Mahavatar Babaji: Difference between revisions

Mahavatar Babaji
Mahavatar Babaji
	Mahavatar Babaji meditating in the lotus position – a drawing from Autobiography of a Yogi, commissioned by Paramahansa Yogananda and based on his own meeting with Babaji
Personal
Religion	Hinduism
School	Yoga
Known for	Kriya Yoga
Religious career
	Disciples Lahiri Mahasaya;
	Influenced George Harrison, Paramahansa Yogananda, Rajinikanth, Roger Hodgson, Steve Jobs, The Beatles, Yukteswar Giri, Vishwananda;

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Mahavatar Babaji (IAST: Mahāvatāra Bābājī; lit. 'Great Avatar (Revered) Father') is the Himalayan yogi and guru who taught Kriya Yoga to Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895).^[2]^[3]^[a] Babaji first became recognized through the writings of Paramahansa Yogananda, who devoted a chapter of his Autobiography of a Yogi to Babaji and founded Self-Realization Fellowship, a modern yoga movement that Babaji is associated with.^[3] The cave where Babaji met Lahiri Mahasaya, located near Ranikhet, is now a tourist attraction and place of pilgrimage in India.^[4]^: 170

In popular culture

Mahavatar Babaji was on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.^[5]^[1]^[6] He can also be seen on the cover of George Harrison's 1974 album Dark Horse. Songwriter Roger Hodgson of English rock band Supertramp composed a song called "Babaji" in reference to Mahavatar Babaji. This song was recorded and released on their 1977 album Even in the Quietest Moments...^[7] In Book 3 of Conversations with God (1998), by Neale Donald Walsch, it is mentioned that Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, like Jesus.^[8]

The 2002 film Baba featured a fictional encounter with Mahavatar Babaji.^[4]^{: 235, 314} The film was produced by Rajinikanth, a devotee of Babaji.^[9]

Notes

^ Babaji's other names include Mahamuni Babaji Maharaj (Supreme Ecstatic Master), Maha Yogi (Great Yogi), and Trambak Baba or Shiva Baba (incarnations of Shiva).^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b cnn.com "How the 'Sgt. Pepper' cover might have looked today". Retrieved 31 August 2017.
^ Miller, Timothy (1995). America's alternative religions. Internet Archive. Albany : State University of New York Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7914-2397-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Jones, Constance (2008). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Internet Archive. New York : Checkmark Books, an imprint of Infobase Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-8160-7336-8.
^ ^a ^b Virk, Rizwan (2023). Wisdom of a Yogi. Bayview Books. ISBN 978-1-954872-10-3.
^ Tillery, Gary (2011). Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison. Quest. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8356-0900-5.
^ "Who Are All Those People in SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Spacious Planet". Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
^ Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Omnibus Press. pp. 124–126. ISBN 0-7119-0787-0.
^ Walsch, Neale Donald, Conversations with God: an uncommon dialog (Book #3), page 95.
^ Chaubey, Santosh (16 March 2018). "Here's how Rajinikanth became a devotee of Mahavatar Babaji". India Today.

External links

Autobiography of a Yogi on Wikisource

[4] Babaji's other names include Mahamuni Babaji Maharaj (Supreme Ecstatic Master), Maha Yogi (Great Yogi), and Trambak Baba or Shiva Baba (incarnations of Shiva).^[3]

[beatles-1] .com "How the 'Sgt. Pepper' cover might have looked today". Retrieved 31 August 2017.

[:1-2] Miller, Timothy (1995). America's alternative religions. Internet Archive. Albany : State University of New York Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-7914-2397-4.

[:0-3] Jones, Constance (2008). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Internet Archive. New York : Checkmark Books, an imprint of Infobase Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-8160-7336-8.

[:2-5] Virk, Rizwan (2023). Wisdom of a Yogi. Bayview Books. ISBN 978-1-954872-10-3.

[6] Tillery, Gary (2011). Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison. Quest. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-8356-0900-5.

[7] "Who Are All Those People in SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Spacious Planet". Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.

[supertramp-8] Melhuish, Martin (1986). The Supertramp Book. Omnibus Press. pp. 124–126. ISBN 0-7119-0787-0.

[9] Walsch, Neale Donald, Conversations with God: an uncommon dialog (Book #3), page 95.

[10] Chaubey, Santosh (16 March 2018). "Here's how Rajinikanth became a devotee of Mahavatar Babaji". India Today.

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@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | caption            = Mahavatar Babaji [[meditating]] in the [[lotus position]] – a drawing from ''Autobiography of a Yogi'', commissioned by Paramahansa Yogananda and based on his own meeting with Babaji
 | religion           = [[Hinduism]]
-| nationality        = [[India]]n
 | relatives          =
 | honors             =
@@ Line 14: / Line 13: @@
 | school             = [[Yoga]]
 | disciples          = [[Lahiri Mahasaya]]
-| influenced         = [[George Harrison]], [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], [[Rajinikanth]], [[Roger Hodgson]], [[Steve Jobs]], [[The Beatles]],<ref name=beatles/> [[Yukteswar Giri]]
+| influenced         = [[George Harrison]], [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], [[Rajinikanth]], [[Roger Hodgson]], [[Steve Jobs]], [[The Beatles]],<ref name=beatles/> [[Yukteswar Giri]], [[Vishwananda]]
 | birth_date         =
 | birth_place        =
 }}
-'''Mahavatar Babaji''' ({{IAST3|Mahāvatāra Bābājī}}; {{literal translation|Great [[Avatar]] [[Indian honorific#Replacement_type|(Revered) Father]]}}) is the Himalayan [[yogi]] and [[guru]] who taught [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya Yoga]] to [[Lahiri Mahasaya]] (1828–1895).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Timothy |url=http://archive.org/details/americasalternat00mill |title=America's alternative religions |date=1995 |publisher=Albany : State University of New York Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7914-2397-4 |pages=178}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |url=http://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofhi0000jone_r9k7 |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |date=2008 |publisher=New York : Checkmark Books, an imprint of Infobase Publishing |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8160-7336-8 |pages=61}}</ref> Babaji first became recognized through the writings of [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], who devoted a chapter of his ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]'' to Babaji and founded [[Self-Realization Fellowship]], a modern yoga movement that Babaji is associated with.<ref name=":0" />
+'''Mahavatar Babaji''' ({{IAST3|Mahāvatāra Bābājī}}; {{literal translation|Great [[Avatar]] [[Indian honorific#Replacement_type|(Revered) Father]]}}) is the Himalayan [[yogi]] and [[guru]] who taught [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya Yoga]] to [[Lahiri Mahasaya]] (1828–1895).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Timothy |url=http://archive.org/details/americasalternat00mill |title=America's alternative religions |date=1995 |publisher=Albany : State University of New York Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7914-2397-4 |pages=178}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Constance |url=http://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofhi0000jone_r9k7 |title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism |date=2008 |publisher=New York : Checkmark Books, an imprint of Infobase Publishing |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8160-7336-8 |pages=61}}</ref>{{efn|Babaji's other names include ''Mahamuni Babaji Maharaj'' (Supreme Ecstatic Master), ''Maha Yogi'' (Great Yogi), and ''Trambak Baba'' or ''Shiva Baba'' (incarnations of [[Shiva]]).<ref name=":0" />}} Babaji first became recognized through the writings of [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], who devoted a chapter of his ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]'' to Babaji and founded [[Self-Realization Fellowship]], a modern yoga movement that Babaji is associated with.<ref name=":0" /> The cave where Babaji met Lahiri Mahasaya, located near [[Ranikhet]], is now a tourist attraction and place of pilgrimage in India.<ref name=":2" />{{Rp|page=170}}
 ==In popular culture==
-Mahavatar Babaji was on the cover of [[The Beatles]]' 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''. He can also be seen on the cover of [[George Harrison]]'s 1974 album ''[[Dark Horse (George Harrison album)|Dark Horse]]''.<ref name="beatles">cnn.com {{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/31/entertainment/sgt-pepper-cover-anniversary-trnd/index.html |title=How the 'Sgt. Pepper' cover might have looked today|access-date=2017-08-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spaciousplanet.com/world/guide/who-are-all-those-people-in-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band |title=Who Are All Those People in SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Spacious Planet |access-date=2011-11-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024180614/http://www.spaciousplanet.com/world/guide/who-are-all-those-people-in-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band |archive-date=24 October 2011 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Songwriter [[Roger Hodgson]] of English rock band [[Supertramp]] composed a song called "[[Babaji (song)|Babaji]]" in reference to Mahavatar Babaji. This song was recorded and released on their 1977 album ''[[Even in the Quietest Moments...]]''<ref name="supertramp">{{Cite book |last=Melhuish |first=Martin |title=The Supertramp Book |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=0-7119-0787-0 |pages=124–126}}</ref> In Book 3 of ''[[Conversations with God]]'' (1998), by [[Neale Donald Walsch]], it is mentioned that Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, like [[Jesus]].<ref>Walsch, Neale Donald, ''Conversations with God: an uncommon dialog (Book #3)'', page 95.</ref>
+Mahavatar Babaji was on the cover of [[The Beatles]]' 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tillery |first=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ajhTvx3NQPYC |title=Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison |publisher=Quest |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-8356-0900-5 |page=81 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="beatles">cnn.com {{cite news |title=How the 'Sgt. Pepper' cover might have looked today |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/31/entertainment/sgt-pepper-cover-anniversary-trnd/index.html |access-date=2017-08-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Who Are All Those People in SGT Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - Spacious Planet |url=http://www.spaciousplanet.com/world/guide/who-are-all-those-people-in-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111024180614/http://www.spaciousplanet.com/world/guide/who-are-all-those-people-in-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band |archive-date=24 October 2011 |access-date=2011-11-28 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> He can also be seen on the cover of [[George Harrison]]'s 1974 album ''[[Dark Horse (George Harrison album)|Dark Horse]]''. Songwriter [[Roger Hodgson]] of English rock band [[Supertramp]] composed a song called "[[Babaji (song)|Babaji]]" in reference to Mahavatar Babaji. This song was recorded and released on their 1977 album ''[[Even in the Quietest Moments...]]''<ref name="supertramp">{{Cite book |last=Melhuish |first=Martin |title=The Supertramp Book |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=0-7119-0787-0 |pages=124–126}}</ref> In Book 3 of ''[[Conversations with God]]'' (1998), by [[Neale Donald Walsch]], it is mentioned that Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, like [[Jesus]].<ref>Walsch, Neale Donald, ''Conversations with God: an uncommon dialog (Book #3)'', page 95.</ref>
-The 2002 film ''[[Baba (2002 film)|Baba]]'' featured a fictional encounter with Mahavatar Babaji.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Virk |first=Rizwan |title=Wisdom of a Yogi |publisher=Bayview Books |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-954872-10-3 |pages=235, 314}}</ref> The film was produced by [[Rajinikanth]], a devotee of Babaji.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chaubey |first=Santosh |date=16 March 2018 |title=Here's how Rajinikanth became a devotee of Mahavatar Babaji |work=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/what-s-hot/story/here-s-how-rajinikanth-became-a-devotee-of-mahavatar-babaji-1191001-2018-03-16}}</ref>
+The 2002 film ''[[Baba (2002 film)|Baba]]'' featured a fictional encounter with Mahavatar Babaji.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Virk |first=Rizwan |title=Wisdom of a Yogi |publisher=Bayview Books |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-954872-10-3 |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=235, 314}} The film was produced by [[Rajinikanth]], a devotee of Babaji.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chaubey |first=Santosh |date=16 March 2018 |title=Here's how Rajinikanth became a devotee of Mahavatar Babaji |work=India Today |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/what-s-hot/story/here-s-how-rajinikanth-became-a-devotee-of-mahavatar-babaji-1191001-2018-03-16}}</ref>
-==Babaji's cave==
-Mahavatar Babaji's Cave, located in [https://www.dunagiri.com/ Dunagiri] near [[Dwarahat]] in [[Uttarakhand]], India, holds significant historical and spiritual significance. This revered site is where Mahavatar Babaji initiated [[Lahiri Mahasaya]] into [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya Yoga]] in 1861.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dunagiri Retreat {{!}} Yoga Retreat Near Babaji Cave Himalayas |url=https://www.dunagiri.com/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=Dunagiri Retreat |language=en}}</ref>
-[[File:Babaji Temple at Dunagiri Retreat in Uttarakhand, India.jpg|alt=Mahavatar Babaji's Temple at Dunagiri Retreat, Uttarakhand|thumb|261x261px|Mahavatar Babaji's Temple at Dunagiri Retreat, Uttarakhand]]
-The cave's significance is highlighted in [[Paramahansa Yogananda]]'s "[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]," particularly in the chapter "Materialising a Palace in the Himalayas."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yogoda Satsanga Sakha Ashram, Dwarahat |url=https://yssofindia.org/ashrams/yogoda-satsanga-sakha-ashram-dwarahat |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=Yogoda Satsanga Society of India |language=en-US}}</ref> The teachings and legacy of Kriya Yoga, as imparted by Mahavatar Babaji in this cave, continue to influence and inspire countless individuals on their spiritual journeys.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-09 |title=Sri Sri Mahavatar Babaji Cave, Dwarahat, Uttarakhand - Sannidhi The Presence |url=https://sannidhi.net/sannidhi/sri-sri-mahavatar-babaji-cave-dwarahat-uttarakhand/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>
 ==See also==
@@ Line 36: / Line 30: @@
 * [[Yogoda Satsanga Society of India]] – founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1917
-==Notes==
+== Notes ==
+{{notelist}}
+==References==
 {{Reflist|30em}}
 ==External links==
@@ Line 50: / Line 46: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Babaji, Mahavatar}}
 [[Category:203 births]]
-[[Category:Ascetics]]
+[[Category:Hindu ascetics]]
 [[Category:Consequentialists]]
 [[Category:Hindu mystics]]

v t e Hindu reform movements
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Topics	Bhakti Brahmacharya Caste Ghar Wapsi Moksha Neo-Vedanta Persecution of Hindus Shuddhi Women in Hinduism
Gurus and revivalist writers	Meher Baba Amritanandamayi Ananda Yogi Anandamayi Ma Anukulchandra Chakravarty Arumuka Navalar Athavale Aurobindo Boro Maa Chatterjee Chinmayananda Saraswati Chinmoy Dayananda Saraswati Daya Mata Ganapathi Sachchidananda Haidakhan Babaji Hariharananda Giri Jaggi Vasudev Jyotirao Phule Kalki Bhagawan Kelkar, N. C. Kriyananda Lekhraj Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Mahatma Gandhi Mirra Alfassa Narayana Guru Neem Karoli Nirmala Paramananda Prem Rawat Ram Chandra Ram Dass Ram Mohan Roy Ramakrishna Ramana Maharshi Ravi Shankar Sarkar Sathya Sai Baba Savarkar Sen, K. C. Shraddhanand Sister Nivedita Sivananda Swami Rama Tagore, D. Tilak Vaswani Vipulananda Vishnudevananda Vivekananda Yogananda more
General	Indian diaspora Indianisation Influence of Indian religions Indian-origin religions Hinduism Buddhism Jainism Sikhism Persecution of Hindus

v t e Paramahansa Yogananda
Bibliography
Books	Autobiography of a Yogi (1946) God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita (1995) The Second Coming of Christ (2004)
Founded	Yogoda Satsanga Society of India Self-Realization Fellowship Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine World Brotherhood Colonies
Lineage	Mahavatar Babaji Lahiri Mahasaya Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri Direct disciples of Yogananda
Related	Bishnu Charan Ghosh (brother) Kriya Yoga "Dear One" (1976 song) Awake: The Life of Yogananda (2014 documentary) "Unshaken" (2019 song)

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