My Guru Pilot Baba
Among all great truths, the greatest is humanism — a truth directed toward the refinement of human nature. It is this truth that most surely brings us closer to the Supreme, to Paramatma. This alone can be called true Yoga. Yoga is a truth that enables a person to realize it through direct experience, to come closer to one’s own essence, and to attain enlightenment.
Action carries intention, and it also has an outer manifestation of that intention. Through intention, time assists in the emergence of individuality. Individual consciousness is illumined; it becomes aware of itself and strives toward self-expression. This is the manifested world, the world of living beings — this is God Himself. This process gives a sense of inner power and draws us closer to the subtle world, closer to the boundless. When a person begins to realize what the material world is, what life is, and what maya — the great illusion — is, such a person becomes extraordinary. This is true Yoga: a genuine union between human and nature, action and time, spirituality and illusion, intention and its realization.
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All physical bodies have an immovable center of gravity around which they revolve or toward which they are simply drawn. This center is Shiva, who manifests at times in His own form and at times in the form of Shakti—when He temporarily moves away from the center (Shakti) and when He returns to it (Shiva). This is God: Brahma, Allah.
Within the boundless, a center exists. The subtle expresses its activity within the infinite. Time and action exist, as do mind and movement. It is through movement that consciousness reveals itself.
Every cell, every part of nature is ensouled. Shiva is present everywhere; within every thing resides Brahma. In every thing you will find Allah and see that the Supreme governs even the smallest particle. Every material manifestation is ensouled; it possesses its own consciousness. In the phenomena of the material world, both the spiritual principle (Shiva) and energy (Shakti) are expressed. The same is true of the human being. Every person is Shiva, Brahma, Allah—the Supreme. It is precisely in the human being that Shiva is present, and it is through the human being that the divine energy, Shakti, is manifested.
The realization of one’s true Self brings us closer to the understanding of Truth, which manifests on the outer plane by transforming into words and sounds. When spoken or written, words express this Truth in a manifested form. In this way, a person is able to convey this Truth to others. However, spoken or written words are conditioned by the time and circumstances in which they are uttered or recorded. That is why the truth of one person cannot become the truth of another—unless it arises from the very Center, unless the Higher Truth itself has chosen that person as its own mouthpiece.
All living beings possess a body of their own. Each body occupies a certain position in space, exists in a particular state, moves in a specific manner and at a certain speed, and strives toward self-knowledge. For all living beings, the body is an instrument for knowing the surrounding world, situations, gaining experience, and self-expression. It is through the body that matter and consciousness can be realized. Through the body, we come to know the difference between darkness and light.
If there is no physical body, then nothing exists for it. There is neither the self, nor the surrounding world, nor the Cosmos, nor God. If there is a body, then there is its center, its inner essence, and its development. If there is a body, the sense organs also function. When these processes are active, a person perceives the surrounding world and becomes aware of their own center of gravity. This is how the world of living beings comes to know God.
The body bathes in waves of sensations and emotions, immersing itself in its inner world. The body functions—it sees, hears, reads, writes, and feels. This experience is perceived as the lived process of knowing the external world.
A human being exists in both states. Their thoughts dwell in subtle forms—in words, intentions, and the expression of intentions. Everything connected with a person is built upon this foundation: their past, present, and future.
In the past, present, and future, the body plays a crucial role. Through the physical body, a person becomes aware of these three states. If there is a body, everything exists; if there is no body, nothing exists. I say this from personal experience. I know what it means to exist beyond the limits of one’s body, and what it means to be present within it. I am also familiar with the state in which one fully withdraws into the inner world. If a person is not present simultaneously in both worlds—the outer and the inner—then nothing exists. For the whole world truly belongs to a person only when there is knowledge. To reach a state of maximum awareness is to draw near to enlightenment. And one who has attained this state can truly be called a spiritual being.
It is precisely then that true Yoga takes place—the union within creation, from the subtlest to the boundless, and from the boundless back to the subtlest.
...For the instrument of human seeking is the physical body. In whatever field of activity a person may engage, without true union, without true Yoga, nothing will come of it—they will be unable to understand either the surrounding world or themselves.
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
Hari Babaji (The Guru of Pilot Babaji)
The stone continued for a long time to speak to me in its silent language. I was in a strange state—I felt that the stone was also me. And at that very moment I heard Hari Baba calling me from the cave. I ran to where I had left my clothes. Perhaps the stone was laughing at me, because Hari Baba was also laughing at the entrance of the cave, and the swans by the riverbank were watching me attentively. I tied my clothes in a knot around my waist and went to the cave. Hari Baba was smiling. I felt ashamed, but then Hari Baba abruptly stripped off all his clothes and hurled them onto the floor. Hari Baba said:
– Thoughts and emotions are what dress themselves in various garments. It is thoughts that lead to attachments. It is thoughts that tell us about life and death. The study of the outer and inner worlds is also just a thought. Everything is born of our thoughts—old age and youth, whether you are a man or a woman, shame, love, compassion. In any action, thoughts play the central role. You must master your thoughts. You are man, you are woman, you are society, you are nation. If you feel shame before a nation, before society, before a woman, then you must change your way of thinking. Remember the stone that only recently conveyed a silent message to you. That, too, was you. Although the stone was silent, it was able to affect you with its ideas, because those were also your own thoughts. They were your own thoughts, delivered to you through the stone. You yourself exist in two worlds: the material and the spiritual. Within you there is both the feminine and the masculine.
You will have to climb snow-covered peaks and ask them what your own truth is. You will have to become the flow of a river, rise with the current, descend with it, and endure blows from boulders and small stones. You will have to become a tree, patiently enduring both rainstorms and thunderstorms. You must become an animal fleeing from a predator. You must become a predator chasing its prey. You must become a courtesan awaiting her client. You must become loyal and dependent like a dog, desperate like a thief, proud like a king. You will have to resemble an animal running from mortal danger, and in this way, truly realize the value of life. Only then can something come of you. A true ascetic drinks water at any ghat and inspires others to do the same. In all these situations, it is your own thoughts that will drive you to action. You are naked, but this is nothing other than your own thoughts. Let society insist otherwise—that you cannot be naked. The whole world does not wear clothes. Everything exists solely in your thoughts: creation and destruction, victory and defeat, feelings and emotions. All the knowledge of the world is contained in this fact. Now take your clothes, dress yourself, and look at this world. Look at yourself—have you changed? Has that which was at the very center, at the very core, or anywhere else, changed?
This world is an illusion, Maya. The material world is immersed in matter. A person thinks only of the material—thus opening the door to their own destruction. Human beings, with all their might, destroy nature, guided solely by considerations of their own convenience. People are constantly seeking something new, challenging themselves. The latest achievements in science and technology make humans believe in their own greatness. Yet in doing so, they forget themselves, they forget their true nature.
A person is completely dependent on machines and technology. Yet one can attain anything only by seeking the truth within oneself, by “killing” the old self to give rise to a new life. Otherwise, the five elements will destroy this mortal body. If through yoga a person makes their body immortal, the soul will not need to repeatedly change its location by taking on a new body. After all, life resides in the physical body. Through various actions, whether good or bad, good or bad karma is generated. If a person fully abandons the creation of karmic particles—samskaras—they can achieve liberation and become independent. This is the ultimate truth and the goal of every human being. Yet in the modern world, people often fall into the traps of Maya, and because of this, the flow of their thoughts constantly shifts according to the surrounding world. That is why people are often indecisive. They do not know what to do or what will happen to them tomorrow. They build their lives on hopes and assumptions. People are constrained by society and various circumstances, yet they dream of liberation. However, the disorderly flow of thoughts prevents them from achieving it.
You were mistaken as well, and I always tried to show you the way. I came to you at every critical moment of your life, refreshed your memories, destroyed past karma, and illuminated your path. I explained to you everything that was happening to you. Today you have turned inward, because the immortal words of Gorakhnath Baba have shown you the right path. Being in the presence of this great being, you are able to reflect on yourself and on the stage of spiritual development you have reached. This great yogi comes to people only on rare occasions. He comes to those who have very good karma, or to those with whom he is connected through a past incarnation. This applies to you as well: you have very good karma, and you were connected with Baba in your previous births. Baba Gorakhnath was waiting here for your arrival and urged me to go and bring you to him. The human soul takes up residence in the physical body in order to work out its karma. There exists a teacher, a guru, one who shows the path, and he himself finds his disciples through his divine abilities. Until the disciple attains enlightenment, until he is freed from the burden of his own thoughts, this bond will continue to exist.
The past and the future are a bottomless ocean; they are in eternal motion. They have neither beginning nor end. The present is a small stream, flowing from the past and disappearing into the future. But you must not be lost along with it, you must not drown. Your task is to be one with the flow. Amid the eternal movement, you must remain unshakable, like the Himalayas, steadfast like Mount Sumeru.
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
Avatar Baba (The Guru of Hari Babaji)
…Four days later, Avatar Baba arrived. He had an extraordinary appearance: seven feet tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a turban, with a penetrating gaze. He was Hari Baba’s teacher. Some called him Ramupir, others Avtar Giri, and still others Aughar Baba. It was impossible to tell by his birth whether he was Hindu or Muslim. Everything he did came effortlessly and naturally. He spoke almost every language in the world. He knew everything—from market prices to politics. He did not dwell on the past; he lived in the present, adding the future to it, and he always smiled.
…On the shores of Lake Manasarovar, Avatar Baba instructed me to set out on my own journey. Perhaps Hari Baba wished to stop me, but there was nothing he could do. He stood beside us, smiling. At times he gazed at the mountain rivers; at other times his eyes rested on the snow‑covered Himalayan peaks. Avatar Baba said to Hari Baba: “Let him go. He still has much to accomplish. He must burn his past karma, create no new karma, but only dissolve the old, and allow his inner wholeness to reveal itself.”
…The sound of the rain blended with the roar of the river. In the distance, a faint light glimmered, as if a solitary lamp were burning there. I walked toward the light. Soon I saw a shadow, sitting motionless by a rock. The light was emanating from there. It was Avatar Baba. As I approached, I saw that from his body, thin as a skeleton, radiated an extraordinary glow that illuminated everything around him.
…There, Avatar Baba bought a piece of cloth for me and instructed me to dye it the color befitting a hermit. We spent the entire day wandering through the market. Avatar Baba loved to laugh. He could sit among ordinary people and begin smoking his pipe. Through his conversations, he amused everyone around him.
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
Mahavatar Babaji (Kripacharya)
He (Mahavatar Baba) said to me:
— Every event that takes place in the world is absorbed into the image of Krishna. Krishna is a great yogi, and we all become enlightened through some fragment of the Whole. But Krishna is the Yogi who unites the entire Universe, all art, within Himself. In order to bring yoga closer to people, hHe descended to Earth. If one truly immerses oneself in the study of yoga, one will behold the image of Krishna.
— Krishna creates illusory forms. When He unites with Maya, He appears as an ordinary human being. All of this unfolds right before your eyes, and we too have been witnesses to these events. One should not succumb to doubt, for only faith can show us the true path. We have been convinced of this truth many times. People believe that the stories of Krishna are merely fairy tales and legends.
But in reality, in the art of yoga Krishna surpassed even the gods. If Krishna were removed from the system of yoga, nothing of that system would remain. Krishna is not the product of someone’s sick imagination; he is the crown of the imagination of our entire world. Universal love depends upon him.
Within love there is space for attachment, imagination, and reflection. From these arise emotions, and from emotions—feelings. All of us in this world are embodiments of the great Maya. And the highest stage of the development of the great illusion, Maya, is Krishna Himself. The other side of His image is His living, earthly incarnation. We are all human beings. Therefore, it can be said that we are all akin to Krishna, and Krishna is not merely an object of our worship. Krishna is present in all physical forms. Form attracts us, and it is form that determines our path. Yet all our paths, one way or another, meet at a crossroads. And for each of us, such a crossroads can become a distinct stage on the journey of life. Krishna is our path.
— The role of Krishna in yoga cannot be overestimated. We may regard Him as a simple hero of a love play. What is the difference between Shiva and Krishna? One is tranquil, the other is forever immersed in play. They are two sides of the same coin. Together they form the circle of Advaita, complementing one another. For if there were no play, there would be no stillness. There is a certain need, and there is that which fulfills it. This is what creates the face of our world. Otherwise, we would strive for nothing.
— Go, my blessing is with you. Try to bring to people the message of true yoga.
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
Gorakhnath Baba
The sacred homeland of the great yogi Baba Gorakhnath is Gorakhpur. Here he left the imprint of his presence on every stone and every tree, everywhere he ever set foot. He conquered death. In these lands there stands a temple rising above the surrounding barren expanses. Around it grow trees and vines, filling this lifeless desert with vitality. In beauty and splendor, this temple rivals many palaces. It is intimately connected with the history of Baba Gorakhnath and stands as a symbol of his greatness.
The ultimate truth is peace, within which all movement exists. There everything merges into one. It is a state in which all things dissolve. There is a final boundary that has no name, yet it grants complete peace to every person, to every living being. One may call it time, or give it some other name—an all-consuming time. It overtakes everyone, destroys everything, yet it itself always remains at rest. It is a state of fullness that draws everything inward, like a magnet, like the full moon drawing the waters of the ocean toward itself. One might call it cruel, relentless, merciless. Yet nothing can satisfy it. It absorbs people, gods, and entire nations. And yet it is time that creates the entire Universe, for creation requires destruction, and balance must be maintained.
People in this world are deprived of sound judgment and are carried away by their own selfish desires. They create countless plans; various intentions—often harmful and foolish—constantly arise within them. They try to build their lives upon these illusory plans, striving not to think about the final boundary that will one day put an end to all their intentions.
There is no power, no way to negotiate with this inevitable force. It does not manifest directly, yet it is invisibly present in every moment of life. Just as the Himalayan mountains will one day dissolve through the power of the spiritual practices in which the hermits who live there are immersed, so too will people—entangled in the problems and pleasures of this world—one day dissolve into this all-consuming force.
This entire manifested world is a theater created by time. Death is inexorable; it will spare no one. A person takes pride in strength and youth, thinking they will last forever, and under this illusion commits countless excesses. And yet how exquisitely this world is crafted! Everyone who appears within it becomes enchanted and caught in its snares, and only the final boundary is capable of breaking this enchantment.
Life is a subtle art in which one must know the fine boundary—the line along which one must walk. This line is divine. It shows the path to a righteous life. A righteous life does not mean worshiping wealth and luxury. It is a life without egoism, free from likes and dislikes, free from attachments and desires. Within this divine boundary of which I speak lies the source of future development and the cause of future destruction. There is the fire of the funeral pyre; there is the dissolution of all five fundamental elements. Only there can the mind truly rest. The senses fall asleep, the subtle body becomes still, and the karmic body comes to rest.
For the true yogi, all worldly pleasures lose their attraction. And what joy can there be in this world? In truth, there is no joy in it at all. The entire world was created only to be destroyed one day. A person attains goals, attains wealth, and then suddenly dies. At that moment, all efforts and all experiences become meaningless. All pleasures of this world are temporary. Worldly joys are designed to make a person even more miserable. And yet, despite knowing this, people still fall into the snares of this great illusion, into the nets of māyā.
Why does this endless cycle of birth and death, happiness and suffering occur? What is the purpose of the arising of this physical body? Stop worrying about whether it will remain with you or disappear. Only then will you reach your goal. The true joy of life is to dedicate all your time and thoughts to a single pursuit and to immerse yourself in it completely. For we have been given many means through which we can make our lives beautiful.
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From the lips of the immortal yogi Baba Gorakhnath, these words poured forth:
“First, die. And then live again. There is no need to invent anything new. Forget traditions. Kill yourself. Only by dying can you receive a new life. This is true bliss—supreme bliss. There is no mind, no intellect, no reasoning there; no body and no surrounding world, no birth and no death, no you and no me—only pure bliss.”
“I dissolved in you, and you in me. To enter the world of the One, duality must be left behind. We can unite with this perishable world only when we tear apart the nets of illusion, of māyā, in which we are entangled. What has been torn cannot be joined again. The thread will never be the same; knots will appear upon it. In one place you were broken, and in another you were joined again. This is what it means to die—and, having died, to receive a new life. You have already been plucked like a flower from the branch in the garden of this world. Now you must unite with your own Self. This is true life.”
Gorakhnath said:
“Kapil, make every decision independently of what society dictates to you. There are no traditions or prejudices here. There is no family and no society here. There are no superiors and no subordinates here. There is no creation here, only destruction—so do not begin to create again; stop for a while. Draw a line of cessation. And in your life, always abide in complete peace. There is nothing—no desires, no liberation, no Supreme Being. Simply continue to walk, and let everything else go its own way. The main thing is not to stop, and to rest inwardly within every action.”
“Only I know whether I give you something or take something away. You and I. I and you. When we are separated from one another, these notions arise—giving and taking. But if both are one, then who gives and who receives? Here everything merges into one. You will go, and I will go. Because I am, you exist; because you are, I exist. Just as a river exists and the water within the river exists. The river exists because of the water, and the water because of the river. If one of them does not exist, then neither exists. What remains is only a waterless desert.”
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
Sarveshvarananda
He began to speak: “I am Sarveshvarananda. I was human, I am human, and I will remain human. Yet for 673 years now I have been wandering the world. And even now I have not fully realized all the noble qualities of those Mahatmas who dwell in the Himalayas…”
He says: “Even a person who sees perfectly can be called blind. Do people not see that political leaders and religious gurus do not hide their intentions to make them their slaves? And even if they do see that they are about to be enslaved, why do they continue as before? How long can a society based on such principles endure? Why do people not learn from rivers, which absorb the filth of the entire world and yet remain pure and free? All rivers have one goal: they all strive for the ocean, merging with one another along the way. None of them fears losing its individuality or disappearing, and yet they continue to exist even after dissolving into other waters. The Himalayas have given them eternal inspiration to flow forward. And all of nature—the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, and the sea—assists them in this noble purpose. Why, then, can human beings not take them as an example? They do not see their true nature and chase after the world, and the world deceives them again and again.”
Sarveshvarananda Ji is a person of free views, whose worldview unites the ideas of bhakti and yoga. He believes that intention is the foundation of creation, and therefore regards intention as the primary creative force. When a person masters the power of intention, they automatically rise to a higher level in comparison with others. Such a person, regardless of whether their actions are good or bad, becomes free from karma.
Sarveshvarananda Ji wanders from village to village. At times he accepts grain as alms and prepares his food himself. Through the Gayatri Mantra he is able to ignite water. He often helps me in the Himalayas and invites me to stay with him whenever I intend to remain there for a long time.
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
Sundarnath
My name is Sundar Nath. My past and my present are entirely connected with Badrinath. I live here, in a cave.
One cannot deny the existence of something simply because it is connected with something else. The soul is connected with the body; it dwells within it. One cannot ignore the fact that the body exists, because without the body the soul has no value. The same applies to everything in our lives. For example, I am Sundar Nath. I accepted this name in order to bring system and order into my existence, so that society would know what to call me. If the name were taken away, it would be as if I myself became smaller. When a child is born, it belongs to no caste and no religion, but when it is given a name, it becomes connected with a certain tradition. In the same way, I am connected with the Himalayas and with Badrinath. Come, let us go into the cave and talk!
Sundarnath Ji is the heir to the spiritual treasures of Gorakhnath Ji. He constantly wanders in the surroundings of Badrinath. He possesses an immeasurable power of intention. He always abides beyond the created world, at its very foundation. He has an immortal body, and his speech is truly divine. He exists on such a level of development where God and any living being are equal. Sundarnath Ji says that it is precisely the physical body of a human being that is the instrument through which enlightenment can be attained. God lives within the human body, and yoga is the path that allows a person to reach the God who dwells within.
Uniting his ideas with those of Gorakhnath Ji, Sundarnath Ji says: “Yoga is as simple and pleasant a way to attain perfection as cooking khichri. It is easy to prepare, yet once tasted, everyone remains satisfied. That is why the porridge of Gorakhnath Ji is so well known.”
Quotes from the book Pilot Babaji
