Mahāvatār Bābājī (literally; Great Avatar Dear Father) is the name given to an Indian saint and yogi by Lahiri Mahasaya and several of his disciples, who reported meeting him between 1861 and 1935.
Some of these meetings were described by Paramahansa Yogananda in his book Autobiography of a Yogi, which you can download on ‘Audible’ or listen on YouTube for FREE. In the book Paramahansa gives a first-hand report of his meeting with the yogi.
Another first hand account was given by Swami Sri Yukteswar in his book The Holy Science, which you can download on ‘Audible’ or listen on YouTube for FREE.
According to Sri M’s autobiography ‘Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master’ he claims Babaji was Shiva. Sri M is Sri Madhukarnath Ji. In the second last chapter of his book, he mentions Babaji changing his form to that of Shiva. All of these accounts, along with additional reported meetings, are described in various biographies.
Who is Shiva?
Shiva is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods are Brahma and Vishnu.
Brahma is the Creator of the Universe, while Vishnu is the Preserver of it. Shiva's role is to destroy the Universe in order to re-construct it. Pretty much like Scorpio or Pluto energy in Astrology.
Babaji revived Kriya Yoga (ancient yoga system), which Siddha Patanjali refers to in his famous, ‘The Yoga-Sutras.’
Patanjali wrote his classic text of yoga in about the 3rd century A.D. In this classic text he defines Kriya Yoga in II.1 as, “constant practice (particularly by the cultivation of detachment), self-study and devotion to the Lord.”
However, along with what Patanjali described as Kriya Yoga, Babaji added the teachings of the tantra, which includes the cultivation of ‘kundalini,’ the great potential power and consciousness, through the use of breathing, mantras and devotional practices. His modern synthesis of ‘Kriya Yoga,’ includes a rich variety of techniques. It was in 1861 that Babaji initiated Lahiri Mahasaya into his powerful Kriya Yoga system.
In 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda, one of modern India’s greatest yogis, revealed in his classic “Autobiography of a Yogi,” the existence of a Christ-like saint, an immortal yogi, Mahavatar Babaji. 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 deathless Master (Babaji) is more than 2000 years old. He belongs to a very powerful lineage of Siddha Boganthar and Rishi Agastya as his Gurus. He acquired this deathless, non-perishable body through tough yogik kriyas.
Babaji was a great ‘siddha’, which is one who has overcome ordinary human limitations, and who worked silently, behind the scenes for the spiritual evolution of all humanity.
The siddha’s are great yogi superpowers.
Paramahansa Yogananda also revealed that it was Babaji who taught a powerful series of yogic techniques, know as “Kriya Yoga,” to Lahiri Mahasaya, around 1861, and who subsequently initiated many others, including Yogananda`s own Christ-like guru, Sri Yukteswar, some thirty years later.
Yogananda spent 10 years with his guru Sri Yukteswar, before Babaji himself appeared to him, and directed him to bring the sacred science of Kriya to the West.
According to his autobiography, shortly before Yogananda left for America in 1920, Babaji came to his home in Calcutta, where the young monk sat deeply praying for divine assurance regarding the mission he was about to undertake. Babaji said to him: “Follow the behest of your guru and go to America. Fear not; you shall be protected. You are the one I have chosen to spread the message of Kriya Yoga in the West.”
Yogananda fulfilled this sacred mission from 1920 to 1952, when he left his body and attained the yogic state of Mahasamadhi (the act of consciously and intentionally leaving one's body at the moment of death).
As a final tribute to the efficacy of Kriya Yoga and the blessings of his lineage, the body of Yogananda did not deteriorate during the 21 days it lay exposed, before being interred in a crypt in Los Angeles.
March 7, 2002 marked the 50th anniversary of Yogananda’s remarkable passing. When his remains were transferred to a permanent “samadhi” shrine in March 2002, millions around the world remembered with gratitude what Yogananda’s legacy has given to them.
