Aarati - that portion of the Hindu worship service in which fire, air, water, earth, and ether are offered before an image of God, as a symbol of light overcoming the darkness of human ignorance.

Asan - Generally, a mat or blanket on which a person sits, cross-legged, on the ground or floor. Also refers to a more elaborate seat on which a yogi or saint sits to perform worship or to receive devotees.

Ashram - in modern usage, a religious community, a place for spiritual training or renewal.

Baba - A renunciate or saint; Father, in the sense of priest or God.

Bhakta - A devotee of God, or of a guru. A person filled with devotion.

Bhagavad Gita - Religious scripture which contains the essence of Lord Krishna's teaching in the form of a dialogue between Lord krishn and Arjuna, Krishna's greatest devotee. The Gita is a segment of the Mahabharata.

Bhagwan - God or Lord

Bhajans - Generally, hymns to the Divine. Also used in the sense of expression of worship through several forms, including the devotee's prayers, meditation. Worship is also work dedicated to the Divine.

Bhandara - A joyous festival feast

Bhole Baba ki Jai! - Honor or glory (jai) to the simple (bhole) father.

Brahma - One of the triumvirate of hindu forms of God who are responsible for creating, maintaining/sustaining, and destruction/purification/restoration of the universe. Brahma is the Creator.

Brahman - The Hindu concept of God as beyond or above the form of human attributes-- totally detached, Pure Consciousness, the blissful Source from which comes everything that exists.

Danda - God's punishing stick or rod; also used as a walking stick.

Darbar - A meeting of a king's or of God's royal court.

Darshan - the enjoyment of the presence and vision of a respected or revered person or of God, in any of His forms.

Dharma - Duty or Religion or Way

Dhuni - A dhuni (sacred fire) is worshipped by spiritual intention and the kindling of a flame inside it. Suitable materials are offered to the dhuni and consumed by the heat or flame. This represents the eternal process of change and transformation on all levels of existence.

Gita - See Bhagavad Gita

Guru - A spiritual teacher who undertakes to guide his disciples to realization of God.

Gurudev - A disciple's affectionate term for his or her guru. It refers to the guru as God (deva), reflecting the disciple's surrender to the guru, who then leads the disciple to God.

Guru Grantha Sahib - The Holy scripture of the Sikh Faith.

Hanuman - Hanuman is the monkey deity renowned for his courage, power and faithful, selfless service.

Herakhan (Haidakhan; Hairakhan) Vishwa Mahadham - Shri Babaji's ashram and the surrounding sacred area. The words translate as Herakhan, the most wonderful or greatest place in the universe.

Jai Maha Maya Ki - Honor or Glory to the Great (maha) Illusory Force. Hail to the Primordial energy of the Universe. Hail to the Universal Mother.

Jap, or Japa - The continual repetition of a mantra. (verbal or mental).

-ji - A suffix reflecting respect and love, as Babaji, Prabhuji, etc.

Kali Yuga - The Age (Yuga) in which materialistic forces dominate the activities of the world and spiritual values decline.

Karma - Cause and effect from life to life. Work or activity offered to God, as in Karma Yoga.

Karma Yoga - The path of selfless action and selfless service.

Kirtan - Religious songs which repeat the names of God. For example, the mantra Om Namaha Shivaya is sung for minutes on end to any of a dozen or more tunes.

Krishna - Lord Krishna, a manifestation of God on earth, in India in prehistoric times. The Mahabharata, a great Indian epic, contains the stories of His lifetime. The Bhagavad Gita, which is contained within the Mahabharata, summarizes Lord Krishna's spiritual teachings.

Leela (or Lila) - The activities of God in one of His human forms. What we see as specifically God's action.

Mahabharata - The story of Lord Krishna's period in human form on earth. The era was a time of a great war symbolic of the destruction of evil in society.

Mahaprabhuji - Maha means great; prabhu means Lord, or God. Mahaprabhu means the Supreme God. The suffix ji is used as an added term of reverence and love.

Mahavtar - An avatar is a Being divinely sent to earth, born of a womb. A mahavtar (maha avatar) is a manifestation of God, not born of a woman.

Mahesh - One of the many names of Lord Shiva, who is seen by some as the destructive or purificatory aspect of the Hindu trinity of Gods (Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara).

Mantra - "Man" means mind; "tra" means control; a mantra is a means for the control of the mind. A mantra is a Sanskrit phrase used to quiet, then to control the mind - to keep the mind from racing unproductively from thought to thought, which keeps it and the soul of the person attached to the material world rather than to the spiritual world.

Maya - Illusion.

Muni - An enlightened person.

Om Namah Shivaya - Also written and pronounced Om Namah Shivai. Said to be the first words uttered by the Creative Source; the oldest mantra. It can be translated as I bow to/ surrender to/take refuge in Shiva. Lord Shiva is known as the Doer of Good, and the mantra is also interpreted to mean, I bow to whatever Good is happening and to Whomsoever is doing it.

Pinda Kacha, Sabda Sacha - The body is perishable, the word is eternal.

Prabhu - Lord; God, Master.

Pranam - A form of obeisance and respect, in which one touches the head to the ground or touches the feet of the form or person who is being worshipped or to whom great respect is being shown.

Prasad - A gift from God or a saint, or a remainder of what has been offered to and blessed by him and given for distribution.

Puja -  The act of showing reverence to a God, a spirit, or another aspect of the Divine through invocations, prayers, songs, and rituals.

Ram or Rama - Lord Ram, a manifestation of God on earth, in India, prior to Lord Krishna's manifestation. The Ramayana, one of the greatest epics of world literature, contains the story of His life.

Ramayana - The epic tale of Lord Ram's life.

Ravaana - A demon embodying and representing the forces of evil in the Ramayana.

Rishi - A great, learned saint.

Sadhana - Religious practice; one's spiritual path.

Sanatan Dharma - The eternal duty or religion; the original spiritual path by which Creation was formed and operated in harmony; the Source of all existing religions, which partially reflect it.

Sanskrit - An ancient Indian language, the language of early Hindu scriptures.

Sata Guna - The high, blissful spiritual qualities which must predominate in the person who is nearing God-realization. These qualities include inner peace, absence of attachment to things of the material world, bliss, divine love.

Shastri - A person learned in the Vedas and Puranas - the early Hindu scriptures. One earns the title after many years of study. Shri - A title of respect, especially for God or a holy man.

Shiva - Shiva ("The Auspicious One"), also known as Mahadeva ("Great God"), is one of the main deities of Hinduism. He is one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism. He is one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta (an orthodox Hindu "family tradition") tradition, and "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer" among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine.

Sikhs - An Indian religious sect founded from the teachings of Guru Nanak, a 16th century saint, believing in oneness of humanity and worshipping the Guru Granth Sahib.

Sita - The consort, wife of Lord Ram. She is the ideal of Indian womanhood.

Vedas - The earliest of scriptures; the base of the Hindu religion.

Vishnu - One of the three major Gods in the Hindu religion; the Maintainer or Sustainer of the Creation. Ram and Krishna were manifestations of Vishnu.

Yagna - A special (usually nine-day) sacred fire ceremony, accompanied by the reading of scriptures and other religious activities.

Yoga - Literally, yoke or union. A yoga is a pathway to union with God. Babaji stresses dedicated work (Karma yoga) as the best means of attaining God in this Age.

Yogi - One who practices yoga; a renunciate.

From Elizabeth

You asked for stories, here is my small one.

After nearly a baker's dozen years of fully awakened "kundalini" by accident, crippling, life-threatening, devastating, obliterating, I visited a devotee of Muktananda upstate to see about an adjustment to my permanent state of meditation-type consciousness. This was in order to be able to sleep, and be awake during the day, not halfway to either.

He suggested I chant "OM NAMAH SHIVAYA", and gave me his CD, which was in the same zone as my state I wanted to alter ! So I decided to search the internet for another version more to my liking, and I found Babaji, not knowing who he was. On the photos page, I opened one picture so it was larger, and suddenly became inspired to dance.

Immediately I stood up, and began to chant and dance in a circle with ecstasy, and could not stop for an hour, I was so enraptured ! What a great soul, I thought, right on the same wavelength!

Since that day, that moment, between the dance and my helpful Muktananda fan who pointed me to Babaji, I have slept wonderfully ! All day I am alert, and able to read books again after many years of not being able to focus. Naturally that is important for an Architect, especially one with her own practice and in New York City too!

That's all, there is more, but I hope you enjoy good news !

Thanks again,
Elizabeth

Meeting Babaji

In 1989 I spent eight months in India. Most of the time with Sai Baba and at Ramana Ashram in Southern India. One day Sai Baba glanced at me and after I recovered from the shaktipa I got the message, "Go to the mountains, the Himalayas." The next day I left my wife and five year old son with Baba and took a bus and plane to Delhi, and another day's bus ride to Rishikesh.

I was just getting over dysentery and stayed there for about two weeks to build my strength. I and a new friend then took a bus to the village of Kedranath, at 6000 feet, with the intention of going to the high temple of Kedra when the path opened in a few days. It was the spring opening.

On that day we, along with dozens of other Shiva devotees, trekked the 5000 feet,13 km to the temple. By the time I reached the last mile I was exhausted. When the temple appeared over the horizon I received a bolt of energy and almost sprinted the last half mile.

We entered the small stone temple. Inside was a large monolithic rock, a Shiva lingum about 10 feet high and 5 feet across. It was worn and black with the oil from centuries of devotees hands. As I placed my hands on the lingum a column of white light came down through my crown into the Earth and I heard the words, "Your enlightenment is assured."

I knew its source. By the time we returned to our rooms that night I was sick again, but decided to move on anyway. India appears to be the place where one surrenders the body and then realizes that perfect health is less important than enlightenment.

On our way to Badrinath, another high temple, my friend and I spent the night at Tungnath. It's a small way-stop open only for a few weeks in the spring and again after the monsoons. There were only about half a dozen people at Tungnath, sellers of fruit and soft drinks to travelers. We decided to spend the night. There were no "real" lodgings and it was suggested that we could stay in a small stone hut with no doors or windows, and straw on the ground. This was great.

The next morning we were eating some of the staples from our backpacks when a young man walked out of the woods. He was about 20, in ragged clothing and no shoes. He went over to the locals and just stood in front of them saying nothing but not begging. They shooed him away and he come over to us and did the same. My first thought was to offer him money and I presented a few rupees. He motioned with his hand that he did not want them. We then realized that he was retarded, or at least suffering from some severe mental disability. We were stuck as to why he was there. He then made some motion, I don't remember exactly what, which indicated that he wanted clothing. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a spare pair of pants and a rather used shirt and handed them to him. He nodded, turned and walked back into the woods.

I had been fascinated by Babaji the Immortal from the "Autobiography" for years. In fact it was in my mind when I left Sai Baba that I would look for him, but the Shiva temple seemed to be the priority. I felt at the time that it may have been that Babaji. In the ensuing years my suspicions have grown stronger, along with my intuition and now I truly believe that it was him. I still ponder over the meaning of our meeting.

We never got to Badranath and later that day climbed another 1000 feet to the Tungnath Temple where we spent a week in similar lodgings, doing yoga in an open field of flowers surrounded at times by hummingbirds the size of bumble bees. This place is far enough North that the temple looks like a blending of India and Tibet. The mountains there are riddled with foot thick veins of quartz crystal and there is an ancient 15 foot wide stone road which apparently connects all of the four Indian high temples and spans over a hundred miles of the Himalayas. We climbed another several hundred feet and stood on a knoll covered with stacks of rocks honoring Shiva which had been left by previous pilgrims. From that place there is a 180 degree panorama of the Himalayas of India and into Tibet.

Returning to Delhi, and eventually to Sai Baba, was returning from a place that really defies complete description.

Robin Irelan

Rose Quartz Necklace
Shared by Marge DeVivo - written October 6, 1998

I was in Haidakhan with Babaji in 1982. We arrived on June 26. During one of the karma yoga (work) sessions, EVERYONE in the ashram was needed on the construction line. The wall had to be finished before the monsoon started. We lined up and passed a metal disk full of dirt from one person to the next all the way up a hill and then up a ladder to pour into a very high wall full of rocks.

There were men, women, and children of all ages, nationalities, sizes, and levels of strength situated along this line. The man who filled the pan struck me as an obnoxious person, and he handed them to me. He and I had an instant dislike for one another. I turned and passed the disk on to a very tiny Indian woman, who would groan and wince when she got it. I asked the man to fill it less full, and he just laughed at me and kept filling them more and more. I decided he was not very nice, so I would take the very full pan, dump some dirt off, and then pass it to this lady. This really teed him off, as could be expected. We kept up this little game for quite some time, with Babaji right there watching everyone in the line every minute, giving instructions here and there. He didn't say anything to either of us at that time.

Suddenly, Babaji called all the women off the line and told them to sit down and have a cold drink, which He had prepared for all of us. This was a relief. I walked over to the wall and Babaji came right over to me and talked to me just inches away from my face while He pinched my right bicep with alot of force. I had studied acupressure and He had such a strong grip on my upper arm I could hardly breathe!! (I later found out this pressure point is to release any congestion in the lungs. I had had lung problems all my life.) At the same time He was looking into my eyes and asking me questions. I could barely answer, with the pressure on my arm and looking into His eyes was always like looking into outer space - just the VOID!). He ended the conversation with "... Oh, you go rest; go now!" This was said very quietly, very slowly, and with great compassion, as if He felt like I was really exhausted. I started to wonder if I was. Later that evening at Arati, I saw that the same obnoxious guy was there, but

I didn't notice I was directly behind him in the darshan line (the line of people who go up to the seat where Babaji is and pay their respects). I was so self-absorbed about all the happenings of the day and where I was and Who I was with that I just kept moving forward in the line, very happy to be here with Shri MahaPrabhuji and not noticing this guy in front of me.

When I got to Babaji and gave my pranam, as I lifted my head He slipped a necklace of rose quartz over my head and gave me some prasad. I was stunned to receive this beautiful necklace, and couldn't get over how it just landed on my neck so easily and smoothly without my even knowing He had it. Later, others told me that the necklace had been placed on Babaji's neck by "my mortal enemy," the man who filled the dirt pans. Babaji had taken it off his own neck as I bowed down and put it on my neck as I rose. After that, this man and I would see each other in the ashram and always smile and I would show him my necklace. He was a jeweler and had made this necklace for Babaji. Rose quartz is the stone that heals the hurts in the heart, and it would appear that this man and I had past-life karma to settle. In this very subtle, perfect way, Babaji healed the whole situation and the two of us.

This is only one tiny example of what people call "Babaji Theater." It seems He would manipulate the universe into these little scenarios that brought out the best in everyone. There are hundreds of these stories that are shared among those who were in Babaji's physical presence. I hope to share some more of them with you soon.

Om Namah Shivaya
Love
Marge Devivo

Monsoon
Shared by Marge DeVivo, November 13, 1998

In spring of 1982, after longing to go to India to visit Babaji for the three years I had known of Him being there, Leonard Orr's "Physical Immortality" book appeared in a B. Dalton Bookstore in Lincoln, Nebraska, with Babaji's painting on the cover. This seems to have been quite a miraculous event just to even have it in that bookstore!

Having been acquainted with Babaji's paintings through a metaphysical teacher who had shown us many of these in his class, this book seemed to just jump off the shelf and come to my home of its own volition.

The chapters in the book about Babaji were astonishing! What I remember most is Leonard saying, "Babaji is there waiting for you. Why don't you go and visit Him? Here's His address." Now even though I had ALMOST gone there in 1980 with a group, I never had Babaji's address before. The message in 1980 was "don't come now; buy land." That is the land on which this Center is built. We were lead to the exact spot in June 1980 and purchased it on 8/8/80. That's a separate story.

Back to 1982, as I sat reading the book in my kitchen (same one as today) , I suddenly had an experience of a "light being" appearing to me right there at the kitchen table, saying "It's time to get to India..." This was very real and moving. I took out pen and paper and immediately wrote a letter to Babaji to ask permission to visit. Since I was teaching elementary school at that time, I said we'd be free to come between June 4 and August 15. I mailed the letter to Haidakhan.

The following weekend, even before the letter got to Haidakhan, we were driving to Chicago for a Metaphysical Conference Weekend. On the way, my driving partner fell asleep and I was at the wheel. Suddenly, it started to rain. The rain became heavier and heavier until I could just barely see the road. I wondered whether to stop for awhile and let the storm pass and then follow it, or to keep cruising and try to get ahead of it. My partner was sleeping so soundly I didn't even try to wake him. I had a small picture of Babaji on the sun visor above me that seemed to help me drive better. I looked at it and said, "What to do?" and it answered immediately, inside me somewhere "You get through this, you don't have to go through the monsoon!!"

This seemed odd, but it was said with such assurance I believed it. Then I thought, "Oh my God! This must mean we really ARE going to India soon. Here's a little test for me."

So I drove and drove and held the car on the road through wind and rain and very poor visibility, passing up the storm and staying ahead of it all the way to Chicago. It was very intense! At that time, I was not aware of when the monsoon season was in India, and I really didn't want to think about it.

The last day of the school year was June 4, and I had just cleaned up the classroom and headed home to the mailbox. There, in the mail, was a letter from Haidakhan. Written by an American "secretary," it said that Babaji had said, "Yes, you should come. Come in June."

That's another long story, so I'll cut to the chase on this one aspect about the monsoon. We landed in India on June 23, got to Babaji on June 26 and we flew home from India on July 12. All that time, there was no monsoon. When we arrived, we heard lots of speculation about why the monsoon was late this year, so I shared my story with Radhe Shyam and Sita Ram, two Americans who were living there. Radhe Shyam was gathering stories for his book, "I Am Harmony," and he really got tickled by my story. From then on, we were introduced as "the reason for the late monsoon this year."

We found out later that the monsoon never really started until about 2 weeks after we left India!!!

Om Namah Shivaya

Babaji is often known as "Controller of the Cosmos," and in this case, He sure had something to do with the weather!!
Marge DeVivo