Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Mahavatar Babaji (meaning 'Great Avatar (Revered) Father') is the name given to his guru by Indian (Hindu) Yogi Yogiraj Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895), and several of his disciples, who reportedly appeared to them between 1861 and 1985, as described in various publications and biographies.

According to Yogananda's autobiography, Babaji has resided for at least hundreds of years in the remote Himalayan regions of India, seen in person by only a small number of disciples and others.

The first reported encounter with Mahavatar Babaji (commonly known as Babaji) was in 1861, when Shyāmacharan Lahirī (called "Mahāsaya" by disciples, devotees, and admirers) was posted to Ranikhet in his work as an accountant for the British government. One day while walking in the hills of Dunagiri above Ranikhet, he heard a voice calling his name. Following the voice up the mountain, he met a "tall, divinely radiant sadhu." He was amazed to find that the sadhu knew his name. This sadhu was Mahavatar Babaji.

According to his disciples, The Mahavatar is in constant communion with Christ; and together they send out vibrations of redemption, and have planned the spiritual technique of salvation for this age. The work of these two fully-illumined masters—one with the body, and one without it—is to inspire the nations to forsake suicidal wars, race hatreds, religious sectarianism, and the boomerang-evils of materialism. Babaji is well aware of the trend of modern times, especially of the influence and complexities of Western civilization, and realizes the necessity of spreading the self-liberations of yoga equally in the West and in the East.

To me, this belief system falls into the same category as other false religions (such as Mormonism) that claim approval or sanctioning by Christ through contacts with Him, or place their leaders on a par with Christ, while also providing purported extra-Scriptural guidance or teachings from Him that contradict His own words as contained in the Bible.

(See also https://ebible.com/questions/892-what-is-an-avatar-in-hinduism-was-jesus-an-avatar and https://ebible.com/questions/3086-what-is-hinduism-and-what-do-hindus-believe)

July 02 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report