The Kriya Yoga as taught by Babaji or Baba Haidakhan

A view of the plains  from the road to Haidakhan

NOTE: Some Modern Yoga practitioners have given the name Kriya Yoga to a different set of practices than its original meaning. Although these latter practices are perhaps beneficial, the author does not know much about them but is thoroughly aware about the original practices.  It may be noted that there is no mention of Kriya Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita and that its first recorded mention is in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Kriya yoga as advocated by Babaji conforms to its original unmodified definition as expounded by Patanjali. Modern students of yoga must become clear about the differences in order to avoid confusion or misdirection.  For more on this see a separate blog post at: 

http://ashokmalhotra.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/truth-about-yoga/

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 or you might find a link in the left side bar. 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. Reverend Robert  the principal of Sherwood College, the leading school of Nainital, who knew and associated with Babaji before his public ministry began, said,

"The Language of God is silence, Everything else is at best an approximation." 

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 too. Kriya yoga was defined very briefly by the ancient sage and leading exponent and founder 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,  work and discipline, knowing thyself and loving God by depending and submitting to Him. The treatise of Patanjali on yoga is one of the few ancient Sanskrit texts that has survived latter day interpolations and editing because of its brevity. However it is an advanced text not easily understood by most. It contains absolutely no reference or recommendation to rituals, gurus, caste, worship of numerous gods etc. as found in other Hindu literature.It is a work of pure spiritual science.

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 work instead and follow the discipline of the ashram. 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. Any deviation from these virtues is the cause of ignorance in beings. 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.

In the experience of this author as well as per recommendations of spiritual masters whatever the chosen word it is unsafe if it does not refer to God or a divine spirit, lest it leads to unholy possessions :) Moreover it must not interfere with even, slow and smooth breathing in its choice and pronunciation. Scientific studies that have shown that the choice of nonsense words are as effective are perhaps right - until the subject jumps over a cliff :)

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 (he organized rituals from other religions too at times in the Ashram for demonstration) or no ritual towards that end if he wished but focus on the almighty through Jap or chanting through chosen holy words and/or observation of breathing is a great aid.

To summarize the essential Kriya Yoga of Babaji put very briefly is this: 

Embrace Love, truth and Simplicity to the extent possible; do your work and the right thing the best you can; love God and place your trust in Him. 

The message of Babaji was very simple because he is also known as Bhole Baba i.e the Simple Baba. if you are looking for something complex and impressive perhaps even to fool others or get fooled with yourself, or as an escape or magic from what really needs to be done for evolution and happiness, then you are knocking on the wrong door. It is as also another evolved saint Kabir has said in old Hindi:

Pothi Pothi pathat ke, Pandit Hoe na Koe
Dhai Akshar prem ke Pathe jo Pandit hoi

Which translates as:

By reading volumes upon volumes no one becomes a  philosopher
Two and a half words of love  if  understood properly are more than enough

Babaji of Nainital

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. If viewed from a Hindu perspective, this author regards Babaji in spiritual terms as a son of Lord Shiva, a Hindu visualization of the Heavenly Father and the Goddess of Nainital - Naini Mata whom he called Haidakhandeshwari ( goddess presiding over Haidakhan) because she led him to Haidakhan in Nainital District for his ministry amongst humans and mothered him there.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.

Just as soon as babaji's body as Baba Haidakhan began to age he decided to hop over to a new younger one in a new birth, to a younger body, an art known to many mystics. He left his present body in 1984 in the arms of a disciple and friend who used to cook for him often and who owns one of the grandest heritage mansions from British times on the road up the hill, just ahead of  the Church, in nearby Bhowali in Nainital District where he lives with his family. A special room in his home with lovely pictures of Babaji is devoted to Babaji that I along with Babaji (??!!) visited in the summer of 2007 and sang songs in praise of our host while he fed us with with choice cashew nuts, almonds and raisins and he along with his wife and daughter requested us repeatedly to stay for dinner. It was a joyous occasion where everyone laughed and smiled.  On the same visit Babaji also took me to the Haidakhan Ashram and kept me in Shatriji's old room for a few days. The spirit of Babaji lives on and is forever at the service of those who loved him, especially in times of dire need as one of the mystic instruments of the Almighty ever engaged in bringing solace to all life, perhaps just as the Bodhisattavas do for Buddhists or more.

Jai Baba ki!

Author's Personal Biographical Notes:

Nand Rani Malhotra, 1988, Jaipur

Reverend Robert Llewyln (http://www.light-for-the-journey.org/?page_id=91) mentioned in this note was a Christian Mystic given to visions who came from a family of Christian Mystics. He was  well known to our family. I have hardly any memories of him but have known about him from my mother . At that time our father was posted away in nearby Nepal working for an Indo-Nepalese trans Nepal highway project and would visit only in vacations. We lived in the care of some army soldiers and a wonderful cook named Hira Lal who made the loveliest of mutton chops on earth that he had learned to make from the wife of a British Brigadier for whom he had worked earlier and who left for England soon after India was freed of British rule. We lived for

Deepak Malhotra, 2013, Spain

several years in a home on the hillside that had a full view of the lovely Naini lake and surrounding hills. I have honored Hira Lal by naming and modeling the cook in my recent novel on him.  At the time Sherwood college situated in Nainital, one of the best known schools of India, admitted students as boarders only but when my mother (Nando, Nand Rani Malhotra) mentioned that she could not afford boarding fees for my elder brother (Deepak Malhotra), Reverend Robert as the Principal of Sherwood College made an exception to the rule and permitted my elder brother who has since lived in UK and  now in Spain  to join as a day scholar. A horse was hired to carry my brother and sister (Mrs. Kiran Chopra) to their schools everyday on the opposite hill.  

Dr. Ashok Malhotra, 1986, Canada

One day when my uncle on a visit (who later became a Brig. in the army) was near the band stand on the flats he discovered that a baby show to select the healthiest and cutest baby of Nainital was on. He rushed home to grab me, even in dirty clothes (there was no time to change) and entered me in the competition, and this author, yours truly, was selected to get the first prize (a story often repeated by my uncle). Perhaps Rev. Llewyln had a hand ( hope not though)in that too. A photo of mine from 1986 is posted on the right. A recent one in a boat on Nainital lake is in a blog post as well as in my profile in the left side bar.  All these are photos at home. Professional ones along with professional bios of me and my younger brother Anoop may be found by searching on wikipedia ( use search term Dr. Ashok Malhotra in google since there are several other ashok malhotra's). Deepak has been a wee bit busy with the ladies and an exploration of wine to get on to wikipedia yet.

Lt. General Anoop Malhotra, 2013

When my younger brother, Anoop Malhotra (now a general) was born in Nainital the Reverend Robert Llewyln gave special blessings. When he heard that the new baby was born as a blue baby with a cord around his neck, he mentioned that Julius Caeser too was born that way and the baby would one day be a General Anoop Malhotra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoop_Malhotra). The power to prophecy is as common a symptom of mystic infection as a high body temperature is of a viral one, so that the most evolved of the lot have been termed as prophets in some parts of the world. It was this author who convinced  father, who usually tended to be obstinate like a bull but gave in this time, that Anoop be permitted to follow his destiny by joining the army rather than a medical doctor that the father wished for instead. Anoop, although not spiritually inclined, had a great fear of spirits and ghosts and this author in his younger days used to have great fun by covering himself in a white sheet and yelling BOO like Casper the little ghost and seeing his younger brother squeal and scream with fright as he yelled out for Mama :)

Reverend Robert's great grandmother was a friend of Queen Victoria. Both secretly shared mystical interests, some of it due to the Mystic Dame Julian of Norwich, the first female  to become an author in the English language. She regarded God not just as a male Father but also a female Mother. Dame Julian also did not uphold the existing Christian interpretation of eternal hell for non-believers, regarding suffering as something that was self limiting in time (as through reincarnation) eventually ending in the good of all souls - All shall be well. There are posts on the Nainital connection of Queen Victoria in this blog. Babaji's spirituality does not call for a change of religion by anyone but demonstrated how spirituality can be restored to it while ignoring the unnecessary latter day additions in that religion. Robert returned to England for good to be by the side of his beloved Dame Norwich in his last days in his present reincarnation, some time after Babaji left for Haidakhan. Books by Robert on mysticism composed in Christian metaphors are available at amazon and other online locations.

The blessings of the gods and goddesses of Nainital continue to this day for this author. During 2009- 2010, this author spent as a director of an educational institute in the wooded foothills of Nainital. Any weekend  the opportunity arose, he would visit Nainital driven comfortably by his driver Shankar provided by the Institute. the first visit would be to the temple of Naini Mata. After that due to Her blessings and through the medium of the senior most official of the region a serviced accomodation would be arranged for this author at a guest room of the most prestigious location not just in Nainital but in all of Kumaon (or at one time in all of the Northern province of India) i.e at Raj Bhavan. The pictures on the cover of this blog show the temple to the left and me standing in front of the Raj Bhavan to the right with the Naini lake in the middle.

The only book on Naini Mata in English has been authored by this blogger. it is available at most major online retailers worldwide, that will show up in a google search with the title 'Naini mata'. The relationship of Baba Haidakhan to Naini Mata has been described in posts on him in this blog. She was his spiritual mother.