Gods and Goddesses of Nainital

New Year Greetings

2011-12-30T22:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings to all the wonderful residents of Nainital District with a wish that 2012 and beyond shall mark the beginning of great improvements in your life.

Are all Babas and Mystics Fraud?

2011-11-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

On Babas and Mystics

This Blog has a lot of matter on Babas and Mystics especially of the Nainital region. The following FAQs about it are therefore in order.

Recently while on the topic of Mystics a very dear friend of mine commented,

“Since childhood I have had no use for Babas, swamis or of any kind of mystic. I saw them as parasites taking advantages of well meaning but duped followers. I have always put them in one of two categories - they are either charlatans or they are self-delusional. Nothing in between. In other words, they either knowingly deceive people, or they believe in the bunk they spread. (Sorry, couldn't control this diatribe - Tourette syndrome)”

My response at the time was a brief one that I agreed with him partly. The response was brief at the time because we were really engaged in a conversation on some other matter. But, the comment does need a more detailed response and I am attempting that now in a sort of question and answer dialogue because this is a difficult topic

Who are Babas, swamis and mystics?

Babas, gurus and swamis are eastern usage but such like persons exist around the world with different names. These are persons who have made the primary occupation or concern of their life as the spiritual side of life.

Is there a spiritual side to life?

This depends on what you mean by the spiritual side. If it means flying through the air along with your laptop and mobile phone, there probably is no spiritual side. However if it means things like love, fear, human abilities etc. that living things display as distinct from machines, robots etc. then yes there is a spiritual side to life.

Yes, so who are Babas and swamis?

As mentioned, Babas and swamis are persons who make the spiritual side of life their prime occupation. It is like an artist makes art his prime occupation and a scientist makes science his occupation and within that science are specializations such as chemistry, physics, astronomy etc.

Do Babas have disciples?

Some do and some others don’t. This is similar to some scientists also being Professors and some who are just scientists who do not teach others (for example a friend of mine Dr. Pimputkar). Babas and Swamis who also teach others about spirituality are also called spiritual gurus. This is similar to a scientist who is also called a Professor if he also teaches.

Are their Fraud Babas and gurus?

For sure there are, just as there are fraud doctors, lawyers, scientists etc. who may or may not be knowledgeable but use some immoral practice or lies for personal gain. As a matter of fact the percentage of fraudsters is probably larger amongst the babas than the percentage of fraudsters amongst modern scientists.
The percentage of fraudsters amongst medical practitioners practicing traditional herbal medicine (Ayurveda etc.) is larger than amongst those practicing modern allopathic medicine. The reason is that there is formal regulations, study, practice and examinations for allopathic doctors while there is not much of that for herbal, traditional medicine etc. Therefore it becomes easier to fudge in the latter case.

There have been fraud Babas from ancient times. The ancient spiritual text Gita mentions that these are hypocrites who pretend whereas there are others who are more mystic and do not flaunt. The hypocrites have their mind on non-spiritual pursuits while outwardly they pretend spirituality.

Do the Fraud Babas exploit and cheat others?

For sure they do and so do fraud doctors, engineers and lawyers. I have met doctors who have even made their patient intentionally sicker to extract more money and even lawyers who intentionally encourage the prolonging or complication of a case to make money out of clients. Last year when a friend of mine was involved with prolonged legal problems, I expressed that fear to another friend (KC) in a long phone conversation. The former friend had the option to conclude the matter with a fine but he chose to challenge the matter prolonging the legal dangers. I mentioned to KC that my fear was that the challenge may have been encouraged by the lawyer. I could not get in touch with my former friend because he has been aloof for several years.

Are all Babas fraud?

No there are sincere seekers too.

Are they self-delusional?

No not necessarily any more than we all are about life or our primary preoccupation in life. Some are, because just as the tool of a doctor is the stethoscope the tool of the mystic is his own mind and soul, and, just as the stethoscope gets spoilt from use, the mind to get into psychosis at times. The stethoscope can be repaired and so can the mind.

Do all Babas wear ashes, funny clothes or no clothes at all etc?

Many do and many do not. Some never declare their true pursuit and can go about as an ordinary person because there are schools of spiritual study that require belonging to a sect with its uniform and perhaps living in a place like a monastery; some require isolation from society into hills and caves, yet there are also schools in which one can pursue spiritual study while appearing and living as an ordinary person pursuing an ordinary profession.

Do Babas have special magical powers?

Yes and no. Yes they do have special powers just as a doctor has special powers to heal, a lawyer to argue in court etc. But no, these powers are not magical. They only appear to be so because they are not common.

A major character of my Novella (Mystic and the Blossoms) and a Novel (nude besides the Lake) I have written is a Baba because of my personal interest in spiritual side of life. A friend of mine (HP) recently enquired on phone if I too have become a Baba and if I dress funny. My answer is no, because spiritual pursuit has only been an intermittent pursuit for me in life and I dress ordinary most times. During a brief intense period of similar studies during 2007 in Nainital, I did dress funny as well for some months and grew a beard etc. It was a really grand and funny dress made out of a single piece of woolen shawl (just a single piece because my spiritual order dictated a single garment with not even an undergarment, and it did keep slipping off)

That dress has been unstitched now and has been converted into a lovely quilt for my adopted grandson - Golu. I have spent other periods of prolonged and intense spiritual studies in ordinary garb during my lifetime whenever I found an opportunity to interrupt a professional career.

Anything more about the special powers of Babas?

In my recent novel the sort of powers I gave to the Baba in the story (Neeltal Baba like) are special but those that I have experience of as true. I am certain that there are many more such powers that I have not experienced because in my experience there is always aspects of any branch of knowledge that one does not experience until one goes deeper.

One of the powers I gave to Neeltal Baba was immunity from heat and cold. This fact has been examined and proven scientifically as a power developed by a few Himalayan and Tibetan monks (I do not have references at hand but they are available on the net).

Another power I gave to the Baba was walking over long distances at great speeds without any physical tiredness. This is one power I have experienced myself although admittedly only on rare occasions. It is effected by a certain type of Jap/ mantra meditation when one’s mind is focused on the mantra or just one other thought while removing all other concerns from the mind. In the incident in the story the character practicing this meditation walks into town nude without realizing that he is nude because his mind was so much removed from worldly concerns. We have an incident from history where the scientist Archimedes was so focused on a scientific principle that when he discovered it, he ran nude into town shouting Eureka.

Yes, scientists, businessmen and all others who perform special and magical things often have special hidden human/mystical powers not possessed by others and are actually powered like Babas without declaring so. That is the reason why some can excel in a miraculous way in their pursuits.

Yet another power I granted to the Baba of my story was the ability to read minds. This too is something I have experienced myself albeit intermittently. My mother possessed that to a surprising degree and perhaps influenced my spiritual inclinations from a young age. This power of thought is not limited to reading a facial expression but also occurs over distance on phone. During the late nineties when I returned to IIT Delhi as a faculty member after a period of isolation and spiritual pursuit, I was telling people on phone withou them having uttered a word what they were thinking and then laughing about it. On one occasion a friend (Marwaha) called to say that he was going out of town and I told him that he was going to take his wife to Ambala to meet his sister for purchasing Gold jewellery etc. and he was quite taken aback. Most recently I found that the owner of an educational enterprise (Dr. Dhingra) in Nainital District was doing that all the time with me on phone. Dr. Dhingra regularly practiced meditation every morning.

However, after a few years of stay in Delhi, I found that the power of reading thoughts was disappearing. These powers wax and wane with time, practice and environment.

Another power the Baba of the book has is the power to will events. I am not fully certain about this power because events can happen anyway but I strongly suspect it exists and that people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have used it.

Do Babas do any good to the world?

They may not over finite periods of time if they by and large stick to their own pursuit just as a scientist may not for long periods if they stick to their labs engaged in God knows what study?

This brings us back to Nainital. Steve Jobs who is much in the news nowadays was in my view a Baba. He spent time in Nainital in spiritual pursuits during his younger days pursuing Baba Neem Karoli of Nainital and also Baba Hairakhan (Neeltal Baba?). He also suffered because of the disorder and poverty in Indian society and came to the conclusion that these Babas were not doing any good for Indian society at the present time. He felt a Baba like scientist or professional makes a better contribution to society and returned to a professional life to do precisely that.

Are Babas Freaks?

No they are not freaks any more than a scientist with a scruffy beard or an artist with funny clothes. Many people do view them with awe but they are ordinary humans with a specialization in mysticism. In my novel the Baba of the story appreciates the fact that the hero of the story - Fred- treats Babaji like an ordinary guy. The Hero developed that impression because at first he met the Baba at a party where the Baba danced and hopped around like others, had a drink etc. Later when Fred visited him at the monastery he found the Baba very different and wondered what was going on. He wondered if the Baba was a fraud and questioned him later as a friend.

Why do some people think that all babas are freaks?

Humans tend to do that. When humans note that a large number of gypsies are involved in petty robbery some tend to say all are robbers or if they find in America that the percentage of unemployed or welfare seekers are larger amongst blacks they may say that blacks are bums (in private because there are laws against that) but they cannot be serious because we also have a Martin Luther, Sydney Potier or a Barak Obama amongst the blacks.

One last question, who are Saints?

The very evolved accomplished mystics are saints just as Einstein was a saint amongst Scientists and Steve Jobs amongst Professionals. Incidentally Steve Jobs spent more of his time thinking of Death and Nainital than he did about the Iphone or the Ipad : ).

Review of the Novel – Nude besides the lake

2011-11-20T01:21:00.000-08:00

A novel with Nainital as its backdrop – Nude besides the lake – was released earlier this year. This is what H.S. Gill a 1971 Mechanical Engineering graduate of IIT Delhi had to say about it in a recent communication to the author,

Ashok,

I have read your book from cover to cover, and some parts twice. The storyline flows well, it is pleasant to read, and I enjoyed the experience. I spent my childhood summers in Naini Tal or Simla, and have very fond memories of those times. Neel Tal, where the story takes place, took me back there and the descriptions were reminiscent of Naini Tal before it experienced its own version of urban sprawl.

The backdrop is wonderfully idyllic. All the characters are nice people, out to help each other, and the community as a whole. (The only exception is one Mr. Harbinder Gill, who abandoned his pregnant wife in India, emigrated to Canada and started a new family!) I don't want to reveal too many details lest they spoil the fun of others who have not yet read the book. Your depiction of nice people may be how you view the world - or how you would like it to be. If one comes across people who are not nice, the best option is to just not let them be a part of your life.

The story has a strong spiritual side, which, for reasons you well know, I could not relate to ------.

There are a couple of weird ties in the book, which I found mildly amusing. Queen Victoria brief appearance, and Pimp's fig leaf would fall in this category. Again, I will not go into any details. Also very apparent is the author's familiarity with engineering principles as he describes the various technical challenges faced by an expanding township. It was fun to see many of our friends' namesakes peppered throughout the book, which makes it a must-read for Mech 71-ers.

Final word - I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Its faith in the power of good citizenship is particularly uplifting. There is hope for humanity.

I eagerly await your next book.

H.S. Gill

The Novel - Nude besides the lake - is available at Amazon.com (link) and other leading online retailers

The Fame of Naini Mata and Nainital spreads across the World

2011-09-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I wrote and published a small booklet with the title: Naini Mata - Goddess of Nainital. The booklet was merely a small expression of my love for the mother goddess. However, a few days ago when I entered “Naini Mata” in the google search engine and clicked I was surprised that this modest effort has lead to the spread of the fame and loving message of the goddess across the world through numerous websites. I am delighted that I have been an instrument of the mother in this task. It is the very least I could do in return for the immense love and blessings I have received from the mother goddess since the time I was an infant.

Naini Mata

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

On my visits to the temple of Naini Mata in Nainital I could find only one little book in Hindi on the goddess. Therefore I have written another one in English that is presently available at Amazon.com (LINK IS HERE)

Update Nove 21, 2011: Today morning I checked google again and found that the search results for Naini Mata have reached nearly a million. Jai naini Mata ki.

Nainital Heritage

2011-03-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

With the blessings of the Goddess Naini, the presiding deity of Nainital, the city has numerous beautiful heritage buildings. If I had my way I would try and get Nainital declared as a world heritage site. It is now mainly up to the government of Uttarakhand and the people of Nainital to make every possible effort to preserve the heritage buildings. Lessons may be be learnt from Europe, as to how this is done in historical cities there. There is also a need to prevent new buildings coming up in new designs that do not reflect the original heritage of the city. If that is permitted a unique heritage of mankind would be lost. The picture here shows just one of the many beautiful buildings of Nainital - The Earl's Court Hotel.

Gaia Goddess and Naini Goddess

2011-01-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

A human while he lives displays different appearances, different clothes and even different names. It is not surprising therefore that a goddess should do much more of that. Naini Devi the goddess of Nainital, the mother goddess in her different reincarnations and forms is also known as Nanda Devi, the goddess of the mountains or as Parvati the goddess of snow capped mountains, also perhaps as Bhuvaneshwari the goddess of the fields and forests which in ancient Middle East was known as Nana and to ancient Greeks was know as Gaia, the mother goddess or earth goddess. As the goddess of the oceans she is Mazu worshipped in Taiwan. As a gentle mother of love she is mother Mary worshipped by the Christians as a fierce conqueror of evil the goddess Kali worshipped by sects of Hindus. As a hermit she is Mira and as an Empress she is Queen Victoria. These are only some of the forms in which humans have worshipped the Almighty as the mother goddess. It is not surprising that the goddess has a temple in Nainital, because it is one of the most precious spots on earth.

Man, Environment and Self

2011-01-24T20:57:00.000-08:00

This morning the local newspaper here in Jaipur (Rajasthan Patrika, 25th of January 2011, page 9) devoted a page to describing the deeds of a few ordinaryindividuals who had devoted several years of their own time, effort and money to improve the environment. This Newspaper is imbued with a high degree of social responsibility and it has made many contributions towards improving the quality of life in our province. Therefore it devotes considerable space to highlighting such stories from time to time. There were stories of persons who had created huge forests bit by bit around their villages, cleaned and created lakes and pathways through the mountains. As they worked on their projects, others in the area were motivated to join in and help, so that the results were truly impressive. The reports were highly encouraging, yet also embarrassing to me personally. I talk a lot in this blog and elsewhere about contributing to improving the planet, yet have not done much personally in this direction myself especially recently. This year my sole contribution has been planting three more trees on the street I live. I am aware of the fact that a person who talks while illustrating little by example is pursuing a shallow goal. Nevertheless. I carry on with my message in the hope that if it encourages a few more persons around the world to do a little more for the environment, it is better than doing nothing. Earlier this year I turned sixty and with age one’s energies reduce, therefore it is not easy to make a considerable direct physical contribution to the cause. However, that might partly be an excuse and there is a need for me to design new projects where I could make a direct contribution as well. I shall certainly turn my attention to that. Man in order to live is compelled to cause the creation of roads, towns etc. as suggested in another post of this blog. This leads to a destruction of the environment. Therefore it is every man's obligation to compensate for this destruction by making positive contributions to the environment elsewhere, and enough degraded arears for it would be found in any part of the world including Nainital District. As pointed out elsewhere in my blogs, personally to me making a contribution to the environment aside from its immediate benifit is a highly spiritual thing to do. Any attempts to improve the environment and to commune with nature are a subset of communing with the vast Infinite consciousness that throbs through every cell of the universe. During moments of such communion one experiences a great joy. One’s own trials and tribulations appear very small, a small temporary blip in this vast infinity of time and space, something that will disappear in an instant, metaphorically speaking, anyway. One may wonder at times that in such states of joy, one might be ignoring the more immediate needs of the small finite self. However, that is not my experience, because the needs of the finite self are met not just by ones own effort but also by the actions of the Universe around us, and it is my experience that the Universe then magically contributes to meeting these needs in an effortless magical sort of a way.

Neem Karoli Baba

2011-01-18T05:15:00.000-08:00

One of the most highly revered personalities in Nainital Town is Baba Neem Karoli or more popularly known as Neem Karoli Baba. No spiritual blog on Nainital would be complete without a mention of him. He left this world on September 11, 1973. While he lived he sponsored the construction of many temples, the first one situated at a walking distance from Nainital town. It is known as Hanuman Garhi. Baba Neem Karoli believed like most Hindus do, that although God has no form he may be worshipped in a human like form. One of the most loved forms of God by Baba Neem Karoli was the Hindu god Hanuman ji and therefore this temple is devoted to Lord Hanuman. It was probably constructed in 1950 Babaji had disciples all over the world. He has provided spiritual inspiration to persons like Steve Jobs and Julia Robertson. Babaji is famous for many miracles but his primary messages, as far as this author has been able to discern, were simple - love God and all of His creation and perform selfless service as an expression of love. Baba belonged to a wealthy family owning large homes where his wife and children lived but he himself lived the life of a hermit most times. This author has met the Baba personally in his childhood along with his mother in Nainital in the early fifties.

Sustainable Development of Nainital District

2011-01-02T21:08:00.001-08:00

Although this author has had close ties to Nainital District since childhood, he did not have enough opportunity to travel around the district during his adult life until the last two years. This opportunity came in 2009-2010 when he served as the Director of an Institute of Technology in the District (the only institute of the district offering degree level professional education including engineering education). During this appointment the author had ample opportunities to tour large parts of the district. It was the observation of this author that since the British, who had originally developed Nainital town and District up to 1947 left little positive development, has taken place in the district. Rather there has been a severe deterioration. For several decades after the British left, this district was a largely ignored hill district of the large state of Uttar Pradesh. However, since about a decade ago Nainital district is one of the chief districts of the new Northern state of Uttarakhand. There is a crying need to address urgent issues regarding the development of this ecologically precious district. Towards this end, this author organized a conference on the sustainable development of Kumaon region in January 2010 in Lamachaur, Nainital. Principal academics and administrators of the district were invited to the conference and ideas discussed for the development of Kumaon region as a whole and Nainital District in particular. In this author’s opinion, some areas that need urgent development that will bring immense benefits to the district as well as the state of Uttarakhand are listed below.

1. There is a need to develop a master plan for both Kathgodam and Haldwani town. Large scale plotting of the Bhabbar region is taking place by private developers who are unaware or incapable of adapting even basic principals of urban planning. As a result the entire Bhabbar region around the Haldwani area has become disordered. In particular attention needs to be paid to adequate road widths and a network of wide roads through the region. The primary junction between Nainital Road and Kaladhungi road is suffering from severe congestion and needs to be decongested urgently. A road width of twenty feet is considered wide by private residential plotters. Such a road width is not even sufficient for horse carts leave alone modern vehicles, sewage systems wiring and piping. It is merely the aggregate footpath and shoulder width of a modern road. Miles and miles of the Haldwani area have been plotted similarly.

2. The entire Kaladhungi road needs to be developed as an express lane highway being the main artery connecting the eastern and western parts of Uttarakhand State. Similarly the road connecting Khatgodam to Sitar Ganj and onwards needs to be developed as a four lane highway on the eastern side of the state. With available successful models of BOLT (build, operate and transfer) in other parts of the country, finances need not be a constraint in the development of this highway.

3. Similarly Khatgodam and Ranibagh area need a Master plan. There is a need to develop a few side roads of adequate width into the hillsides away from Nainital road. The HMT complex in Ranibagh has not taken off and a plan needs to be developed for its conversion into an Institute of Technology or a residential resort. As a residential resort it would be possible to generate income to give a settlement to the remaining employees of the now defunct HMT organization

4. There is a need to complete the proposed highway linking Fatehpur to Nainital through Patwadangar. It appears that only a few kilometers of the work remains.

5. There is a need to reacquire and reconsider the industrial area of Bhimtal. The very logic of setting up an industrial area on the banks of the lake needs to be dropped. The logistics of developing an industrial area in a hilly region defies the principles of economics. Industries in the district may be restricted to the Sitar Ganj area. The industrial area of Bhimtal instead needs to be developed as an attractive tourist destination to draw away traffic from crowded Nainital town

6. There is a need to develop motorable roads to Harishtal and Lokhamtal from Chorgallia and by also connecting the existing road to Hairakhan. The Harishtal area has immense potential of development as a quality resort and educational hub to rival Lavasa or Nainital town after development of such connecting roads.

7. There is an urgent need to stop any further new construction or raising the height of buildings in Nainital town. A conservation plan to identify and restore heritage buildings needs to be developed along with a decongestion plan for the congested areas of the hillsides.

8. The original pre 1950 Nainital urban planning is an ideal model of development of a town around a lake. It needs to be replicated for the other lake towns of the district i.e. Sattal, Naukutchiatal. Bhimtal and Harishtal. The principal feature of this planning is to develop the town as an educational and tourist hub with a major wide road around the circumference of the lake and selected roads into the hillside. Such a circumferential road does not exist around the other lakes. Private owners or organizations such as the YMCA or churches hold portions of the lakefront. Such lake front road areas needs to be immediately notified and acquired for road building.

This author is available to elaborate further on these ideas and possibly to work towards their fulfillment incase invited to do so by concerned authorities

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

This is to wish a Happy New Year to all lovers of Nainital and all those who help preserve its beauty and ecology. In recent years overcrowding, overbuilding and the pollution of the Lake and the Nallahs that feed into the lake have become a major concern. The city was considering permitting a rise in the height of the buildings. If that permission is granted it would be a great tragedy that will increase the pollution. The city needs to be congested rather than congested even more. If expansion is desired that should be considered in the direction of Hanumanghari, PatwaDangar, Bhowali or Khurpatal but the area around the lake is over congested. Not much is being done to restore heritage buildings in the city either. They are falling apart. At the present rate in a few more decades Nainital will loose its beauty and it would be the end of another beautiful Face of Mother Earth. Naini Devi is but a symbolic representation of Mother Earth. It is up to the residents of Nainital that she does not return to the peaks of Nanda Devi once more as she did once before in 1880. May the Goddess bless all. Happy New Year 2011.

Note: The first internationally available description of Nainital appeared in Encyclopedia Britannica in 1911 a hundred years ago.

Of God, gods and goddesses

2010-11-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

I posted this in my other blog at someitemshave.blogspot.com but later realized that it is an appropriate post for this blog. Therefore I am posting it again here.

Theists believe that God exists. My view of God is that Infinite power that sustains the universe and that everything that we can observe in the universe is a part of Him. His consciousness runs through everything - all life forms, the earth, stones, sky, trees, the sun, stars and everything else besides. As distinct from inanimate objects life forms posses a free will as well as their independent and distinct desires that are unique to each individual, different from each other and different from the desires of God. As a being becomes more and more spiritual there is a greater unity with the desires of the Universal consciousness and a greater divinity.

Besides God some religious humans have also worshipped other divine beings or gods from ancient times and every civilized part of the world has their own favorite gods such as the Mazu of Taiwan, Konohana Sakuya Hime of Japan, Siva, Lord Hanuman and Naini the Mother Goddess of India as well as countless other gods, goddesses, angels, devas and countless other divine beings from around the world.

The divine power that illuminates these numerous gods and goddesses is the single supreme consciousness of God or the Universe. Therefore when we worship an angel or god or goddess we are in effect only worshipping a facet of the One Single reality of the universe or God although not directly. We have these countless facets of God reflected in the innumerable gods and goddesses because God is infinite

It is not easily possible for many humans to depend directly on the Supreme God, possessing a form beyond comprehension or formless, at all times. As an infant, a human depends on his or her mother and thus depends upon the divinity or love every mother expresses for her infant child. As we grow up we may learn to depend on others including the angels, gods or goddesses that we become familiar with and learn to love. In my opinion this is all right as long as do not forget that the power behind all is the one single reality of the universe or God. I too have learnt to love some of the gods and goddesses and they have seen me through difficult times in life as well as provided some exhilarating experiences of joy. I do not fully understand the origin or reality of these gods just as I do not fully understand the reality of God, yet some of my prayers and gratefulness is directed to these gods and goddesses just as it is to the Universal Consciousness at all times.

The Abode of Shiva

2010-09-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

The photo is a view of Mount Kailash situated in Tibet as captured by a friend - Anup Gulati. This peak is regarded as the abode of Lord Shiva or the Sage Shankar who was charged with the spirit of Shiva. The lake Mansarovar, the largest fresh water lake of the Himalayan region is situated at the foot of this mountain. It is situated to the north-east of Nainital District. It is held by many that the lakes of Nainital District are fed by waters of this lake through underground rivers. According to mythology the connection was a result of prayers of ancient sages that medidated on the banks of Naini Lake. Bhim Tal lake also in Nainital District is held by some to be fed from the adjoining Rakshas Tal. It is one of the poorly developed and mantained lakes of the district. Its water constitute a portion of the water supply of Haldwani town situated at the foot of Nainital Hills. Surprisingly the ugly parts of Nainital district are those fed by Rakshas Tal whereas others fed by Mansarovar Lake are charged with extraordinary beauty. All this, however, is not yet scientifically established but is based on mythological and folk knowledge.

The Kriya Yoga as taught by Babaji or Baba Haidakhan

2010-09-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

In an older post “Who was Baba Haidakhan” you may learn more about this holy personality of the Nainital Himalayan region of India. You will find that post as well as the comment and response to it enlightening. To reach it click older posts at the bottom of this blog and scroll down to it. This author is not a disciple of Baba Haidakhan in the traditional sense but has known him closely through an old family relationship of the Nainital region; therefore, there is more information in that post and comments than is generally known.

Baba Haidakhan spoke very little while he lived and certainly very little on spiritual matters. He believed there is no end to such discussions and there is more value in practice. However any reader who is more interested in spiritual theory should check out my other blog at http://someitemshave.blogspot.com. It has some nice pictures and information on Nainital too. Those interested in learning more about Babaji and other saintly personalities close to him can look up the follwing link:
http://dev.sciopticon.com/whois/whois.html

Kriya yoga was defined very briefly by the ancient sage and leading exponent of yoga – Patanjali in his treatise on yoga as consisting of three parts – tap, swadhyay and ishwar sharanagati. These are three Sanskrit terms that mean, hard work & discipline, knowing thyself and loving God by depending and submitting to Him.

Babaji gave practical shape to these three aspects in the following manner. He discouraged idleness and one of the first lessons to disciples was to engage in hard work and discipline. Those at the ashram were involved in building works.

As a means of self-knowing, babaji insisted on the cultivation of three virtues – Love, truth and simplicity. That combined with meditative recitation of mantra were the means to self-knowing. His usual mantra advocated for all was “ Om Namah Shivai” But a disciple could choose another if he so preferred.

Babaji advocated the love of God as a means of getting close to the Lord by remembering and chanting his name while depending and submitting to Him. He demonstrated Hindu rituals because he was born to a Hindu father for that but advised that a disciple could choose any ritual he was comfortable with or no ritual towards that end if he wished.

Aside from this teaching of Kriya Yoga through demonstration, Babaji taught very little and spoke very little. He was very human from time to time while he lived when not possessed by the Holy Spirit and what has been recorded, as his sayings are mostly his small talk as a human since his personal practice involved total silence when possessed by the Holy Spirit. This author regards Babaji in spiritual terms as a son of Lord Shiva and the Goddess of Nainital.

While Babaji lived and even now after he has gone his disciples ascribed many characters to him, such as avatar, mahaavatar, reincarnations of other holy personalities etc. In the opinion of this author none understood his true nature. More on him has been written in an older post as already mentioned.

I may not be able to respond to a comment to this post immediately because of other engagements but please feel free to enter a comment that helps other readers.

A Wonderful Link from Nainital

2010-07-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

I just discovered a wondeful link that shows pictures of many of Nainital's Churches, Temples, Mosques etc. It is:-

http://www.nainitaltourism.com/religious_places_nainital.html

I was tempted to copy some of the pictures for this blog but desisted because those pictures are probabaly copyright protected. The Churches of Nainital are some of the most beautiful ones in Nainital and the Virgin Mother is an important a form of the Mother Goddess here.

Goddess of Nainital

2010-03-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

On reading the posts of this blog the reader may get a little confused as to the origin of Naini Devi- the Goddess of Nainital. She is interpreted by some as the ancient Goddess Nana, others as Naina Devi the consort of lord Shiva, by many as Nanda Devi the mountain Goddess of Kumaon; some regard her as Kali or the Goddess Durga.

It does not really matter in what particular interpretation you hold the Goddess because they are all the reincarnations or interpretations of the same original mother Goddess. The Hindus believe that God is infinite and with a form beyond comprehension. However in order to direct ones attention, the formless infinite God of the universe may be represented by a finite interpretation. The finite image may be male as the Lord Shiva or female as a mother Goddess. In reality the infinite God is beyond this human sexual distinction. In Hindu mythology the two aspects male and female are regarded as two parts of the same infinite power.

The infinite God can also be classified in two distinct parts as matter and spirit. All life is created from a union of matter and spirit and in this sense the father may also be regarded as the universal spirit and the mother as the created material universe. In Nainital one may view a part of this created universe in one of Her most beautiful aspects. The adjoining picture is a view of Naini Lake. The temple of Naini Goddess is situated on the banks of this lake.

Photos of Naini Devi Temple

2010-03-14T21:47:00.000-07:00

Green Vs. Dry

2009-03-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from a trip to the Nainital District. All through the trip I felt far more energetic than in the city I live in presently – Jaipur. The most striking difference between the two districts is that the former is cool and green –full of lush farms, healthy trees and lush forests – whereas the latter is dry, hot and dusty full of some thorny bushes and scattered thorny trees called Bambul here. This difference is the most probable cause of the difference in energy. I think it is time for a change to Nainital District from Jaipur District and the process of making that change is underway. The change involves a challenging academic appointment, but it is of the kind that is in my area of experience and expertise and I am hoping to make a positive contribution in the region – God willing.

Winters on the hills and in Nainital town itself can be very cold and harsh but fortunately, the place I intend to move to is located on the plains in Haldwani, at the foot of the hills that is neither very hot in summer nor very cold in winters and the drive up the hill is only minutes away.

With and Without God

2009-02-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

There are many persons in the modern world who believe that there is neither any God nor any gods, or any other intelligence higher than their own in the Universe. They uphold that this world is godless and brought about through the random movements of matter and some feisty sex, what else? It is quite amazing that a human mind or ego can regard itself as the highest of intelligence in the universe. One may wonder at the cause of the belief in some humans that there is no intelligence higher than their own.

The district of Nainital is regarded as Dev Bhumi ( The Land of the Gods) by residents and the formless universal spirit is worshipped through many religions and in many forms. God is worshipped in the region in widely known forms as well as local one's . Most major religions of the world are practiced by different groups in a harmonious and loving manner, with each person respecting the religion of others.

It is up to humans as intelligent beings to respond to divine love or ignore it. The universal intelligence has granted humans the freedom to do that. He does not impose His views remaining subtle and behind veils so that if we wish to ignore him we may do so with ease. If a human can remain happy and satisfied by ignoring God, by all means he should continue that way, but those who are not atheists believe that happiness and success in any endeavour is not possible without divine help.

The Worship of Gods and Right Behavior

2009-02-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

God is formless and resides everywhere in the Universe. He is the power inside every life form making life possible. His divinity flows through all of us. Some worship God in His formless aspect, yet centered in a finite body many find it difficult to keep their focus on an Infinite Power. They then focus on other visible symbols of this divinity i.e. the finite formed gods, and godly or saintly personalities who have come and lived amongst humans from time to time through history. The Christians have the images of Jesus Christ and the holy virgin mother. The Buddhists have images of Buddha and the Sikhs the images of their ten saintly gurus. These gods and saints become the medium through which the devout attempt to establish a relationship with the Divine Infinite Lord of the Universe.

The Hindu religion is rich with many different images and forms of gods that many worship with great devotion. However in spite of that the condition and quality of life of the average Hindu is not very good as compared to many other communities on earth. In the opinion of this author this is because worship is fully fruitful if it is combined with the right behavior that must be pleasing to the gods. The very least is an adherence to the principle of non-violence. Physical violence should have no place in the behavior of civilized humans. Further right behavior involves the sincerest of attempts to lead an honest and truthful life. Love for all life and nature exhibited through a spirit of sacrifice and service for others is also a part of such behavior. To be sincere in one’s work as well as promoting order, cleanliness, beauty and discipline in oneself and in one’s surrounding are also essential. When worship is combined with right behavior it is fruitful. Worship devoid of right behavior does not bear much fruit. Unfortunately it has become a practice with many Hindus to approach gods only with the aim of obtaining some worldly benefit without combining that with any attempt to inculcate the sort of behavior that would be pleasing to the gods. This appears to be the cause of the poor quality of life of such devotees in spite of their worship.

The Nainital District of India has been blessed with the appearance of many gods and saintly personalities from ancient times. Persons who worship one or more of such appearances combined with effort to improve behavior benefit greatly from such worship. A previous post mentions one of the gods of the Nainital region - Golu Devta . Worship of Golu Devta adds warmth, happiness, peace and security in the life of devotees who lead an honest and loving life. He helps to resolves all sorts of disputes of the devotees speedily including legal ones provided the cause of the devotee is just while punishing the agressor in the dispute. Golu Devta is a special God of the region. Other Gods i.e Siva. and Lord Hanuman who too have devoted worshippers in the region are worshipped widely throughout India and the world.

Human beings are tempted to wrong deeds as a result of greed, lust, anger, pride and laziness. It is precisely these thing that cause trouble later. Therefore the best prayer to Golu Devta or any other god one worships or indeed the Universal Power is to help us do the right thing at all times. Humans need divine help most for this purpose.

The worship of God or gods must be accompanied effort in seven areas as mentioned below in order to bear fruit

LOVE: absolute avoidance of the opposite that is violence not just in deed but also in speech and thought. To be a loving person one must love to all of creation and show kindness to all creatures. It also means avoiding harsh behavior, jealousy, malicious intent and gossip and to be a forgiving person. The avoidance of anger even on provocation is also necessary for a truly loving person. It also means helping others and doing acts of charity whenever the appropriate opportunity arises without expecting anything in return.

TRUTH: Refers to truthfulness in speech. However speech must be genial too and silence has to be preferred to voicing the truth when we know it will cause hurt to another person. By extension truthfulness also implies straightforwardness and honesty in all of one’s dealings and work.

AVOIDING LUST Implies sexual indulgence, thoughts and behavior. However since total celibacy is not feasible for humans, sexual interests must be confined to interactions that are a part of romantic love and involve mutual love and interests. Sexual indulgence for purely physical pleasure must be completely avoided.

CLEANLINESS AND DISCIPLINE; is to keep one’s body, clothes and surroundings clean and orderly. It also means to ensure that the food, water and air we consume are pure. We need to ensure discipline in diet, exercise, sleep, work and entertainment so that our health remains in the best possible state

WORK is to do even hard work for one’s livelihood and maintaining one’s home and social obligations cheerfully, sincerely and honestly. It means avoiding laziness and idle pursuits. However a reasonable amount of entertainment that is wholesome and does not strain one’s health should not be regarded as an idle pursuit but as something that helps maintain a cheerful personality

LACK OF GREED AND CONTENTMENT: One must remain content with whatever one can acquire through reasonable effort and honest work. To crave for anything that one cannot attain easily or is not one’s fair share is a short cut to unhappiness. Even if our need and desire seems to be necessary and appropriate we have to be patient for the Universal intelligence to grant it at the right time. It is not improper to work honestly towards a worthy goal but one must avoid being impatient in achieving it and remain content with whatever results are achieved.

WORSHIP AND LOVE OF GOD is to believe in the Lord of this universe and trust in his love for us and to worship him in whatever way we have learnt and consider best. It can include meditation, prayer, chanting, study of sacred texts etc. If one does one's work sincerely in a devoted manner as a service for the world and God and as a sense of duty that too is worship. It means being fearless and not worrying about future too much, but to trust in the Lord. It also implies not being proud or egoistic. One must realize how small one is in this vast universe and avoid a sense of self-importance. Whatever we achieve is a gift from the Universe and hardly because of any great achievement by us. Humility is a necessary virtue for worship. To love God also means to have a sense of shame and guilt whenever we are tempted to do a wrong act. It is impossible for a human to be perfect. All that is required is a constant effort to improve and ensure that we do not justify or support wrong acts i.e. such as those listed above.

Of Gods and Humans

2009-01-31T03:49:00.000-08:00

Persons who say that they do not believe in God are really saying that they do not believe in their definition of God. Elsewhere this author has defined God as everything that exists – that includes everything that we can perceive in the universe as well as everything that we cannot perceive. Scientists have speculated the presence of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. There can be much more that they have not even thought of yet in the universe and beyond. If God is defined as everything that exists then there is no question in not believing in God. Differences will however arise in our views about the powers of God. Some regard the universe as dead matter with no intelligence of its own. In their view, living entities or computer like machines only can possess intelligence. Others may believe that the universe as a whole also possesses life with its own intelligence and consciousness and that our own individual consciousness is only a small part of this Infinite Universal Consciousness. This author is an adherent of this latter view.

Within our universe live a variety of life forms. Some believe that only earth has life. This is not only unlikely but also impossible if we fully appreciate the number of stars and planets that exist in our universe. Our sun is just one of the innumerable stars that populate the universe. There must exist much life elsewhere in the universe if it can exist on our planet. There is nothing spectacularly unique about our planet dictating that life can only exist on earth.

Different life forms display different degrees of evolution. Within a given species too there are differences in the levels of evolution between varieties. At the present time, humans appear to be the most evolved of the various species that exist on earth. However human life is by no means the limit of evolution. In the past, when the humanoid apes were the most evolved of species on earth, they probably presumed themselves to be the most evolved of beings in the universe (provided they were capable of thinking) just as humans think of themselves at the present time. In the opinion of this author, human life is not the limit of evolution. In other parts of the universe there are other beings that are far more evolved. We may regard these latter beings as gods and goddesses. Even amongst humans there are differences in the degree of evolution. The most evolved humans may be regarded as god-like. It is a different matter that we do not run into gods and goddesses at the corner store every now and then. The universal intelligence, for a good reason, has sets the stars so far apart that travel between planets is no easy matter. However, although physical travel is near impossible, telepathic or psychic travel need not be so. Science knows little about this latter form of travel at the present time. It may be something that will be discovered in future. However mystics exist, who claim to have traveled to other planets psychically. An ordinary human being too may experience some such travel for brief periods under the influence of certain drugs. A second method of travel from one planet to another is through the journey of a soul rather than a physical body. Ordinarily, most humans do not recall anything of the birth of their souls in previous lives. However there are evolved mystics who claim that they can recall their previous lives. Since the soul is not a physical thing restricted by physical laws, it should be possible for souls to take birth in other planets in the universe as well. The most evolved of souls may even do this by design. If this were the case then it is persons like Jesus Christ who took birth on this planet by conscious design for a spiritual mission. The avatars of Hinduism are also held by many Hindus as divine personalities or gods that take birth on earth from time to time in order to eradicate evil from earth and help its inhabitants in their evolutionary journey.

The purpose of life appears to be a relentless journey of evolving into better life forms. Such an evolution takes place through the experiences and knowledge gained over various births. Normally, we do not recall the details of earlier births, but the knowledge gained through various lives shapes our habits, inclinations and intelligence. There may be temporary setbacks in the evolutionary process where souls fall to lower levels of evolution. The general trend however appears to be a journey forward. It may take a human millions of years before he or she can evolve to a god-like species. However, because humans are capable of intelligent behavior, some individuals may hasten their evolutionary process through certain practices that are usually characterized as spiritual processes by present day humans.

One mark of evolution is the desire to serve others as opposed to serving one’s own needs only. Animals do not think of philanthropy. Amongst humans, there are some who spend varying amounts of time and energy on serving nature, wild life or other humans. The very process of serving others assists a life form in evolving further. Contrary to this, selfish behavior usually leads to becoming less evolved. In scriptures or visionary descriptions gods and angels are shown as beings that are usually engaged in some form of service. The foremost of the Hindu gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are said to play leading roles in creation. Indeed even modern humans have begun to play some role in creation by genetically modyfying life forms.

A second characteristic of evolved beings appears to be their enhanced ability to bring about change. Amongst humans too, it is the most evolved who effect the greatest change. Indeed it appears to be a wise strategy on the part of the Universal Intelligence to grant the most powers to beings that are capable of using that power responsibly. Imagine what would have happened if monkeys had learnt how to build nuclear bombs. They would have probability destroyed much of earth by now. However service or philanthropic activity does not imply a sacrifice of one’s own peace of mind, health or life style. If one were to do that then one would loose the capability to do good. Thus evolved beings usually lead a comfortable and good life-style even though it may not be an ostentatious one. Many eastern spiritual monasteries exist in some of the most beautiful locations in the Himalayas where both the air and water are amongst the purest anywhere on earth. It is true that at these remote locations many of the sensory pleasures most humans care for are missing. However, the evolved spiritualists who inhabit these monasteries are souls that have outgrown the sensory pleasures that an average human cares for. Instead they have the things that matter most - fresh air, sunshine, pure water, natural beauty, security, freedom and loving company.

Express your love for nature by growing a tree

2008-11-26T03:43:00.000-08:00

Nature provides all our essential needs. While we live, we usually end up causing some damage to nature. This is especially true of modern life that is heavily dependant on the use of energy. Large amounts of carbondioxide are released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. However we can compensate for some of this damage by growing some trees. As they grow, trees absorb carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. Growing a tree expresses our love for Nature. The district of Nainital is a very green district full of handsome trees. Many residents of this district love trees and protect them while planting new ones whenever they can. I presently live in a dry province called Rajasthan. Here most residents do not care much for trees. They rarely plant any but are quick to cut down a tree that has come up on its own. Perhaps this is their nature and that is why they have been born in a dry district so that they learn to appreciate the value of trees.

Perhaps there is some space in or near your home to plant some trees. A fruit tree is an excellent addition to a home garden whereas flowering trees are great for a street. One can even plant trees in the countryside on a weekend trip. Right now it is winter in the northern hemisphere. This is not a time to palnt a tree outdoors if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. However, tree saplings can be developed at this time in an indoor flower pot. It might be just ready for planting outside in spring.

Proof of God

2008-11-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

This brief and simple article will prove beyond doubt that God exists. Even if a person is an atheist he will believe without the slightest degree of doubt, that God exists after reading this article. The most skeptical of person will be unable to doubt the existence of God after reading this article. In fact the proof is only two sentences long. This article further proves that God is our eternal father. Before we begin to prove the existence of God, we need to be absolutely clear about what we mean by God. Different persons have different interpretations and understanding of what God means.

God is defined in this article as everything that exists. Since everything exists, therefore God exists.

The last two sentences are the required proof of God. Since you are a part of everything there is, you are a part of God, just as everybody else is. We know that our universe is immensely large, even infinite and contains many mysteries. It is not possible for a finite human mind to understand or know all the mysteries of this infinite universe. Therefore we will never know our eternal father God fully as a human. However, we can be sure that our universe exists as long as we are sure that we exist. Hence we need never doubt about the existence of God again or the fact that we are a part of Him. Our body is born from a portion of the matter of this universe; hence God is our eternal father. Our bodies are a part of this universe; hence we are in our Father, just as our Father is in us. All this is really so simple that no thinking person can disagree with it. It is a different matter that we do not know everything about everything that exists. It is impossible to know that fully, and therefore we can never know God fully. However there is no doubt that our bodies as well as those of our children are born out of the sum total of matter in this universe. One day we will die. If we are born again then that birth too will be out of the universe. Hence God is our eternal father.

Some persons believe that human and animal bodies are merely a collection of matter with a brain that is also a material construction like the computer. These persons may not believe that humans have a soul, nevertheless they cannot contest that there bodies are a part of the universe ad hence they cannot contest the fact that God is their original source or eternal Father.

Some other persons believe that life has something more than matter. It has a spirit that is something non-material and that it is because of this spirit that they possess emotions, feelings and things like free will that allows them to make choices. Moreover since this spirit is non-material it need not die with the death of our physical bodies. Persons who believe in a spirit or soul, therefore frequently believe in an after life as well. However whatever the components of our body they are components of this universe, therefore believing or disbelieving in a soul do not change the fact that God exists and that we are a part of Him. We are in our Father and our Father is in us, to be precise.

Many persons who believe in the spirit believe that our spirit is a part of the Universal Spirit or God, Who according to our definition is the Spirit of Everything there is i.e. the part of universe we cannot see through a scientific or material experiment, just as we cannot see our own finite spirit through a scientific experiment. Nevertheless, they believe that just as we love our children, the Almighty God loves us because we are His children. All life is.

Of Gods and Goddesses

2008-11-12T20:49:00.000-08:00

In modern times most humans who believe in God believe that God is formless. He is the infinite power that has created the universe and supervises all processes that take place in it. Concepts like male and female are not applicable to the Infinite Almighty. However since ancient times humans worshipping God have tried to relate to the almighty in a physical finite form. The form in most cases a male or a female. The origin of the forms of God is lost in history but they are undoubtedly a combination of divine visions of the devout combined with imagination of the devout and the artists who have rendered these images as paintings or sculptures. The mythology associated with these Gods in also a result of these two causes.
A person may wonder what is the value in worshipping God in a form that is at least in part a result of myth and imagination. However when a devotee realizes that God is infinite, formless and beyond comprehension, yet out of his divine grace he may be approached through a finite human representation, then praying to a finite and even imaginary conception of God has spiritual merit. The extent of such merit depends entirely on the attitude and perception with which the devotee approaches his or her favorite divine image. If the power that charges the god or goddess, one prays to, is the single Infinite Almighty Consciousness one may derive greater spiritual satisfaction. This spiritual satisfaction may be greater than that of another person who attempts to approach God as formless and who is not able to develop any significant relationship with God because of his or her abstract conceptualization.
Amongst the major world religions, the Hindu religion, at least in its traditional form, continues to worship the Almighty in Various finite conceptions of Gods and Goddesses. A devout Hindu regards all of the diverse forms as a representation of the same single Almighty God. Two of the forms in which the Almighty is visualized in Hinduism are the Lord Shiva and the Goddess Parvati. Lord Shiva is regarded as a form of the Almighty father of the Universe. The Goddess is regarded as a part of Lord Shiva. According to mythology, the Lord created her from his own self in order to create the male and female principles in the universe. Lord Shiva is worshipped by Hindus in the form of a holy sage as Shiv Shankar or as a dancing principle as the four armed male Shiva Natraja or even as a somewhat abstract form as the male procreating principle represented by the male sexual organ – the ShivLing. The forms and names in which the Primal Goddess is worshipped are numerous in Hinduism. The Naini Devi of Nainital is just one of the many forms of this eternal primal Goddess. Lord Shiva is often portrayed in the company of a Bull, a symbol of male power The Goddess on the other hand is often accompanied by tamed lions who probably represent her power and ability of conquering evil.
The origin of the forms of Lord Shiva and His Consort Goddess are lost in History. Their images have been found in the earliest human civilizations. One such is the very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement in southern Anatolia, a province in central Turkey, dating from around 7500 B.C.E. for the lowest layers. First discovered in 1958, the Çatalhöyük site was brought to worldwide attention by British archaeologist James Mellaart's excavations between 1961 and 1965. These revealed this section of Anatolia as a center of advanced culture. In the earlier layers of the mound female figures of a goddess are accompanied by a male either bearded (that is, mature) and seated on a bull or youthful and riding a leopard. Leopards accompany the female and sometimes she is shown giving birth. An enthroned figure flanked by felines was found in a grain bin in Shrine. These figures are probably some of the earliest human representations of Lord Shiva and His goddess Consort. A research paper by Miriam Robbins Dexter, of the University of California at Los Angeles discusses the ‘Great Mother’ goddess as she evolved in prehistoric and early historic Anatolia, her movements throughout Asia Minor, her transmission to Greece and Rome, and her worship later throughout the ancient world. She has been worshipped under the names of Kubaba, Cybele, Nana and Nainaia in the ancient world. In modern times she is worshipped as Naini Devi the Goddess of the Nainital District of India.

Naini Devi

2008-11-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

Although all Gods and Goddesses represent the same divine force, a single God or Goddess may be known by many different names. They appear in many different forms to devotees. The special name of the Goddess whose temple stood from ancient times on the banks of the Naini Lake in the Himalayas is Naini Devi. Her temple stands on the lakeside in Nainital even today. However, the image of the Goddess as well as the temple is not the original one. The earlier temple was destroyed in a landslide in the late nineteenth century. The present temple is a reconstruction. Another temple of the Goddess stands on a hillside that can be reached by a ropeway.
Different devotees recognize the goddess in different ways i.e. as Nanda Devi, Goddess Durga, Naina Devi, Kassar Devi, Goddess Nana, Cybele etc. All of these names and descriptions are valid, since they are the different forms of the same Goddess. However, as Naini Devi the Goddess becomes the unique and special Goddess of Nainital because she is probably not known by that name anywhere else in the Himalayas or the world. It is said that the Goddess destroys evil and promotes goodness. She destroys visitors or residents of Nainital devoted to lies, hatred, corrupt income and evil who are unable to change their ways, but those who aspire for love and truth are ever protected by her, whatever be their race or religion, and she fills their life with peace, happiness and prosperity.
Naini Devi is also known as Naini Mata or the Mother Goddess. All life emerges from a combination of matter and spirit. Our physical fathers and mothers are the source of our physical bodies. They change from lifetime to lifetime as we acquire different bodies. However our soul or spirit remains the same through our reincarnations. God is the eternal source of our spirit. The eternal God is formless and neither male nor female. This is difficult for the embodied soul to fully understand. Therefore, we may visualize our eternal source as a father or mother or both. Hindu’s view the eternal father as the Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu or the Lord Siva and the divine mother as the Goddess Parvati, Durga etc. Naini Devi is the form and name of the eternal Mother Goddess in Nainital. In mythology she is the consort of Lord Siva as the mountain Goddess Parvati. The Goddess Naini is the mother goddess that reigns supreme in Nainital. She is the mother Goddess of all persons who have resided in the district, especially during their childhood. She is also the mother Goddess of any human who approaches her with love and devotion.

Nainital

2008-08-14T03:13:00.001-07:00

Nainital Town is a beautiful lake resort that nestles amongst seven hills in a lush green valley full of wild flowers and evergreen trees, at a height of 1938 metres. A Britisher by the name of Lord Barren was so enamored by it that he sold off his sugar business and came and built a home here in 1841. In time a town came up here and it was a favorite haunt of the British for as long as they were in India, until 1947. The surrounding area called the district of Nainital is just as beautiful and is dotted with lakes. Nainital is also spiritually very vibrant. The town itself has a temple of an ancient Goddess and the surrounding district is populated with the ashrams and abodes of several holy men. More about the Goddess and one of the well known holy personalities that appeared in this district has been described in this blog.

The Goddess of Nainital

2008-07-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

A distinguishing feature of Hinduism is the existence of Numerous Gods and Goddesses. This is so even though Hindus believe firmly that there is only one God in the universe Who pervades everything and that there is nothing else besides him. To a person not familiar with Hinduism this monotheism appears contradictory to the polytheistic practices of Hindus. However, to a devout Hindu there is no contradiction. In Hindu philosophy it is believed that the infinite eternal Supreme may act through any finite being in the universe in order to carry out the functions of the universe or to communicate with a devotee. A devotee may regard the Infinite in a particular finite form possessing defined attributes and a chosen name in order to establish a tangible relationship with the Infinite and formless God of the Universe. The Bhagavat Gita (Or Gita in short), one of the most highly regarded scriptures of Hinduism explains this in verses 3-5 of chapter 12 as follows“ Those who controlling all their senses and even minded towards all, devoted to doing good to all creatures constantly adore the Supreme, even as present in their very selves, the unthinkable, all pervading, eternal unmanifest and immutable Supreme spirit they come to me. However the path of those who have their mind attached to the formless unmanifest is rugged for identification with the formless is attained with difficulty by a consciousness centered in a body possessing form and attributes. “When a Hindu chooses his or her favorite form of the Divine Infinite, it may be one that is characterized by particular benefits that the chosen God can grant to a disciple. Thus the Goddess Laxmi is regarded as a Goddess that can shower wealth on a devotee if pleased. The Bhagvat Gita does not regard highly a devotee that approaches the Divine Spirit with the aim of securing particular worldly benefits. This is explained in verses 21 to 23 of the Gita as follows:“Whatever Celestial form a devotee seeks to worship with faith the Eternal being stabilizes the faith of that devotee in that very form. If he worships and desires an enjoyment from this deity, he obtains that enjoyment if it pleases the Eternal Being. However the enjoyment gained by such persons of limited intelligence is perishable. The worshippers of Gods attain the Gods, whereas the worshippers of the eternal supreme spirit attain the eternal supreme spirit.”Thus it appears that although Hinduism as expounded in the Gita supports the practice of approaching the Eternal Supreme being through various Deities possessing various forms, it does not regard this practice as the best if it is associated with achieving some worldly gain. Elsewhere the Gita has explained that the best devotee is one who approaches the Divine out of wisdom and love only and not for the attainment of any gain or alleviating any suffering. The Divine can see that on His own and grant a devotee unasked anything that is necessary for his or her welfare.There is full freedom in Hindu practice to choose any particular God or Goddess for worship. It could be a single God or it could also be many since all represent different aspects of the same Infinite Supreme Being. The eternal Supreme Being is neither male nor female but the Gods who are a part of the physical universe are either male or female and a Hindu may choose either a male or female representation of God as per his or her inclination. The various forms and attributes of the innumerable Gods and Goddesses have been handed down through the ages. The origin of some is not known whereas some have been due to the visions of saintly seers. In this respect new forms of Gods and Goddesses can and do constantly emerge. When a God and Goddess is a historical personality there is likely to be a great deal of history and mythology associated with that God or Goddess. Some Deities such as Shankar, Krishna, Rama and Hanuman and the Goddess Durga are widely worshipped whereas there also exist deities that are worshipped in a single village consisting of a few hundred people only. In many cases a single God or Goddess may possess many different forms and names particularly if the God or Goddess is an elevated one close to the Infinite. Thus the God Vishnu possesses many names and avatars and so does the Goddess Durga. Some forms of the Goddess are gentle and others fearful. The Goddess takes on a fearful form when conquering great evil forces of the world. The Sanskrit text Durga Saptashati by the sage Markandya describes many of the forms and names of the Goddess.The scriptures describes the eternal Supreme being who may be related to the Divine name Om or Shiva existed as neither male nor female at the beginning of creation. He then produced the female principle in order to propagate the physical universe through the union of males and females. The female entity was produced from the very being of the male creator much in the same way as eve was produced from a rib of Adam in Semitic mythology. It is interesting to note that modern scientific studies have established that the males of all species carries both the male and female, x and y, chromosome whereas the female carries the female y chromosome only.The original female divinity, the Goddess Durga has the position of a female consort of Lord Shiva. Both Siva and Durga have appeared in various forms and continue to do so in order to create the physical universe. They may also act through other beings including humans who worship these divinities and surrender their free will to them. When such worship and surrender is total, the human acquires supernatural powers and may be regarded as a physical representation of the chosen deity. Thus it is held by some that Shankar was a sage who meditated for several years on mount Kailash of the Himalayas to the extent that he lost his own individual consciousness to Lord Siva. He is therefore known as Shiv Shankar and his is the form in which many Hindu’s worship the infinite formless creator. As Shiv Shanker the primal Goddess Durga too took a human form and became his consort.
In the Nainital District of the Himalayas the form the eternal Goddess is worshipped in is as Naina Devi of Nainital or as Nanda Devi in the higher reaches of the district. She is known by other names and forms as well such as Kasar Devi or as Nando Devi. Nanda Devi is believed to have reincarnated several times in the district over the ages in various communities that came to live in the district and often had the same or similar name even in her human reincarnation. The origin of Goddess worship in Nainital district dates back to around the beginning of this millennium. The first mention of Naina Devi in human history is as the Goddess Nana in ancient Sumeria.A diplomatic treaty signed May 12th, 1895, renewed and confirmed in Paris in 1900 by the Shah of Persia, accorded to France the exclusive right to carry out archeological excavations over the whole extent of the Persian Empire. M. Jacques de Morgan was appointed Delegate-General of Antiquities in Persia, with a special mission to carry on the researches at Susiana. M. De Morgan, accompanied by a number of colleagues, arrived at the site of the ruins of Susa on the 16th of December 1897, and commenced work there. The remains discovered by them consist of immense numbers of inscribed bricks covered with cuneiform writing and of works of art.As to the inscriptions in the Elamite language, over a thousand were brought to the Louvre in Paris. They are on slabs of stone, on blocks that have served as sockets for doors, and yet more are inscribed with a stylus on bricks. Dr. Scheil has deciphered these. About B.C. 2280 the king of Susa, Kudur-Nakhunta, affected the conquest of Mesopotamia and decorated his capital with the spoils of the towns of Chaldae. Among these was the statue of the goddess Nana, which he caused to be transported from Uruk to Susa. During the twelfth century B.C. The kings of Nineveh became the most powerful rulers of this part of the world. They were the dominating power in Chaldæ and constituted themselves protectors of the country against the incursions of the Susians. Under Sargon, king of Assyria [B.C. 722-705] and his successors there began a mighty struggle, which ended with the ruin of Susa by Assurbanipal in B.C. 647. The king of Nineveh, relating his conquests in the land of Elam, records that sixteen centuries earlier Kudur-Nakhunta, king of Susa, had invaded Mesopotamia, and carried away the statues of the Chaldæn gods, more especially the image of the great goddess Nana, which thus remained prisoner until he, Assurbanipal, went to her rescue. (Assyrian Discoveries: An Account of Explorations and Discoveries on the Site of Nineveh, during 1873 and 1874 (Paperback) by George Smith, Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, ISBN 1402155719)By the beginning of the present millennium the worship of Goddess Nana appears to have spread through a very large part of the old world including Hungary, Armenia, Persia, Central Asia and South Asia. In India the worship of Goddess Nana appears to have been introduced first by the Kassites deported from Persia by the Assyrians and later perpetuated by the Kushanas. A rock inscription seven kilometers from Almora in Nainital District estimated to date to second century B.C. pays homage to the Goddess of the Kassites – Kasar Devi or Nana. The Kushanas recognized Nana as the Goddess with the lion and as the consort of Lord Shiva as depicted on their coinage. The Kushana empire (First to third century) stretched from central Asia to northwestern India covering the Himalayan regions as well as much area to the south and north of the city of Ujjain including present day Uttaranchal. The Kushanas were of central Asian mongoloid origin and it is probably partly because of this reason that the northwestern tribes of Himalayas display partial Mongol features. The reverse of Kushan coins is a space reserved for gods and goddesses, often symbols of dynastic power and authority. On the reverse of Sapadbizes' coins there is an image of a lion along with the Mesopotamian goddess Nana. The image of the lion is drawn from the reverse of the coins of the Greek kings. It is certain that it represents a lion in this case because in the Kushan period Nana is often represented with a lion. There are no earlier examples of Nana on central Asian coins but after Sapadbizes she appears on coins of several Kushan rulers. Though most coins use the simpler spelling Nana, some of Kanishka’s coins use the legend Nanaia. The spelling Naina has been introduced over the past two centuries when the district of Naninital came under British rule. On the coins of Huvishka and Kanishka II/III the Goddess appears seated on a lion. The early Guptas (Chandragupta) continued the use of this image on their coins. Huvishka stuck coins with Greek, Hindu, Zoroastrian and Bactrian deities. Some of his rare coin issue shows Goddesses Uma and Durga with her vehicle Lion. The representation of Nana with Shiva on some of Huvishka's coins is significant. It shows that the Kushana Hindu priests recognized Nana as the primal Goddess and consort of Shiva. Later Kushana rulers (VasudevaI, KanishkaII, Vashishka) used either Shiva or Lakshmi in their coinage.A kasssite tribe the Katyuris appear to have ruled the Himalyan region of Kumaon since ancient times both during the Kushan and Gupta period as well as later. Villages of Taleshwar, Tillari and Deora about two hundred kilometers from Nainital have archeological remains and inscriptions of Katyuri Kings. The Goddess Naina is believed by some to have reincarnated as a princess of the Chand dynasty of the region. She was worshipped as an avatar of Goddess Durga or Naina. A buffalo killed her on her way to her in-laws soon after her worship began as a goddess to neutralize the Karma of a previous birth when the Goddess had killed a demon who had taken the form of a buffalo. The highest peak of the region is regarded as her abode and named after her.The Naina Devi temple site in Nainital is recognized by some as the spot where both eyes of the Devi fell during her avatar as Sati. However The Nainital region is not the only region recognized for this. Another spot more famous for that is in Himachal Pradesh north of Anandpur Sahib where a huge temple of Naina Devi exists. In 1880 when Nainital District was under British rule a huge landslide took place destroying the ancient temple. Amarnath Shah reconstructed the temple in 1883. The most famous temple of the Goddess with the name Nanda is in Almora.The Goddess of Nainital has been the patron Goddess of some of the greatest civilizations seen ay mankind for over four thousand years. It is not surprising then that the District of Nainital where She presently reigns supreme. The present Uttarakhand Government must do its best to preserve the glory of this district as such and the author of this article is prepared to assist that effort in any humble way that he can. This article is a small contribution in that direction.

Who was Babaji or Baba Haidakhan?

2008-07-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Himalayan Hill Ranges are dotted with lakes, rivers and springs bearing pure sweet water. Here the air is fresh, crisp and full of life giving oxygen. Certainly if a region has to be chosen as the abode of Gods on our planet, it would have to be the hills, valleys and caves of the Himalayas. The Himalayan ranges are dotted by Monasteries and Ashrams (Hindu Monasteries). Local inhabitants call the region Dev Bhumi or the abode of Gods. This region to the north of India has been marked by the appearance of saints and divine personalities since times immemorial. Many saints have been born in this region including the Great Buddha. Others born elsewhere have spent numerous years meditating in the Himalayan ranges.A youthful saint of about twenty years, who later became famous as Baba Haidakhan appeared in 1970 in the Kumaon foothills of the Indian Himalayas in the district of Nainital. Baba or Babaji is a general term used for saintly personalities in India. Often Baba’s do not disclose their place of birth or origin and are simply known by the name of the place they appear in. Thus Baba Haidakhan was called Baba Haidakhan because he first appeared near the village of Haidakhan and later built a well-known Ashram at the site. When a Baba stays in more than one place, the same Baba is called by different names by different people. The city of Jaipur where this author presently lives is said to have been constructed due to the inspiration given a few centuries ago by a saintly Baba to the King of Jaipur State (Jai Singh). The Baba was called Tadkeshwar Baba because he was found meditating under Tad trees (a variety of Palm). The same Baba probably lived at other places at different times (including the Himalayas) and would have been known by other names at such other places. There is a practical reason for Baba’s not discussing their human origins that this author discovered for himself during an experimental stint as a Baba earlier this year.Becoming a saintly personality requires a human to keep his mind focused on a divine center (image or word) through meditation and away from ones own ego, name and desires. Talking of one’s origin draws the focus away from this meditative state back into the gross human state. Therefore, asking such saintly persons of their origin is not appropriate. It may distract them. It produces a meaningless answer. Baba Haidakhan was no exception. He gave different replies to different people. The fact that he was a saintly being is of no doubt since thousands witnessed his miraculous powers. Even if we are to assess him from a purely human perspective it is a miracle that a youth of twenty, with no money or resources, apparently little or no worldly education can inspire such a worldwide following as Babaji did during his brief lifetime. Babaji supervised the construction of huge ashrams and temples stretching over hundreds of acres in remote inaccessible Himalayan locations. This author lived briefly at the Haidakhan ashram this summer and noted that the quality of construction though simple meets the best of engineering standards. Thus from a purely human perspective as well the achievements of Babaji were miraculous. His other miraculous powers as described by his devotes can be found in various books and publications about him. There is no doubt in this author’s mind as well as those of others who have known Babaji that he was indeed a saintly personality of the highest order. Controversy however remains as to his origin and the type of divine personality that he was.Some claim that Babaji was the immortal Babaji as described in the book - autobiography of a yogi. Others claim that he was a reincarnation of another Baba who lived in Nainital District and died in 1922. Many claim him to be an avatar of Lord Siva – the Hindu interpretation of the divine force that supervised creation and will also supervise its dissolution. Some regard him as merely human because he died in their presence on the 14th of February 1984 and on occasions displayed human childlike tendencies. Babaji himself gave different answers to different people at different times saying yes to all of the above answers on one occasion or another. All of the answers can be true if one understands spirituality from the point of view of saints as explained next.In Hindu spiritual science it is regarded that the individual soul is in fact a part of the universal soul but functions as separate because of individual desires, experiences, ego and for the fulfillment of karma (retribution) born out of the individual free will. The individual soul takes birth numerous times in numerous life forms including animal or human ones until the karma and desires are exhausted. The soul then looses its individual identity and merges in the Infinite from whence it arose. Beings such as humans that are capable of reason and logical thinking can hasten this process through practices such as meditation and chanting etc. A human can affect the state for brief or long periods of time partially. When submergence and destruction of the individual karma, desires and ego is complete, the soul is said to achieve union with the infinite and is not reborn again. Buddha is said to have achieved this final liberation.If a human is able to suppress his or her individual desires through meditation temporarily while still alive, one may ask who is it that is acting in that body. Who is using the same human hands, eyes, legs, mouth etc. if the personal ego has been banished? Here the concept of surrender comes in. Through one’s individual free will one may submit ones body to divine forces for their use. Thus at different times different divine souls may use (or occupy in a manner of speaking) the same body. In this case the saintly person will give different answers at different times – all true. At times when not in meditation, the same person may become distinctly human displaying human weaknesses. It is the opinion of this author that most saintly personalities are in precisely this state. Thus Babaji too was many different personalities while he lived, and all his answers were absolutely truthful even though contradictory in purely human terms. The virtue of truth was one upheld highly by Babaji along with those of love and simplicity. Perhaps the best answer that Babaji gave about himself is the following: -“I am no one and nothing, this body has no meaning (being a transient and temporary vehicle for the soul). It is here to serve people. I am the mirror in which you can see yourself.”Babaji was also the mirror in which other divine personalities including the Goddess Naina Devi, Nainital Baba and Lord Shiva as imaged by Hindus reflected from time to time.

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