Haidakhan
Babaji, simply called "Babaji" or Bhole Baba by his students and
devotees, was a teacher who appeared in northern India(Uttarakhand)
and taught publicly from 1970 to 1984.
Life
Manifestation
According to “The Teachings of Babaji” Haidakhan Babaji
“appeared” in June 1970 in a cave at the foot of the Kumaon Mount Kailash,
across the river Gautama Ganga, near a remote village called Hairakhan, in the
Nainital District of Uttrakhand, India. His followers maintain that Haidakhan
Babaji is a Mahavatar – “a human manifestation of God, not born from woman.”
Meditation on Kumaon Mount Kailash
It is reported that starting in late September 1970
Haidakhan Babaji spent forty-five days meditating in a small temple on the top
of the Kumaon Mount Kailash “without leaving his seat.
Ashrams
In September 1971, Haidakhan Babaji, in a sworn testimony,
convinced the judge of the court in Haldwani that he was the “Old Hairakhan Baba,” thought to be active in
that region in the years 1860-1922, and that he had the right to use the ashrams in Kathgaria and Haidakhan.
Travels
In 1971 Haidakhan Babaji started travelling across India,
proclaiming his Message, performing sacred ceremonies, such as yagna,
and attracting more devotees. This included celebrities, such as Shammi Kapoor, and gradually more
Westerners.
Mahasamadhi
Though some of his followers believed he was immortal,
Haidakhan Babaji died (his followers prefer the term “left his body” or
“entered mahasamadhi”) on 14 February 1984, of what
appeared to be a heart failure. He was buried in Haidakhan Ashram. This is how
Babaji foretold and explained his death:
My body is meant to dry up one day. This body is nothing; it
is here only to serve people. Even my own body has come only to perform a duty
to serve all human and all living things.
Teachings
Sanatan Dharma
Although worshipped according to local customs, Haidakhan
Babaji explained that he came to restore Sanatan Dharma rather than Hindu
Dharma (Hinduism). Sanatan Dharma can be understood as
a primordial religion reflecting natural laws established at the beginning of
the Creation. This is how Vishnu Dutt Shastriji, a scholar and one of Babaji's
followers, explained Sanatan Dharma:
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He (Babaji) is not preaching any new religion. He has come
to preach the religion, which occurred at the time of Creation, and that is the
Sanatan Dharma - the Eternal Religion. He has come to preach the Sanatan Dharma
only.
We can determine the date from which every religion started.
For example, the Muslim religion was started by Mohammed 1400 years ago and
this is recorded in their scriptures. Christianity started with birth of
Christ, 2000 years ago. Before Christ and Mohammed existed, the world and its
people were living. The Sanatan Dharma has been followed for thousands and
millions of years and no one is able to trace the date it began.
You may try to understand this spontaneous religion this
way: the dharma (law or nature) of fire is to burn; the dharma of water is to
be wet; the air has to blow. Can one tell on what day the fire started to burn,
the water to be wet, and the air to blow? No one can say.
Sanatan Dharma is like a great ocean. From that ocean, each
country has dug canals according to their needs and purposes. But canals cannot
give total satisfaction as the ocean gives complete bliss. The Lord
