Sat Sang Newsletter Jun 11

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SATSANG, June 2011 1

Website: http://www.satsang-foundation.org

NEWSLETTER FROM THE SATSANG FOUNDATION

This newsletter is for private circulation only.

JUNE 2011

Launch of Sri MsAutobiographyApprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A YogisAutobiography

BANGALORE, January 3, 2011

The New Year ushered in glad tidings with the releaseof Sri Ms autobiographyApprenticed to a HimalayanMaster-A Yogis Autobiography.The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore was the venue

for this occasion. The chief guests were Dr. Karan Singh-MP Rajya Sabha, Justice Sri M.N. Venkatachalaiah- formerChief Justice of India, His Excellency Sri H.R. Bharadwaj Governor of Karnataka, Sri B.N. Suresh Director ofProgrammes and Projects, Bharati Vidya Bhavan and Dr.Ajai Kumar Singh DGP and IG Karnataka.

The programme began with a melodious renderingof a shloka from the Ishavasya Upanishad by the students

of the Peepal Grove School.Dr. Karan Singh, in his opening speech, said that this entire universe is permeated by

the same Divine light, whether we speak of this tiny speck of dust which we call Planet Earth, or thebillions and billions of galaxies in the unending universe around us, all of this is a manifestation of theDivine light. He said that India has always produced real sages, saints andsiddhas who, by virtue of theirsadhana, have kept alive the spark of spirituality, because, spiritual principles are, by themselves, notenough, unless there are people who practice them. What was very fascinating about Sri Ms autobiography,according to Dr. Karan Singh, were the references and descriptions given with regard to some of thegreat souls and Masters of this country.

Dr. Karan Singh quoted Coleridge and said that we require a willing suspension of disbelief whenwe read this book because it is so astounding that no fiction writer, that he knew of, could ever writeabout such extraordinary events. This being the case, Sri Ms book is a great addition in the spiritual

1Launch of the bookLaunch of the book Apprenticed to aApprenticed to aHimalayan MasterHimalayan Master5Foundation stone layingFoundation stone layingceremony for theceremony for the SarvaSarvaDharma KendraDharma Kendra

6Interview withInterview withSri MSri M

9Q & A with Sri MQ & A with Sri M

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2 SATSANG, June 2011


A young mans fascinatingjourney from the southerncoast of India to the mysticalHimalayan heights where he

finds his great Master, wise,powerful and loving.

Keep things simple anddirect. No mumbo jumbo. Livein the world like anybodyelse. Greatness is neveradvertised. Those who

come close, discoverit themselves. Bean example toyour friends andassociates. You canlive in this worldhappily and in tunewith consciousness. Babaji

Brahman comesfrom the root brhmeaning to expandand this infiniteexpansion is an inner realitymistaken by most humansto be an external process.

This misunderstanding isthe cause of all suffering.Provide the teachings andtechniques of Kriya to thosewho you thinkfit and maytheir consciousness becomemultidimensional.

Sri Guru

heritage of India, said Dr. Karan Singh, more so, as we still havepeople, among us, who have had these extraordinary experiences.Dr. Karan Singh found Sri Ms experience of his visit to MountKailash most thrilling. The additional bonus with the book is theDVD which comes along with it. Dr. Karan Singh said that whileviewing this DVD one could enjoy a very simple, down to earth and

practicalsatsang which shows Sri M as he is a man with no airs andno inhibitions, but, a genuine teacher.

Justice M. N. Venkatachalaiah, former Chief Justice of India,also spoke at the occasion saying that at a time like this, when thereis so much disenchantment, corruption, collapse of morality andcynicism, this book has come to show us that the essence of religionis not dogma or rituals; it is mysticism, and, this mystic world is stillalive and vibrant.

Echoing Dr. Karan Singhs sentiments, Justice Venkatachalaiahalso said that society was collapsing in the grip of consumerism. In

this hour of darkness,this is the finestbook one couldread. According tohim, this book has adivine purpose anddivine meaning. Itgives a message ofhope that all isnot lost; that thereare still great men,saints and savantswho will save this

sinking ship. Thisbook is a wonderfulcontribution toIndias revival in itsown faith; it comesas a redeemer ofdisbelief in the

values of spirituality.Sri M, according to Justice Venkatachalaiah, is not in the poster warof gurus and it is our good fortune that we are here at the same timeas him.

Sri M read out the foreword to the book, saying it explainedwhy the book was written and what it contained. He said he wrotethe book after a great deal of thinking and was instructed by Babaji,his Guru, to write his autobiography. He mentioned Until now Ihave held most of the experiences written in this book close to myheart, never giving more than close to a hint even to my closestfriends. However, I felt that I had no right to deny what I hadexperienced to people, so after deliberating a great deal I reluctantlybegan to write this book.

The book stall set up outside the auditorium was packed withpeople eagerly waiting to have a copy of their own. After the chiefguests left, a long queue was formed and Sri M graciously signed

every single copy of the book that was brought to him.



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NEW DELHI, January 24, 2011

Sri Ms autobiography Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A Yogis Autobiography was released at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,New Delhi. Smt Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister ofDelhi was the Chief Guest and the autobiographywas released by Dr.Karan Singh. Mr. ChinmayaGharekhan, Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavanpresided over the occasion and Dr. Murli Manohar

Joshi was the guest of honour.The auditorium was packed and many

dignitaries graced the function. Notable amongthem were Smt Maneka Gandhi, Rinpoche LamaDoboom Tulku, Sri K.P. Singh Deo, JusticeRamamoorty and Smt & Sri S. Reghunathan.

Smt. Sheila Dixit, Dr. Karan Singh, SriGharekhan and Sri Murali Manohar Joshi

addressed the audience who listened with raptattention. It was very interesting to note theobservations of each of the distinguished speakersand their appreciation of the book. Dr. KaranSingh spoke about the philosophical side whileDr. Joshi enunciated the physicists point-of-view. Smt. Dikshit, as any other reader, wasfascinated by the narration. Sri M read theforeword to the book. The function concludedwith a vote of thanks and a long queue of peoplewho wanted Sri M to sign on their personalcopies.

It was a momentous occasion indeed for theDelhi Chapter of The Satsang Foundation to seethe overwhelming response from people ofDelhi.

TIRUVANANTHAPURAM, February 4, 2011

With a beautifully lit lamp bearingwitness, the programme started ontime with the invocation by youngstudents from Chinmaya Tharangam. This group

sang melodious bhajans till the commencementof the programme. On the podium were verydistinguished personalities from various walks oflife - a doctor, an IAS officer, a film personality,an army officer, someone from an erstwhileroyal family and like the moon among stars, SriM himself.

Dr. Sambasivan, a well known neuro surgeonand renowned sanskrit scholar welcomed theguests. He said the Autography of Sri M is anabsorbing book and it is going to be of tremendousimportance to seekers of truth. Then came the

most auspicious moment. The book was releasedby His Highness the Maharaja of Travancore,

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giving a copy to Rasool Pookkutty, who has donethe country proud by getting the Oscar Award. Theother dignitaries were also presented with a copyeach.

His Highness Sri Marthanda Varma said, SriM is a mahatma and although all of us use Sri as a

prefix to our names Sri M is the real Sriman.Mr. Pookkutty said, India is the first nation to

announce to the universe that sound is knowledgebut we have also forgotten about it. No one else hasdecoded the spiritual experiences to this rationallevel, so that it makes an ordinary person feel hecan be part of this inner journey.

Brigadier Narayan, who is one of the oldestassociates of Sir and an active member of theSatsang Foundation said, Like Krishna did withArjuna, Sir also gives us options and then leaves usto choose our way. He feels the beauty of therelationship with him is that whenever there is arequirement he is there for us. The vote of thankswas proposed by Dr. Vijay Nair.

DUBAI, February 28, 2011

On 28th Feb 2011, Book Reading was organizedat Richmond Hotel Apartment at Dubai.With Divine will, despite all odds, weenjoyed a wonderful evening where Apprenticed toa Himalayan Master was launched by Sri M. The hall

was full of seekers from different faiths, age groupsand countries. The evening started with a classicalmusic program by Mr. Swaminathan and his group.Subsequently Kamod and Sajal Bhat, mother anddaughter, performed a Radha Krishna dance. Afterthe musical programs, Sri M was invited to thecenter stage to light the lamps. Sri M shared someof his experiences mentioned in the books forewordand Mr. Jayant Bakshi took over reading of selectparts from the book. The Book Reading sessionbecame very intense where Sri M meets his Master tears were flowing on the face of the reader on

the stage as well as listeners in front. Masterchuckled and said, heart center seems to be inaction. At the end of the reading session, avidreaders had the opportunity to have Sri M autographthe books.Prasaad was distributed after the event.

JALANDHAR, April 23, 2011

The ancient city of the Naths, Jalandhar wasgraced by Sri M, a Nath himself, for the booklaunch event of Apprenticed to a HimalayanMaster: A Yogis Autobiography. At the open pool-side garden of the Radisson Hotel, the eminentpersonalities on the podium included, Smt Maneka

Gandhi, MP(Lok Sabha), Sri Rajan Gupta, DGP(Law &Order, Punjab) and Sri Ashok Gupta, IAS (SecretaryAgriculture, Govt. of Punjab). Several distinguishedguests were present for the event.

Smt Maneka Gandhi mentioned that Sri Msautobiography propels a reader to understand

compassion towards all living beings and that is thetrue message of his Divine life.

HYDERABAD, May 10, 2011

The autobiography was launched in Hyderabadon 10th May 2011. The governor HisExcellency Sri E. S. L. Narasimhan releasedthe book and the first copy was received by Smt.Dr. D. Purandeshwari, honorable Union minister ofState HRD ( higher education ) in Sirs presence.

The function was held at the AP Police Offi

cersMess and was attended by nearly 200 people. Mediacoverage was done by 7 different print media andchannels combined .

Speaking during the release His Excellencythanked Sir for providing the audience with at leastan hours satsang. The honorable minister alsoexpressed her thanks and spoke about the mannerin which the experiences have been related and theeasy and yet captivating read that the book is.

Sir was requested to speak a few words beyondthe foreword of the book and his message was for

us to have the welfare of all beings in our heartand to see the oneness amongst us thereby buryingall differences.

IBH, the distributors, had put up a stall and didbrisk sales of more than a 100 copies which Sirkindly autographed. Hyderabad has now been puton the Satsang map and with our Gurus grace,there is hope to have moresatsangs in future.

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It was Monday, January 3, 2011 a momentousday for us all. It was the day of the laying ofthe foundation stone of Sarva Dharma Kendra,a project that is the need of the hour, an attemptto show that religions can coexist in peace andharmony.

Sarva Dharma Kendra is a humble, practicaleffort to bring all religions together in a beautifulwooded campus on Kanakapura Road, that willhouse a temple, a mosque, a church, a gurudwara, aBuddhist vihara and a Jain temple on a single pieceof land for anyone who wishes to worship in theirown individual way.

We drove into the venue and it was indeedsuch a joy to see the place adorned, looking elegantand simple with the minimum of fuss in keepingwith the occasion. The atmosphere was serene andcalm and even the small group of attendees,

members of the Satsang Foundation, were goingabout their responsibilities quietly, exchanginggreetings and instructions between themselves inwhispers almost as though in an attempt to keepthe project away from the forces bent on destroyingthe spiritual unity of people.

The chief guests for the event were Dr. KaranSingh, Member of Parliament, who would lay thefoundation stone and Justice K. Venkatachalaiah,former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Ourbeloved Master, Sri M, whose dream Sarva Dharma

Kendra actually is, was moving around chattinginformally with all, as though he had really nothingto do with the event.

After the chief guests arrived, everyone settleddown in their seats in eager anticipation of theprogramme ahead.

The event began with Brigadier Narayanswarm welcome of all the guests, quickly followedby a sutra from the Rig Veda by Parvati and hergroup of singers. The next event was indeed verymoving and a quiet silence descended on all present.Prayers from each of the faiths Christian, Hindu,Islam, Buddhist, Jain and Sikhism were recited bymembers of the Satsang Foundation and it wasinteresting to note that every one of the prayersechoed the very same sentiments.

All three speakers were extremely eloquentand inspiring and I shall give below a few pearlsfrom their respective speeches.

Sri M was the first speaker. He began by sayingLet us not fight amongst ourselves and went on

to say that religion starts with day to day living. Hesaid that when the human being developscompassion, he moves closer to Godliness.

Justice Venkatachalaiah was the next speaker.It is unfortunate, he said, that in this age ofincreasing irreverence, great persons are unable toget their message across to society and to theworld. He regretted that although it is said thatthe human race is one, it is quite apparent, especiallyin the 20th century, the bloodiest in human history,that it is not so. It is a great pity, he said, that

although all religions are based on the sameprinciples, we seem to have missed thiscompletely.

The Sarva Dharma Kendra FoundationBangalore, January 3, 2011

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He said that he was still recovering from SriMs autobiography and was reminded of whatArjuna said to Krishna when he saw his Vishwaroopa,I have addressed you without knowing the greatthing that you symbolize. Without knowing who

you are, I took liberties with you as if we are friends.

Please pardon me. This is the way, he said, he seesSri M today. He ended with the words This world isnothing but an eternal journey, where wealth andpower are mere wayside stops in the pursuit of theinvestigation into the spiritual and moral dimensionof the human personality.

And then it was Dr. Karan Singhs turn. He said,TheRig Veda has a Sutra, the Truth is one but thewise call It by many names. This is the basis of theinter-faith movement. The inter-faith movement,he explained is a movement designed to bring

together people of different religious persuasionsin a creative dialogue. It is a mingling, he said, andan exchange of views to understand other religions.Dr. Karan Singh has been associated with thismovement for a number of years, and he regrettedthe fact that the movement continues to remainperipheral to human consciousness althoughthey have had regular activities and annualParliaments bringing people of different faithstogether for discussion. He seemed to feel thatpeople were willing to spend vast amounts of moneybuilding temples, mosques and churches but thatnobody would take the responsibility to financeand support the inter-faith movement. There is adire need, he said, as today, fundamentalism andfanaticism are beginning to raise their ugly headsonce again. He therefore commended this efforttowards the building of a centre like the SarvaDharma Kendra and added by saying that it was anhonour for him to be associated with the projectfrom its inception.

He concluded with the words, Certainly Indiais the confluence rather than the clash of religions

and felt that India alone is in a position to overcomethat threat and present to the world an alternativemodel. It was indeed such a treat for us to be in thepresence of such eloquence and the whole eventwas conducted with great grace and dignity.

The students of the Peepal Grove School thensang Allah Tero Naam and Naina Kashyap thankedour chief guests warmly after which we filed out forthe ceremony of the laying of the foundation stone,followed by a sumptuous breakfast.

We are all looking forward to the completion

of this noble project and are proud to be associatedwith it.

Aboy born in a traditional Muslim familybreaks the barriers of religion, language andspace. He realises the essence of religionsby means of reading and spiritual practices. Hemeets his Guru, Maheshwarnath (Babaji) whom hehad seen as a boy at the age of nine, just as in adream, and realises his identity as one belonging to

the Nath yogic tradition. His name in that traditionis Madhukarnath or Madhu, as his Guru wouldcall him, and presently he is known as Sri M, thespiritual guide of many earnest seekers.

In Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A YogisAutobiography, Sri M describes his fascinating andunbelievable experiences in the course of that

journey. Those experiences transcend thelimitations of the human body and, to an ordinaryperson, would appear to be hallucinatory. In hisautobiography, Sri M tries to find the rational

background for them.All my preconceived notions were dispelledwhen I came face to face with the author of thisabsorbing book, which reads like science fiction.Ordinary dress. The physique of a Yogi. Gentlefeatures. Deep and peaceful eyes. He looked morelike an old, intimate friend or poet than the spiritualhead of the Satsang Foundation. Extracts from theinterview:

Q: In your boyhood, you met mahatmas like KalladiMastan and Maayi Maa, who apparently looked likemad persons. After you received the blessings ofSwami Abhedananda, same night you experience astrange dream in which you feel you have become agirl companion of Sri Krishna. As a man of realisa-tion, how do you feel about the masculine and femi-nine aspects of personality?

A: Was it a dream or an actual experience? it isnot clear even to me. After a stage, gender becomesirrelevant in a physical sense. May be, in some pre-vious birth, I was a gopi in Vrindavan! (laughs) Anysensitive visitor to Vrindavan may have such an ex-perience. Is it not a fact that Sri Ramakrishna livedfor some time as a hand-maid of the Divine Mother,

Interview withSri Mby T. N. Sushama

Originally published in the Malayalam dailyMathrubhumi dtd. March 3, 2011.



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dressing and behaving like a woman in every re-spect? The mind moving at that level is not the or-dinary mind. At the higher level, the mind does notfind any pleasure in worldly affairs. Physical sexu-ality has no place in the functioning of the subtlemind. In that state, one does not feel oneself to be amale at all. It was also an occasion to experience andunderstand the feminine mind, which has a greater

creativity. One can find some element of femininityin men with greater creativity and imagination.

Q: What is the Nath Tradition of which you are saidto be a member?

A: It is a very ancient spiritual order, which existedeven before Adi Sankara. It is believed that our firstGuru Adi Nath was Siva Himself. This is yogic tra-dition, while Sankaras is the vedantic tradition, not

yogic. ExceptYoga-Sutras of Patanjali, all other majoryoga texts have originated from the Nath tradition.The Nath order, with its headquarters at Gorakhpur,is a live yogic tradition.

Q: Is it mainly based on yogic practices?

A: Only some branches. The Nath tradition ishighly elastic. Its followers need not be monks;they can be house-holders. There are no specif-ic rituals to be followed. The dhuni is the only

common symbolic feature of all the branches. Ihave been exempted from that too.

Q: You have studied all religious texts in depth.Are they helpful for the spiritual growth of a seek-er of Truth? Throw away all your knowledge andembrace the Void, said Babaji to the old monk atUttarkashi. If knowledge is an obstacle, why weshould acquire it?

A: Not so. Knowledge is a means of arriving at theTruth. Knowledge should become experience. By

worshipping Knowledge alone, one does not gainexperience.

Q: Many seekers of Truth end up in disappoint-ment. Ignorance and evil practices are mountingin this field. You were abused and thrown out ofa temple in Karnaprayag for accepting the hospi-tality of a cobbler. You also meet a monk who hasthrown away his danda (indicative of brahmin-hood), pained by evil customs. Have such experi-ences persuaded you to turn away from the path

of seeking Truth?A: No; such incidents did indeed cause pain, but

the yearning to move forward was very strong.

Q: What is our goal in the spiritual quest? Is it hap-piness?

A: Yes. Happiness obtained from the external worldis limited. One is never satisfied with it. Happinessexperienced within oneself is boundless. Once youattain it, it never vanishes. This principle, which is

called Truth, Essence, etc., is unknown to us until weexperience it. It will remain as an ideal.

Q: Is spiritual experience subjective?

A: I am of the view that the experience of the worldis relative.

Q: A mesmerising experience related toAgni (Fire) isdescribed in the book. Kundalini is the fire sleepingin the human body, like the latent fire in the fire-wood. The flame of the dhunifire touches the na-

vel of the disciple and awakens the internal fire. Itburns away all obstacles and clears the path for the

Ba a ji Ma a j, Swa i ahe s rna th Ji



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kundalini. Will you give this experience to an aspi-rant who accepts you as a Guru?

A: (Yes,) if there is a suitable person ripe for suchexperience. Some persons have experienced it. Itneed not be demonstrated as a show.

Q: Is temple worship necessary?

A: No, but there is no need to prevent those whofind satisfaction in it.

Q: Babaji asked you to live in the world as an idealhouse-holder yogi. Why this great importance givento brahmacharya (celibacy)? Why do some so-calledspiritual gurus try to hide their sexual activity?

A: A married life is no obstacle to spirituality. Ofcourse, sexual restraint is necessary. Brahmacharya

does not mean total elimination of sexual relation-ship. Whatever is to be done to know the Eternal Re-ality is brahmacharya. Very rarely can one go tosan-nyas from the first stage of that of a celibate student.When persons who do not have that competence puton the garb of a monk for the sake of wealth or fame,then they have to hide their sexual desire.

Q: Babaji speaks in Malayalam to the Ravalji ofBadrinath.

A: This is possible. One should concentrate on the

language-centre in the brain. Though it is difficultto speak, one can understand.

Q: There are some unbelievable incidents describedin the book, such as, travelling in space. Could youplease explain?

A: One gets this experience in meditation. One mayfeel that the body is rising up; but if you open youreyes, you will see that it is not so. It is the subtlebody rising up leaving the physical body. Only once Ihad the experience of the physical movement of the

body in the company of Babaji. What we call rationalis related to the limited capacities of the five senses.Actually these capacities are not limited; but one hasto think standing apart from the physical body. Weshould know that we have other abilities. At least,we should give the benefit of doubt. We should havethe open unprejudiced mind of a scientist.

Q: How do you explain miracles? You know magic.God-men are said to employ magic in the so-calledmiracles.

A: Magic is the imitation of miracle. Real Magicexists somewhere. Miracles happen when we tran-

scend our limitations. Only laws of Nature operatethere.

Q: It is said that a man of Self-realisation can appearin different places at the same time.

A: If one has that capacity, he could sit here and en-ter the adjacent room, where it would appear real.But the operating centre is here. No one does it ex-cept in an emergency.

Q: What is the proof for re-birth? What is death?And what happens after death?

A: Death is only like crossing a door. This is thetheme of the Katha Upanishad. I do not need any proofof re-birth; my own experience is enough. I am sit-ting here with signs and characteristics of a previous

birth. Leaving this beloved world is the greatest sor-row in death. That does not happen if one has Self-knowledge. The I-consciousness continues even af-ter death. Even though it is not the same person whocomes in the next birth, some characteristics of theprevious birth will be present.

Q: You worked for some time in Manthan magazineand were connected with many social organisations.How will you avoid the religious politics which youobserved there?

A: It can be avoided to a great extent by means of amulti-dimensional approach. Emphasis on one reli-gion is the problem. Spirituality transcending reli-gions is essential.

Q: Are religions necessary? Is their influencegood?

A: The influence has been bad. There has been agreat deal of bloodshed in the name of religion. Re-ligious extremism arises when one says that my re-ligion is better than yours.

Q: Throughout your travels, you do not come acrosswomen. In a book of more than 300 pages, womenare practically absent. Is it the (physical) body whichprevents women from entering the spiritual field?

A: The world may not be aware of spiritually ad-vanced souls. They may be in our own homes. Whenthey come out, they may even excel over men. Gen-der is not at all relevant in Self-realisation.

Q: Could your successor be a woman?

A: It should be a competent person; whether it is aman or woman is not relevant.



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BALANCE BETWEEN EFFORT & DESTINYQ: In everything the way it happened in your life destiny was working. The Guru came and he touched

you. He said something and you started feelingsomething. And, as you also said just now, you meta lot of people who were helpful to you in your past.Was it that it all so happened Sir? That only destinywas at work? What is the role of effort? How do theygo together? For others, for many others, may it nothappen so? What are the roles of effort and destiny?

A: It is like this... in a particular incident, like that ofmy Guru coming to see me and touching my head, itmay appear to be destiny if you look at my life onlyfrom birth to now, which is 62 years.

But if one goes back into ones past which ofcourse is not believed in by many people in a wayit is good that they dont believe in it because beliefis different from actuality, you see.

So, if you look into my past, if somebody couldlook into my past as I can then I find that thereis not much distinction between this effort anddestiny. It was years of effort that I put in. All for aparticular spiritual awakening.

There was an interest in me of course. I thinkthat every human being has somewhere, a seed ofspiritual aspiration. Somewhere. It may translateitself even as a red revolution. Or it could translateitself as something else. But this idea that you arenot satisfied by the status quo and want to moveout. I think it is the seed of spiritual aspiration.

And in some, it grows in this direction. Thatwas already there for many, many lives. I thinkeverybody has that for many lives.

Situations were such that I could put in a lot ofeffort in that direction. Therefore, this suddenmeeting with the teacher, even though it appearsas destiny, it has behind it a great deal of effort andconstructive aspiration. That is there.

It is difficult to actually draw a line, therefore,between destiny and effort. For instance, we work.When we want to achieve something, we work. Butsometimes it succeeds, sometimes it does not. If itdoes not, then the destiny is it should not. If itsucceeds, we say, My destiny was good!. But effort

is very important. Personally, I know that I did putin a great deal of hard work, very hard work Imust say.

ON GOOD VS. PLEASANTQ: Sometimes the temptations are much more thanour wanting to go inwards. The outside world dragsus so much into it. And decisions, like Arjunas deci-sion, in sorrow, of not knowing exactly what to do.Sometimes out of fear also, one does not act. Out offear of what will happen to my name? So you knowthat this is an eternal tussle that takes place in a hu-man being between what is good and what is pleas-ant Shreyas and Preyas, as the Kathopanishad puts it.What is your view on this?

A: This is where it is such an important thing to havea teacher. Because in the normal course of time, itis very difficult for us to weigh this and figure out,and also sometimes, all by ourselves it may not bepossible to resist the pleasant and do what is good.So that is where a teaching and a teacher are veryimportant.A teacher need not say that you should only do thisor that you should do only that. No. But he can pro-vide the reasons why.

Your evolution in the larger context is muchmore when you try to do good than when you juststick to the pleasant.

And it is a fact that sometimes what is goodmay be many times more pleasant than what youthink is pleasant. When you say the yogi gives upeverything, he is actually not giving up anything.He is giving up a few trinkets, but he is looking fora bigger treasure. So you cant say, he is not selfish,but that selfishness is spiritual selfishness. It isdifferent.

ON SELFISHNESSQ: Selfishness appears to be the root cause of manythings. What is the root cause of selfishness?A: Aha! This is a beautiful question. The root causeof selfishness is the feeling that when I am selfish,I think I am a distinct individual. Therefore I wanteverything.

There is another thing called spiritualselfishness, which is actually very important. Thatis to think that I am not this self, but a bigger self,

which involves and embraces everybody else. Thatselfishness is great.

Question and Answer with Sri MDuring the book reading of Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master in Bangalore



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This (first) selfishness is where the wholeproblem comes. And it starts from our inner core ofexperience. When I wake up, the first thing before Isay this exists or that exists, is that I exist. I am.When I say, I am, then automatically I am. The oth-er is outside me. I am one. The other is different. So

therefore, I try to gather only for myself. I try to ex-clude it from others. As long as I am safe, it is ok. Butif there is only one piece of bread, I will like to take itbefore the other guy takes it. If there are two, ok hecan have one. This is normal. It starts with this I-nessin us, which in its unrefined state is the cause of self-ishness. If it is refined, then that selfishness simplymeans going into your self and discovering that theother person is also your own self. He is not differ-ent. There you cannot hurt anybody because you arehurting yourself. You can call it selfishness but it is a

different kind of selfishness.

PERSONAL EXAMPLE AND MESSAGEQ: Sir, In your book, we briefly meet Madhu, a youngbrahmachari at a very high stage of spiritual achieve-ment. And then we know Sri Mumtaz Ali, M, withfamily, running schools etc. Is there a paradigmshift? What is it, that by your personal example, youare trying to teach?

A: Madhu is the very sweet name Babaji used to useto call me by. Since he belonged to the Nath Panth,his original name was Maheshwarnath. Normallywhen people say M, I think of him, not me. To mehe was a teacher, father, mother, friend and guide,everything put together. I was completely his and hewas completely mine, in some ways.

When I was initiated into the Nath panth, hegave me the name of Madhukarnath. So, the shortform was Madhu. This is the name he gave me andthis name apparently was the name by which I wasaddressed even earlier, in my past, by my teacher. Ididnt know this at that time.

The link is the soul or the inner self that isbehind both. And today, I am born as so and so. Myparents have named me Mumtaz Ali. The innerreality, the inner self, is neither Madhu nor Mumtaz.And that is the continuum, which is a namelessentity. It cannot have a caste, creed, religion orparentage. Nothing.

In fact, there is a beautiful story in theBhagawat. Jadabharata dies and goes to heaven. And hisparents are crying in great pain and sorrow.

Agastya, the great muni, comes. He is a great rishiso they bow down to him and say, We are in greatpain. Please, please bring our son back to us.

Agastya says, This is impossible. We dontnormally bring back people who have gone.

Temporarily, at least for a short while, canyou bring him back? ask the parents.

Agastya says, OK! That we can do, but he hasto go back finally. So he brings back the boy and

tells him to dopranams to his father and mother.The boy asks Agastya, Which serial number

father and mother?So that is what I am trying to explain. There

are many serial numbers in this matter. But theinner reality is the continuum, the nameless innerreality, which is a spark of that Supreme namelessBeing.

Do Not Kill a SnakeManeka Gandhi

Sri M is an enlightened soul, a Guru whom Imet years ago. Born in Kerala, he becamedisciple to a very great Guru at a young ageand moved to the Himalayas. Later he worked with

J. Krishnamurty, another enlightened soul, in RishiValley. When my son was twenty he was very keento learn meditation and went to Madanapalle, avillage in Andhra Pradesh, to live with Sri M.

Magenta Press has published his book Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master: A YogisAutobiography. I have just finished reading it and Iwould recommend it to everyone who seeks hisown soul. I include an excerpt here which I believeto be true. Many gurus I have met have said thesame thing. Since I was a child, I have believed thatthe energy of the world lies in snakes. 20 years agoI wrote that, when I read the Mahabharata, I knewkalyug started the day the snakes were burnt, eventhough that great book treats the burning of thesnakes as simply a place to start the narration.

Sri M, a young man, is with his Guru, BabaMaheshwarnathji in the Arundhati cave in theHimalayas. Here is the excerpt: I was woken up bywhat I at first thought was the rumbling of thunder.I opened my eyes and sawBabaji in his usual sittingposture, back towards me, silhouetted by the lightof the dhuni (fire). I looked beyond, and frombetween two parting clouds, emerged somethingthat was roughly the size of a full moon but couldnot be the moon. This object was a glowing ball offire and as it moved closer the rumbling becamelouder. Then it came towards the cave and landedright on the dhuni, with the sound of athunderclap.



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I was so scared that I could not even sit up butBabaji sat upright like a statue, unaffected andunmoved. A strange spectacle unfolded before myastounded eyes. The fireball which was about twofeet in diameter split vertically and out of it emergeda large snake with a hood like a cobra, glowing

electric blue as if made of a transparent glass-likematerial with electric filaments inside. Thecreatures eyes glowed and it hissed softly.

My fear vanished the moment I saw thecreature bend down and touchBabajis feet with itshood.Babaji blessed it by touching its head with hishand and then did something which made mewonder if what I was seeing was a silly dream. Hehissed in reply.

The blue cobra straightened up and sat facingBabaji. A hissing conversation went on. Then Babajisaid, Madhu come forward and see the deputychief of the Sarpa loka. Bow down to Nagaraj. Ibowed low. The snake hissed and touched my headwith his forked tongue. Then abruptly it slitheredback into the globe, the two halves clicked shut andit took off and vanished into the clouds.

I said Babaji, if I said this to anybody theywould think I am crazy. Please explain to me.

Babaji said In the Milky Way there exists astellar system with seven planets and 18 moons.One of these is Sarpa Loka and is entirely inhabitedby highly evolved hooded snakes called the Naga

Devatas. The person you saw is the deputy chief oftheir realm, Nagaraja. The supreme head of theNagas is the five hooded golden serpent known inancient Hindu texts as Anantha.

Thousands of years ago when humanity wasstill at an infant stage of evolution, there wasregular contact with Sarpa Loka. The wise andevolved Nagas spent long periods here teachinghuman beings. The snake worship you come acrossin all ancient civilizations is a tribute to these Nagasand their deep wisdom. They also taught the secret

ofkundalini energy symbolized by a snake. Patanjaliwho gave the world the Ashtanga Yoga Sutras washimself a Naga. The snake on the Pharoahs headand coiled round Shiva are all symbolic of thewisdom imparted to certain humans by Nagateachers.

But as humans became more powerful theybecame self centred and cunning. Some feltthreatened by the spiritually and intellectuallysuperior Nagas and began to use their power againsttheir own teachers. At one point there weremassacres of the Nagas. The Supreme Naga Chief

decided to recall the Nagas from earth and cut allconnections except with some humans who were

highly evolved spiritually. Overnight they weretransported back to Sarpa Loka. A small numberwho were too sick, too old or rebels who defied thesupreme chief thinking they could still dosomething with humans, got left behind.

The snakes that exist today are the descendants

of those who were left behind. Through years of in-breeding they no longer possess the great qualitiesof their ancestors. However the channels of contactwere kept open with evolved humans. When thegreat Sai Nath of Shirdi left his body for three daysand returned on the fourth, to the greatastonishment of the general public who thoughthe had died, he told his close circle that he hadgone to settle a dispute in another world. That wasSarpa Loka. The dispute, which I cannot reveal to

you, has not been settled and Nagaraj came to meto discuss the matter.

Babaji laughed Truth is stranger than fiction.There is hope that humans might realize that thereare greater realms of consciousness which cannotbe comprehended by logic and current levels ofintelligence.

Vishnu rests on Anantha. Krishnas brotherBalarama was a Naga. The Ocean of Milk waschurned by a snake. At every point in our ancientteachings, there are snakes. Every time you wantto kill a snake, remember this narration.

Sri M is very accessible. He has started a school

called the Peepal Grove School at Sadum Mandal,Chittoor Dist 517123, AP and I hope to go there tomeet him again. I wish he would take me as adisciple but I will have to wait for another birthwhen I am more evolved.

S t ane aGandhi a i a dhar



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Forty years ago, a young man of nineteen from

Kerala, the southern-most state of India, wasfound in deep meditation in the cave of Vyasa

up in the Himalaya near Badrinath, close to theIndo-Tibetan border regions. Even in those days, ateenager going away to the Himalayas to meditatewas not a common occurrence. What made thiscase almost unbelievable was that the young manin question was not even born a Hindu.

How this young man became a yogi; and themysterious and fascinating world of un-imaginablepower and grandeur that opened up for him, is the

story of my life. I was this young man.If you allow me, I shall start at the verybeginning. Let us, as quickly as possible, walktogether to the abode of the eternal snows. There,among the ice clad Himalayan peaks, dwelt myfriend, philosopher and guide my dearest teacherand master by whose kindness and grace, I learnt tofl y high into the greater dimensions ofconsciousness.

Words fail to do justice to the glory of thosespheres, but then, words are the only tools at ourdisposal. Let us, therefore, begin our journey, good

friends, walking in the deep woods, talking aboutthe wonderful sights, the bright flowers swayinggently, the sweet-singing birds, the great rivergushing along, the tall trees standing silent and soon until we turn the corner and all of a sudden comeacross the towering great whiteness of the snow-covered Himalayas and are rendered speechlesswith wonder. Didnt the ancient rishis sing : Yadvaacha na abhyuthitam: the power and the glory thateven words cannot comprehend.

I am as eager as you are to bring you face to

face with Parvati, the demure daughter of Himavan,Lord of the mountains. But, a few essential pieces ofluggage have to be gathered and packed up beforewe begin the ascent. I shall do that without wastingany time and stick to the bare essentials.

I was born in Tiruvananthapuram, the city ofLord Vishnu who sleeps on the serpent Anantha.Anantha also means in Sanskrit without end,infinite. Trivandrum, as it was renamed by theBritish, who ruled for a hundred years, is a coastalcity, the capital of Kerala, at the southern end ofIndia. In 1948, Kerala was more like an over-grownvillage with its hills and rivers and abundantgreenery.

I was born on the 6th of November 1948 in an

emigrant Pathan family whose ancestors had cometo Kerala as mercenaries and joined the forces ofthe then Maharaja of Travancore, the powerfulMarthanda Varma.

This is, to use a familiar expression, a rags toriches story, in a different context an ordinaryboy reaching the Himalayan heights of expandedconsciousness by dint of sincerity, one-pointedattention, willingness to take risks, andunwillingness to accept failure.

Of course, there was one more factor which Iconsider the most important. The guidance andblessings of a great teacher whose unfathomablelove and affection helped me undertake this journeythrough largely unexplored territory; a teacherwho never curtailed my freedom to question, neverheld my hand too long lest I turn lazy and dependent,and forgave all my shortcomings and conditionedresponses. Can I ever forget that great being father, mother, teacher and dear friend, all rolledin one?

Was it compassion that led him to walk intomy life when I was barely nine years old, or was

there a link beyond the mundane reckoning of lifespans? This, I leave to you to decide for yourselvesafter the story is finished.

Babaji (father), as I called my teacher, oftensaid, Keep things simple and direct. No mumbo

jumbo. Live in the world like anybody else. Greatnessis never advertised. Those who come close, discoverit themselves. Be an example to your friends andassociates of how you can live in this world happilyand, at the same time, tune in to the abundantenergy and glory of infinite consciousness.

The BeginningExtract from Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master a Yogis Autobiography

The Satsang Foundation

13/1 Bachammal Road, Cox Town,Bangalore 560 005, IndiaPh: +91-80-2297-4090Email: [email protected]

The Satsang Foundation and TheSatsang Trust are exempt undersection 80(G) of the Income Tax Actfor donations.

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