. Babaji seemed to be like Shiva to him.
Neem Karoli Baba, who is thought to have been an incarnation of Hanuman, was another well-known follower of Babaji.
In actuality, Babaji is connected to a number of caverns. One of these is situated in a thick jungle that is home to tigers and other ferocious creatures. One of Babaji’s followers will come and guide anyone who gets lost in the jungle at night to the cave.
Depending on their way of life, people have varied experiences in this cave. It is considered sparse and naked by the poor, very simply furnished by the middle class, and lavishly equipped with rugs and elaborate furnishings by the very wealthy. Each person is fed the kind of cuisine they are used to. One of Babaji’s followers demonstrates the path out of the woods in the morning.
Naturally, all of these stories motivated me as well, and meeting a buddy who claimed to always visit her at night encouraged me even more. She said that the glass of water she used to keep for him was empty in the morning.
I was recently inspired to explore Babaji’s cave, which is close to Dwarahat. Yes, that was a singular experience. I thought the subsequent ascent to the cave was a truly fantastic effort because we had previously completed one ascent to the shrine of Dunagiri Devi. The Yogoda organization is responsible for keeping Babaji’s cave secure. Only from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. do they open it. There wasn’t much time to sit and meditate because it was far past one when we arrived at the cave.
We had visited a little Shirdi Sai Baba mandir in Dwarahat the day before. We began to meditate after taking a seat in front of the statue. There was a photo of Babaji right behind the statue of Sai Baba. I was shocked to discover that the picture of Babaji had changed into the lovely image of Lord Subramanya, who was holding a vel (spear) in his hand and had a peacock standing next to him. He wore a loin garment just like Babaji and had long flowing hair that reached his shoulders. He replied, “You have been worshiping me for many years,” with his piercing eyes fixed on me.
I am sending you this vision for that reason. Are you unaware that Babaji, the person you have come to visit, is actually my avatara? After saying these words, Babaji’s picture took the place of the vision. When I opened my eyes, everything had returned to normal. Five minutes had passed since the entire event had occurred.
I realized right once that the reason I had been brought to Katargama was to prove to me that Babaji was, in fact, Kartikeya—Subramania. Bhogarnatha had brought him to Katargama for the purpose of initiating him. He obviously didn’t require initiation because he was Lord Subramania’s incarnation, although all avataras undergo these routine tasks. They must act like humans as they have assumed a human body.
I sensed the youngster Subramania, Bala Subramania, sprinting ahead of me the following day as I laboriously ascended the steep mountain trail to the cave. He turned back to face me and urged me to continue ascending. It dawned on me abruptly that the day was “shasti,” which is the sixth day of the moon in the Hindu lunar calendar. It is said that Shasti is Subramania’s day. For many years, I had been keeping a pledge on Shasti Day every month. Everything appeared to be coming together gradually.
We arrived at the cave to find a bare-bodied Indian meditating inside and an American seated outside. After spending some time in meditation, I was sent to a place where time didn’t exist. I felt comfortable sitting on the exposed rock floor without a cushion, and I could have remained in that meditative condition for a long time. I regained consciousness as I heard the noises outside. I opened my eyes. Outside, the man who had been meditating had gone to speak with my brother. I got up and walked outside reluctantly as well. “What is your name?” I inquired, glancing at the man.
He answered, “Bala Subramaniam!”
The concept of the Lord’s leelas! (play) made me laugh out loud. Everything fell into place. To get me to this point, a lot of things had transpired that were interwoven throughout my life. Naturally, He was the one who took me to Katargama and, now, to his cave. I reveled in the discovery. I sensed him everywhere, even though I couldn’t see him. After a period of sitting, we began to move back.
The ascent back to civilization had been something I had been dreading. But as I began to descend, the notion of the holy child dashing ahead of me all the way up and flourishing his spear in the air made my heart sing.
Surprisingly, the trip back barely took 30 minutes. Before I knew it, we were returned to the little cottage where a couple resided. Their only source of income was making tea for everyone who visited the cave and came back feeling happy and exhausted. Everything appeared to be in its right place: the guy smoking tobacco and his wife serving warm cups of tea; the dog lingering at my feet, hoping for a titbit; the small thatched home and the calf with the lovely knowing eyes staring at me in awe!
