Velur camp during 1942-43. Camp at Tirupati Devasthana School. SriKaryam went in search of PeriyavaaL, looking inside each and every classroom. And in one of them–a miracle! Levitating two feet up from the ground in a sitting posture, Periyavaa was immersed in dhyAna samAdhi!
V.S.V. returned noiselessly. Later, he did not ask PeriyavaaL about it; and PeriyavaaL also never told him.
Such deep training did PeriyavaaL have in HaThayoga!
*****
Narrated by Shri VSV. Source periva.org.
“Levitate: to rise or float in or as if in the air especially in seeming defiance of gravitation” — from the dictionary.
Comment By Shri Karthi Nagaratnam in Facebook’s Sage of Kanchi group — ‘I remember, reading in some book or some ardent devotee saying,Aiyan always say to the attendants, before getting into the place where He is in Ekandham, ‘please clap or chant jaya jaya shankara hara hara shankara or some other chants loudly before opening the door’.’
Who is He?
Categories: Devotee Experiences
Bhagavan looks here like Sri SIvabhinava Narasimha swami in this photo.
totally arresting.
Periyava’s masterpice on Soundarya Lahari (743 pages) in Volume 6 of “Deivathin Kural” (Voice of God} is a must read once in a life time
Excerpts from Periayava comments:
இன்றைக்கு குண்டலிநீ தீ¬க்ஷபல பேர் கொடுத்து, பெற்றுக் கொண்டவர்களிடம் தூங்குகிற குண்டலிநீ முழித்துக் கொண்டுவிட்டதாகச் சொல்வதெல்லாம் இந்த இண்டு இடுக்குக் கீற்று வெளிப்படுவதுதானே யழிய பூர்ணமான சக்தி ஜ்யோதிஸ் ஸ¨ர்யோதயத்தைப் போல வெளிப்படுவது இல்லை. அரைத் தூக்கம், கால் தூக்கம் என்று சொல்கிறோமே, அப்படி ஸாதாரணமாக நமக்குள் எல்லாம் முக்காலே மூணு வீசம் தூக்கத்துக்கும் மேலே ப்ராண சக்தி ரூபத்தில் பராசக்தி தூங்கிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறாளென்றால், குண்டலிநீ தீ¬க்ஷயாகி, அது ‘ரைஸ்’ஆகிவிட்டது என்று சொல்பவர்களில் பெரும்பாலானவர்களிடம் முக்கால் தூக்கம் என்கிற அளவுக்கு நம்மைவிடக் கொஞ்சம் முழித்துக் கொண்டிருப்பாள்!அவ்வளவுதான். அதிலேயே [இந்தக் குறைந்த அளவு மலர்ச்சியிலேயே]உச்சந்தலை வரை ஒரு வைப்ரேஷன், ப்ரூமத்தியில் [புருவ மத்தியில்]ஒரு கான்ஸ்ன்ட்ரேஷன் அப்போதப்போது உண்டாவதை வைத்துக்கொண்டு, குண்டலிநீ பூர்ணமாக முழித்துக்கொண்டு லக்ஷ்யமான உச்சிக் சக்ரத்திற்குப் போய்விட்ட மாதிரி நினைத்துக்கொண்டிருக்கிறார்கள். வாஸ்தவத்தில் ஏதோ கொஞ்சம் சக்தி, கொஞ்சம் ஏறுவது, மறுபடி விழுவது என்றுதான் நடக்கிறது. ஏறும்போதும் அங்கங்கே உண்டாகிற அத்புத சக்திகளில் (ஸித்திகளில், சித்து என்று சொல்வது இந்த சக்திகளைத்தான். அப்படிப்பட்ட சக்திகளில்) சித்தத்தை அலைபாய விடாமல், லக்ஷ்யத்திலேயே ஈடுபடுத்துவது ஸாமான்யமான ஸாதனை இல்லை. அவளேதான் இப்படிப்பட்ட சின்ன ஸித்திகளைக் கொடுத்து பெரிய, முடிவான ஸித்தியிலிருந்து டிஸ்ட்ராக்ட் பண்ணி மயக்குவது. இதெல்லாம் போதாதென்று குண்டலிநீ ஸஞ்சாரம் அதற்கான வழியில் போகாமல் இசகு பிசகாகப் போனால் பலவிதமான வியாதிகள், புத்திக் கலக்கம் ஏற்படுவது வேறே.
லோகத்தில் பலவிதமான மாயைகள், மாயையிலிருந்து மீளுவதற்குப் பலவிதமான ஸாதனைகள் என்று அவள் பரப்பி வைத்திருப்பதில் நேரே அவளுடைய சக்தியைப் பிடிப்பது என்பதற்காக் குண்டலிநீ யோகம் என்று ஒரு ஸாதனையை வைத்திருக்கும்போது அதிலேயே நிறைய மாயையையும் பிசைந்து வைத்திருக்கிறாள். ஏன் அப்படி என்றால் என்ன சொல்வது?ஒரு பயிர் ஸுலபத்தில் பயிர் பண்ணி மகசூல் காணும்படி இருக்கிறது. இன்னொரு பயிருக்கு ஏற்ற நிலம், சீதோஷ்ணம், எரு ஆகிய எல்லாமே கிடைப்பது கஷ்டமாயிருக்கிறது. ஏனென்று கேட்டால் என்ன பதில் சொல்வது?பல தினுஸாக அவள் லீலா நாடகம் ஆடுவதில் இதெல்லாம் அங்கம். அப்படி குண்டலிநீ யோக ஸாதனை என்பதை ரொம்பவும் சிரம ஸாத்யமாகவே வைத்திருக்கிறாள்.
Periyava saranam
Mahesh, I concur with you. Swami Dayanada Saraswathi also mentioned that there are lots of books about upanishads and sutras. Reading all these books will lead to confusion. So he urges why a guru is important to guide the seeker to the right path. Jaya Jaya Shankara.
let every one of us note the last sentence.
@Mahesh:
Yes I have heard that story which you have mentioned about Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
—-
Secondly what you said is absolutely correct. These siddhis naturally come when you progress along the path of self-realization. Supporting fact is again in Soundarya Lahari (Shloka 7 and 8) But why I said that was to indicate this fact: “That Great Mahans/Yogi’s can do this and I cited another example.” Paramahamsa Yogananda’s book is an awesome book to read. He has absolutely given his heart and soul into his. Guru bhakti with his guru Yukteswhar is a pleasure so is the chapter an experience in Divine Consciousness where he receives Kali’s grace.
———
Swami Tapasyananda writes in his commentary on “Soundarya Lahari” regarding shloka 8 that, when the Kundalini Shakti moves from the Agna Chakra to the Sahasrara Chakra (the 1000 petalled lotus) the shakti doesn’t remain stable. It keeps oscillating like a monkey, moving to and fro in between the Agna chakra to the Sahasrara chakra, so it takes a great deal of penance, experience for a person to come down from the Sahasrara to Agna. Again this is mentioned by Abhinava teertha Swamigal in his book “Yoga, Englightment and Perfection”.
Chandru,
I also bought books on kundalini etc. After listening to HH Dayananda Saraswathi swamigal and Paramacharya etc, my focus changed out of Kundalini. Also this Kundalini is also becoming little bit commercial nowadays..These higher practices on yoga is not for any normal people – consequences are quite severe. As per Dayananda Saraswathi Swamigal, if such a sakthi raises on its own as part of our normal prayer, dyanams and japams, let it be. Let us not spend any time focusing on that – that is not our goal either. Let us continue our prescribed karmas, achara anushtanams etc and leave the rest to the Sarveshwaran. We all are so lucky to have Periyava – just listen to Him and do what He asks us to do. We will be fine.
Ok. Here is the stroy from “Autobiography of a Yogi” book. People can read the whole book online at this link: http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/contents.php
———–
Chapter 7
The Levitating Saint
“I saw a yogi remain in the air, several feet above the ground, last night at a group meeting.” My friend, Upendra Mohun Chowdhury, spoke impressively.
I gave him an enthusiastic smile. “Perhaps I can guess his name. Was it Bhaduri Mahasaya, of Upper Circular Road?”
Upendra nodded, a little crestfallen not to be a news-bearer. My inquisitiveness about saints was well-known among my friends; they delighted in setting me on a fresh track.
“The yogi lives so close to my home that I often visit him.” My words brought keen interest to Upendra’s face, and I made a further confidence.
“I have seen him in remarkable feats. He has expertly mastered the various pranayamas 1 of the ancient eightfold yoga outlined by Patanjali.2 Once Bhaduri Mahasaya performed the Bhastrika Pranayama before me with such amazing force that it seemed an actual storm had arisen in the room! Then he extinguished the thundering breath and remained motionless in a high state of superconsciousness.3 The aura of peace after the storm was vivid beyond forgetting.”
“I heard that the saint never leaves his home.” Upendra’s tone was a trifle incredulous.
“Indeed it is true! He has lived indoors for the past twenty years. He slightly relaxes his self-imposed rule at the times of our holy festivals, when he goes as far as his front sidewalk! The beggars gather there, because Saint Bhaduri is known for his tender heart.”
“How does he remain in the air, defying the law of gravitation?”
“A yogi’s body loses its grossness after use of certain pranayamas. Then it will levitate or hop about like a leaping frog. Even saints who do not practice a formal yoga 4 have been known to levitate during a state of intense devotion to God.”
“I would like to know more of this sage. Do you attend his evening meetings?” Upendra’s eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
“Yes, I go often. I am vastly entertained by the wit in his wisdom. Occasionally my prolonged laughter mars the solemnity of his gatherings. The saint is not displeased, but his disciples look daggers!”
On my way home from school that afternoon, I passed Bhaduri Mahasaya’s cloister and decided on a visit. The yogi was inaccessible to the general public. A lone disciple, occupying the ground floor, guarded his master’s privacy. The student was something of a martinet; he now inquired formally if I had an “engagement.” His guru put in an appearance just in time to save me from summary ejection.
“Let Mukunda come when he will.” The sage’s eyes twinkled. “My rule of seclusion is not for my own comfort, but for that of others. Worldly people do not like the candor which shatters their delusions. Saints are not only rare but disconcerting. Even in scripture, they are often found embarrassing!”
I followed Bhaduri Mahasaya to his austere quarters on the top floor, from which he seldom stirred. Masters often ignore the panorama of the world’s ado, out of focus till centered in the ages. The contemporaries of a sage are not alone those of the narrow present.
“Maharishi,5 you are the first yogi I have known who always stays indoors.”
“God plants his saints sometimes in unexpected soil, lest we think we may reduce Him to a rule!”
The sage locked his vibrant body in the lotus posture. In his seventies, he displayed no unpleasing signs of age or sedentary life. Stalwart and straight, he was ideal in every respect. His face was that of a rishi, as described in the ancient texts. Noble-headed, abundantly bearded, he always sat firmly upright, his quiet eyes fixed on Omnipresence.
The saint and I entered the meditative state. After an hour, his gentle voice roused me.
“You go often into the silence, but have you developed anubhava?”6 He was reminding me to love God more than meditation. “Do not mistake the technique for the Goal.”
He offered me some mangoes. With that good-humored wit that I found so delightful in his grave nature, he remarked, “People in general are more fond of Jala Yoga (union with food) than of Dhyana Yoga (union with God).”
His yogic pun affected me uproariously.
“What a laugh you have!” An affectionate gleam came into his gaze. His own face was always serious, yet touched with an ecstatic smile. His large, lotus eyes held a hidden divine laughter.
“Those letters come from far-off America.” The sage indicated several thick envelopes on a table. “I correspond with a few societies there whose members are interested in yoga. They are discovering India anew, with a better sense of direction than Columbus! I am glad to help them. The knowledge of yoga is free to all who will receive, like the ungarnishable daylight.
“What rishis perceived as essential for human salvation need not be diluted for the West. Alike in soul though diverse in outer experience, neither West nor East will flourish if some form of disciplinary yoga be not practiced.”
The saint held me with his tranquil eyes. I did not realize that his speech was a veiled prophetic guidance. It is only now, as I write these words, that I understand the full meaning in the casual intimations he often gave me that someday I would carry India’s teachings to America.
“Maharishi, I wish you would write a book on yoga for the benefit of the world.”
“I am training disciples. They and their students will be living volumes, proof against the natural disintegrations of time and the unnatural interpretations of the critics.” Bhaduri’s wit put me into another gale of laughter.
I remained alone with the yogi until his disciples arrived in the evening. Bhaduri Mahasaya entered one of his inimitable discourses. Like a peaceful flood, he swept away the mental debris of his listeners, floating them Godward. His striking parables were expressed in a flawless Bengali.
This evening Bhaduri expounded various philosophical points connected with the life of Mirabai, a medieval Rajputani princess who abandoned her court life to seek the company of sadhus. One great-sannyasi refused to receive her because she was a woman; her reply brought him humbly to her feet.
“Tell the master,” she had said, “that I did not know there was any Male in the universe save God; are we all not females before Him?” (A scriptural conception of the Lord as the only Positive Creative Principle, His creation being naught but a passive maya.)
Mirabai composed many ecstatic songs which are still treasured in India; I translate one of them here:
“If by bathing daily God could be realized
Sooner would I be a whale in the deep;
If by eating roots and fruits He could be known
Gladly would I choose the form of a goat;
If the counting of rosaries uncovered Him
I would say my prayers on mammoth beads;
If bowing before stone images unveiled Him
A flinty mountain I would humbly worship;
If by drinking milk the Lord could be imbibed
Many calves and children would know Him;
If abandoning one’s wife would summon God
Would not thousands be eunuchs?
Mirabai knows that to find the Divine One
The only indispensable is Love.”
Several students put rupees in Bhaduri’s slippers which lay by his side as he sat in yoga posture. This respectful offering, customary in India, indicates that the disciple places his material goods at the guru’s feet. Grateful friends are only the Lord in disguise, looking after His own.
“Master, you are wonderful!” A student, taking his leave, gazed ardently at the patriarchal sage. “You have renounced riches and comforts to seek God and teach us wisdom!” It was well-known that Bhaduri Mahasaya had forsaken great family wealth in his early childhood, when single-mindedly he entered the yogic path.
“You are reversing the case!” The saint’s face held a mild rebuke. “I have left a few paltry rupees, a few petty pleasures, for a cosmic empire of endless bliss. How then have I denied myself anything? I know the joy of sharing the treasure. Is that a sacrifice? The shortsighted worldly folk are verily the real renunciates! They relinquish an unparalleled divine possession for a poor handful of earthly toys!”
I chuckled over this paradoxical view of renunciationone which puts the cap of Croesus on any saintly beggar, whilst transforming all proud millionaires into unconscious martyrs.
“The divine order arranges our future more wisely than any insurance company.” The master’s concluding words were the realized creed of his faith. “The world is full of uneasy believers in an outward security. Their bitter thoughts are like scars on their foreheads. The One who gave us air and milk from our first breath knows how to provide day by day for His devotees.”
I continued my after-school pilgrimages to the saint’s door. With silent zeal he aided me to attain anubhava. One day he moved to Ram Mohan Roy Road, away from the neighborhood of my Gurpar Road home. His loving disciples had built him a new hermitage, known as “Nagendra Math.”7
Although it throws me ahead of my story by a number of years, I will recount here the last words given to me by Bhaduri Mahasaya. Shortly before I embarked for the West, I sought him out and humbly knelt for his farewell blessing:
“Son, go to America. Take the dignity of hoary India for your shield. Victory is written on your brow; the noble distant people will well receive you.”
Let me add few cents here….
I’ve read this book partially…I also read a book “Masters of the Himalayan tradition” where one can read about lot of sanyasis in that region and their power. Ramakrishna parahamsa once met a person who told Him that he learnt for 5 years on how to walk on water. Shri Parahamsa replied, “alas, you wasted so much time. you could have achieved this by paying a penny to the boat guy”. Same applies for bringing mangoes out of the air etc…. In the path of realization etc, several of these powers may come to a person (as I read somewhere told by mahans – not my words), but many sanyasis/swamis stop there itself and become contended – unfortunately our people fall for these tricks and disregard others who do not do this. Others know that this is not the goal and go farther. So let us not focus on the levitation etc – you & I do not want to levitate.
When such incidents are related to Periyava, as we all know He has nothing to prove to this world. He does something out of karunyam and these incidents were “observed” by people around him, which casually happens. Like Shri Hubli mama says, for Periyava, it just happens alongside and He does not make it.
I normally try to write long replies and bore you all. Someone used a fake id to write some nasty comments here about the authenticity of this incident etc. Let me tell you something….there are so many incidents that are told by devotees during the interview process to Shri Shivaraman – those things can’t be publicly played – some are amazing things Periyava had said/done. Questioning is always easy and that too with a fake id! Go get some courage to use your real id and come back. I hate cowards.
Mahesh
Yes this is what great Mahans can do. It is called as Laghima siddhi (which means to become weightless).
And for support things we have a shloka in Soundarya lahari (shloka 38) which says, that one who has merged himself with the devi gets familiar with the 18 vidyas.
There are many such instances like this. I would urge eeveryone to read “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahamsa Yogananda, to get to know more yogic miracles.