.......And There Was Light.......

From ancient times Hairakhan and the surrounding  Kumaon foothills of the Himalayas were enlighted by the presence  of numerous holy men. The tradition of Babaji goes back thousands of years  Twice in the past hundred years Babaji has appeared , lived and taught  in the tiny village of Hairakhan.
Shri Babaji Mahavatar reappeared in the cave on the Gufa-site at the feet of Hairakhan Mount Kailash in 1970 and left His body in 1984 on Valentine's day ,the 14th of February.
In the beginning of this ministry there only existed the little temple that He built in the 1890's during His former Manifestation , known as "Old Hairakhan Baba ".  It was situated on the top of the hill where His ashram is located.
Babaji  started to build small , simple rooms for visiting devotees ,whose numbers increased very quickly.
At first only Indians arrived but soon an amazing amount of westerners came to Hairakhan.
Babaji also constructed nine small temples on the foot of  Mount Kailash , opposite the river Gautami Ganga that flows between the two sites  of the ashram.
That was a grand Karmayoga project ! In order to obtain a "floor" for that construction , the mountain had to be partly dug away and leveled. Babaji was always present to guide and support.  Bhole Baba ki  JAI !!!
The nine temples were dedicated to various hindi gods and goddesses .
Babaji also created a Dhuni house (" Maha Shakti Dhuni " ) on the foot of the 108 steps ,the big stairs that lead to the ashram. That  Dhuni place exists for thousands of years , Babaji "renovated " the old site and built a new eight sided dhuni (fireplace) with His own hands. Dedicated to Jagadamba ,the eightarmed Divine Mother.
And at the Gufa site near the nine temples  He constructed a big Havankund (fireplace) for the ancient vedic fireceremonies.
The devotees also came to enjoy the beautiful Gautami Ganga river .

Babaji once said about this splendid river : " She is singing OM  from time immemorial . Listen and join ! "
The "intoxicating" sound of this river , soft in summer but very loud in monsoon time,delights and inspires the spirit  of everybody, many of them hear an angelic choir singing above her holy waters.
Together with the warble of the birds and the beautiful trees and flowers , Hairakhan is a paradise on earth.
At the time Babaji left His body ,several more ashram buildings were built by to host the large numbers of devotees that came to visit Him . They all came to Love and experience Babaji , receiving His Blessings and Teachings, enjoying ceremonies like Arati and Havan.
Even nowadays , although Babaji is no longer in His physical form but likely residing at other holy places, people still clearly feel His presence and receive Babaji's spiritual blessings by living a life in Truth , Simplicity and Love.
Shri Shri 1008 Shri Hairakhanwale Baba , Shiva Mahavatar , Lord Sada Shiva , Shri Shri MahaPrabhuji Babaji, through His infinite wisdom and love , has truly bestowed upon Hairakhan a worldwide name and fame .
And Hairakhan Vishwa Mahadham ( "the most beautiful place in the universe" ) is still today a place that benefits the hundreds who come to love ,experience and enjoy The Spirit .

                                    OM  NAMAH   SHIVAY   !!!!!

"The holy Word became flesh and dwelt among us ..full of grace and truth"  John 1:1 , 1:14  (Bible)
" When goodness grows week , when evil increases  , I make Myself a body. In every age I come back ,to deliver the holy , to destroy the sins of the sinner , to establish righteousness" .  

Bhagavad Gita

" Thou art the powerful One , the great benefactor , resplendent and adorable ,

  in Whom we find unending peace "              

Svetashavatara Upanishad.

Sources : "Teachings of Babaji  "  Edition 1988 , Hairakhan.

               " I am harmony " , a book about Babaji . Radhe Shyam. Crestone ,Colorado  .2006.

              "Babaji Mahavatar " .Babaji ashram . Holland. Ed .1995

 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are very fortunate to have these beautiful ashrams in India, Herakhan and Anand Puri dam in Chiliyanoula where we can just go and stay. In time it has developed that the emphasis in staying there is all revolved around the Navaratries. The numbers of people who come on these occasions is still growing every year. We had close to 500 foreigners this last Navaratri passing thru ! This is really wonderful as there is always a good number of new comers amongst them. On the contrary this was the case at the Christmas celebrations this year where only twelve people were present in Herakhan last December. In the monsoon the people can be counted on one hand and you'll have some fingers left over most of the time.
The spiritual power of these places is however the same throughout the year. This is Shri Babaji's gift to us which holds a great largely unused potential !

Hardly anybody comes to Herakhan to do some sadhana (spiritual practice) or seva (selfless service) for an extended period of time. It is a pity that the meaning of sadhana by experience is unknown to most of us. To take out some months in your life to discover the power of these places, by taking your Japa further then a few mala's a day and get to know the enormous power and benefit in repeating your mantra continuously and so get closer to the Divine we carry in our heart. In the quiet periods there is much less distraction and a period of not speaking, eating little and full concentration will be such an enrichment of your life which nobody can ever take away from you again. Besides Japa one can study deeply the Saptasati, learn to serve the sacred fire or a Murti by Pujari practice and the meaning of Seva in general and meet the power of these gifts and so discover the wonderful space we carry in our heart.

If Sadhana does not resonate with you consider Seva. We are reaching a point where in the quiet periods it becomes difficult to maintain these big Ashrams. With big numbers of people only being present a few weeks of the year there is so much to do for those who are doing Seva throughout the year to make all this possible. With a few more hands and minds offices can work better, cleaners can clean, handy man can do maintenance, pujari's keep the temples and dhuni's in great shape. In the process one can learn hindi language, play harmonium, pronounce the Aarti & bhajans etc and the whole place will be more lively during the year. This seva is highly praised by Babaji and mostly revered to as Karmayoga. Also in the veda's it is regarded as highly beneficial for spiritual progress. During this process in Herakhan Vishwa Mahadham your bond with the Divine will be so strong and your spiritual path will be like a spiritual highway.

Time is flying and the world is pulling us but what does it really bring us ?
Remember we are human beings, not human doings and what we fill our days with shapes our future.

Shri Babaji spoke about the Haidiyakhandi University. We have never been able to set this up until now but our Siddhi Peeths ( power places ) hold a great potential. It takes a whole hearted student, a one point focussed devotee who wants to go beyond to discover the wonders of the inner world and establish a conscious bond with the Divine.




This writing came together after a discussion with Shri Muniraj.
Shri Muniraj is inviting you to take full advantage of Shri Babaji's gifts do some practice and spend some time in our Ashrams in India.

Please translate this information for your newsletters, ashram info boards and web pages !
 

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In the late 1970’s, Babaji began and completed by the early 80’s another large temple and ashram in another part of the Kumaon region – at a tiny and beautifully scenic village named Chilianaula,  near the military hill town of Ranikhet. The temple at Chilianaula not only commands a majestic and almost surrealistic view of the Himalayas, it is also vibrant with a high rate of divine pulsation, second only to the core temple at the main Haidyakhan ashram.  Its proximity to Ranikhet provides it easy access for devotees and tourists.  In fact, at the present moment, the temple is never free of visitors come summer, winter, rain or shine. They flock to the place wanting to know more and more about Babaji and the lineage he represents. But which lineage can the Almighty represent? Pervasive in the entire cosmos – creator, sustainer and destroyer – residing in all, yet belonging to none

BHOLE BABA ASHRAM in RIEFERATH near KÖLN

 The „Bhole Baba Ashram“ was founded in 1978.  Babaji instructed Saraswati to buy an old farmhouse. It took many years of intensive and hard karma yoga to refurbish the old buildings and savaged gardens. With time, some devotees settled in the near vicinity.
More land was bought 1996 to accommodate an extra wooden house and kirtan hall.
From 1981 onwards Sri Muniraji visited the Ashram every second year, later accompanied by Shastriji.

A big havankund was built which Sri Muniraji reanimated. Shastriji affirmed that this is an ancient holy place at which fire was worshipped. Babiji instructed to hold yagna once every month, and three times in a week havan at 6:00 in the morning. Every morning and evening puja is performed – worshipping of god in different aspects – in the temple followed by bajan-singing.  Everyone is invited to ceremonies.

During the day the practice of karma yoga - performing duties in an unselfish manner for the pleasure of the Supreme – is done.

Besides daily routine the ashram hosts a variety of spiritual seminars, concerts and  festivals. Festivals like the worship to the Guru, Laksmi,  Ganesha, Krishna, Christmas (Babaji started to celebrate this in Haidakhan) are celebrated on a regular basis.

Ashram offers accommodation suitable for everyone, please book before.

 Saraswati met Babaji mid1970 and received intensive teachings from him.

She led the Ashram 17 years long and her heart and home are open for everybody who need clarification in spiritual belongings.

bhinawa_raat@yahoo.com

bhinawa_raat@yahoo.com

The Ceremony of Fire at the Countryside and in the City

 Haidakhandi Peace Centre, Denpasar Bali does different fire ceremonies weekly on Saturday afternoon’s.  Then there is also a monthly similar but larger ceremony done monthly at the Ashram Anand Puri, Pujungan, Pupuan, Tabanan, Bali.  Bpk I Gede Gatot Binawa Rata alias Bheru Baba is the only recognized student and follower of Babaji in all of Indonesia, and he is the core founder of these two places, One ashram located at Haidakhandi Peace Centre in the center of Bali’s provincial capital Denpasar, and the other one is located at ashram Anand Puri Ashram with in the village of Pujungan, also the place of birth of Bheru Baba.

Bheru Baba on his return from India in 1995 has step by step build up these two ashrams with all its activity, focusing a lot of time and energy on doing these special fire ceremonies.  To begin with the ceremonies was done only from time to time more often in Denpasar and every now and then in the village of Pujungan.  But as time went buy more and more people got interested and in these ceremonies and its purpose.  Among several individuals interested in these ceremonies a group came together where some would cover the costs of the ceremonies and some would do the actual work and preparations need for it.

So that at this stage in 2007 the ceremony is done weekly  every Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon.  If a larger group then wish to do a ceremony Beru Bhaba will bring it all together at Anand Puri, Pujungan, Tabanan.  Naturally the surroundings and set up at this location can easier accommodate larger groups compared with the smaller set up at Haidakhandi Peace Centre, Denpasar.

 Several participants say that in general many of their prayers have been heard through the power of these ceremonies.  And this is probably the mayor reason for why the groups keeps growing, and a fire ceremony is being requested for may reasons, among others even birthday parties.  For this purpose Bheru Babaji normally does the ceremony in the very early morning hours.  These ceremonies are requested by people according to their needs and so also executed.  

To further expose and extend to a wider audience, the pure understanding of these ancient ceremonies and the teachings of Shri Mahavatar Babaji, Bheru Baba plans to translate and print a book about the messages of this great teacher who use to live at the sloops of Himalaya, into Indonesian.

With this it is hoped that the messages of such great importance will be exposed to, and understood by a much larger part of the society and that more and more people comes together in the search for spiritual truth, simplicity and pure love.

Centro Spirituale di pace Heriakhandi

Haidakhandi Samaj Love Center

babaji@babajicenter.net

Haidakhandi Samaj Croce Mandir

Havan during Babaji Weekend

Our beautiful ashram Sada Shiva Dham -Home of Lord Shiva-, is situated in one of the most scenic parts in the middle of Holland , the Veluwe National Parks. This ashram is a very peaceful place , surrounded by many old and tall trees in the forest.

The birthyear of our ashram is 1992. But before this event we had established a temple for our  Beloved Babaji in Amsterdam. We initiated the temple in 1981, after experiencing an exceptional Leela from Babaji.

While visiting Babaji in Hairakhan, He had said many times to Bhuri that she should start a Temple for Him in Amsterdam. This never happened , but Christmas 1980 He told her : "If  you have not done this karma yoga by the time you come here again  I will send you back to your country immediately".

In februari 1981 we suddenly remembered what He had said !  And within a few days we managed to arrange a very simple but joyfull temple and the first Arati was enjoyed by a surprisingly big group of people , singing happily along with an Arati cassette tape. Babaji gave -unknown to us !- the touching present of celebrating the first Arati in Holland on Maha Shiva Ratri ! Back in Hairakhan , we wanted to thank Him for this moving gift . He said : "Yes , I know , I was there too , good chai ! ".

In Amsterdam , Babaji's Home moved to several other houses and although Shri Munirajji liked the places and visited them all, He insisted that we needed a Real Ashram in Holland. Pujari and Bhuru searched throughout the country and at last found a wonderful , nice and big wooden villa in the forest with a luxurious garden , large grassfields and woods .

In 1992 we celebrated the opening of our "Real Ashram" ,inaugurated by Shri Munirajji and  Shri Shastriji. But ! What a disaster !  Our dear home for Babaji burnt totally to the ground in 1994. The only thing left was our small Dhunihouse.  With the dedicated help of good constructors and a great number of devotees we re-built our Home for Babaji.

In 1996 , Shri Munirajji and Shri Shastriji once again inaugurated and gave Life to our two powerful Murti's. We are very thankful for this unique place where Babaji's loving presence can clearly be felt an experienced. And ever thankful to the special devotees who run the ashram , always giving a hearty welcome to devotees and the many visitors. Our pujari is a present from heaven ! A devotee once said : "If there was a Nobel-Prize for pujari's then it should go to our MaartenBaba."

Sada Shiva Dham  brims over with activities . Early every morning meditation in the Dhunihouse ,Havan there saturday,sunday ,monday. Arati in the morning and evening.  "Babajiweekends" around Full Moon , with big yagya (vedic fireceremony). Lakshmi Puja once a month, celebration of spring and autumn Navaratri. Bhajan concerts.  Also yoga and fasting weeks and several other spiritual healing groups.   And of course always the possibility to perform a lot of karma yoga .

The ashram in Loenen has great plans for expansion. The construction of a new Temple in front of the existing building has already been approved by the Government. Both Shri Munirajji and Shri Mandaleshwar had told us several times that it was not appropriate , not even allowed to situate a Temple in between the bedrooms and bathrooms. It took us some time to agree but we were finally convinced to build a new home for our lovely Murti's.  With the help of generous donations and the cooperation of many  we hope to realize our plans. It will take some time but we will let you know when the plans have become reality.

We would like to invite you all to come and celebrate our New Temple !     WELCOME !!!

See our website : www.babaji.nl

Created: 28-08-2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
 

The news that the Dutch devotees are busy with an extensive building program may have reached your ears. The Dutch ashram is in an area where you cannot even build a house for your dog let alone anything bigger. We therefore have set up a large plan so we could allow the officials to cut in our master-plan. A miracle happened as the officials visited the ashram. They became very enthusiastic about the place and worked with us to get all permissions we needed. We are now 95% underway in seeking the government approval and no change at all in the plans. This brings great responsibilities along at this point. We Dutch are not even such a big group but since we are internationally oriented and think about the future we will move along with the whole plan. The fact that we got all these permissions gives the strong faith that Babaji is closely involved in the realisation of this temple. We would like to inform you all of these plans and seek help from our international family to make it happen, with ideas, actual help during the construction ( next year ) and fundraising. So if you are or want to be an instrument for the realisation of these ambitious plans to build a temple for Babaji please click here to check out this attachment. Please publish it in your newsletters, web sites and spread the message in anyway you seem helpful.

South face

East face with main entrance

Ground floor

Bo Wahlström   

Sambasadashiva was registered in 1991 in Stockholm, Sweden, as a non-profit foundation with the purpose to work for the spiritual and social uplifting of humanity and to participate in the co-creation of a unity beyond races, nations and religions. The purpose of the foundation was also to create a body that could purchase and run an ashram with much land as a growing potiential. 

Haidakhan Baba Center was founded already in 1982 and is a non-profit organisation that since those days have spread Shri Babaji´s teachings, organised spiritual programs and sold books, pictures, CD´s, malas, etc.
Our Swedish ashram, Sambasadashiva Dham was purchased in 1992 and is beautifully located in the countryside about 120 km north of Stockholm. It consists of 9 hectare of forest, with a Dhuni inside. In 1994 it was inaugurated by a Alok Bannerjee, Haregovind Baba and a group of other Haidakhandis.
In the year of 2000 the land was ecologically investigated as a part of a devotee’s examination in Geobiology at the University of Uppsala. The result was encouraging. The forest is pure and free from acid due to a soil with much calcium. That allows a great biodiversity of plants, flowers and herbs which is unusual. As a part of the investigation, a plan how to tend the forest enable to keep the diversity and to improve it was also laid down.
 On the property is also a big barn. In 2003, as a preparation for the visit of Shri Mahamandaleshwar, a Mandir was erected inside. The first Puja was then performed during the three day program here. Many people came from several countries to attend.

A two day program was also arranged for him in co-operation with Hindu Mandir society in Stockholm, which is serving hundreds of Hindus living in Sweden. Our connection with them has continued and we have visited each others programs at several occasion.

In summer of 2007 a 450 kg Shivling, with the energy of Jyotirling Mahakaleshwar, arrived from India for serving the Hindu community during their performance of funeral rites in Sweden. Awaiting its permanent placement it was placed in our Mandir. Later in the fall we participated in it the program when Mahakaleshwar was installed at it’s place south of Stockholm.

Under the blessings of Shri Babaji and His message of unity, we have seen visitors from all faiths coming to the ashram. Some people have stayed here more permanently for some year or more, but so far it is mostly me and my family here. Bigger programs are arranged about ten times a year, mainly Navaratri, Christmas and Solstice, but people come here for shorter or longer retreats all year.  The land here is a great, untapped potential for expanding the ashram but also for building your own place. And there are always need for Karma Yoga and other donations.

www.haidakhandi-sangha.ch

In the Centre of Unity Schweibenalp  

The Foundation

Schweibenalp was founded in 1982 on behalf of the great teacher Sri Haidakhan Baba by Dr. Sundar Robert Dreyfus, Fredy Aly und Sylvia Bollag. It is a place where traditional religions and cultures connect with new spiritual concepts to a religion of the heart. It was founded as a place for a multicultural community on the path of realization of the principles of truth, simplicity and love and the experience of unity, which in the end is beyond all diversity.

The Center of Unity Schweibenalp is one of the first seminar houses and centers in the German speaking area, which is active in an interreligious dialogue with international speakers.

To this day the founders are involved in the fulfilment of the mission along with people of different spiritual orientations, among them some disciples of Sri Babaji and Swami Premananda.  

A Center for International Peace Gatherings

The mission of the center and the people who live here means practical work for peace and reconciliation. This center is linked with communities and teachers from all over the world with whom we share the vision of humanity living according to peaceful principles.

Holiday-makers welcome, especially with kids

Many guests and families have discovered and appreciated our unconventional house as a suitable holiday destination. Situated in one of the nicest mountain and holiday regions of Switzerland with many leisure and hiking possibilities, the Center of Unity Schweibenalp invites you to spend some time in this unique place. The daily meditations, the fire ceremony in the morning, the worship in the chapel as well as the song and dance evenings are open to all visitors.

A special place in the magical Berner Oberland

Schweibenalp is situated in a wonderful mountain setting at the end of the Giessbach gorge with a view of the turquoise coloured Lake of Brienz. Its history as a place of power is fascinating. It is said that even the druids lived here. Old, gnarled maple trees covered with moss and fern and peculiar rock formations are there, as if they were witnesses of this former mystical time.

Haidakhandi Universal Ashram

 Shri Babaji’s home here in the sacred Rocky Mountains of Colorado was established in 1986.  The land was chosen and dedicated during a visit by Shri Munirajji and Shri Shastriji.  This land has always been sacred to the Native American Indians and is now home to over twenty different spiritual groups from around the world.  We celebrate living in this community of diversity and cooperation. 

 Over twenty years later the Ashram stands on 101 acres of pristine land with a beautiful creek flowing through it which provides the Ashram with its water.  Built off the grid, we utilize the abundant sunshine at this 8,500 feet elevation to heat our water, our floors, and to electrify our buildings.  We build with sustainable building materials such as:  straw bales, old tires rammed with earth, aluminum cans, pumice crete, and adobe.  We utilize solar gain for our primary heat supply and insulate our buildings well to stay very comfortable throughout our cold but sunny and dry winters.

We are very fortunate to have a magnificent temple with a breath-taking life-size murti of the Divine Mother, Haidakhandeshwari, which is pictured in this section.   With Her beneficent love and grace, She attracts people from all over America to come and have Her darshan.  We have thousands of visitors every year.

 We celebrate all of the major festivals here, particularly Spring and Fall Navratri.  We have a lovely straw bale dormitory and invite people to come and stay that wish to immerse themselves into the spiritual practices given to us by Shri Babaji.  Please visit our web site for more information and e mail us with any questions. 

We love to hear from you.  Bhole Baba Ki Jai!