A place to get in touch with the self
Tucked amidst the lofty Himalayan peaks are the snow glaciers that create an ambiance of mysticism and the urge to go within one's self. Tourists may flock now to the Himalayan terrain for vacation and adventure, but the dizzying heights of the mountains are still out of bounds for many, partly due to the hostile terrain, and partly due to reasons beyond the domain of logic.
On these glacial paths, where sheets of snow on mountain faces conceal caves and enclosures, live men and women who have given up the world for the pursuit to seek truth. One such person was Babaji (also known popularly as Babaji Nagraj), who is revered as the Guru of Kriya Yoga. It is a branch of yoga that taps the 'kundalini' or life energy in all beings, which winds in a serpentine manner through a mystic channel in the spine to find union with the presence of the Supreme said to be situated in the crown of one's head, the spot of the fontanelle that remains soft in newborns.
What makes Babaji an enigma is his presence in the astral body. He is said to have been born ages ago and has been teacher to Adi Shankara and even Jesus. To the present day, there are many who vouchsafe his presence, actor Rajnikanth being one of them. The story of his life finds mention in the spiritual best seller 'An Autobiography of a Yogi', where the author, Yogananda Paramahansa recalls his association with Babaji and the many he trained.
The Founder of the Satsang Foundation, Sri M, however, believes Babaji is a divine being who is the ultimate Guru of Kriya Yoga and everything else about him being from the south of India and in the astral body, etc. are just “stories”. His reverence for Babaji was a natural outcome of his experiences, as mentioned in the books written by him, which led him to take up and practise Kriya Yoga as a spiritual path. “Babaji is the Guru of the parampara to which I belong-the nath sampradaya,” Sri M says.
Sri M recently inaugurated a shrine dedicated to Babaji at Nooranad near Kollam in Kerala. “The place where the shrine stands was the resting place (samadhi sthal) of a Siddha or a realised soul” he says.
Satsang Foundation has established the shrine in a 3.5-acre plot as part of an ashram. “This place will be the only spot in Kerala where I will initiate seekers into Kriya Yoga,” Sri M says, adding, “It is also enroute Sabarimala, another place of tapas and sadhana attached to the great yogi that Ayyappa was.”
Satsang Foundation has plans to set up school for yoga and Vedic studies at the ashram at Nooranad. It will be a place to congregate for all those who want to channelise their soul energy in the pursuit of self realisation.
The shrine is a reminder to the individual soul of its immense potential to become one with its Supreme source.