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
