Messages from Shibendu Lahiri

Click here to read, or download, Shibendu Lahiri's inspired messages.

Who is Ramalinga Swami?

Ramalinga Swami of Tamil Nadu, South India, also known as Ramalingaswami, Ramalingaswamigal, Ramalinga Adigal, or simply 'Vallalar' was, or is, in many ways a unique saint in the world's history of spirituality. Not only did he seek 'Enlightenment', or 'Self-Realisation' as a form of 'Supreme Understanding' through total transformation of the psyche, but also, quite literally he sought 'En-Lightenment' as a total transformation of all aspects of one's existence - including of one's physical body, by opening to the graceful power of  the Divine, represented by 'Divine Light'.

It is believed that through his total surrender to the Divine Light of Grace, or 'Supreme Grace-Light' ('Arutperunjyothi', in Tamil) his body gradually lost its 'density' and he took on the vibration of Spirit - the Pure Light of Consciousness - and thus in 1874, he finally 'ascended' or 'expanded' his mind and body infinitely... and entered "all the bodies of His creation".

Ramalinga is considered to be a recent example of a Self-Realised Siddha, the likes of which have appeared in the region of Tamil Nadu over the centuries, and even over thousands of years, as related in the life-stories and teachings of the '18 Tamil Siddhas'.

For more information on the Tamil Siddhas, including material that is being translated and published in English for the first time, see the books of 'Babaji's Kriya Yoga Publications', such as:
- 'The Yoga of Siddha Avvai'
- 'The Yoga of the 18 Siddhas: An Anthology'
- 'The Yoga of Siddha Boganathar' - volumes 1 and 2
- 'The Yoga of Tirumular - Essays on the Tirumandiram'
- 'Thirumandiram - A Classic of Yoga and Tantra'
- 'Nine Tandirams on the Tirumandiram'
- 'The Poets of the Powers'
and the following book has a chapter dedicated to Ramalinga Swami:
- 'Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition', by M.G. Satchidananda (Marshall Govindan)

The following site gives some details of Ramalinga's life - his teachings on Union with Divine Love and Divine Intelligence and Divine Light through compassion and service to all beings, his miracles and his total merging with the Source:
http://www.arutperumjothi.com/

'Secrets of the 'Conscious Breath''

There  is a way of breathing that is a shame and a suffocation,
And there is another way;
A Love Breath
That lets you open Infinitely.
- Rumi

Regarding the first two limbs of classical Ashtanga: 'Yama' and 'Niyama' ('moral observance' and 'self-restraint')

"The purpose of yama and niyama ... is to prepare the mind for spiritual enlightenment. Yama sabilizes the mind in the realm of social behaviour, and niyama purifies it by minimizing worldly, outer-direceted activity.
Although it may sound like conventional moralistic preaching to advocate good behaviour and abstention from evil conduct, yama and niyama are actually practical necessities for one who engages in spiritual practice."

- Hiroshi Motoyama (in 'Theories of the Chakras - Bridge to Higher Consciousness')

What is 'Ashtanga'?

There is some confusion about the real meaning of 'Ashtanga' because of the recent popularity of Sri K. Prattabhi Jois' 'Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga'. For this reason, the classical Ashtanga is now sometimes referred to as 'Ashta-anga' to distinguish it from Sri K. Prattabhi Jois' Hatha Yoga practices.

'Ashtanga' means literally 'eight-limbed' ('ashta' = eight; 'anga' = limb).

The following information can be found at http://www.yoga-centers-directory.net/info/yoga_style_glossary.htm:

Ashta-anga Yoga is the Eight-Fold Path of Yoga taught by Patanjali in the 'Yoga Sutras'. On this path, Hatha Yoga is used to prepare for the higher spiritual practices of Raja Yoga.

The Eight-Fold Path / The Eight Limbs:
1. Yama (moral observance)
2. Niyama (self-restraint)
3. Asana (posture)
4. Pranayama (breath control)
5. Pratyahara (sensory inhibition)
6. Dharana (concentration)
7. Dhyana (meditation)
8. Samadhi (Union with God, ecstasy, nirvana).

Ashta-anga Yoga is also known as: 'Ashtanga Yoga', 'Astaunga Yoga', 'Classical Yoga', 'Patanjali Ashtanga', and 'Raja Yoga'.

Who Am I?

Click on the photo to see my new central blog in Portuguese where you can find links to several aspects of my work: Articles, Workshop and Retreat dates, Concerts, Satsangs, Sexual Alchemy, Consultations, etc.

Workshops, Retreats, Consultations, etc.

Click here for details of upcoming events with Peter

OM (AUM)

How to chant OM (AUM) correctly.

Nicely explained.

"A multiplicity of paths to the one Truth."

Shiva - One of the Trinity, or 'the Supreme'?

'Shiva' - the 'auspicious' one

... to be continued .... :o)

Spiritual Coaching with Peter:

http://spiritualcoachingwithpeter.blogspot.com/

Spiritual Coaching in Sintra

Sintra is one of the most picturesque and magical places on this planet.

Walk and meditate in the forests, visit initiatic gardens and labyrinths, have a picnic on the cliffs looking over the Atlantic, savour the local foods and unique sweets, visit organic farms, or learn to surf, and each day receive an hour (or more) of coaching while soaking in the magic of Sintra.

Now is the time. What better place to unwind and to let yourSelf flower?

Coaching with Peter Littlejohn Cook

information:

Tel: +351 967 045 411

panmandala@gmail.com

Shibendu Lahiri in Portugal - April 2010

Shibendu Lahiri at Quinta dos Milagres, Lagos.

Shibendu Lahiri is giving a lecture tomorrow night (16th April 2010) in Lisbon at 9pm, and Kriya Yoga initiations over the weekend and then a retreat in Fátima.

You can also find information about this and his upcoming events (UK, Germany, India, USA, etc.) at:

www.kriyayogalahiri.com/htmluk/program.htm

He is a true Advaita master - a voice for the Infinite.

His teaching is not 'comforting', it is profoundly disarming and dissolves the 'I'-centred illusion of separation...

If you meet him or 'his' teaching, prepare to be 'blasted'.

Retiro na Quinta da Enxara - 'Pára.... observa o Silêncio...' - com Atmananda e Peter Littlejohn Cook

http://prematmananda.wordpress.com/retirosworkshops/

One and many... One as many... Many as One

Every 'soul'
is a point of consciousness
in the kaleidoscopic hall of mirrors
that is the 'self-reflexive' universe –

The One Being
Meditating
upon its Infinite Nature.

Every 'self' is a story, contemplated by Divine Mind...
'ego' is a concept that makes all this 'separate' experience possible
'Maya' is also supreme Creativity and Play... ('Leela')
Without out it there is only the Deepest Silence

Many 'paths'... one realisation?

It seems strange that different paths, each setting conditions which supposedly must be fulfilled in order for realisation to take place, could lead to the same 'place', the same realisation.

But that is exactly how it is. These 'paths' and the subsequent realisation that is described can be understood simply as different forms or manifestations of one phenomenon - the feeling of a separate 'self' - through one means or another - falls away, and a realisation is experienced that 'separateness' is an illusion.

Nothing is required to 'achieve' Liberation or to 'become' Liberated

It is the divided and divisive mind that makes an effort. The best it can do is place one higher on an imaginary ladder of 'steps to realisation' – but this is just self-delusion – just a way to go on restricting the definition of one's self – and it is precisely this – the definition – the delineation of one's self – that is ignorance (ignore-ance) of one's Liberated nature – one's Liberated Being.


Realisation of the Self – Realisation of the True Nature of the Self arises by all else falling away – including the search for, or striving for, the attainment of our true nature.
The one who seeks (for his 'Self') is engaged in a futile activity as long as there is any striving. The seeker does not become a Liberated being. The seeker dissolves like a dream upon awakening, and what remains is not 'a Liberated Being' – but 'Liberated Beingness'.

"All paths lead to unreality."
- Nisargadatta Maharaj

Kriya Yoga and Tantra

"Tantra consists of methods to expand consciousness to perceive trancendental states. Certain practices referred to as "kriyas" help initiate this expansion.
In literature, one will find the word kriya used in several different contexts. It is applied to yogic cleansing practices that maintain the health of the physical body as well as in reference to certain rituals, devotional attitude, and prayers. In the context of this on-going column, Tantric Kriya practices are techniques used to open up the chakras and purify the nadi system.
Direct experience of these aspects of esoteric physiology is not necessary to begin the practice of Tantric Kriya Yoga."

- Alan Verdegraal

'Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition' by Marshall Govindan - a review

A fascinating look at the path of Self-Realisation (Enlightenment) which also goes far beyond purely historical and philosophical discussion.

The Siddhas are known as such because they manifest the Divine powers (Siddhis) which naturally arise through spirtualisation and Union (Yoga) with the Source.
The author is uniquely qualified to write on this subject, being himself a devotee and disciple of Babaji, the legendary Himalayan yogi who was made famous by Paramahamsa Yogananda's best-selling book: 'Autobiography of a Yogi'.

Govindan studied for years with Yogi Ramaiah before receiving a call to introduce people to the path of Babaji's Kriya Yoga. His book makes a serious attempt at de-mystifying the story of Babaji, the origins of Babaji's Kriya techniques, and introduces the Siddha gurus that Babaji apparently encountered as a young man almost two thousand years ago.

The book traces the links between these Siddha-gurus and the group of Siddhas known as the eighteen Siddhas in Tamil Nadu (South India), linking these also with Lao-Tse and the Taoist sages of China, and taking the reader even further back, into prehistory through the legends of the Lemurian continent in the Pacific, its links with South India and Sri Lanka, and its forgotten civilisation whose spiritual practises are preserved and embodied by these powerful yogis known as the Siddhas.

The book is not written only for those who are practising yoga, it is of interest to anyone who wishes to have a deeper insight into the nature of existence, consciousness, and our potentially and naturally blissful ever-present awareness of Spirit through Love.

It is believed that Babaji himself resides in an almost inaccessible region of the Himalayas, however, the path of Babaji's Kriya yoga and the Tamil Siddhas as described in the book is not a path of spiritual escapism, or renunciation through remoteness. It is a universal path of love and service to humanity and transformation of all aspects of our lives through action with spiritual awareness (kriya).

The chapters on other Siddhas that have lived in recent times, such as Ramalinga Swamigal and Sri Aurobindo can help to bring the fantastic stories of miracles and God-Consciousness into focus and root us in the awareness that spirituality is not so much about gurus and the authority of religious dogmas, but is really about our own present experience lived in full awareness.

Despite the historical information on Babaji which was mostly received directly by Yogi Ramaiah and V.T. Neelakantan in the 1950s, there is often a resistance to de-mystifying the story of Babaji's origins. Much of this information is therefore not generally known or agreed upon within the various lineages of Kriya Yoga.
However, there is also something to be said for considering the 'real' Babaji as being simply the form that the Divine mystery takes when appearing as a human being, and as not being in any way limited to this history of a single human form, even though it is certainly an instructive and inspiring story that sheds light on some very powerful insights and practices known as the Tamil Siddha Yoga tradition.

Some consider Babaji to be Shiva or Murugan...

"'Babaji' is not a 'person'... He is a Spiritual phenomenon."

Shibendu Lahiri (great-grandson of Lahiri Mayasaya)

"A minha devoção é de uma espécie estranha.

Nesta, a água do Ganges não é necessária.

Nenhuns utensílios especiais são necessários.

Até as flores são redundantes.

Neste Puja todos os Deuses desapareceram

E o vazio surgiu com euforia."

Lahiri Mahasaya