Information AboutYogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath |
|
Yogiraj Gurunath is a Householder yogi. When he is not traveling, he lives in Pune , Maharashtra , India with wife of 30+ years, Shivangini. They have 2 sons - Shivraj, a Classical Indian Music ian who is a student of Kishori Amonkar , and Rudrasen, an engineer who lives in America. Both are married with children. HIS FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND Childhood Yogiraj was born to Shri Krishnarao Raje and Sou Snehalata Raje Shitole, descendents of the Shitole and Sisodia ancestral dynasties of Gwalior . His family tree goes back to the Solar dynastic and Royal lineage of the Buddha and Rama . Family portraits show him in meditative Asana from the age of 3, and his parents said he spent long hours in meditation even from this young age. Siddhanath, Yogiraj Gurunath (2004). ''Wings to Freedom: Mystic Revelations from Babaji and the Himalayan Yogis''. Alight Publications. ISBN 1931833087. Education He was educated at Sherwood College in Nainital in his youth. He later received a Bachelors degree from Fergusson College in Pune , Maharashtra , India . EARLY YEARS IN THE HIMALAYAS AMONGST THE HAMSA NATH YOGIS In his autobiography, ''Wings to Freedom: Mystic Revelations from Babaji and the Himalayan Yogis'', Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath has written that he spent his early years (pre-1967) in the Himalayas amongst the Nath Siddha s, in whose presence he was transformed. Experiences with Raja Sundernath Gurunath has related in his autobiography ''Wings to Freedom: Mystic Revelations from Babaji and the Himalayan Yogis'', as well as in the film documentary ''Wings to Freedom'' that he had experiences with a Nath yogi he calls Raja Sundarnath during his travels in the Himalayas. Another yogi, Mahayogi Pilot Baba, has also related modern experiences with a yogi he claimed to be over 600 years old called Sundarnath in the Himalayas.Pilot Baba, Mahayogi. ''Himalaya Unveils Mystery.''. "Sunder" and "Sundar" are transliterations of the same Hindi word, which means "Beautiful". Regarding Raja Sundernath, Yogiraj Gurunath has written in his autobiography ''Wings to Freedom:'' I stood in awe, lost in the admiration of this divine yogi of the Gorakshanath lineage. He was recently, in 1924, the Mahant of the Goraknath temple at Gorakpur, and belongs to the DharamNath subsect of Goraknath yogis. Sundernath is the same yogi who entered the body of a South Indian cow-herd and became the Siddha Tirumoolar who wrote the famous treatise on yoga - Tirumantirum. He is still alive in his Sanjeevan body at Alkapuri on the Indo-China border. The Nath established in Svaroop Samadhi, truly the likes of whom saved India's spiritual heritage from the fate that befell ancient Egypt, Babylon, China, Tibet and the Mayan civilization of South America. However, in ''Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis'', G.W. Briggs reports that "Sundernathji, who was head of the {Link without Title} monastery in 1924, died without naming a successor," and that there ensued a conflict over the succession.Briggs, G.W. (1938). ''Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis'', pg. 36. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 0842605495 Experiences with Shiv-Goraksha-Babaji Gurunath has related his life experience in the Himalayas (pre-1967) in which his consciousness was transformed in the company of the HamsaNath yogis. He further states that his divine transformation culminated with his "deep and personal experience" with Shiv-Goraksha-Babaji in 1967, when he was 23 years old: Later, as this soul returned after the experience of both his {Link without Title} form and formless self, I felt, "Oh Lord! The universe a bubble in my consciousness, my consciousness a nothing in thy Nothingness! He further elucidates: It seemed like a vast expansion of inner space, in a different dimension. To me it was like a limitless nothingness, so blinding and bright that it appeared dark, like a massive benevolent black hole, the likes of Mahankala Shiva....This light is always there when a person is totally dissolved into the "Eternal Now," called God. Being is not even an Avatar, not even a Divine Being. He is beyond that, a total Is-ness of the zero-naught-zero Being, Non-being (the formless one), and more. The more I talk about Him, the more of a mess I get into, as the King is beyond all words. Shiv-Goraksha-Babaji is asserted by Gurunath and by several other direct sources and indirect links to be the same as Mahavatar Babaji , referred to in Paramahansa Yogananda's '' Autobiography Of A Yogi ''. The Guru Granth Sahib has numerous sections devoted to Gorakshanath. In this medieval Punjabi text is written that Gorakshanath initiated Kabir. Yogananda also writes in his autobiography that Mahavatar Babaji himself stated that he initiated Kabir, thus establishing the direct connection between Mahavatar Babaji and Gorakshanath Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. Chapter 33. Self Realization Fellowship Publishers. . In her book In the Presence of the Masters, Romola Butalia, an Indian authoriy on Gorakshanath has established definitely both assertions that Guru Gorakhnath initiated Kabir in the middle ages, and that Guru Gorakhnath is also known as Mahavatar Babaji Butalia, Ramola. 2003. In the Presence of the Masters. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN: 8120819462 . Yogiraj Gurunath has also connected Kabir directly with King Barthahari Nath of the middle ages, as well as Lahiri Mahasaya, in his book, ''Wings to Freedom''. Gurunath further asserts Shiv-Goraksha-Babaji to be the spiritual essence of the 9 Nath lords combined. HIS TEACHING CAREER & HIS TEACHINGS Currently, Sat Guru Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath tours the world holding "Unified Consciousness Conferences." Those who are interested in his teachings may go on to receive Initiation into perennial yogic techniques called Hamsa Yoga and '' Mahavatar Babaji's Kriya Yoga ''. In ''Wings to Freedom'', he writes that this has been called "Shiva-Shakti" since time immemorial by the ancient Nath Siddha s of the Himalayas. Yogiraj Gurunath endeavors to impart three experiences to attendees of his "Unified Consciousness Conferences" - Pranapat, Shaktipat and Shivapat. Pranapat means "breathing through the breath" and refers to moving the Prana of the spiritual aspirant. Like Shivapat, it is a term created by Gurunath; Shivapat refers to the specific experience of the spiritual imparting of direct awareness of the Sat Guru's Nirvanic state of "Unmani" or "Unified Field of Consciousness," in which the spiritual aspirant makes the realization that "at the level of Consciousness, humanity, and all of creation, are One." Yogiraj Gurunath started the Hamsa Yoga Sangh in order to promulgate his mission to teach "Earth Peace through Self Peace". According to Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath, ::If Earth peace is to herald the dawn of the New Age, we must all realize that: ::''Humanity is one's only religion,'' ::''Breath one's only prayer, and'' ::''Consciousness one's only God.'' His mission statement for his organization ''Hamsa Yoga Sangh'' is: ::''Meditated to the further of Human awareness,'' ::''Dedicated to serving Humanity as one's larger self, and'' ::''Devoted to making our lives a celebration on this planet'' What is a Satguru? One aspect of Yogiraj Gurunath's work has been to create objective benchmarks for spiritual aspirants. Since anyone can call themselves a Guru or Satguru , and claim that they are Enlightened or God-realized, as these are traditionally characterized by subjective phenomena of personal experience, and thus anecdotal, a spiritual aspirant must use his or her sense of discrimination ( Vivek ) to make decisions about whether a guru is real. Gurunath has elucidated and delineated definitively the objective spiritual graces of a Sat Guru (lit. ''true teacher'') in order to create standards to inform society of objective truth versus fiction. To this end, Gurunath has delineated the three graces of a sat guru - Shaktipat, Pranapat, and Shivapat.
Yogiraj Gurunath also gives the academic and exoteric definition of a Satguru as "One who brings to light the gravity of spiritual knowledge inherent in man." He continues, "The word ''Sat'' means "Truth" and ''Guru'' means "spiritual-gravity". If we go deeper into the meaning of Guru, ''Gu'' is derived from ( Sanskrit ) ''Guhya'', which means "hidden knowledge of spiritual gravity" and ''Ru'' means 'Light of Knowingness'. So the Satguru is ''He who brings to light the Gravity of Spiritual Knowledge of God inherent in Man.'' The Satguru has the magnetism to attract deserving Souls and thereby enable them to tread the path of spiritual evolution. This statement applies not to the masses who are taken care of by the Guru-teachers, but to the sincere disciples who are ready to tread the solitary path to God by laying their lives on the line. "Laying one's life on the line" means breathing the Kundalini life-breath in the line of the Vajra nadi, the central channel within the Sushumna channel, which is within the channel of the spinal cord. The High Initiates then move into the Chitrini channel from where they proceed to the Brahma nadi, the final Niranjan Nirvana called Moksha." Gurunath Siddhanath, Yogiraj. ''Wings to Freedom: Mystic Revelations from Babaji and the Himalayan Yogis.'' Alight Publications, 2004. Poetry Gurunath uses poetry to instruct spiritual aspirants of the deeper nature of spiritual experience. At present, he has two published books of his poetry, ''Dew-drops of the Soul'', and ''Anubhuti'' which also includes many poems written in the sanksrit language. He also has quoted excerpts of his poetry in all other teaching materials released by the Hamsa Yoga Sangh such as: You are not this house of flesh and bone Which sleeps decays and dies You are immortal Consciousness Lord of the Earth and skies Let not precious moments slip by Seek now! The ultimate Truth Jivhamsa spread your wings to fly Immortal realms which death defy Yogiraj Gurunath has written at length regarding his experiences with Shiv-Goraksha Babaji, in an attempt to clarify his origins and essence. He calls Babaji by many names: the ''Nameless One'', the ''Eternal Now'', the ''Non-being Essentiality'' and others. He has also written poetry on these experiences. Excerpt from "Dedication to Shiva-Goraksha-Babaji": Who art thou? I know thee not, and yet I am of thee :''I cannot comprehend thee Lord, Thou emperor of Divinity I sit and melt in silence Of thy love, Oh Infinite Make me thy Truth Make me thy Love Eternal Lord of Light DIFFERENCES WITH TRADITIONAL VIEWS Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath's claims and purported visions differ from several documented traditional views, namely:
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|