Gertraud Reichel - Babaji - The Unfathomable

Babaji never tired of reminding everyone that continuous prayer, and at the same time giving selfless service, was the path to true freedom. The freedom that He meant was freedom from all ties to lower human nature, made possible by letting go of everything which one calls "I" and "mine" and striving for the pure Being, where a person is carried by faith alone, free from desires, concepts and needs. Babaji was Himself the embodiment of this pure Being.

The model for a new world is a large humane family, dedicating all its energies to a common spiritual duty. His ashram in Haidakhan, in the foothills of the Himalayas, is such a model. This ancient, mythical, holy place was transformed by prayer and work from a stony desert to fertile fields. With the barest means, in only a few years, several temples, living quarters and splendid gardens were established. The Master Himself was the medium for this great transformation which occurred continuously and on all levels. He showed the way and then departed, having given to all those who had opened themselves to Him, what they were ready to receive.

"I have come to show you the way - now it is up to you to realise it in action".

Maria-Gabriele Wosien

"I am nobody and nothing. This body has no meaning. I am only a mirror in which you can see yourself. I am like fire. Don't stay too faraway or you will not get the warmth. But don't get too near or you may burn yourself. Learn the right distance".

Babaji kept His own persona in the background: displays of honouring Him, acknowledgements and rejection meant nothing to Him. He permitted ritual acts of worship and devotion by His devotees for their sake only, to fulfil their wishes. Through His powers, Babaji guided each one who came to Him to perception of absolute, unchanging values and to knowledge of the unity of a I creation. To this end He changed the hearts of people, raised their consciousness by transmitting His energy to them, purified them and made them free for a new spiritual dimension.

The means for the transformation and purification of the mind and heart was selfless work. repetition of the name of God, in particular the mantra OM NAMAH SHIVAYA (Lord, et Thy will be done) and work with the elements, fire and water. Karma yoga, work as service to God, was practised daily and Babaji supervised all activities Himself. The short periods of leisure were spent reading religious scripts and chanting songs in honour of the Creator, as well as the mantra OM NAMAH SHIVAYA.

Water is symbolic in all religions as a cleanser for mind, body and spirit and Babaji used it often for this purpose. During the monsoon time in Haidakhan, He of­ten led devotees by the hand through the turbulent Gautama Ganga River. This was significant both as purification in a holy river and as a crossing of the dangerous swirls of life made safe by a reliable leader. Babaji enabled further cleansing to take place by having people do work that required standing in water. Big stones and rocks had to be lifted out of the riverbed and carried to some other construction site. The ashram dwellers also bathed twice a day, before sunrise and at sunset, in the cool waters of the Gautama Ganga.

Fire ceremonies served the same purpose. Each morning, around 4.30 a.m., Babaji performed a fire ritual which is more ancient than the Vedas. The fire ceremony is also referred to as "havan" or "yagna". As the offerings are made - rice, fruits, incense - certain mantras are recited by the participants, who surrender their lower nature to the fire. Fire consumes everything and its transforming power leads to a rebirth on a higher level.

Anyone who came into contact with Babaji received higher vibrations from Him. Babaji may have placed His hand on a person, given the blessing mudra, presented a person with a gift, some object He had touched or worn, or the energy may have been transmitted by a look or a word. He might breathe on someone or tap their spine with His long stick; He might scream at a person or stroke them gently; all according to each person's make-up.

Through this targeted contact, the various energy centres of the body became activated so that they became capable of withstanding more intense streams of energy.

Personal contact with Babaji was fundamentally important for everyone who experienced this. He was constantly surrounded by people. He shared food with people, travelled with them in trains, buses and even on the back of a motorbike. He was so uncomplicated, almost like a child. He stayed overnight in the simplest mud huts, in villas, in apartments, inn palaces - wherever He happened to be invited to come and give blessing. And always behind Him, a swarm of people followed.

The devotee became aware that everything was a part of creation, without separation, without differentiation. The path of liberation is a narrow one. If one moved off it even for a second to court old habits and ideas, Babaji became unrelenting. Using a seemingly trivial matter as pretext, he would stage-manage some drama out of the blue, sending devotees away as soon as they had reached saturation point in the learning process, or letting them overcome their difficulties by immersion in daily duties. Babaji demanded the strictest inner and outer discipline. This often cost many tears. However, each knew for certain that he/ she was truly blessed.

"To devotees I give Abhaya Dhan. the bless mg of my protection, by which you will always be protected. So you should be fearless. l am responsible for you and your liberation. My protection never abandons you, not even fora second".

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The day came when my daughter and I set off for Haidakhan; we felt strongly drawn there but didn't really know why. Along the way we firmly resolved not to fall at Babaji's Feet or in any way touch them, as was the custom in India. It was out of the question.

Before we had quite reached the ashram itself, we caught our first glimpse of Babaji. He was riding on an elephant with lots of people crowding around Him. To pre­vent His seeing us, and to spare ourselves the embarrassment of having to prostrate ourselves at His Feet, we stayed inconspicuously in the background.

However, the honour that we failed to pay Him, He accorded us. From a distance He waved us over. "You go", I said to my daughter. I had barely spoken when He waved again meaning that I, too, should come to Him. And, to our great embarrassment, He motioned us to sit up there with Him on the elephant.

The first look into Babaji's eyes was overwhelming. In them I saw myself, my entire being. The fire in His eyes pierced my heart. My head was empty, my heart full. It was as if I had known Him forever.

We rode with Him across the Gautama River; He, chanting the mantra "Sita Ram". He motioned us to join in. Although I hadn't a clue who Sita or Ram were, could make out the sounds and so I sang along. He made me sing even louder: "Sita Ram Sita Rani Sita Ram ...."

He then spoke a little with us and asked us where we came from. Afterwards, I bowed down to Him, touched His Feet, His knee. My mind became empty and my heart full. I was happy, I was simply there; beyond that, I was aware of nothing.

He was very loving to us and showered us with honours which we felt far from deserving.

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After the havan (sacred fire ceremony), while every­one was still gathering around the fire meditating on the flames, I noticed Babaji quietly remove Himself from the crowd and walk along one of the garden paths lined with trees. The first rays of the rising sun were scattering the darkness. There was an odd silence as night gave way to day.