Thursday, August 16, 2012

Love's Pearls of Wisdom from Mahavatar Babaji

Once there was a young girl who left her home in a remote mountain village of the lower Himalayas. She was only 9 years of age. She subsisted on herbs, roots, plants and fruits she found around her and water from the Sacred Ganges nearby. For 9 years she lived in a cave and at the end of her sadhana she was an enlightened being.

Mohini Goddess of Beauty
This now 18 -year old girl began to roam around India from village to village and sit under a tree or on the banks of Mother Ganges and play a flute she had made from a bamboo stalk. The tunes she played were so melodious and beautiful that people who heard them thought: “Krishna, Himself, must have played His flute and sounded like that! The flute music and the serenity of her countenance, as well as the light around her drew people to her. She became a great yogini. She could heal and teach the Vedas although no one had taught her. She said, when asked, that the Seven Sages of the Himalayas had taught her while she was in the cave for the nine years. Some said that she was an Incarnation of the Divine Mother, Herself!

One day a small child was run over by a bullock cart as this yogini sat in the middle of the village playing her flute and teaching the people gathered around her. Mohini Ma, as she was called, due to her great natural beauty, calmly lay down her flute, walked over to the child and poured cool water on the young boy’s brow and said a secret healing mantra the Seven Great Sages had taught her. The young boy stood up and it was discovered that he had no broken bones, no cuts or bruises and seemed completely restored to health. In days to come this was proven to be true.

You see, as Mohini Ma demonstrated to the people of these remote Indian villages, sadhana is very important in one’s life, such as the Atma Kriya Yoga of your teacher, Swami Vishwananda. Remember to do your sadhana, japa, and meditation each day if you wish to progress on the spiritual path. And So It Is.

Sending you all 
My love and blessings,
Mahavatar Babaji

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank You,Mahavatar,for the wonderful story.May all youngsters
become enlightenend soon! Could You please be so kind to elaborate on `The Seven Sages of the Himalayas`. JGD Ramayotee

Anonymous said...

Jai Gurudev Mahavatar Babaji,

Yogananda wrote about when the main disciple of a great Guru is present when the Guru leaves His/Her body, this disciple receives the Guru's Spiritual Mantle. What is this Spiritual Mantle? What does the disciple receive?

Jai Gurudev,
Thank you,
Love

Anonymous said...

Jai Gurudev Mahavatar Babaji,

Yogananda wrote about when the main disciple of a great Guru is present when the Guru leaves His/Her body, this disciple receives the Guru's Spiritual Mantle. What is this Spiritual Mantle? What does the disciple receive?

Jai Gurudev,
Thank you,
Love

Vishwananda-Swamini Vishwalakshmianandama said...

The word Mantle used in the spiritual sense originates from the Christian tradition. A mantle means, in the physical sense, a cloak or veil. In the spiritual sense it means a spiritual blessing, an anointing passing from a Teacher, a Guru, Saint, sage, etc. to another person. Tradition indicates that the "spiritual mantle or blessing" must be given to another person. Being present at the death of the spiritual person does not qualify the person to receive the mantle unless the mantle is given.
-Swamini Vishwalakshmianandama

Vishwananda-Swamini Vishwalakshmianandama said...

The Seven Sages are the seven rishis who are venerated in the Vedas and Hindu literature. The Seven Sages are written about in the Upanisads, Puranas and Brahmanas. They are the patriarchs, the fathers, the originators of the Vedic tradition. From ancient times, the Seven Sages of the Himalayas are said to be: Vasistha, Bharadvaja, Jamadagni, Gautama, Atri, Viswamitra and Agastya. The Seven Sages remain in the Himalayas and bring down to Earth the required Knowledge, Wisdom and Energies to guide mankind to unity with the Divine. They are the Guardians of Divine Laws and the progenitors of mankind’s divine heritage.
-Swamini Vishwalakshmianandama

Anonymous said...

Jai Gurudev,

Thank you Swamini for your answer about the spiritual mantle, but I am still very curious. You answer is vague, though that is probably because my question was vague. Allow me to rewrite my question:

Most Guru's have one main disciple, a disciple that has embodied their teachings to a greater degree than the others (by the Grace of the Guru and Grace of God). When the Guru leaves His/Her body they sometimes transmit their spiritual power (spiritual mantle, as Yogananda called it) to this disciple. In Sanskrit, what is the name of this initiation, and what does the disciple receive exactly.

Does this disciple receive the tapas shakti of the Guru? Do they receive the wisdom, bhakti, knowledge and experiences of the Guru? If the Guru is a Satguru (that is an enlighted Guru) is the disciple also 'automatically' enlighted too, if they were not already?

Here are some examples of this 'passing on of the Guru's Spiritual power':

1. Upasani Maharaj, the Disciple of Shirdi Sai Baba
2. Swami Vivekananda, the Disciple of Ramakrishna
3. Sant Nivruttinath (the older brother of Gyandev).
When Sant Nivruttinath was still a boy, and at the time when His family was travelling through the jungle to the place where their parents were to drown themselves, Nivruttinath wondered off. In a cave He found a yogi in deep samadhi. When Nivruthinath entered the cave, the yogi opened His eyes and transmitted to Nivruttinath His 'spiritual mantle'. Nivruttinath instantaneously attained a high state of samadhi and went back to His family. The parents recognised that something had changed with Him. After the death of their parents, Nivruttinath became the Guru of Gyandev and the other two siblings.

For sure Nivruthinath was already a great, great soul, who was ready for such an initiation...

I have looked for information about this type on initiation, but have found very little. Mostly the descriptions are vague, at best.

Thank you.
Jai Gurudev

Vishwananda-Swamini Vishwalakshmianandama said...

To comment about "Passing on the mantel":
You know this happened in the Bible, also, with Elijah and Elisha.
We suggest that for further information you might consider researching this question in the Vedic scriptures or ask Gurudev to please explain further.
My understanding is that, at death, the spiritual attainment (level) of the Guru, the mantle, is passed on to a chosen person at the discernment or choice of the Guru. Swamini Lakshmi