Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition

by Marshall Govindan (Editor)

The first authoritative biography of Babaji, the immortal master made famous by Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi, an all-time best-seller. Babaji lives today near Badrinath, in the upper Himalayan mountains. His body has not aged since the age of sixteen, when centuries ago he attained the supreme state of enlightenment and divine transformation. This followed his initiation into scientific art of Kriya Yoga by two deathless masters, the siddhas Agastyar and Boganathar, who belonged to the "18 Siddha Tradition", famous among the Tamil speaking people of southern India. This rare account, by a long time disciple, reveals their little known stories, ancient culture and present mission, as well as how their Kriya Yoga can be used to bring about the integration of the material and spiritual dimensions of life. Clear explanations of the psychophysiological effects of Kriya Yoga and guidelines for its practice are given. It includes verses from the Siddhas' writings with commentary. A book which will inspire you.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Hinduism

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Co-author with his wife Jan Ahland of works on yoga.

Reviews

[Nilanjana Haldar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about the story of the 18 Siddhas of Southern India, one of whom is the greatest siddha the world has ever known, Mahavatar Babaji himself.

This book was written under the guidance of Babaji Nagraj himself, who the author is a disciple of. In another book (How I became a disciple of Babaji) written by the very same author the master mentions about how he received a darshan of Babaji Nagaraj and Sapt Kund Lake, Badrinath. There is so much to learn about the Siddhas in this book. Some stories are so mesmerising one could actually begin losing interest about things of this world and prefer to begin their own search for truth. The stories of the Babaji’s life has deeply impacted my own life and spiritual practices. His enormous penance leading up to transcendence has helped guiding me in my own path towards increasing freedom in everyday life. The Siddhas’ lives will help us shed the ego’s tendencies to cling to things of this world and cling to life.

This book is an important enormous blessing for any disciple of Babaji Nagaraj. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

But it is very powerful for anybody, even persons who haven’t entered the spiritual path yet.

[Nilanjana Haldar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to everyone, and especially invite those suffering from mental inconsistencies and those seeking to get a grasp on existence, each of whom will be greatly benefitted by what the book introduces us to, which is about the immortal Siddhas and their ancient techniques of self-realisation spoken of below. The immortal Siddhas’ teaching centres around the message that—> divinity is within the body temple of man, and one can come to taste that divinity through the teachings and yoga practices given by them. The book mentions what exactly their pranayama techniques do to completely still the restless monkey-mind and body and to move them towards this divine realisation within. Any Kriya Yoga sadhak will emphatically affirm to these messages in this book.




To sum it is up, this is a book about the immortal Babaji and the Siddhas, each of whom merged with God the ultimate reality of existence through the practice of yoga, or “union.” This resulted in them experiencing a progressive transformation of their intellectual, mental, vital and ultimately, physical bodies. In attaining that, they have manifested a divine transformation of their entire human nature, something which is beyond human comprehension. The book offers deep, authentic insights about the philosophy of deathless life which is possible for everyone and has been achieved by the Siddhas. One needs to read the book’s acknowledgements and foreword to recognise the authenticity of the messages in the book.

With the growing materialistic culture in the world, widespread mental illnesses, moral corruption, and social unrest is on the rise. So many youths today suffer from mental illnesses in the circles they are entering. This is where the scientific art of Kriya Yoga as propounded by Babaji and the 18 Siddhas will play a huge role, in restoring joy, peace and harmony in the lives of nations.



Two lines in the book struck me deeply—>

1) that this means of self-transformation ( a series of techniques called “kriya yoga”) is accessible to everyone, in all walks of life.



2) The Siddhas challenge us not to turn our backs to the world in our quest for spiritual enlightenment, but to dedicate ourselves to its divine transformation. So one lives in the world carrying around the divine transformation of his own temple, which brings immense wealth of peace, joy and harmony to all facets of one’s own life and to the lives of those around him.

This book serves to inspire those on the spiritual path deeply. If a spiritual aspirant faces difficulties in his journey of life as a sadhak, handling worldly responsibilities whilst practising sadhana amidst the noise and ignorance around , he will benefit hugely by reading about the life of Mahavatar Babaji (Babaji Nagaraj). The master’s sheer determination towards self-realisation ( despite massive life challenges) serves to inspire anyone to bravely face every challenge (physical body as well as environment-related) while practising his spiritual sadhana.

If you wish to learn Babaji’s Kriya Yoga from his order of acharyas, refer to end of the book for the contact details.


I also take this time to mention that if you are looking to deepen your understanding of your divine self, you will be hugely benefitted by reading Babaji’s book, “The Voice of Babaji: A Trilogy on Kriya Yoga,” which contains many timeless truths propounded by the divine master, taken down verbatim by two of his chosen disciples.

[Stefanie Dettmers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Marshall Govindan's The Wisdom of Jesus and the Yoga SiddhasThe Wisdom of Jesus and the Yoga Siddhas for its spiritual insights and perfect research. Unfortuately I fell out of love halfway through this book. While I cherished the information on Babaji and some of the Siddhas, what threw me off was the total lack of information about the female Siddhas. I was delighted to find out there were women among them! They're mentioned, but they just aren't discussed. And that is the epitome of everything I dislike about the yoga tradition: all the many brilliant female teachers that must have existed through the ages are simply not mentioned. Since forever every bit of information about them is being swept under the carpet, surpressed, forgotten. Or they surface in some strange Tantra narratives as the embodiment of all earthly pleasures. Frankly speaking, this makes me sick.

90% of the people practising Yoga today are women. And apart from our present day heroines, we simply don't have a succession of female leaders to praise. Not because there weren't any, but because nobody ever cared. I'm CRAVING female role models, I'm craving information on the women of Yoga. And I'm sure I'm not alone. Why Govindan decided to only feature men in his book when he makes it clear that there were female Siddhas is beyond the. Why he mentiones Aurobindo who clear as day cannot be counted among the Siddhas is more than beyond me.

So, I got some basic information, but the book lacks depth (or a clear focus).

[Julio R. Ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has plenty of references to the work of Babaji, his messages to humanity and teachings. It also mentions other teachers and their incarnations, which is a very interesting piece of information. I would say that I would have preferred more messages from Babaji in terms of why Kriya Yoga and the effects of the body, but I guess that is to be received from him directly or from a Kriya Practitioner/Guru. Use this book as a reference book and not as a source of connection, or inspiration. It clearly is a bunch of data compiled, which is good because the research in these esoteric matters could be exhausting.

[Amruta · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that ignited the spiritual quest in me.. The book that ultimately shown me my Guru and the path to reach Him

[Saurabh Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The information about how Mahavatar Babaji and the Siddhas are connected is eye-opening. The manner in which the author gets to the point swiftly at a time when spiritual teachers tend to move round and round in circles when it comes to imparting spiritual knowledge is also appreciated.

[pemondelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Babaji, un avatar que decidió quedarse en la tierra para ayudar a trascender a las almas, tiene una larga tradición de discípulos en todo el mundo. Fue maestro de Lahiri Mahasaya, paramgurú de Paramahansa Yogananda y gurú de Swami Sri Yukteswar. En este libro se explican los siddhas de la tradición de kriya yoga, el sendera más elevado para la realización del ser.
Desde parte de la historia de los rishis y de los poemas épicos, como el Mahabharata, hasta las enseñanzas y los maestros que han contribuido al crecimiento espiritual de la tierra, este libro ayuda a entender y a esclarecer conceptos ambiguos de las milenarias enseñanzas de nuestra amada India.

[Henry Krijgsman · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC !

[Disha Gilhotra]

So surprised and amazed to know about our ancient "Scientists" and their achievements.
May all our sidhas give blessings to mankind and May ourselves become eligible to receive their blessings.

[Ishani Kushal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must must must read this book if you are kriya yogi or want to take this path for your spiritual development. I sincerely sense the present of my gurus while reading. Om Gurudev namah! Om Shanti!

[Moiz]

Oo

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting introduction to Babaji teachings and the stories of the 18 Siddhas. I would suggest to start to read the last chapters first if you never approached the topics.

[Vikram CL · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very authentic book on Mahavatar Babaji! :) Must read for the one who would like to know more about the Supreme Being. The last chapters in the book are more astonishing.

[Yeshwanth nag M · Rating 1 out of 5]

bad book