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Baba Hari Dass

May 04, 2023

Not to be confused with Swami Haridas or with Baba Haridas (1594 - 1691 AD), the saint of the Dagar clan from Delhi.

Baba Hari Dass (Devanagari: बाबा हरि दास) (26 March 1923 – 25 September 2018) was an Indian yoga master, silent monk, temple builder, and commentator of Indian scriptural traditions of dharma and moksha. He was classically trained in the Ashtanga of Patanjali (also known as Rāja yoga),[1] as well as Kriya yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Tantra, Vedanta, and Sanskrit.

Baba Hari Dass
बाबा हरि दास
Baba Hari Dass in India (2001)
Personal
Born
Hari Datt Karnatak

(1923-03-26)26 March 1923
Almora, near Nainital, Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), British Raj
Died25 September 2018(2018-09-25) (aged 95)
Bonny Doon, Santa Cruz, California
ReligionHinduism
Founder ofMount Madonna Center, Watsonville, CA; Pacific Cultural Center, Santa Cruz, CA;, Dharmasara, Salt Spring Centre, Vancouver, Canada; Sri Ram Orphanage, Haridwar, India; Ashtanga Yoga Institute
PhilosophyAshtanga (eight limbs of yoga), Kriya Yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Tantra, Vedanta
Religious career
GuruBaba Raghubar Dassji Maharaj
Influenced
Literary worksBaba Hari Dass bibliography
Other namesHaridas; Chota Maharaji; Babaji

Baba Hari Dass took a vow of silence in 1952, which he upheld through this life.[2] Although he did not speak, he was able to communicate in several languages through writing. His literary output included scriptural commentaries to Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Bhagavad Gita, Samkhya Karika, and Vedanta, collections of aphorisms about the meaning and purpose of life, essays, plays, short stories, children's stories, kirtan, mantras, and in-depth instructional yoga materials that formed the basis of a yoga certification-training program.[3]

Upon his arrival in North America in early 1971,[4] Baba Hari Dass and his teachings inspired the creation of several yoga centers and retreat programs in the United States in Santa Cruz County, California,[5] and in Canada at Salt Spring Island and in Toronto.[6] He was an early proponent of Ayurveda,[7] an ancient Indian system of health and healing, and helped introduce the practice to the United States.

In an annual rendition of Indian classic Ramayana,[8] he taught performing arts, choreography and costume making. Baba Hari Dass devoted himself to helping others, with an emphasis on selfless service (karma yoga); In 1987 he opened Sri Ram Orphanage for homeless children in Haridwar India.[9] To the local population of Nainital and Almora, Baba Hari Dass was also known as Haridas[10] (lit "servant of Lord Hari"), Haridas Baba,[11] Chota Maharaji[4] (literally "little great king"), or Harda Baba.

Early life, education, and spiritual path

 
Kumoani panorama, 2014
 
Sombari Baba's hut, Kakarighat Ashram

Hari Datt Karnatak was born on 26 March 1923 in the town of Almora[9] in Uttarakhand, India. His family was of a Kumaoni Brahmin Karnatak lineage. Hari Datt was born in the lunar month of Chaitra, in Shukla Paksha (Rama Navami).[12]

Hari Datt grew up in the lower Himalayan region of Kumaon, which includes Dunagiri (also called Dronagiri), the birthplace of modern-day Kriya Yoga and the temple of Shakti. Known since the Mahabharata War,[13] the Kurmachalam[14] region encompasses Almora district and Udham Singh Nagar district. Early in life he listened to stories told by older people about siddha yogis Sombari Baba Maharaj, Gudari Baba, Suri Baba, Khaki Baba, Aughar Baba, and several other saints of that region. His parents were devotees of a saint of Kumaon, Hariakhan Baba Maharaj, who was known to visit Almora.[15]

On a journey to Haldwani in 1929,[16] Hari Datt received his first darshana with the sage Sombari Baba Maharaj.[17][18]

Darshana is viewed as experiencing the presence of a highly revered person, which can awaken latent potential for spiritual growth or intellectual understanding. American poet Gary Snyder, a Zen Buddhist practitioner, stated, "It's a gift; it's like there's a moment in which the thing is ready to let you see it. In India, this is called darshan. Darshan means getting a view."[19]

Leaving home at the age of eight

Hari Datt's early childhood years were marked by sadness and the feeling of separation: "When I was small, about five-six years old, I began to feel unhappy and sad inside. That sadness would be enhanced at the sunset at the Himalayas...A feeling of separation would come, and I would feel like I was closed inside a box where it is dark. The dome of the sky and the earth at night would make me feel like I was inside the box. 'How can I get out of this box?' was my constant question."[20] His parents were puzzled by his strange behavior of leaving the house early in the morning and refusing to go into the house. He also didn't like to go to school to learn reading and writing.

His father, a Sanskrit scholar and tough disciplinarian, forced Hari Datt to memorize Sanskrit grammar and prayers. In 1931–1932, his father died at age 56 of a heart attack, an event which shook the whole family, but also brought Hari Datt a sense of relief. With the pressure lifted, Hari Datt was free to do anything he wanted. However, he assumed more responsibilities by helping his mother in farming, taking care of the cows, and threshing grain. Also, he had to go to school and do homework.[21]

He was attracted to freedom that monks had in their lifestyle, unburdened by excess of clothing or work, and who did not have to attend school. "Whenever any monk would come to the village temple, I would go to see them, I started living like a monk." His mother came home one day to find him sitting, wearing only a loincloth, with wood ash smeared all over his body. She said, "Son, there is no happiness in the world, there is no peace in household life. I know you are very attracted to monk life but that is not an easy task either."[22]

Hari Datt had several conversations with his mother about God, soul and peace. His view of the surrounding world as being a restraining box made of earth as the bottom and sky as the top induced him to weep. Deciding it had to be lifted, he made his conviction known to his mother, asking her to release him from the confinement of "this box of earth and sky." To that she said, "I can't". He replied, "I'm going."[23][24]

Brahmacharya school

With his mother's consent, Hari Datt left home at the age of eight[25][26] and joined an ashram for young yoga practitioners in the jungles of Kumaon, where he was initiated into Brahmacharya.[23][27] "I was initiated at the age of eight and would do my practices every morning and night before eating food."[28] A regimented daily schedule included six hours of sleep, rising at 4:00 a.m., walking a mile in the dark to bathe in a river regardless of the season or weather conditions, a teacher-guided group study of homework and preparation for exams. The underlying premise of that lifestyle, based in "We can train our body in any way we want,"[29] included daily duties of manual labor, carrying water from a river in a valley, collecting firewood, cooking, cleaning, and gardening. He practiced and became proficient in martial arts, Hatha yoga, Shatkarma, Mudras and Sanskrit.[30]

Naga Baba, Udasi Baba and Swami Nityananda Maharaj

Hari Datt's interest in the monk lifestyle resurfaced on more than one occasion. He contacted traveling sannyasins in temples or in public engagements in order to learn their wisdom and inquire about yoga techniques. Some of those early encounters fell short of his expectations. Trying to learn about the life of Naga Baba (naked sannyasin) became a debacle. Mischief other boys engaged in, like throwing rocks or disturbing the monk's meditation resulted in cursing, angry outbursts and a chase.[31]

Another sannyasin who attracted Hari Datt's attention was Udasi Baba, credited by adult followers as possessing supernatural powers over ghosts or curing sickness, and who lived in a cremation ground. One day, when he had nobody to cremate at his site, he joined an encampment of local people and looked like an ordinary man who craved attention. He acknowledged that his tales of subduing ghosts were fabrications and that "ghosts are for those who are afraid of ghosts."[32] These encounters resulted in diminishing attraction for a monk-like lifestyle for a young 12 year-old Brahmachari.

In 1935, Hari Datt met Swami Nityananda Maharaj, who lectured and held gatherings that many adults attended. For a boy to mix with adults following monks was not encouraged. It was believed that young lads couldn't understand the spiritual subjects; in contrast, however, from the Brahmachari perspective, "older people simply became a hindrance for youngsters."[33] Since lectures of Swami Nithyanandaji's were in English, he could not understand the content. Yet was keen to observe the ascetic form of the Swami, who was wearing a tiger skin and using a trident staff, a follower of the Shiva order, and a pilgrim on his way to Mount Kailash. That experience brought in him questions and confusion about God, as he believed God could create and control everything.[34]

First teaching in Hatha Yoga and Swami Satyananda Giri

In 1936, Hari Datt attended classes of Swami Satyananda Giri of Dashnami Sanyasi Sect (originated by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya), who visited Almora region. Swami Satyananda was well versed in classical yoga tenets and encouraged adults to use the practices of Hatha yoga. He postulated that developing strong body, in which the soul resides, aids in the journey to attain emancipation. Techniques he demonstrated and explained were based in Hatha Yoga seven limbs: Shatkarma, Asana, Mudra, Pratyahara, Pranayama, Dhyana, and Samadhi. He also used Ayurvedic principles of the balanced food of three-doshas, consistent eating habits, and avoided oily and fat rich foods.

When young Brahmachari (Baba Hari Dass) was asked to demonstrate what he knew, Swamiji was surprised and pleased to see well developed postures, mudras, etc. Brahmachari explained he practiced those in Brahmachari School by his own doing rather than learning from someone else (asanas, pranayamas, shatkarmas, and mudras). Swamiji asked him to teach others in his class, who were adults. "Swamiji saw my sarvangasana and was very pleased. I showed the series of 12 postures of surya-namaskar (sun salutation). Swamiji liked the way I did the postures and said I should come back every morning and show the people the method of doing asanas."[35] Due to that teaching experience, his feeling of a misfit in the class and shyness went away. He was also well received by adult learners.

Darshana of Anandamayi Ma and her Samadhi

In 1936, when Anandamayi Ma visited Almora region, he experienced her in a trance state some interpreted as samadhi: "I heard that a woman saint was in town. Her name was Ananda Mayi Ma. I was very excited to see a woman saint... a woman who looked to be 35-40 years old. Her eyes were closed. Her face looked like golden light. Everyone outside bowed to her and people hurriedly took her to Ranikhet to a secluded place to rest."[36] He listened to a lecture by a pundit who invoked the Yoga Sutras to interpret her state of consciousness and what level of samadhi she was in. Intrigued, he discussed further experienced darshan and how samadhi brings knowledge of God with an older colleague in the Brahmacharya coed. He was discouraged from viewing samadhi as an emotionally induced trance that could occur during devotional singing (kirtan) or dancing. In contrast, he was told that through formal training, the regular practice of pranayama and meditation (Dhyana), samadhi could be attained and take deeper roots.

Also in that discussion, the issue was raised of renouncing the world — becoming a sannyasi would require a radical departure from social norms compared to the householder life of grihastha, and "If everyone renounces the world, then one day all the old generation will die out and there will be no new generation." He agreed that such statement was quite right; however, since everyone is not meant to be a householder, the natural balance would still be sustained by everyone performing duties for the world. He held fast to that perspective for the rest of his life, never losing attraction for the life of renunciation.

After seeing Swami Nityananda Maharaj and Ananda Mai Ma, Hari Datt's desire to practice yoga increased.[28] His quest continued as he visited different villages in Himalayan mountains around the age of 14,[37] encountering several Westerners who were learning yogic practices and later recalling them as "true seekers". His experiences with cultural diversity at a young age shaped his attitude towards an inclusive way of teaching yoga later on.

Initiation into Sannyasa diksha

In 1942, at the age of 19,[38] he was initiated with Sannyasa diksha[39] into the Vairagi-Tyagi Vaishnava order of Ramanandi Sampradaya[39] (followers of Saint Ramananda originated in the 15th century). His guru, Baba Raghubar Dassji Maharaj, a reclusive sadhu that he met in Ramkot Hanuman Temple (Almora region),[40] oversaw the initiation. A highly regarded renunciate and a Sanskrit Acharya, Maharaj was known for minimal verbal communication but lacked a large following. He met with his disciples only once every two or three years to convey yoga sādhanā instructions to his followers.[41] He's quoted as saying: "First find unity within, in your thoughts, words and actions and the unity outside will follow you."[42]

In 1952–1953, while living in a burial place called Ghati, Baba Hari Dass described experience of a legendary Kumaon yogi Hariakhan Baba while staying in a cave in cold winter. While sitting by the side of the fire he fainted and his left arm fell into that fire: "I saw Hariakhan Maharaj come into the room and bend over me…, I saw him clearly, removing my left arm from the fire pit... By some unknown power I was related to Hariakhan Maharaj."[43]

Vow of silence and tapas

Silence is the only Voice of our God - Herman Melville (Pierre: or, The Ambiguities, Bk. XIV, ch. 1, 1852,)

In 1952, Baba Hari Dass took a continual vow of silence called mauna (or maunavrata).[25] In a similar tradition of Buddhist meditative method of Vipasana, silence is used "as the process of self-purification by introspection."[44]

In 1964, Bhagavan Das met Baba Hari Dass near a temple called Hanumangarhi, Nainital, and later wrote: "The sadhu was a muni, a yogi whose practice of austerity includes complete silence. For the previous twelve years, whenever he wanted to communicate, he would jot his thoughts succinctly on a small chalkboard."[45] Similarly, in 1967, Ram Dass: "He is a jungle sadhu. He went into the jungle when he was 8 years old. He is silent (mauna). He has been mauna for 15 years. He writes with a chalkboard."[46]

Even as continued silence would seem a radical but also inconvenient form of communication, several Western authors recognized the social value of silence. Among those were Jacques Derrida and Søren Kierkegaard. In their view, silence would function as a precursor for clearer and substantively deeper understanding. Michael Strawser (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida), commenting on Jacques Derrida's view of Soren Kierkegaard's meaning of silence, wrote, "What is needed is Kierkegaard's call to silence in order to recognize one's responsibility to the other."[47] Silence is also valued by Perkey Avot, in the Jewish Sages guide for living, and functions as "a safety fence for wisdom".[48]

In yoga, mauna is maintained with the aim of achieving uninterrupted concentration (ekagrata, Sanskrit: एकाग्रता). Side effects of such practice would include constraining outgoing emotions of the mind, such as anger, excessive argumentativeness, etc. In Ashtanga, mauna would be part of a larger body of practices called tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्). Overall, mauna as practice of tapas would not be viewed as penance but rather "as a mental training to develop will power".[49]

In the beginning of his practice he encountered obstacles, "For twelve years I faced much difficulties...for two or three years you have to fight with anger." Since merely not talking is not considered a yogic silence, keeping a quiet mind is, "The mind can't be stopped merely by keeping your mouth shut."[23]

 
Baba Hari Dass - silent yogi writing on a chalkboard, c. 1976, California.

In 1983, David C. Fuess (a writer for The Wall Street Journal), observed about Baba Hari Dass: "Babaji had not spoken for twenty-nine years and communicates by a means of a small chalk board."[8] In 2008, Melissa Weaver, Santa Cruz Sentinel correspondent, wrote: "During classes, he sits in a wood-backed chair, his students... sit patiently while he writes his thoughts on a wipe-off board, which are then read aloud by a volunteer."[50]

Karma yogi builder

Early on in his life Haridas Baba was influenced by the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, which considers karma yoga to be a selfless service, and the most straightforward pathway to progress in spiritual life. He learned temple masonry from a local mason and used those skills in building temples, ashrams, idols, and rock walls. In more than one of those projects he had a lead role. In 1950–1964 with the help of local followers and volunteers, adults and children, he built Hanumangarh and later Kainchi Ashram in Nainital.The Divine Reality, a publication by Sri Kainchi Hanuman Mandir & Ashram, stated: "Haridas Baba used to come to Kainchi from Hanumangarh to supervise the construction work of Kainchi Ashram."[51] In 1962, after Hanumangarh, and Kenchi (Kainchi) Ashram, he started to build an ashram at Kakrighat where Sombari Maharaj lived, which was later completed on a contract basis.[52]

In the United States and Canada,[53] he continued using his design, planning and construction skills. In February, 1982, after a fire burnt a recently constructed program building at Mount Madonna Center, in Watsonville, California, he used the event as an opportunity to build a larger structure with more capacity. His example inspired many volunteers to help with those karma yoga efforts. In 1983, Yoga Journal writer, Virginia Lee, said "Baba Hari Dass swings his hammer alongside everyone else".[54] The same publication included two articles in 2002, Karma Yoga Awards and Saving Young Lives, that described how Baba Hari Dass donated proceeds from his books to the Sri Ram Foundation that was set up to help destitute children in India. From those funds, and other donations, Shri Ram Ashram was created near Haridwar, in India.[55]

Local teacher-leader

At the end of the 1930s several encounters with Western seekers in India shaped his attitude towards teaching yoga in the future. He became cognizant of a larger group of people wanting to learn yoga and the need to preserve genuine yogic tradition for these students. "When I was about 14 years old...I saw number of Westerners. Some had taken sannyasa..it was quite clear that they were true seekers"[56] In India, yoga practices were tested for thousands of years and it became known how each method affects the body, mind and consciousness. By adopting a well-known method of Ashtanga of Patanjali, Yamas and Niyamas, as his core practice, he aimed to shorten the time required for mastering essential routines. Otherwise, if new experimentation is needed "when those methods are changed, they are again subject to testing."

Several of his early students were Europeans and followers of the back-to-basics philosophy who were traveling to India and were followed by beatniks, such as Allen Ginsburg and others. In the early 1960s, during one of the subsequent waves of interest in Indian spirituality and yoga, some newcomers to Nainital district were directed to Haridas Baba to receive instructions in hatha yoga, meditation and yogic life. "A young Englishman named Lawrie...was allowed to stay in the ashram, studying with Haridas Baba".[57]

He had established a local following and was considered an adept teacher, a leader and builder in several building and karma yoga construction projects at Hanuman Garhi and Nainital Ashram temples. Dada Mukerjee (Sri Sudhir Mukerjee), recounting those events wrote: "Haridas was also very active in building the Kainchin temples and purchasing materials for them",[10] and "Haridas...was well-versed in pujas and rituals, as well as in pranayam and meditation, and an experienced practitioner of hatha yoga..., he also looked after the devotees who came there... Ram Dass stayed there in 1967 and Lawrie in 1964, among others."[58]

Western confluence (1964–1971)

Bhagavan Das and hospital episode

Bhagavan Das was introduced to Baba Hari Dass at the Hanumangarhi, Nainital (the 'Fortress of Hanuman'), who was then a manager and builder of the temple.[59] Bhagavan Das described that experience: "Hari Das was the real thing, a cave yogi", and, "I showed Hari Dass Baba how I did these kriyas, and he helped me perfect my technique".[60]

In 1968, in meditation, Bhagavan Das, according to his own account, intuitively knew that Baba Hari Dass was in some danger, then under a supervised doctor care in Agra,[61] arranged by Neem Karoli Baba. Bhagavan Das drove from Nainital overnight and removed him from that life-threatening condition.[note 1] After few days Baba Hari Dass wrote, "You saved my life".[62] Explaining that episode, Bhagavan Das interpreted the event with considerable hesitation. He reported the incident took place in Lucknow (not in Agra) and interpreted Baba Hari Dass' refusal of further treatments as a dislike of Western medicine: "being subjected to Western medical techniques was a death sentence." He didn't offer Baba Hari Dass' view of that medical treatment and left the reason why and by whom it was arranged unanswered.

Ram Dass – learning yoga

In 1967 an ex-Harvard professor Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) travelled to India and was taken to Kainchi - Nainital region by Bhagavan Dass. At that time Baba Hari Dass was already an accomplished yoga teacher and had a large following. On his guru Neem Karoli Baba's recommendation, Ram Dass received teachings of Ashtanga: "Baba Hari Dass was my teacher. I was taught by this man with a chalkboard in the most terse way possible".[46]

Baba Hari Dass trained Ram Dass in Rāja yoga: asana, pranayama, mantras,[63] mudras, ahimsa (non-violence) and focused meditation. "Hari Dass Baba, who had been my sadhana tutor while I lived in Kainchi.[64][65] Each morning around 11:30 Hari Dass Baba would come from Hanumangarh sixteen kilometers away to give me lessons in yoga."[66] The aim of training and practices of yoga-sadhana was for Ram Dass to become an adept practitioner and teacher of the classical Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in the US and to increase interest in yoga and spirituality in general. Building a yoga center in India or the US and publishing yoga books authored by Baba Hari Dass were also discussed.

That training of several months continued in a series of letters between Baba Hari Dass and Ram Dass in the period of 1967–1969. "He was training me to become an ascetic, although I never really became one."[66] Ashtanga practices and observances were later included in the 1971 book Be Here Now and became a reference material for beginning yoga learners in the 1970s until Baba Hari Dass authored his comprehensive and detailed Ashtanga Yoga Primer (1977).[67]

Some benefits of those learning experiences in India were long-lasting, "The aphasia has introduced silence into my conversation...I had training for this kind of thing when I was with Baba Hari Dass in India. I was mauna,"[68] or, "Silence brought me great energy of clarity. As Hari Dass wrote, 'Nothing is better than something.'"[69]

Parting from Neem Karoli Baba

In 1968, Haridas, "who was very active in building the Kainichi temples and purchasing materials for them"[70] in Nainital, discontinued involvement with Neem Karoli Baba. That association lasted since the mid-1950s when "Haridas with his band of enthusiastic and active associates, was managing the affairs of the temples and ashram in Hanumangarh".

Since his childhood Haridas Baba had accepted disciplined life as essential in spiritual progress. He became a monk and adopted silence as a way of seeking inner peace.[6] For health reasons, and to eliminate digestive problems he had with his liver, he chose to drink a glass of milk once or twice a day instead of taking solid food. Since the early days of his association with Neem Karoli Baba he encountered several obstacles in his observance of silence, or eating habits. During one Kumbha Mela, he was obligated by Neem Karoli Baba to break those monastic rules for the reason of following the house rules as having higher but whimsical priority ("What is this rule? For what purpose is it made?"[71]).

When he became a teacher in the 1950s, Baba Hari Dass sought conducive circumstances for his teaching environment to benefit learners; "He wanted to build a small community of his own devotees".[72] Several disruptions and conflicts that occurred in Kainchi ashram where he was a resident, teacher and supervisor, were not well suited for that end. The Kainchi ashram became a difficult place with charged economic claims between local residents and newcomers who were outsiders and who by displacing local members were not acknowledging their share of efforts in building and maintaining the ashram. Excessive hoarding of goods and secret dealings to cover for Neem Karoli Baba's sudden appearances and disappearances in order to create an impression of yogic powers (siddhis)[73] were also contentious issues. Recognizing that, Neem Karoli Baba's intimate devotee, (Sudhir) Dada Mukerjee wrote, "cases have caused much misunderstanding and heart-burning among some, and have remained as enigmas for others."

Cases, which point to abuses, Mukerjee interpreted as needed for the grace of his guru to manifest, so that others, including "Bhabania and Haridas", could benefit from, and that "we can understand reasons for the hard treatment."[74] In that context, the author does not explain how contentious circumstances would justify and absolve actions that had abusive intent.

Following those events, in 1970, several Westerners already familiar with Baba Hari Dass teaching style, travelled to India, Haridwar, and convinced him to come to the US to continue his way of silent teaching.

An inquiry whether Baba Hari Dass was a disciple of Neem Karoli Baba leads to a proposition that there was no long-lasting relationship of guru-disciple in the sense of guru-shishya (or chela), although that relationship extended over several years (1954–1968) and included selfless service, guru-seva or karma-yoga done by Baba Hari Dass.[75] There was no sustained acceptance of the teachings (parampara[76]), continuation of the said association that would last, or establishing a branch of teachings based on Neem Karoli Baba's orientation. The content of what Baba Hari Dass taught in Ashtanga, Vedanta, Ayurveda or Samkhya classes to his students in India, in the US, or Canada, came from the independent research of his own. Acknowledging that, while in the US, to a question "How many teachers did you have", Baba Hari Dass replied "Myself."[23]

Ma Renu

Main article: Ruth Horsting
 
Baba Hari Dass and Ma Renu, watching annual volleyball competition at Mount Madonna Center, July 1998

Ruth Horsting (also known as Ma Renu and Ruth Johnson) was a professor of arts at the University of California, Davis.[77] She taught sculpture at UC Davis from 1959 until 1971.[78][79] She was contacted in 1970 by her students, Bondana and Mahendra Mark Jungerman, who were then searching for an advanced yoga teacher in India and they had found Baba Hari Dass in Haridwar. Another person who contacted Baba Hari Dass during 1970 was Paul C. Adams (also known as Prem Das).[80]

On that occasion the prospect of inviting Baba Hari Dass to the United States was raised. "They stayed with me and asked me to go to the United States. I said I could go anywhere. I was ready to move to the higher mountains".[note 2] In 1971, on the recommendation of her students, Baba Hari Dass was invited to the United States, and Ma Renu sponsored his stay for the purpose of teaching yoga.[79] Ma Renu described her first meeting Baba Hari Dass: "I felt there was no time to lose. I had already given my permission to sponsor his stay in America, but what had been intended as a short stay, turned into a 29 year darshan and blessing."[note 3] At the age of 52, Horsting devoted herself fully to the study of Ashtanga.[79]

That association over the years became a fruitful fulfillment of selfless service ideals when several organizational projects and service missions were formed in the US, Canada and India. In 1976, Baba Hari Dass directed her in forming Sri Rama Foundation to support Sri Ram Ashram for destitute children located in Shyampur, in Uttarakhand near Haridwar.

Anand Dass

Jerry Tabachnick (also known as Anand Dass) became one of the first students who recognized the need to study yoga with a live master. He became a highly regarded disciple and commentator. In 1970, he travelled to India to study with Baba Hari Dass and to gain deeper understanding of yoga. He was also active in organizing the Vancouver Satsang in Canada[81] and became a Yoga Sutras commentator and teacher and co-authored Dharma Sara publications on yoga and yoga related subjects (1974–76).[82]

Prenatal Yoga

Baba Hari Dass agreed to mentor his pregnant student Jeannine Parvati through a course of prenatal Yoga. During that time she continued practicing asanas and authored Prenatal Yoga & Natural Childbirth, published in 1974.[83] As the daughter of a First Nation father (Ute tribe) and as a longtime student of Baba Hari Dass, Jeannine Parvati Baker's midwifery philosophy was one of earth-based values and non-harming principles.[84]

After "Prenatal Yoga" gained in popularity, Baba Hari Dass expounded supporting practices of yoga to include prenatal asana, pranayama, meditation, Ayurveda, and mindfulness techniques for labor that formed the basis of Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training.[85] The emphasis was given on anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, common discomforts in pregnancy, and how to support mothers through every stage of pregnancy and postpartum.

The impact of Be Here Now and Chota Maharaji

"How the Swamis Came to the States", written by Richard Leviton, in Yoga Journal, Mar/Apr 1990,[4] proposed a timeline of influential yoga teachers in the US. That overview covered 100 years (1890–1990) of multicultural developments in yoga influences with a focus in larger audience teaching. Among those, the beginning of yoga teaching of Baba Hari Dass[4] in the US was seen as starting in 1971. Prior to that, Baba Hari Dass's reputation preceded his arrival in America by several years, confirming his teaching engagements going back to at least 1968 as well established in India. Earlier credible accounts also exist (Bhagavan Das and Ram Dass) that confirm in 1963–64 he was a teacher of already considerable skills engaged in teaching others.

In February 1971 Baba Hari Dass was teaching in the US, and later the same year Be Here Now (1st edition, Oct 1971) by Ram Dass was published by the Lama Foundation, in New Mexico. Be Here Now, a manuscript initially titled From Bindu to Ojas (one thousand copies published in 1970),[86] included information on yoga practices and theory compiled from what Baba Hari Dass had taught about hatha yoga, yogic life and conduct during daily morning sessions in Nainital mentioned by Ram Dass in his later writings, "I spent five months under his tutelage". That book, viewed as significant contribution to the public knowledge in the United States and Canada about yoga and Baba Hari Dass as a master yogi, was re-edited after "eighty thousand copies"[87] were already distributed. Richard Leviton uses the first edition of Be Here Now. He notes that Ram Dass called Baba Hari Dass "this incredible fellow" as one of his teachers. Ram Dass used several affirmative remarks about Baba Hari Dass, also known as Chota Maharaji in his native Nainital-Almora region, that he later removed from the first edition.[note 4]

In Be Love Now, published in 2010, explanation was given for the content removal in a dialogue between Ram Dass and his guru Neem Karoli Baba that took place in 1971. "I had mixed up Hari Dass and Maharaji when I heard the story from Hari Dass."[64] "The story", which is repeated with some changes in another autobiographical book Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart,[87] was about who left his home at the age of eight. Several sources pointed out that Neem Karoli Baba left his home at the age of 11–12 years old, "After the wedding, the groom left home and wandered the country".[88] For Baba Hari Dass, leaving home took place at younger age when he was eight years old.[25] With a sense of needed spiritual liberation and the discussion he had with his mother, "Take me out of this box of earth and sky," Baba Hari Dass left home and was not bound by the customary child marriage in India arrangement prevalent at that time, before it was declared illegal in 1929, or by the family's promise obligations that such marriage would impose.[23]

Teaching to learn (1971-2018)

 
Mount Madonna Center, California, Baba Hari Dass, Sep 2013

Physical foundation and social involvement

In the US, in early 1971, in Sea Ranch in Sonoma County, and in Santa Rosa, California, he started teaching core yoga practices which later became an aerobic hatha yoga regimen of Fitness Asanas[4] aimed to increase physical endurance in support of meditation. Later, kirtan, mudras, fire ceremony (yajna), and satsang were introduced to complement a busy schedule. In 1972, as interest grew, several events were organized that included demonstrations of yoga asanas, shatkarma, and mudras (Lama Foundation in New Mexico, Coconut Grove in Florida, and Santa Cruz in California).[89][90] He also traveled to Canada to establish Dharmasara community in Toronto, Salt Spring Centre of yoga, on Salt Spring Island BC, and Dharma Sara Satsang, in Vancouver, BC.

In 1973, the Lama Foundation published his first book, The Yellow Book,[91] a collection of aphorisms that included terse but revealing statements ("all babies are yogis"), or longer question-answer format on life topics. In 1975 his second book, "a compilation of stories about one of the greatest and most mysterious of India's saints",[92] Hariakhan Baba - Known, Unknown, was issued by Sri Rama Foundation. In 1977 came out another collection of a well-received question-answer discussions in Silence Speaks, which became a hallmark of his silent style of teaching with few written words in subsequent publications by Sri Rama Publishing.[citation needed]

His experiences and skills in designing, building and management of Kainchi and Hanumangarh ashrams in Nainital, India, took a new form when the Hanuman Fellowship was created in 1974[93] in Santa Cruz, California. He advised his followers to write letters to friends, associates, etc., to find a large, open space, in out-of-city surroundings. After a long search, in 1976, one response came from Lois Bateson (wife of the late anthropologist Gregory Bateson) who located a ranger who managed a large property in the Santa Cruz Mountains[94] that would be sold on the condition the new buyers would preserve its natural state. That led to the establishment in 1978 of Mount Madonna Center for Creative Arts[95] in Watsonville. The vast space of the mountainous terrain was well suited for physical work with many volunteers working as karma yogis.

On 23 February 1982,[96] the main program building was already finished, when a candle light from a puja-table started a fire that burnt that building down. In the summer of the same year, "the response to the disaster was overwhelming", and a new plan was implemented to build a larger program building that could host multi-user activities.[97] Baba Hari Dass developed a three-tier yoga teaching schedule for beginners, intermediate and advanced practitioners. Regular classes in the Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, satsang events, Ramayana play, martial arts, sport activities with annual Hanuman Olympics and retreats provided rich holistic background in learning.

Baba Hari Dass emphasized physical work and volunteer karma yoga services. The aim of such approach was that social contact and interaction while working together would translate into other areas and would support coherent functioning of the multi-purpose facility "where a spiritual aspirant could come to learn yoga and find peace." Around those ideas similar projects were created at Salt Spring Centre of Yoga (1974) in Canada, in Vancouver, BC, and in Pacific Cultural Center in Santa Cruz, California (1989).[98]

US temples and religious symbols

 
Shiva Lingam, Ganesha temple, Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple; Mount Madonna Center, CA; 2014.

Emphasis on bhakti yoga derived from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana inspired several of his students to travel to India in 2001 in search of a Hanuman murti. "When that statue arrived," Baba Hari Dass wrote, "It needs a Temple."[99] He walked to the ceremonial site and marked out a location for the temple with his foot. The Prana pratishta ceremony, "establishing the breath" within the sacred image, was performed in 2003. Sankat Mochan Hanuman, Ganesh temples,[100] Nandi-Shiva lingam water cascade, and several idols of deities were built at the Mount Madonna Center site. Conceived as an alternative bhakti yoga tract, the site serves local residents and can accommodate visitors from the wider community of the San Francisco Bay Area in daily visits.

Human psychology contribution

In the West transpersonal psychology became a rich and productive field in psychology, anthropology and psychiatry. Practices and theories of yoga added to that impact while researchers focused on energies of the subtle body that in yoga terms relate to SukShma sharira. Several authors credited Baba Hari Dass for his contributions and adept views. Steven Simon Bentheim PhD commenting on spiritual marriages that were made and fell apart despite the blessings of the guru, wrote: "Baba Hari Dass soon realized that the ideal of abstinence as a tool for spiritual development — whether it be dietary or sexual was a problem in the West."[101]

Bonnie Greenwell, while working on her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology (Energies Transformation: A Guide to the Kundalini Process) was allowed to study "the unpublished manuscripts of the Jnana yoga teacher Baba Hari Dass."[102]

Stuart Sovatsky PhD, commenting on Ken Wilber, Ram Dass and others whose work focused on "[solo] spiritual heroes" unwittingly garbled into Western lives the specialized family-less "sadhu trip", wrote that Baba Hari Dass warned all Western seekers not to mix up Western life style and stringent sadhu requirements. Commenting on that he wrote, "For Westerners Brahmacharya is almost impossible because association between sexes is so free. Don't mix the sadhu trip in this thing."[103]

Ayurveda

Baba Hari Dass was one of the early proponents who helped bring Ayurveda to the US in the early 1970s, an ancient Indian system of health and healing. He taught combined classes in Ashtanga, Samkhya and Ayurveda as "sister sciences".[104] As interest grew, the three-dosha theory, pulse detection, and ayurvedic medicum derived from the classic scriptures of the Sushruta Samhita and the Charaka Saṃhitā, were introduced that led to the establishment of the Mount Madonna Institute, College of Ayurveda,[citation needed] Ayurveda World, and Ayurvedic pharmacy. He invited several notable Ayurvedic teachers, Dr. Vasant Lad, Sarita Shrestha, M.D., Professor Ram Harsh Singh, Ph.D., and others. Michael Tierra, Ayurvedic medicine practitioner, wrote: "The history of Ayurveda in North America will always owe a debt to the selfless contributions of Baba Hari Dass" (The way of Ayurvedic Herbs, Lotus Press, 2008, p. XIV).[105]

Yoga Teachers Training

Following the tradition of non-sectarian teachings of Ashtanga, with the roots in practical Hatha yoga and the metaphysics of Samkhya, Baba Hari Dass inspired and supervised several programs with focus in training future yoga instructors. He first started teaching yoga in India as per existing accounts by Bhagavan Das[106] in 1964, and by Ram Dass[66] in 1965–66. By some other accounts, his teaching engagements occurred already in 1958 when he trained several former students of the known mystic George Gurdjieff (1866–1949).

In the US and Canada, beginning in the mid-1970s, he created comprehensive teaching programs combining the eight limbs of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Those were grounded in the scriptural tradition of Hatha yoga system in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Siva Samhita, and Gherand Samita, Yoga Vashishta. With the emphasis on strength and flexibility he developed fitness asanas[4] to increase physical endurance. Pranayama, a stable control and expansion of energy, was given prominence in focused support of meditation. Kirtan, mudras, the theory of gunas of Samkhya and the subtle body, or SukShma sharira[107] of Tantra and Vedantic philosophy were also included. Regular and persistent practice (sadhana and Abhyasa) augmented scriptural references and emphasized experience through regular routine.

In addition to core practices of Rāja yoga, several less mainstream teachings are given during the formative stages of Yoga Teacher Training at Mount Madonna Center, Watsonville, CA. For example, Tantric Bhairavī Chakra Sadhana and The Vairagī Ritual is a circular yoga sādhana performed with an equal number of men and women that employs yantras to invoke the various forms of Devi, or Durga as the supreme Being in the Shaktism tradition. Practices such as Shut Chakra Bedhana (piercing the chakras) and Yoni Mudra Japa are included. That sadhana used as the Vairāgī Vaiṣṇavas practice does not have a sexual component.[108]

Sri Ram Ashram

 
Children getting sweets, Sri Ram Ashram, Shyampur, India

Baba Hari Dass in his travels through India encountered many abandoned children who were in need of home and a caring place. As a young boy Baba Hari Dass witnessed the mistreatment of children at an orphanage he visited with his friend. Prompted by that experience and using the proceeds from his yoga books and generous donations, "he established a loving home for children in need".[109] One of his students, Ma Renu, inspired by the teachings of selfless service (karma yoga) traveled to India to launch in 1984 Sri Ram Ashram,[110] a children's home, school, and medical clinic in rural location of the northern state of Uttaranchal.

The Ashram, now located near Haridwar (Shyampur village) was established in 1987. From its inception, the focus became to support orphaned and destitute children. Some children find their way to Sri Ram Ashram by being brought and left at the entrance gate, or by being found abandoned in streets of towns, or rural places. After medical evaluation those children are brought into the new surroundings with care and loving attention. In 1987, Sri Ram Vidya Mandir became a nationally accredited school, which educates children, Nursery through 12th grade standard, from both the orphanage and nearby villages.

Scriptural focus

 
Baba Hari Dass with children, Mount Madonna Center, May 2008

The aim

Attainment of higher states of concentration according to Rāja yoga (classical yoga of Patanjali) is rooted in development of the physical body (Hatha Yoga). "The body is a boat which carries the soul in the ocean of the world. If it is not strong, or if has a hole, then it can't cross the ocean. So the first duty is to fix the boat."[111] With the physical body gaining in strength and guided by a disciplined life, an adept can receive more refined instructions and teachings, called sadhana. Regular sadhana, according to Baba Hari Dass, is a key element of practice of yoga, and no matter what method is adopted sadhana becomes an anchor that can always be relied on.

Baba Hari Dass, himself a monk all his life, considered people who are married as also capable of leading yogic life. Due to their daily care for children, a regular sadhana would take a form of Grihasta Yoga (householder yoga), "It is a union of two people in which they sacrifice their personal desires to become one."[112]

Yoga tradition of Dattatreya and Patanjali

Several authors hold that Dattatreya ("Datta son of Atri", also known as Datta Guru),[113] to whom Advahuta-Gita is ascribed (the fourth century C.E.),[114] was the first who originated tradition of Ashtanga (astha-anga-yoga), or Rāja yoga (eight-fold path of Yoga).[115] Dattatreya is also credited with the authorship of Jivan-Mukti-Gita ("Song of Living Liberation") that extols the adept who is liberated while still in the body, as well as Tripura-Rahasya ("Tripura's Secret Teaching").[116]

Yoga, as a spiritual practice, likely developed prior to the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in the same ascetic circles as the early sramana movements.[117][note 5] Several Upanishads (Ranade, R. D., dating from the 1200 – 600 BC), have particular relevance to the teachings of yoga (Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, or Shvetasvtara).[118][119] Those writings predate Buddhist tradition of more formal yoga-practices described in the Buddhist Nikayas.[120] Some authors, evaluating various opinions about the origin of Yoga, state that "It can certainly be argued that the germs of yogic thought can be found in embryonic form in the (middle period) Vedic literatures themselves, the Aranyakas and Brahmana texts"[121] (most likely between c. 1500–1200 BC).

Ascertaining various sources, Baba Hari Dass, composed his own in-depth commentary to The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that elucidates difficult theoretical concepts with many years of experience and knowledge of practices of yoga. Some authors assert that Patajali's Yoga Sutras and Yoga practices in general "had been virtually forgotten for the better part of seven hundred years"[122] until it was rehabilitated at the end of the nineteenth century by Swami Vivekananda.[123] However, scriptural research may have to be evaluated in addition to localized Yoga traditions that rely on the word of mouth transfer of yogic knowledge and are centuries older in duration than indicated by the theoretical speculation.

Building upon Himalayan Kumoan tradition of centuries old yoga development,[124] Baba Hari Dass started his weekly Yoga Sutras of Patanjali classes at the University of California, at Santa Cruz, CA in 1975.[125] Several commentaries and yoga classics were referenced, such as: Yoga Vashishta, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita, Goraksha Samhita,Yoga Bhashya attributed to Veda Vyasa (probably the fifth C.E.); Īśvarakrishna's Samkhyakarika (4th or 5th century CE); Vācaspati Miśra's Tattvavaiśāradī (the ninth century C.E.); Yogavartika of Vijnanabhiksu (the sixteenth century C.E.); Swami Hariharananda Aranya's (1869–1947) Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, and Pandit Usharbudh Arya's commentary (1986). In his exposition of the yoga principles, continued until 2012, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Ashtanga played a fundamental and formative role in educating yoga seekers.

According to Baba Hari Dass, "Yogah means samadhi, or the state that occurs when mental modifications are controlled by persistent practice and dispassion."[126] Patanjali's Yoga Sutras define the meaning of yoga as "Control of thought waves in the mind" (I:2), or as nirodha (mental control), "by which union (the goal of yoga) is achieved."[127] Nirodha is the process, while resultant niruddha is the state of perfection. The path that assumes dualistic individuality becomes the nondual state "characterized by the absence of individuality." In that sense, the goal of yoga can be described "as eternal peace, pure love, Self-realization, or liberation", or as "a prescription for liberation from the cycle of suffering."[128]

Samadhi Pada (vol I), is an exposition of upaya, the primary means of yoga, together with the more advanced subject of the efficiency of practice abhyasa and dispassion (vairagya). Sadhana Pada (vol II) presents practical methods for the yogis who are aspiring to higher states of concentration and need to remove mental distractions (viksipta). Those practical methods constitute Kriya Yoga and make the mind ready for one-pointed concentration (ekagra-dhyana), which results in the steadiness of concentration, or samahita chitta. In Vibhuti Pada (vol III), pratyahara is further developed into concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and into the state of absorption samadhi. Those states, when mastered in succession are the foundation of samyama; "samyama is perfect control of mental concentration" (p. 7); and "The samyama is not complete unless there is a fusion of these three processes of concentration"; it should also be noted that the perfection of samyama constitutes "three internal limbs of concentration". Furthermore, Baba Hari Dass elucidates different aspects of samadhi and samyama and their resulting achievements in relation to viveka khyati, or discriminating faculty. Vol IV, Kaivalya Pada; the commentary to the last volume of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra was published in 2017.

 
Ramayana theatrical production, costume preparation, 2003

Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, and other writings

Among several versions of Ramayana, a colorful musical stage performance by students trained by Baba Hari Dass, is the largest yearly, Western version of the epic being performed on stage.[129] Ramayana in India is a stage performances throughout villages and towns. Young actors and participants assume different roles each year thus being able to play several characters over years. In the United States, Baba Hari Dass trained students of Mount Madonna School in Watsonville, California,[8] to continue that tradition in annual musical in June (first performance in 1974); "The play has grown to be the widely anticipated annual school event of the year in which the entire school participates".[130] He has taught acting arts, costume design, mask making and choreography to bring alive the characters of Sri Ram, Sita, Hanuman, Lakshmana, Shiva and Parvati, Vibhishan, Jatayu, Sugriva, Surpanakha, Ravana and his rakshasa court, Meghnaad, Kumbhakarna, and the army of monkeys and demons.[131] "Although it predated Star Wars by a few thousand years 'Ramayana' invites comparisons to the George Lukas film both in storyline and in underlying theme."[132]

Bhagavad Gita – a commentary to Chapters 1–6 (Vol I, pub. 2013); the Bhagavad Gita uses a metaphor of a battle to convey the meaning of the inner struggle to attain knowledge of human condition. The struggle is between positive and negative tendencies. In this volume meaning of the three main types of yoga are articulated: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga. The emphasis is given to the view that "action is superior to inaction" (p. 300). "Actions that are performed without self-interest and for the good of all are called sacrifice (yajna)"(p. 302), and those actions will not cause any bondage.

Samkhya Karika and Vedanta: A commentary to Isvara Krishna's (Samkhyakarika) exposition of Samkhya principles of 24 tattva system that culminates in full recognition of the Self, recognition which brings about the separation of Purusha, conscious principle from Prakriti, unconscious material principle. In editing stages: a commentary to Vedantic classic Panchadasi of Swami Vidyaranya, the commentary includes discussion of several Vedantic schools: Advaita Vedanta, Vishishtadvaita, and Dvaita. Fifteen chapters deal with the discrimination of Sat, Chit, and Ananda aspects of the Truth.

Later events and death

 
Baba Hari Dass, Mount Madonna Center, Watsonville, CA, c. 2006

In 16 October 2013, after physical examination, it was announced by his medical team that Baba Hari Dass "had a dramatic neurological change that has affected his mobility, stamina, and expression",[133] and "his physicians have conducted all appropriate tests and have not found any treatable cause." At that time he discontinued his regular activities of teaching classes of Vedanta, Yoga Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, or attending ceremonial events. He did not resume his regular teaching schedule afterwards. He died in peace in hospice care at 10:32 a.m. on 25 September 2018, in Bonny Doon, near Santa Cruz, California.[134][135] He was known and admired by local community. "He took his vow of perpetual silence in 1952, which he kept until his passing... Tuesday morning, a cremation ceremony was organized at Santa Cruz Memorial. It didn't take long before hundreds of people began lining up to pay their respects" (Register Pajaronian, 27 September 2018).[136]

The Santa Cruz Sentinel published a front-page obituary titled "Silent monk Baba Hari Dass, who inspired thousands at the Mount Madonna Center, dies at 95":

Baba Hari Dass, the spiritual leader and silent monk who inspired thousands out of the Mount Madonna Center north of Watsonville, died Tuesday morning in his Bonny Doon home. He was 95 [...] he taught yoga and meditation out of the Watsonville retreat center and school after moving to the U.S. from India in 1971. Babaji took a vow of silence in 1952, conversing only through his writings and a small chalkboard from which he would dispense terse-yet-profound utterances to those who sought his advice. Asked once by a Sentinel reporter to describe himself, he wrote simply, "I am what people see me as." Asked how should one live a good life, he would reportedly respond, "Work honestly, meditate every day, meet people without fear, and play."[137]

 
Baba Hari Dass Shraddha ceremony, 7 Oct 2018

His departure from the physical form (mahāsamadhi) took place during the month of Bhadrapad following Purnima (full Moon), on the first day of Krishna Paksha Pratipada as per Lunar Indian calendar system. Sraddha ritual was performed lakeside, on the 12th day after his mahāsamadhi, at Mount Madonna Center, Watsonville, California, on Sunday, 7 October.[138] Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote: "About 1,500 people gathered Sunday morning at the Mount Madonna Center to commemorate Baba Hari Dass, the silent monk, teacher and guru... There were people of all ages in attendance Sunday, many wearing white, who came from the Santa Cruz area, as well as across the country and Canada to pay their respects to the man known to his students as Babaji. There was a serene, somber and intense atmosphere, with a combination of bells, chants and the sound of the wind filling the air."[139] San Francisco Chronicle noted: "In the last five years ...due to a deterioration in his health, ...the community has already become accustomed to his physical absence, but it remains to be seen what the impact of his passing will be."[140]

His ashes were immersed in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri, in Haridwar, one of the holiest sites in India, on 19 November 2018, with special puja and arati, on auspicious day of Ekadashi.[141]

Commentaries and literary works

  • Hari Dass, Baba (1973). The Yellow Book: The Sayings of Baba Hari Dass (1st ed.). Santa Fe, NM: Lama Foundation. ASIN B001U2T24W.
  • Hariakhan Baba: Known, Unknown, 1975, Sri Rama Foundation, (ISBN 0-918100-00-3)
  • The Magic Gem – A Story Coloring Book; 1976, Sri Rama Foundation; (Library of Congress 76–10032)
  • Silence Speaks: Aphorisms From the Chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass, Sri Rama Foundation, 1977, (ISBN 0-918100-19-4)
  • Ashtanga Yoga Primer, Illustrated Practical Guide, Sri Rama Publishing, 1977, (ISBN 0-918100-04-6)
  • A Child's Garden of Yoga, Sri Rama Publishing, 1980, (ISBN 0-918100-02-X)
  • Sweeper to Saint: Stories of Holy India, A Collection of short stories; Sri Rama Publishing, July 1980, (ISBN 0-918100-03-8)
  • Cat and Sparrow, Sri Rama Foundation, 1982, Santa Cruz, CA; (ISBN 0-918100-06-2)
  • Mystic Monkey, Sri Rama Publishing, Sri Rama Publishing,1984, (ISBN 0-918100-05-4)
  • Fire Without Fuel: The Aphorisms of Baba Hari Dass, Sri Rama Publishing, 1986, (ISBN 0-918100-08-9)
  • Essays on the Search for Peace in Daily Life, 1. Binding Thoughts & Liberation, Sri Rama Publishing, 1992, (ISBN 0-918100-14-3)
  • Essays on the Search for Peace in Daily Life, 2. Mind is Our World, Sri Rama Publishing, 1992, (ISBN 0-918100-14-3)
  • Essays on the Search for Peace in Daily Life, 3. Selfless Service, The Spirit of Karma Yoga, Sri Rama Publishing, 1995, (ISBN 0-918100-17-8)
  • Vinaya Chalisa: Forty Prayers, Sri Rama Publishing, 1994, (ISBN 978-0-918100-16-0)
  • The Path to Enlightenment is Not a Highway, Sri Rama Publishing, 1996, (ISBN 0-918100-15-1)
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide and Commentary for Book I Samadhi Pada, Sri Rama Publishing, 1999, (ISBN 0-918100-20-8)
  • Surya Namaskara, The Sun Salutation Series, Ashtanga Yoga Fitness Asana Series, vol. 1, Sri Rama Publishing, 2000, (ISBN 0-918100-22-4)
  • Everyday Peace: Letters for Life, Sri Rama Publishing, 2000, (ISBN 0-918100-21-6)
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide and Commentary for Book II Sadhana Pada, Sri Rama Publishing, 2008, (ISBN 978-0-918100-23-8)
  • Kshama Prarthana Pranam, Forgiveness Asana Series, Sri Rama Publishing, 1 June 2008
  • Pigeon Throne, 2010, Sri Rama Publishing, (ISBN 978-0918100269)
  • Bronze Buddha, A Collection of three short stories, 2011, Sri Rama Publishing, (ISBN 978-0-918100-27-6)
  • Hand Mudras Pamphlet, 2011, Sri Rama Publishing, (ISBN 978-0-918100-3-20)
  • Srimad Bhagavad Gita: Chapters I-VI, A Study Guide and Commentary, Sri Rama Publishing, 2013, (ISBN 978-0918100283)
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide and Commentary for Book III Vibhuti Pada, Sri Rama Publishing, 2013, (ISBN 978-0-918100-24-5)
  • Srimad Bhagavad Gita: Chapters VII-XII, A Study Guide and Commentary, Sri Rama Publishing, 2014, (ISBN 978-0-918100-30-6)
  • Srimad Bhagavad Gita: Chapters XIII-XVIII, A Study Guide and Commentary, Sri Rama Publishing, November 2015, (ISBN 978-0-918100-29-0)
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: A Study Guide and Commentary for Book IV Kaivalya Pada, Sri Rama Publishing, 2017, (ISBN 978-0-918100-25-2)
  • Path Unfolds: The Autobiography of Baba Hari Dass, Sri Rama Publishing, 2019, (ISBN 978-0918100429)

Notes

  1. ^ It's Here Now (Are You?): A Spiritual Memoir; Broadway Books, Ney York, 1997, 1st ed; ISBN 0-7679-00081; Ch 20, p.170: "I climbed through the window. I pulled the tubes out of his limbs, picked him up like a baby and walked out of the house. I laid him in the passenger seat of the Land Rover and drove back to Naini Tal..."
  2. ^ See review of this subject in: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_9875268; by Melissa Weaver – Sentinel correspondent; POSTED: 14 July 2008: "Silent yogi has led Mount Madonna community tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains for more than 30 years.. Hari Dass moved to the U.S. from India in 1971 after meeting Mark Jungerman and his wife, who had been traveling through Haridwar, India"; 'They stayed with me and asked me to go to the United States," Hari Dass said. 'I said I could go anywhere. I was ready to move to the higher mountains.'
  3. ^ Ma Renu's motivation in inviting Baba Hari Dass into US came from personal quest of seeking deeper knowledge about life and the meaning of suffering at the time after her elder son had been killed. Trying to find solace in philosophy books by various authors left her concluding, "I basically got nowhere, none of the books said anything to me"; http://sriramfoundation.org/index.php/sri-rama-foundation/ma-renu-horsting
  4. ^ http://frombindutoojas.com/origin/; BE HERE NOW by Ram Dass, First published in 1971, ASHTANGA YOGA: "Hari Dass Baba – this little 90-pound fellow – architecturally designed all of the temples and schools, supervised all the buildings and grounds, had many followers of his own, slept two hours a night. His food intake for the last 15 years had been 2 glasses of milk a day. That's it. His feces are like two small marbles each day. His arms are about this big around, tiny, but when the workmen can't lift a particularly heavy rock, they call for 'Chota Maharaji' – the little great king. As in a comic strip, he goes over and lifts the rock, just with one-pointedness of mind. He had met Maharaji in the jungle 15 years before, and he had become a disciple of Maharaji."
  5. ^ Buddhists, Jainas and Ajivikas[117]

References

Citations

  1. ^ Feuerstein 2008, p. 28.
  2. ^ Ibarra, Nicholas (25 September 2018). "Silent monk Baba Hari Dass, who inspired thousands at the Mount Madonna Center, dies at 95". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Yoga Teacher Training 200, 300-hour, and Prenatal Program". Yoga Teacher Training 200-hour Program. Mount Madonna Center, Watsonville, CA. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Leviton 1990.
  5. ^ "Baba Hari Dass". Mount Madonna Center. Hanuman Fellowship. 2001. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  6. ^ a b Jones & Ryan 2006, p. 180.
  7. ^ Tierra, Michael; Purkh Singh Khalsa, Karta (2008). The way of Ayurvedic Herbs: A Contemporary Introduction and Useful Manual for the World's Oldest Healing System. Twin Lakes, WI: Lotus Press. pp. X. ISBN 978-0-940985-98-8.
  8. ^ a b c Fuess 1983.
  9. ^ a b Jones & Ryan 2006, p. 179.
  10. ^ a b Mukerjee 2012, p. 221.
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Works cited

Primary sources

  • Hari Dass, Baba (2019). Path Unfolds: The Autobiography of Baba Hari Dass. Santa Cruz, CA: Sri Rama Publishing. ISBN 978-0-918100-42-9.

Secondary sources

  • Bhagavan Das (1997). It's Here Now (Are You?): A Spiritual Memoir. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0-7679-00081.
  • Feuerstein, Georg (2008). Yoga Tradition. Prescott, Arizona: Hohm Press. ISBN 978-1-890772-18-5.
  • Fuess, David C. (October 1983). "Ramayana – Self Service". The Wall Street Journal. p. iB.
  • Jones, Constance; Ryan, James D. (2006). "Baba Hari Dass". Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Infobase Publishing. pp. 179 ff. ISBN 978-0816075645.
  • Leviton, Richard (March–April 1990). "How the Swamis Came to the States". Yoga Journal. 91: 126. ISSN 0191-0965. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  • Mukerjee, Dada (1990). By His Grace: A Devotee's Story. Santa Fe, NM: Hanuman Foundation Publishing. ISBN 0-9628878-7-0.
  • Mukerjee, Dada (2012) [1996]. The Near and The Dear. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Hanuman Foundation Publishing. ISBN 978-1-887474-02-3.
  • Ram Dass (1978) [1971]. Be Here Now. San Cristobal, NM: Lama Foundation. ISBN 978-0517543054.
  • Ram Dass; Goleman, Daniel (1978). Journey of Awakening: A Meditator's Guidebook. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0552615785.
  • Ram Dass (2001). Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying. New York: Riverhead Books. ISBN 1-57322-871-0.
  • Ram Dass (2004). Paths to God: Living the Bhagavad Gita. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-1-4000-5403-9.
  • Ram Dass; Rameshwar Das (2010). Be Love Now. New York: Harper One. ISBN 978-0-06-196138-0.
  • Ram Dass; Rameshwar Das (2013). Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart. Boulder, CO: Sounds True. ISBN 978-1-62203-380-5.
  • Samuel, Geoffrey (2008). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-69534-3.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Baba Hari Dass.
  • Talks With Babaji 28 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  • Sankat Mochan Hanuman

Videos

  • Hari Dass Baba Doing Rare Mudras
  • Story Baba Hari Dass and Mt Madonna (Dallas Cyr)
  • Sacred Hand Mudras (David Fuess)

May 04, 2023
baba, hari, dass, confused, with, swami, haridas, with, baba, haridas, 1594, 1691, saint, dagar, clan, from, delhi, this, article, unclear, citation, style, references, used, made, clearer, with, different, consistent, style, citation, footnoting, february, 20. Not to be confused with Swami Haridas or with Baba Haridas 1594 1691 AD the saint of the Dagar clan from Delhi This article has an unclear citation style The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting February 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Baba Hari Dass Devanagari ब ब हर द स 26 March 1923 25 September 2018 was an Indian yoga master silent monk temple builder and commentator of Indian scriptural traditions of dharma and moksha He was classically trained in the Ashtanga of Patanjali also known as Raja yoga 1 as well as Kriya yoga Ayurveda Samkhya Tantra Vedanta and Sanskrit Baba Hari Dassब ब हर द सBaba Hari Dass in India 2001 PersonalBornHari Datt Karnatak 1923 03 26 26 March 1923Almora near Nainital Uttar Pradesh now Uttarakhand British RajDied25 September 2018 2018 09 25 aged 95 Bonny Doon Santa Cruz CaliforniaReligionHinduismFounder ofMount Madonna Center Watsonville CA Pacific Cultural Center Santa Cruz CA Dharmasara Salt Spring Centre Vancouver Canada Sri Ram Orphanage Haridwar India Ashtanga Yoga InstitutePhilosophyAshtanga eight limbs of yoga Kriya Yoga Ayurveda Samkhya Tantra VedantaReligious careerGuruBaba Raghubar Dassji MaharajInfluenced Ma Renu Ananad Dass Gregory Bateson Bhagavan Das Ram Dass Noah Diffenbaugh Tom Harpur Dr Vasant Lad Stephen Levine Jack Kornfield Jeannine Parvati Mahamandaleshwar Swami Shankarananda Chris Sharma Stuart Sovatsky Michael Tierra Parama K WilliamsLiterary worksBaba Hari Dass bibliographyOther namesHaridas Chota Maharaji BabajiBaba Hari Dass took a vow of silence in 1952 which he upheld through this life 2 Although he did not speak he was able to communicate in several languages through writing His literary output included scriptural commentaries to Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Bhagavad Gita Samkhya Karika and Vedanta collections of aphorisms about the meaning and purpose of life essays plays short stories children s stories kirtan mantras and in depth instructional yoga materials that formed the basis of a yoga certification training program 3 Upon his arrival in North America in early 1971 4 Baba Hari Dass and his teachings inspired the creation of several yoga centers and retreat programs in the United States in Santa Cruz County California 5 and in Canada at Salt Spring Island and in Toronto 6 He was an early proponent of Ayurveda 7 an ancient Indian system of health and healing and helped introduce the practice to the United States In an annual rendition of Indian classic Ramayana 8 he taught performing arts choreography and costume making Baba Hari Dass devoted himself to helping others with an emphasis on selfless service karma yoga In 1987 he opened Sri Ram Orphanage for homeless children in Haridwar India 9 To the local population of Nainital and Almora Baba Hari Dass was also known as Haridas 10 lit servant of Lord Hari Haridas Baba 11 Chota Maharaji 4 literally little great king or Harda Baba Contents 1 Early life education and spiritual path 1 1 Leaving home at the age of eight 1 2 Brahmacharya school 1 3 Naga Baba Udasi Baba and Swami Nityananda Maharaj 1 4 First teaching in Hatha Yoga and Swami Satyananda Giri 1 5 Darshana of Anandamayi Ma and her Samadhi 1 6 Initiation into Sannyasa diksha 1 7 Vow of silence and tapas 1 8 Karma yogi builder 1 9 Local teacher leader 2 Western confluence 1964 1971 2 1 Bhagavan Das and hospital episode 2 2 Ram Dass learning yoga 2 3 Parting from Neem Karoli Baba 2 4 Ma Renu 2 5 Anand Dass 2 6 Prenatal Yoga 2 7 The impact of Be Here Now and Chota Maharaji 3 Teaching to learn 1971 2018 3 1 Physical foundation and social involvement 3 2 US temples and religious symbols 3 3 Human psychology contribution 3 4 Ayurveda 3 5 Yoga Teachers Training 3 6 Sri Ram Ashram 4 Scriptural focus 4 1 The aim 4 2 Yoga tradition of Dattatreya and Patanjali 4 3 Ramayana Bhagavad Gita and other writings 5 Later events and death 6 Commentaries and literary works 7 Notes 8 References 8 1 Citations 8 2 Works cited 8 2 1 Primary sources 8 2 2 Secondary sources 9 External links 9 1 VideosEarly life education and spiritual path Edit Kumoani panorama 2014 Sombari Baba s hut Kakarighat Ashram Hari Datt Karnatak was born on 26 March 1923 in the town of Almora 9 in Uttarakhand India His family was of a Kumaoni Brahmin Karnatak lineage Hari Datt was born in the lunar month of Chaitra in Shukla Paksha Rama Navami 12 Hari Datt grew up in the lower Himalayan region of Kumaon which includes Dunagiri also called Dronagiri the birthplace of modern day Kriya Yoga and the temple of Shakti Known since the Mahabharata War 13 the Kurmachalam 14 region encompasses Almora district and Udham Singh Nagar district Early in life he listened to stories told by older people about siddha yogis Sombari Baba Maharaj Gudari Baba Suri Baba Khaki Baba Aughar Baba and several other saints of that region His parents were devotees of a saint of Kumaon Hariakhan Baba Maharaj who was known to visit Almora 15 On a journey to Haldwani in 1929 16 Hari Datt received his first darshana with the sage Sombari Baba Maharaj 17 18 Darshana is viewed as experiencing the presence of a highly revered person which can awaken latent potential for spiritual growth or intellectual understanding American poet Gary Snyder a Zen Buddhist practitioner stated It s a gift it s like there s a moment in which the thing is ready to let you see it In India this is called darshan Darshan means getting a view 19 Leaving home at the age of eight Edit Hari Datt s early childhood years were marked by sadness and the feeling of separation When I was small about five six years old I began to feel unhappy and sad inside That sadness would be enhanced at the sunset at the Himalayas A feeling of separation would come and I would feel like I was closed inside a box where it is dark The dome of the sky and the earth at night would make me feel like I was inside the box How can I get out of this box was my constant question 20 His parents were puzzled by his strange behavior of leaving the house early in the morning and refusing to go into the house He also didn t like to go to school to learn reading and writing His father a Sanskrit scholar and tough disciplinarian forced Hari Datt to memorize Sanskrit grammar and prayers In 1931 1932 his father died at age 56 of a heart attack an event which shook the whole family but also brought Hari Datt a sense of relief With the pressure lifted Hari Datt was free to do anything he wanted However he assumed more responsibilities by helping his mother in farming taking care of the cows and threshing grain Also he had to go to school and do homework 21 He was attracted to freedom that monks had in their lifestyle unburdened by excess of clothing or work and who did not have to attend school Whenever any monk would come to the village temple I would go to see them I started living like a monk His mother came home one day to find him sitting wearing only a loincloth with wood ash smeared all over his body She said Son there is no happiness in the world there is no peace in household life I know you are very attracted to monk life but that is not an easy task either 22 Hari Datt had several conversations with his mother about God soul and peace His view of the surrounding world as being a restraining box made of earth as the bottom and sky as the top induced him to weep Deciding it had to be lifted he made his conviction known to his mother asking her to release him from the confinement of this box of earth and sky To that she said I can t He replied I m going 23 24 Brahmacharya school Edit With his mother s consent Hari Datt left home at the age of eight 25 26 and joined an ashram for young yoga practitioners in the jungles of Kumaon where he was initiated into Brahmacharya 23 27 I was initiated at the age of eight and would do my practices every morning and night before eating food 28 A regimented daily schedule included six hours of sleep rising at 4 00 a m walking a mile in the dark to bathe in a river regardless of the season or weather conditions a teacher guided group study of homework and preparation for exams The underlying premise of that lifestyle based in We can train our body in any way we want 29 included daily duties of manual labor carrying water from a river in a valley collecting firewood cooking cleaning and gardening He practiced and became proficient in martial arts Hatha yoga Shatkarma Mudras and Sanskrit 30 Naga Baba Udasi Baba and Swami Nityananda Maharaj Edit Hari Datt s interest in the monk lifestyle resurfaced on more than one occasion He contacted traveling sannyasins in temples or in public engagements in order to learn their wisdom and inquire about yoga techniques Some of those early encounters fell short of his expectations Trying to learn about the life of Naga Baba naked sannyasin became a debacle Mischief other boys engaged in like throwing rocks or disturbing the monk s meditation resulted in cursing angry outbursts and a chase 31 Another sannyasin who attracted Hari Datt s attention was Udasi Baba credited by adult followers as possessing supernatural powers over ghosts or curing sickness and who lived in a cremation ground One day when he had nobody to cremate at his site he joined an encampment of local people and looked like an ordinary man who craved attention He acknowledged that his tales of subduing ghosts were fabrications and that ghosts are for those who are afraid of ghosts 32 These encounters resulted in diminishing attraction for a monk like lifestyle for a young 12 year old Brahmachari In 1935 Hari Datt met Swami Nityananda Maharaj who lectured and held gatherings that many adults attended For a boy to mix with adults following monks was not encouraged It was believed that young lads couldn t understand the spiritual subjects in contrast however from the Brahmachari perspective older people simply became a hindrance for youngsters 33 Since lectures of Swami Nithyanandaji s were in English he could not understand the content Yet was keen to observe the ascetic form of the Swami who was wearing a tiger skin and using a trident staff a follower of the Shiva order and a pilgrim on his way to Mount Kailash That experience brought in him questions and confusion about God as he believed God could create and control everything 34 First teaching in Hatha Yoga and Swami Satyananda Giri Edit In 1936 Hari Datt attended classes of Swami Satyananda Giri of Dashnami Sanyasi Sect originated by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya who visited Almora region Swami Satyananda was well versed in classical yoga tenets and encouraged adults to use the practices of Hatha yoga He postulated that developing strong body in which the soul resides aids in the journey to attain emancipation Techniques he demonstrated and explained were based in Hatha Yoga seven limbs Shatkarma Asana Mudra Pratyahara Pranayama Dhyana and Samadhi He also used Ayurvedic principles of the balanced food of three doshas consistent eating habits and avoided oily and fat rich foods When young Brahmachari Baba Hari Dass was asked to demonstrate what he knew Swamiji was surprised and pleased to see well developed postures mudras etc Brahmachari explained he practiced those in Brahmachari School by his own doing rather than learning from someone else asanas pranayamas shatkarmas and mudras Swamiji asked him to teach others in his class who were adults Swamiji saw my sarvangasana and was very pleased I showed the series of 12 postures of surya namaskar sun salutation Swamiji liked the way I did the postures and said I should come back every morning and show the people the method of doing asanas 35 Due to that teaching experience his feeling of a misfit in the class and shyness went away He was also well received by adult learners Darshana of Anandamayi Ma and her Samadhi Edit In 1936 when Anandamayi Ma visited Almora region he experienced her in a trance state some interpreted as samadhi I heard that a woman saint was in town Her name was Ananda Mayi Ma I was very excited to see a woman saint a woman who looked to be 35 40 years old Her eyes were closed Her face looked like golden light Everyone outside bowed to her and people hurriedly took her to Ranikhet to a secluded place to rest 36 He listened to a lecture by a pundit who invoked the Yoga Sutras to interpret her state of consciousness and what level of samadhi she was in Intrigued he discussed further experienced darshan and how samadhi brings knowledge of God with an older colleague in the Brahmacharya coed He was discouraged from viewing samadhi as an emotionally induced trance that could occur during devotional singing kirtan or dancing In contrast he was told that through formal training the regular practice of pranayama and meditation Dhyana samadhi could be attained and take deeper roots Also in that discussion the issue was raised of renouncing the world becoming a sannyasi would require a radical departure from social norms compared to the householder life of grihastha and If everyone renounces the world then one day all the old generation will die out and there will be no new generation He agreed that such statement was quite right however since everyone is not meant to be a householder the natural balance would still be sustained by everyone performing duties for the world He held fast to that perspective for the rest of his life never losing attraction for the life of renunciation After seeing Swami Nityananda Maharaj and Ananda Mai Ma Hari Datt s desire to practice yoga increased 28 His quest continued as he visited different villages in Himalayan mountains around the age of 14 37 encountering several Westerners who were learning yogic practices and later recalling them as true seekers His experiences with cultural diversity at a young age shaped his attitude towards an inclusive way of teaching yoga later on Initiation into Sannyasa diksha Edit In 1942 at the age of 19 38 he was initiated with Sannyasa diksha 39 into the Vairagi Tyagi Vaishnava order of Ramanandi Sampradaya 39 followers of Saint Ramananda originated in the 15th century His guru Baba Raghubar Dassji Maharaj a reclusive sadhu that he met in Ramkot Hanuman Temple Almora region 40 oversaw the initiation A highly regarded renunciate and a Sanskrit Acharya Maharaj was known for minimal verbal communication but lacked a large following He met with his disciples only once every two or three years to convey yoga sadhana instructions to his followers 41 He s quoted as saying First find unity within in your thoughts words and actions and the unity outside will follow you 42 In 1952 1953 while living in a burial place called Ghati Baba Hari Dass described experience of a legendary Kumaon yogi Hariakhan Baba while staying in a cave in cold winter While sitting by the side of the fire he fainted and his left arm fell into that fire I saw Hariakhan Maharaj come into the room and bend over me I saw him clearly removing my left arm from the fire pit By some unknown power I was related to Hariakhan Maharaj 43 Vow of silence and tapas Edit Silence is the only Voice of our God Herman Melville Pierre or The Ambiguities Bk XIV ch 1 1852 In 1952 Baba Hari Dass took a continual vow of silence called mauna ormaunavrata 25 In a similar tradition of Buddhist meditative method of Vipasana silence is used as the process of self purification by introspection 44 In 1964 Bhagavan Das met Baba Hari Dass near a temple called Hanumangarhi Nainital and later wrote The sadhu was a muni a yogi whose practice of austerity includes complete silence For the previous twelve years whenever he wanted to communicate he would jot his thoughts succinctly on a small chalkboard 45 Similarly in 1967 Ram Dass He is a jungle sadhu He went into the jungle when he was 8 years old He is silent mauna He has been mauna for 15 years He writes with a chalkboard 46 Even as continued silence would seem a radical but also inconvenient form of communication several Western authors recognized the social value of silence Among those were Jacques Derrida and Soren Kierkegaard In their view silence would function as a precursor for clearer and substantively deeper understanding Michael Strawser Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Central Florida commenting on Jacques Derrida s view of Soren Kierkegaard s meaning of silence wrote What is needed is Kierkegaard s call to silence in order to recognize one s responsibility to the other 47 Silence is also valued by Perkey Avot in the Jewish Sages guide for living and functions as a safety fence for wisdom 48 In yoga mauna is maintained with the aim of achieving uninterrupted concentration ekagrata Sanskrit एक ग रत Side effects of such practice would include constraining outgoing emotions of the mind such as anger excessive argumentativeness etc In Ashtanga mauna would be part of a larger body of practices called tapas Sanskrit तपस Overall mauna as practice of tapas would not be viewed as penance but rather as a mental training to develop will power 49 In the beginning of his practice he encountered obstacles For twelve years I faced much difficulties for two or three years you have to fight with anger Since merely not talking is not considered a yogic silence keeping a quiet mind is The mind can t be stopped merely by keeping your mouth shut 23 Baba Hari Dass silent yogi writing on a chalkboard c 1976 California In 1983 David C Fuess a writer for The Wall Street Journal observed about Baba Hari Dass Babaji had not spoken for twenty nine years and communicates by a means of a small chalk board 8 In 2008 Melissa Weaver Santa Cruz Sentinel correspondent wrote During classes he sits in a wood backed chair his students sit patiently while he writes his thoughts on a wipe off board which are then read aloud by a volunteer 50 Karma yogi builder Edit Early on in his life Haridas Baba was influenced by the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita which considers karma yoga to be a selfless service and the most straightforward pathway to progress in spiritual life He learned temple masonry from a local mason and used those skills in building temples ashrams idols and rock walls In more than one of those projects he had a lead role In 1950 1964 with the help of local followers and volunteers adults and children he built Hanumangarh and later Kainchi Ashram in Nainital The Divine Reality a publication by Sri Kainchi Hanuman Mandir amp Ashram stated Haridas Baba used to come to Kainchi from Hanumangarh to supervise the construction work of Kainchi Ashram 51 In 1962 after Hanumangarh and Kenchi Kainchi Ashram he started to build an ashram at Kakrighat where Sombari Maharaj lived which was later completed on a contract basis 52 In the United States and Canada 53 he continued using his design planning and construction skills In February 1982 after a fire burnt a recently constructed program building at Mount Madonna Center in Watsonville California he used the event as an opportunity to build a larger structure with more capacity His example inspired many volunteers to help with those karma yoga efforts In 1983 Yoga Journal writer Virginia Lee said Baba Hari Dass swings his hammer alongside everyone else 54 The same publication included two articles in 2002 Karma Yoga Awards and Saving Young Lives that described how Baba Hari Dass donated proceeds from his books to the Sri Ram Foundation that was set up to help destitute children in India From those funds and other donations Shri Ram Ashram was created near Haridwar in India 55 Local teacher leader Edit At the end of the 1930s several encounters with Western seekers in India shaped his attitude towards teaching yoga in the future He became cognizant of a larger group of people wanting to learn yoga and the need to preserve genuine yogic tradition for these students When I was about 14 years old I saw number of Westerners Some had taken sannyasa it was quite clear that they were true seekers 56 In India yoga practices were tested for thousands of years and it became known how each method affects the body mind and consciousness By adopting a well known method of Ashtanga of Patanjali Yamas and Niyamas as his core practice he aimed to shorten the time required for mastering essential routines Otherwise if new experimentation is needed when those methods are changed they are again subject to testing Several of his early students were Europeans and followers of the back to basics philosophy who were traveling to India and were followed by beatniks such as Allen Ginsburg and others In the early 1960s during one of the subsequent waves of interest in Indian spirituality and yoga some newcomers to Nainital district were directed to Haridas Baba to receive instructions in hatha yoga meditation and yogic life A young Englishman named Lawrie was allowed to stay in the ashram studying with Haridas Baba 57 He had established a local following and was considered an adept teacher a leader and builder in several building and karma yoga construction projects at Hanuman Garhi and Nainital Ashram temples Dada Mukerjee Sri Sudhir Mukerjee recounting those events wrote Haridas was also very active in building the Kainchin temples and purchasing materials for them 10 and Haridas was well versed in pujas and rituals as well as in pranayam and meditation and an experienced practitioner of hatha yoga he also looked after the devotees who came there Ram Dass stayed there in 1967 and Lawrie in 1964 among others 58 Western confluence 1964 1971 EditBhagavan Das and hospital episode Edit Bhagavan Das was introduced to Baba Hari Dass at the Hanumangarhi Nainital the Fortress of Hanuman who was then a manager and builder of the temple 59 Bhagavan Das described that experience Hari Das was the real thing a cave yogi and I showed Hari Dass Baba how I did these kriyas and he helped me perfect my technique 60 In 1968 in meditation Bhagavan Das according to his own account intuitively knew that Baba Hari Dass was in some danger then under a supervised doctor care in Agra 61 arranged by Neem Karoli Baba Bhagavan Das drove from Nainital overnight and removed him from that life threatening condition note 1 After few days Baba Hari Dass wrote You saved my life 62 Explaining that episode Bhagavan Das interpreted the event with considerable hesitation He reported the incident took place in Lucknow not in Agra and interpreted Baba Hari Dass refusal of further treatments as a dislike of Western medicine being subjected to Western medical techniques was a death sentence He didn t offer Baba Hari Dass view of that medical treatment and left the reason why and by whom it was arranged unanswered Ram Dass learning yoga Edit In 1967 an ex Harvard professor Richard Alpert Ram Dass travelled to India and was taken to Kainchi Nainital region by Bhagavan Dass At that time Baba Hari Dass was already an accomplished yoga teacher and had a large following On his guru Neem Karoli Baba s recommendation Ram Dass received teachings of Ashtanga Baba Hari Dass was my teacher I was taught by this man with a chalkboard in the most terse way possible 46 Baba Hari Dass trained Ram Dass in Raja yoga asana pranayama mantras 63 mudras ahimsa non violence and focused meditation Hari Dass Baba who had been my sadhana tutor while I lived in Kainchi 64 65 Each morning around 11 30 Hari Dass Baba would come from Hanumangarh sixteen kilometers away to give me lessons in yoga 66 The aim of training and practices of yoga sadhana was for Ram Dass to become an adept practitioner and teacher of the classical Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in the US and to increase interest in yoga and spirituality in general Building a yoga center in India or the US and publishing yoga books authored by Baba Hari Dass were also discussed That training of several months continued in a series of letters between Baba Hari Dass and Ram Dass in the period of 1967 1969 He was training me to become an ascetic although I never really became one 66 Ashtanga practices and observances were later included in the 1971 book Be Here Now and became a reference material for beginning yoga learners in the 1970s until Baba Hari Dass authored his comprehensive and detailed Ashtanga Yoga Primer 1977 67 Some benefits of those learning experiences in India were long lasting The aphasia has introduced silence into my conversation I had training for this kind of thing when I was with Baba Hari Dass in India I was mauna 68 or Silence brought me great energy of clarity As Hari Dass wrote Nothing is better than something 69 Parting from Neem Karoli Baba Edit In 1968 Haridas who was very active in building the Kainichi temples and purchasing materials for them 70 in Nainital discontinued involvement with Neem Karoli Baba That association lasted since the mid 1950s when Haridas with his band of enthusiastic and active associates was managing the affairs of the temples and ashram in Hanumangarh Since his childhood Haridas Baba had accepted disciplined life as essential in spiritual progress He became a monk and adopted silence as a way of seeking inner peace 6 For health reasons and to eliminate digestive problems he had with his liver he chose to drink a glass of milk once or twice a day instead of taking solid food Since the early days of his association with Neem Karoli Baba he encountered several obstacles in his observance of silence or eating habits During one Kumbha Mela he was obligated by Neem Karoli Baba to break those monastic rules for the reason of following the house rules as having higher but whimsical priority What is this rule For what purpose is it made 71 When he became a teacher in the 1950s Baba Hari Dass sought conducive circumstances for his teaching environment to benefit learners He wanted to build a small community of his own devotees 72 Several disruptions and conflicts that occurred in Kainchi ashram where he was a resident teacher and supervisor were not well suited for that end The Kainchi ashram became a difficult place with charged economic claims between local residents and newcomers who were outsiders and who by displacing local members were not acknowledging their share of efforts in building and maintaining the ashram Excessive hoarding of goods and secret dealings to cover for Neem Karoli Baba s sudden appearances and disappearances in order to create an impression of yogic powers siddhis 73 were also contentious issues Recognizing that Neem Karoli Baba s intimate devotee Sudhir Dada Mukerjee wrote cases have caused much misunderstanding and heart burning among some and have remained as enigmas for others Cases which point to abuses Mukerjee interpreted as needed for the grace of his guru to manifest so that others including Bhabania and Haridas could benefit from and that we can understand reasons for the hard treatment 74 In that context the author does not explain how contentious circumstances would justify and absolve actions that had abusive intent Following those events in 1970 several Westerners already familiar with Baba Hari Dass teaching style travelled to India Haridwar and convinced him to come to the US to continue his way of silent teaching An inquiry whether Baba Hari Dass was a disciple of Neem Karoli Baba leads to a proposition that there was no long lasting relationship of guru disciple in the sense of guru shishya or chela although that relationship extended over several years 1954 1968 and included selfless service guru seva or karma yoga done by Baba Hari Dass 75 There was no sustained acceptance of the teachings parampara 76 continuation of the said association that would last or establishing a branch of teachings based on Neem Karoli Baba s orientation The content of what Baba Hari Dass taught in Ashtanga Vedanta Ayurveda or Samkhya classes to his students in India in the US or Canada came from the independent research of his own Acknowledging that while in the US to a question How many teachers did you have Baba Hari Dass replied Myself 23 Ma Renu Edit Main article Ruth Horsting Baba Hari Dass and Ma Renu watching annual volleyball competition at Mount Madonna Center July 1998 Ruth Horsting also known as Ma Renu and Ruth Johnson was a professor of arts at the University of California Davis 77 She taught sculpture at UC Davis from 1959 until 1971 78 79 She was contacted in 1970 by her students Bondana and Mahendra Mark Jungerman who were then searching for an advanced yoga teacher in India and they had found Baba Hari Dass in Haridwar Another person who contacted Baba Hari Dass during 1970 was Paul C Adams also known as Prem Das 80 On that occasion the prospect of inviting Baba Hari Dass to the United States was raised They stayed with me and asked me to go to the United States I said I could go anywhere I was ready to move to the higher mountains note 2 In 1971 on the recommendation of her students Baba Hari Dass was invited to the United States and Ma Renu sponsored his stay for the purpose of teaching yoga 79 Ma Renu described her first meeting Baba Hari Dass I felt there was no time to lose I had already given my permission to sponsor his stay in America but what had been intended as a short stay turned into a 29 year darshan and blessing note 3 At the age of 52 Horsting devoted herself fully to the study of Ashtanga 79 That association over the years became a fruitful fulfillment of selfless service ideals when several organizational projects and service missions were formed in the US Canada and India In 1976 Baba Hari Dass directed her in forming Sri Rama Foundation to support Sri Ram Ashram for destitute children located in Shyampur in Uttarakhand near Haridwar Anand Dass Edit Jerry Tabachnick also known as Anand Dass became one of the first students who recognized the need to study yoga with a live master He became a highly regarded disciple and commentator In 1970 he travelled to India to study with Baba Hari Dass and to gain deeper understanding of yoga He was also active in organizing the Vancouver Satsang in Canada 81 and became a Yoga Sutras commentator and teacher and co authored Dharma Sara publications on yoga and yoga related subjects 1974 76 82 Prenatal Yoga Edit Baba Hari Dass agreed to mentor his pregnant student Jeannine Parvati through a course of prenatal Yoga During that time she continued practicing asanas and authored Prenatal Yoga amp Natural Childbirth published in 1974 83 As the daughter of a First Nation father Ute tribe and as a longtime student of Baba Hari Dass Jeannine Parvati Baker s midwifery philosophy was one of earth based values and non harming principles 84 After Prenatal Yoga gained in popularity Baba Hari Dass expounded supporting practices of yoga to include prenatal asana pranayama meditation Ayurveda and mindfulness techniques for labor that formed the basis of Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training 85 The emphasis was given on anatomy and physiology of pregnancy common discomforts in pregnancy and how to support mothers through every stage of pregnancy and postpartum The impact of Be Here Now and Chota Maharaji Edit How the Swamis Came to the States written by Richard Leviton in Yoga Journal Mar Apr 1990 4 proposed a timeline of influential yoga teachers in the US That overview covered 100 years 1890 1990 of multicultural developments in yoga influences with a focus in larger audience teaching Among those the beginning of yoga teaching of Baba Hari Dass 4 in the US was seen as starting in 1971 Prior to that Baba Hari Dass s reputation preceded his arrival in America by several years confirming his teaching engagements going back to at least 1968 as well established in India Earlier credible accounts also exist Bhagavan Das and Ram Dass that confirm in 1963 64 he was a teacher of already considerable skills engaged in teaching others In February 1971 Baba Hari Dass was teaching in the US and later the same year Be Here Now 1st edition Oct 1971 by Ram Dass was published by the Lama Foundation in New Mexico Be Here Now a manuscript initially titled From Bindu to Ojas one thousand copies published in 1970 86 included information on yoga practices and theory compiled from what Baba Hari Dass had taught about hatha yoga yogic life and conduct during daily morning sessions in Nainital mentioned by Ram Dass in his later writings I spent five months under his tutelage That book viewed as significant contribution to the public knowledge in the United States and Canada about yoga and Baba Hari Dass as a master yogi was re edited after eighty thousand copies 87 were already distributed Richard Leviton uses the first edition of Be Here Now He notes that Ram Dass called Baba Hari Dass this incredible fellow as one of his teachers Ram Dass used several affirmative remarks about Baba Hari Dass also known as Chota Maharaji in his native Nainital Almora region that he later removed from the first edition note 4 In Be Love Now published in 2010 explanation was given for the content removal in a dialogue between Ram Dass and his guru Neem Karoli Baba that took place in 1971 I had mixed up Hari Dass and Maharaji when I heard the story from Hari Dass 64 The story which is repeated with some changes in another autobiographical book Polishing the Mirror How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart 87 was about who left his home at the age of eight Several sources pointed out that Neem Karoli Baba left his home at the age of 11 12 years old After the wedding the groom left home and wandered the country 88 For Baba Hari Dass leaving home took place at younger age when he was eight years old 25 With a sense of needed spiritual liberation and the discussion he had with his mother Take me out of this box of earth and sky Baba Hari Dass left home and was not bound by the customary child marriage in India arrangement prevalent at that time before it was declared illegal in 1929 or by the family s promise obligations that such marriage would impose 23 Teaching to learn 1971 2018 Edit Mount Madonna Center California Baba Hari Dass Sep 2013 Physical foundation and social involvement Edit In the US in early 1971 in Sea Ranch in Sonoma County and in Santa Rosa California he started teaching core yoga practices which later became an aerobic hatha yoga regimen of Fitness Asanas 4 aimed to increase physical endurance in support of meditation Later kirtan mudras fire ceremony yajna and satsang were introduced to complement a busy schedule In 1972 as interest grew several events were organized that included demonstrations of yoga asanas shatkarma and mudras Lama Foundation in New Mexico Coconut Grove in Florida and Santa Cruz in California 89 90 He also traveled to Canada to establish Dharmasara community in Toronto Salt Spring Centre of yoga on Salt Spring Island BC and Dharma Sara Satsang in Vancouver BC In 1973 the Lama Foundation published his first book The Yellow Book 91 a collection of aphorisms that included terse but revealing statements all babies are yogis or longer question answer format on life topics In 1975 his second book a compilation of stories about one of the greatest and most mysterious of India s saints 92 Hariakhan Baba Known Unknown was issued by Sri Rama Foundation In 1977 came out another collection of a well received question answer discussions in Silence Speaks which became a hallmark of his silent style of teaching with few written words in subsequent publications by Sri Rama Publishing citation needed His experiences and skills in designing building and management of Kainchi and Hanumangarh ashrams in Nainital India took a new form when the Hanuman Fellowship was created in 1974 93 in Santa Cruz California He advised his followers to write letters to friends associates etc to find a large open space in out of city surroundings After a long search in 1976 one response came from Lois Bateson wife of the late anthropologist Gregory Bateson who located a ranger who managed a large property in the Santa Cruz Mountains 94 that would be sold on the condition the new buyers would preserve its natural state That led to the establishment in 1978 of Mount Madonna Center for Creative Arts 95 in Watsonville The vast space of the mountainous terrain was well suited for physical work with many volunteers working as karma yogis On 23 February 1982 96 the main program building was already finished when a candle light from a puja table started a fire that burnt that building down In the summer of the same year the response to the disaster was overwhelming and a new plan was implemented to build a larger program building that could host multi user activities 97 Baba Hari Dass developed a three tier yoga teaching schedule for beginners intermediate and advanced practitioners Regular classes in the Yoga Sutras Bhagavad Gita satsang events Ramayana play martial arts sport activities with annual Hanuman Olympics and retreats provided rich holistic background in learning Baba Hari Dass emphasized physical work and volunteer karma yoga services The aim of such approach was that social contact and interaction while working together would translate into other areas and would support coherent functioning of the multi purpose facility where a spiritual aspirant could come to learn yoga and find peace Around those ideas similar projects were created at Salt Spring Centre of Yoga 1974 in Canada in Vancouver BC and in Pacific Cultural Center in Santa Cruz California 1989 98 US temples and religious symbols Edit Shiva Lingam Ganesha temple Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple Mount Madonna Center CA 2014 Emphasis on bhakti yoga derived from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana inspired several of his students to travel to India in 2001 in search of a Hanuman murti When that statue arrived Baba Hari Dass wrote It needs a Temple 99 He walked to the ceremonial site and marked out a location for the temple with his foot The Prana pratishta ceremony establishing the breath within the sacred image was performed in 2003 Sankat Mochan Hanuman Ganesh temples 100 Nandi Shiva lingam water cascade and several idols of deities were built at the Mount Madonna Center site Conceived as an alternative bhakti yoga tract the site serves local residents and can accommodate visitors from the wider community of the San Francisco Bay Area in daily visits Human psychology contribution Edit In the West transpersonal psychology became a rich and productive field in psychology anthropology and psychiatry Practices and theories of yoga added to that impact while researchers focused on energies of the subtle body that in yoga terms relate to SukShma sharira Several authors credited Baba Hari Dass for his contributions and adept views Steven Simon Bentheim PhD commenting on spiritual marriages that were made and fell apart despite the blessings of the guru wrote Baba Hari Dass soon realized that the ideal of abstinence as a tool for spiritual development whether it be dietary or sexual was a problem in the West 101 Bonnie Greenwell while working on her PhD in Transpersonal Psychology Energies Transformation A Guide to the Kundalini Process was allowed to study the unpublished manuscripts of the Jnana yoga teacher Baba Hari Dass 102 Stuart Sovatsky PhD commenting on Ken Wilber Ram Dass and others whose work focused on solo spiritual heroes unwittingly garbled into Western lives the specialized family less sadhu trip wrote that Baba Hari Dass warned all Western seekers not to mix up Western life style and stringent sadhu requirements Commenting on that he wrote For Westerners Brahmacharya is almost impossible because association between sexes is so free Don t mix the sadhu trip in this thing 103 Ayurveda Edit Baba Hari Dass was one of the early proponents who helped bring Ayurveda to the US in the early 1970s an ancient Indian system of health and healing He taught combined classes in Ashtanga Samkhya and Ayurveda as sister sciences 104 As interest grew the three dosha theory pulse detection and ayurvedic medicum derived from the classic scriptures of the Sushruta Samhita and the Charaka Saṃhita were introduced that led to the establishment of the Mount Madonna Institute College of Ayurveda citation needed Ayurveda World and Ayurvedic pharmacy He invited several notable Ayurvedic teachers Dr Vasant Lad Sarita Shrestha M D Professor Ram Harsh Singh Ph D and others Michael Tierra Ayurvedic medicine practitioner wrote The history of Ayurveda in North America will always owe a debt to the selfless contributions of Baba Hari Dass The way of Ayurvedic Herbs Lotus Press 2008 p XIV 105 Yoga Teachers Training Edit Following the tradition of non sectarian teachings of Ashtanga with the roots in practical Hatha yoga and the metaphysics of Samkhya Baba Hari Dass inspired and supervised several programs with focus in training future yoga instructors He first started teaching yoga in India as per existing accounts by Bhagavan Das 106 in 1964 and by Ram Dass 66 in 1965 66 By some other accounts his teaching engagements occurred already in 1958 when he trained several former students of the known mystic George Gurdjieff 1866 1949 In the US and Canada beginning in the mid 1970s he created comprehensive teaching programs combining the eight limbs of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Those were grounded in the scriptural tradition of Hatha yoga system in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika Siva Samhita and Gherand Samita Yoga Vashishta With the emphasis on strength and flexibility he developed fitness asanas 4 to increase physical endurance Pranayama a stable control and expansion of energy was given prominence in focused support of meditation Kirtan mudras the theory of gunas of Samkhya and the subtle body or SukShma sharira 107 of Tantra and Vedantic philosophy were also included Regular and persistent practice sadhana and Abhyasa augmented scriptural references and emphasized experience through regular routine In addition to core practices of Raja yoga several less mainstream teachings are given during the formative stages of Yoga Teacher Training at Mount Madonna Center Watsonville CA For example Tantric Bhairavi Chakra Sadhana and The Vairagi Ritual is a circular yoga sadhana performed with an equal number of men and women that employs yantras to invoke the various forms of Devi or Durga as the supreme Being in the Shaktism tradition Practices such as Shut Chakra Bedhana piercing the chakras and Yoni Mudra Japa are included That sadhana used as the Vairagi Vaiṣṇavas practice does not have a sexual component 108 Sri Ram Ashram Edit Children getting sweets Sri Ram Ashram Shyampur India Baba Hari Dass in his travels through India encountered many abandoned children who were in need of home and a caring place As a young boy Baba Hari Dass witnessed the mistreatment of children at an orphanage he visited with his friend Prompted by that experience and using the proceeds from his yoga books and generous donations he established a loving home for children in need 109 One of his students Ma Renu inspired by the teachings of selfless service karma yoga traveled to India to launch in 1984 Sri Ram Ashram 110 a children s home school and medical clinic in rural location of the northern state of Uttaranchal The Ashram now located near Haridwar Shyampur village was established in 1987 From its inception the focus became to support orphaned and destitute children Some children find their way to Sri Ram Ashram by being brought and left at the entrance gate or by being found abandoned in streets of towns or rural places After medical evaluation those children are brought into the new surroundings with care and loving attention In 1987 Sri Ram Vidya Mandir became a nationally accredited school which educates children Nursery through 12th grade standard from both the orphanage and nearby villages Scriptural focus Edit Baba Hari Dass with children Mount Madonna Center May 2008 The aim Edit Attainment of higher states of concentration according to Raja yoga classical yoga of Patanjali is rooted in development of the physical body Hatha Yoga The body is a boat which carries the soul in the ocean of the world If it is not strong or if has a hole then it can t cross the ocean So the first duty is to fix the boat 111 With the physical body gaining in strength and guided by a disciplined life an adept can receive more refined instructions and teachings called sadhana Regular sadhana according to Baba Hari Dass is a key element of practice of yoga and no matter what method is adopted sadhana becomes an anchor that can always be relied on Baba Hari Dass himself a monk all his life considered people who are married as also capable of leading yogic life Due to their daily care for children a regular sadhana would take a form of Grihasta Yoga householder yoga It is a union of two people in which they sacrifice their personal desires to become one 112 Yoga tradition of Dattatreya and Patanjali Edit Several authors hold that Dattatreya Datta son of Atri also known as Datta Guru 113 to whom Advahuta Gita is ascribed the fourth century C E 114 was the first who originated tradition of Ashtanga astha anga yoga or Raja yoga eight fold path of Yoga 115 Dattatreya is also credited with the authorship of Jivan Mukti Gita Song of Living Liberation that extols the adept who is liberated while still in the body as well as Tripura Rahasya Tripura s Secret Teaching 116 Yoga as a spiritual practice likely developed prior to the sixth and fifth centuries BCE in the same ascetic circles as the early sramana movements 117 note 5 Several Upanishads Ranade R D dating from the 1200 600 BC have particular relevance to the teachings of yoga Katha Prasna Mundaka Chandogya Brihadaranyaka or Shvetasvtara 118 119 Those writings predate Buddhist tradition of more formal yoga practices described in the Buddhist Nikayas 120 Some authors evaluating various opinions about the origin of Yoga state that It can certainly be argued that the germs of yogic thought can be found in embryonic form in the middle period Vedic literatures themselves the Aranyakas and Brahmana texts 121 most likely between c 1500 1200 BC Ascertaining various sources Baba Hari Dass composed his own in depth commentary to The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that elucidates difficult theoretical concepts with many years of experience and knowledge of practices of yoga Some authors assert that Patajali s Yoga Sutras and Yoga practices in general had been virtually forgotten for the better part of seven hundred years 122 until it was rehabilitated at the end of the nineteenth century by Swami Vivekananda 123 However scriptural research may have to be evaluated in addition to localized Yoga traditions that rely on the word of mouth transfer of yogic knowledge and are centuries older in duration than indicated by the theoretical speculation Building upon Himalayan Kumoan tradition of centuries old yoga development 124 Baba Hari Dass started his weekly Yoga Sutras of Patanjali classes at the University of California at Santa Cruz CA in 1975 125 Several commentaries and yoga classics were referenced such as Yoga Vashishta Hatha Yoga Pradipika Shiva Samhita Goraksha Samhita Yoga Bhashya attributed to Veda Vyasa probably the fifth C E isvarakrishna s Samkhyakarika 4th or 5th century CE Vacaspati Misra s Tattvavaisaradi the ninth century C E Yogavartika of Vijnanabhiksu the sixteenth century C E Swami Hariharananda Aranya s 1869 1947 Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali and Pandit Usharbudh Arya s commentary 1986 In his exposition of the yoga principles continued until 2012 the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Ashtanga played a fundamental and formative role in educating yoga seekers According to Baba Hari Dass Yogah means samadhi or the state that occurs when mental modifications are controlled by persistent practice and dispassion 126 Patanjali s Yoga Sutras define the meaning of yoga as Control of thought waves in the mind I 2 or as nirodha mental control by which union the goal of yoga is achieved 127 Nirodha is the process while resultant niruddha is the state of perfection The path that assumes dualistic individuality becomes the nondual state characterized by the absence of individuality In that sense the goal of yoga can be described as eternal peace pure love Self realization or liberation or as a prescription for liberation from the cycle of suffering 128 Samadhi Pada vol I is an exposition of upaya the primary means of yoga together with the more advanced subject of the efficiency of practice abhyasa and dispassion vairagya Sadhana Pada vol II presents practical methods for the yogis who are aspiring to higher states of concentration and need to remove mental distractions viksipta Those practical methods constitute Kriya Yoga and make the mind ready for one pointed concentration ekagra dhyana which results in the steadiness of concentration or samahita chitta In Vibhuti Pada vol III pratyahara is further developed into concentration dharana meditation dhyana and into the state of absorption samadhi Those states when mastered in succession are the foundation of samyama samyama is perfect control of mental concentration p 7 and The samyama is not complete unless there is a fusion of these three processes of concentration it should also be noted that the perfection of samyama constitutes three internal limbs of concentration Furthermore Baba Hari Dass elucidates different aspects of samadhi and samyama and their resulting achievements in relation to viveka khyati or discriminating faculty Vol IV Kaivalya Pada the commentary to the last volume of Patanjali s Yoga Sutra was published in 2017 Ramayana theatrical production costume preparation 2003 Ramayana Bhagavad Gita and other writings Edit Among several versions of Ramayana a colorful musical stage performance by students trained by Baba Hari Dass is the largest yearly Western version of the epic being performed on stage 129 Ramayana in India is a stage performances throughout villages and towns Young actors and participants assume different roles each year thus being able to play several characters over years In the United States Baba Hari Dass trained students of Mount Madonna School in Watsonville California 8 to continue that tradition in annual musical in June first performance in 1974 The play has grown to be the widely anticipated annual school event of the year in which the entire school participates 130 He has taught acting arts costume design mask making and choreography to bring alive the characters of Sri Ram Sita Hanuman Lakshmana Shiva and Parvati Vibhishan Jatayu Sugriva Surpanakha Ravana and his rakshasa court Meghnaad Kumbhakarna and the army of monkeys and demons 131 Although it predated Star Wars by a few thousand years Ramayana invites comparisons to the George Lukas film both in storyline and in underlying theme 132 Bhagavad Gita a commentary to Chapters 1 6 Vol I pub 2013 the Bhagavad Gita uses a metaphor of a battle to convey the meaning of the inner struggle to attain knowledge of human condition The struggle is between positive and negative tendencies In this volume meaning of the three main types of yoga are articulated Karma Yoga Jnana Yoga and Bhakti Yoga The emphasis is given to the view that action is superior to inaction p 300 Actions that are performed without self interest and for the good of all are called sacrifice yajna p 302 and those actions will not cause any bondage Samkhya Karika and Vedanta A commentary to Isvara Krishna s Samkhyakarika exposition of Samkhya principles of 24 tattva system that culminates in full recognition of the Self recognition which brings about the separation of Purusha conscious principle from Prakriti unconscious material principle In editing stages a commentary to Vedantic classic Panchadasi of Swami Vidyaranya the commentary includes discussion of several Vedantic schools Advaita Vedanta Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita Fifteen chapters deal with the discrimination of Sat Chit and Ananda aspects of the Truth Later events and death Edit Baba Hari Dass Mount Madonna Center Watsonville CA c 2006 In 16 October 2013 after physical examination it was announced by his medical team that Baba Hari Dass had a dramatic neurological change that has affected his mobility stamina and expression 133 and his physicians have conducted all appropriate tests and have not found any treatable cause At that time he discontinued his regular activities of teaching classes of Vedanta Yoga Sutras Bhagavad Gita or attending ceremonial events He did not resume his regular teaching schedule afterwards He died in peace in hospice care at 10 32 a m on 25 September 2018 in Bonny Doon near Santa Cruz California 134 135 He was known and admired by local community He took his vow of perpetual silence in 1952 which he kept until his passing Tuesday morning a cremation ceremony was organized at Santa Cruz Memorial It didn t take long before hundreds of people began lining up to pay their respects Register Pajaronian 27 September 2018 136 The Santa Cruz Sentinel published a front page obituary titled Silent monk Baba Hari Dass who inspired thousands at the Mount Madonna Center dies at 95 Baba Hari Dass the spiritual leader and silent monk who inspired thousands out of the Mount Madonna Center north of Watsonville died Tuesday morning in his Bonny Doon home He was 95 he taught yoga and meditation out of the Watsonville retreat center and school after moving to the U S from India in 1971 Babaji took a vow of silence in 1952 conversing only through his writings and a small chalkboard from which he would dispense terse yet profound utterances to those who sought his advice Asked once by a Sentinel reporter to describe himself he wrote simply I am what people see me as Asked how should one live a good life he would reportedly respond Work honestly meditate every day meet people without fear and play 137 Baba Hari Dass Shraddha ceremony 7 Oct 2018 His departure from the physical form mahasamadhi took place during the month of Bhadrapad following Purnima full Moon on the first day of Krishna Paksha Pratipada as per Lunar Indian calendar system Sraddha ritual was performed lakeside on the 12th day after his mahasamadhi at Mount Madonna Center Watsonville California on Sunday 7 October 138 Santa Cruz Sentinel wrote About 1 500 people gathered Sunday morning at the Mount Madonna Center to commemorate Baba Hari Dass the silent monk teacher and guru There were people of all ages in attendance Sunday many wearing white who came from the Santa Cruz area as well as across the country and Canada to pay their respects to the man known to his students as Babaji There was a serene somber and intense atmosphere with a combination of bells chants and the sound of the wind filling the air 139 San Francisco Chronicle noted In the last five years due to a deterioration in his health the community has already become accustomed to his physical absence but it remains to be seen what the impact of his passing will be 140 His ashes were immersed in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar one of the holiest sites in India on 19 November 2018 with special puja and arati on auspicious day of Ekadashi 141 Commentaries and literary works EditHari Dass Baba 1973 The Yellow Book The Sayings of Baba Hari Dass 1st ed Santa Fe NM Lama Foundation ASIN B001U2T24W Hariakhan Baba Known Unknown 1975 Sri Rama Foundation ISBN 0 918100 00 3 The Magic Gem A Story Coloring Book 1976 Sri Rama Foundation Library of Congress 76 10032 Silence Speaks Aphorisms From the Chalkboard of Baba Hari Dass Sri Rama Foundation 1977 ISBN 0 918100 19 4 Ashtanga Yoga Primer Illustrated Practical Guide Sri Rama Publishing 1977 ISBN 0 918100 04 6 A Child s Garden of Yoga Sri Rama Publishing 1980 ISBN 0 918100 02 X Sweeper to Saint Stories of Holy India A Collection of short stories Sri Rama Publishing July 1980 ISBN 0 918100 03 8 Cat and Sparrow Sri Rama Foundation 1982 Santa Cruz CA ISBN 0 918100 06 2 Mystic Monkey Sri Rama Publishing Sri Rama Publishing 1984 ISBN 0 918100 05 4 Fire Without Fuel The Aphorisms of Baba Hari Dass Sri Rama Publishing 1986 ISBN 0 918100 08 9 Essays on the Search for Peace in Daily Life 1 Binding Thoughts amp Liberation Sri Rama Publishing 1992 ISBN 0 918100 14 3 Essays on the Search for Peace in Daily Life 2 Mind is Our World Sri Rama Publishing 1992 ISBN 0 918100 14 3 Essays on the Search for Peace in Daily Life 3 Selfless Service The Spirit of Karma Yoga Sri Rama Publishing 1995 ISBN 0 918100 17 8 Vinaya Chalisa Forty Prayers Sri Rama Publishing 1994 ISBN 978 0 918100 16 0 The Path to Enlightenment is Not a Highway Sri Rama Publishing 1996 ISBN 0 918100 15 1 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali A Study Guide and Commentary for Book I Samadhi Pada Sri Rama Publishing 1999 ISBN 0 918100 20 8 Surya Namaskara The Sun Salutation Series Ashtanga Yoga Fitness Asana Series vol 1 Sri Rama Publishing 2000 ISBN 0 918100 22 4 Everyday Peace Letters for Life Sri Rama Publishing 2000 ISBN 0 918100 21 6 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali A Study Guide and Commentary for Book II Sadhana Pada Sri Rama Publishing 2008 ISBN 978 0 918100 23 8 Kshama Prarthana Pranam Forgiveness Asana Series Sri Rama Publishing 1 June 2008 Pigeon Throne 2010 Sri Rama Publishing ISBN 978 0918100269 Bronze Buddha A Collection of three short stories 2011 Sri Rama Publishing ISBN 978 0 918100 27 6 Hand Mudras Pamphlet 2011 Sri Rama Publishing ISBN 978 0 918100 3 20 Srimad Bhagavad Gita Chapters I VI A Study Guide and Commentary Sri Rama Publishing 2013 ISBN 978 0918100283 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali A Study Guide and Commentary for Book III Vibhuti Pada Sri Rama Publishing 2013 ISBN 978 0 918100 24 5 Srimad Bhagavad Gita Chapters VII XII A Study Guide and Commentary Sri Rama Publishing 2014 ISBN 978 0 918100 30 6 Srimad Bhagavad Gita Chapters XIII XVIII A Study Guide and Commentary Sri Rama Publishing November 2015 ISBN 978 0 918100 29 0 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali A Study Guide and Commentary for Book IV Kaivalya Pada Sri Rama Publishing 2017 ISBN 978 0 918100 25 2 Path Unfolds The Autobiography of Baba Hari Dass Sri Rama Publishing 2019 ISBN 978 0918100429 Notes Edit It s Here Now Are You A Spiritual Memoir Broadway Books Ney York 1997 1st ed ISBN 0 7679 00081 Ch 20 p 170 I climbed through the window I pulled the tubes out of his limbs picked him up like a baby and walked out of the house I laid him in the passenger seat of the Land Rover and drove back to Naini Tal See review of this subject in http www santacruzsentinel com ci 9875268 by Melissa Weaver Sentinel correspondent POSTED 14 July 2008 Silent yogi has led Mount Madonna community tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains for more than 30 years Hari Dass moved to the U S from India in 1971 after meeting Mark Jungerman and his wife who had been traveling through Haridwar India They stayed with me and asked me to go to the United States Hari Dass said I said I could go anywhere I was ready to move to the higher mountains Ma Renu s motivation in inviting Baba Hari Dass into US came from personal quest of seeking deeper knowledge about life and the meaning of suffering at the time after her elder son had been killed Trying to find solace in philosophy books by various authors left her concluding I basically got nowhere none of the books said anything to me http sriramfoundation org index php sri rama foundation ma renu horsting http frombindutoojas com origin BE HERE NOW by Ram Dass First published in 1971 ASHTANGA YOGA Hari Dass Baba this little 90 pound fellow architecturally designed all of the temples and schools supervised all the buildings and grounds had many followers of his own slept two hours a night His food intake for the last 15 years had been 2 glasses of milk a day That s it His feces are like two small marbles each day His arms are about this big around tiny but when the workmen can t lift a particularly heavy rock they call for Chota Maharaji the little great king As in a comic strip he goes over and lifts the rock just with one pointedness of mind He had met Maharaji in the jungle 15 years before and he had become a disciple of Maharaji Buddhists Jainas and Ajivikas 117 References EditThis article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as Reflinks documentation reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Citations Edit Feuerstein 2008 p 28 Ibarra Nicholas 25 September 2018 Silent monk Baba Hari Dass who inspired thousands at the Mount Madonna Center dies at 95 Santa Cruz Sentinel Retrieved 17 June 2022 Yoga Teacher Training 200 300 hour and Prenatal Program Yoga Teacher Training 200 hour Program Mount Madonna Center Watsonville CA 11 May 2014 Retrieved 11 July 2014 a b c d e f Leviton 1990 Baba Hari Dass Mount Madonna Center Hanuman Fellowship 2001 Retrieved 10 July 2014 a b Jones amp Ryan 2006 p 180 Tierra Michael Purkh Singh Khalsa Karta 2008 The way of Ayurvedic Herbs A Contemporary Introduction and Useful Manual for the World s Oldest Healing System Twin Lakes WI Lotus Press pp X ISBN 978 0 940985 98 8 a b c Fuess 1983 a b Jones amp Ryan 2006 p 179 a b Mukerjee 2012 p 221 Mukerjee 1990 p 61 LLP Adarsh Mobile Applications 1923 Chaitra Navratri Vasanta Navratri Calendar for New Delhi NCT India Drikpanchang Kumar Vivek 10 August 2015 Cities of Mahabharata in the present time Speakingtree in Times Internet Limited Retrieved 12 September 2015 Aggarwal J C Agrawal S P 1 January 1995 Uttarakhand Past Present and Future Uttar Khand Region India Concept Publishing Company p 163 ISBN 978 81 7022 572 0 Hari Dass 2019 p 158 Hari Dass Baba February 1975 Hairakhan Baba Known Unknown 1st ed Davis CA Sri Rama Foundation Inc p 78 ISBN 978 0 918100 00 9 Hari Dass 1975 p 78 Ram Dass amp Rameshwar Das 2010 pp 284 290 White Jonathan ed 1994 Talking on the water conversations about nature and creativity San Francisco Sierra Club Books ISBN 0871565153 Hari Dass 2019 p 23 Hari Dass 2019 pp 24 25 Hari Dass 2019 pp 25 26 a b c d e Hari Dass 1973 Devyn The Babaji Interview Mount Madonna School archive today Archived from the original on 17 June 2014 a b c Jones amp Ryan 2006 Vyeda Ed 24 May 1998 Chalkfull of Wisdom Monk of Mt Madonna Santa Cruz County Sentinel Seq C1 2 Retrieved 20 August 2015 via newspapers com Ram Dass 1978 p 27 a b Hari Dass 2019 p 67 Hari Dass 2019 p 27 Catalfo Phil December 2001 Saving Young Lives Baba Hari Dass Yoga Journal 83 4 Hari Dass 2019 pp 31 33 Hari Dass 2019 p 42 Hari Dass 2019 p 43 Hari Dass 2019 p 63 Hari Dass 2019 pp 51 60 Hari Dass 2019 p 63 65 Bodian Stephan March 1985 10th Anniversary Issue Yoga Journal Active Interest Media Inc Retrieved 14 July 2014 Jones amp Ryan 2006 In 1942 Hari Datt took initiation as a monk in the Vairagi Tyagi Vaishnavite order a b Crovetto Helen 2006 Baba Hari Dass and the Vairagi Vaishnava Leneage Shin Ibs edu Retrieved 14 July 2014 Hari Dass 2019 pp 87 95 The Babaji Interview By Devyn Mount Madonna School https archive today 20140617232846 http newsasaurus newscenter com articles 09April 09AprilBabaji html Hari Dass 2019 p 232 Baba Hari Dass Hairakhan Baba Known Unknown Sri Rama Foundation 1975 p 76 79 ISBN 0 918100 00 3 Goenka S N 2014 Vipassana Meditation Vipassana Meditation Retrieved 5 August 2014 Bhagavan Das 1997 p page needed a b Ram Dass 1978 p page needed Michael Strawser Gifts of Silence from Kierkegaard and Derrida Penn State University Press Vol 89 No 1 2 Spring Summer 2006 Soundings An Interdisciplinary Journal ISSN 0038 1861 https www jstor org stable i40052851 Britain Yearly Meeting Quaker Faith and Practice Britain London The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends Quakers 2005 pp sections 2 01 2 12 17 etc ISBN 0 85245 374 4 Tapas is not a penance it s a mental training to develop will power Baba Hari Dass On Ashtanga Yoga Silence Speaks p 153 Sri Rama Foundation Inc 1977 Silent yogi has led Mount Madonna community tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains for more than 30 years Melissa Weaver Santa Cruz Sentinel correspondent 14 July 2008 http www santacruzsentinel com ci 9875268 Archived 28 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine The Divine Reality of Sri Baba Neeb Karori Ji Maharaj Archived 3 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine A Translation of Alokik Yathartha A Case of Typhoid 1 January 2005 by Sri Kainchi Hanuman Mandir amp Ashram 2nd ed ISBN 978 8190310505 Baba Hari Dass Hariakhan Baba Known Unknown Sri Rama Foundation 1975 p 78 79 ISBN 0 918100 00 3 Baba Hari Dass November 2013 The Silent Master of Mount Madonna Center Yoga Journal May June 1983 by Virginia Lee p 18 20 Catalfo Phil 2002 Karma Yoga Awards Yoga Journal Yoga Journal pp 82 83 Retrieved 7 July 2014 Bodian Stephan March 1985 10th Anniversary Retrospective Yoga Journal Retrieved 14 July 2014 Mukerjee 1990 pp 60 61 Mukerjee 2012 ch 1 Mukerjee 2012 Part II pp 221 222 Bhagavan Das 1997 Ch 6 pp 43 44 Hari Dass 2019 p 286 Bhagavan Das 1997 p 170 Ram Dass 2004 p 119 a b Ram Dass amp Rameshwar Das 2010 p 150 Ram Dass Biography Hari Dass Baba who taught in silence using only a chalkboard For a time Alpert was in correspondence with Meher Baba however he remained focused on the teaching of Hari Dass Baba a b c Ram Dass amp Rameshwar Das 2010 p 138 Ashtanga Yoga Primer Santa Cruz Sri Rama Publishing 1977 Ram Dass 2001 p 191 Ram Dass amp Goleman 1978 Mukerjee 2012 pp 221 222 Mukerjee 2012 pp 267 8 Mukerjee 1990 pp 121 122 https nkbashram org maharaji maharajis surprise appearance bare URL Mukerjee 2012 p 80 Mukerjee 2012 p page needed Guru Param Para Lineage of the Guru Order The Sanskrit Classics publisher The Sanskrit Classics publisher December 2013 Archived from the original on 21 July 2014 Retrieved 20 July 2014 Perazzo Peggy 7 July 2002 Ruth Johnson HORSTING 1919 2000 obit Ancestry Retrieved 19 November 2018 Whittaker Richard 11 February 2014 A Conversation with Archana Horsting An Artist s Journey Interviews and Articles Retrieved 12 July 2014 a b c Redfern Cathy 1 December 2000 Founder of Mount Madonna Center Ruth Johnson Horsting dies at 81 Newspapers com Santa Cruz Sentinel p 10 Archived from the original on 29 September 2021 Retrieved 29 September 2021 Adams Paul C 2012 Biography Luminous Places com Luminous Photo Galleries Retrieved 4 August 2014 Founding Member Feature Chandra Salt Spring Centre of Yoga 8 October 2012 Retrieved 17 February 2022 Dass Anand 1976 Between Pleasure and Pain 1st ed Sumas WA Dharma Sara Publications p intro ISBN 0 88765 000 7 Practicing Yoga during pregnancy is one way to heal the split between soul and spirit found in our culture p XII Jeannine Parvati Baker North Atlantic Books ASIN B002XB5XQK 1986 Prenatal Yoga Natural Childbirthing Jeannine Parvati Baker North Atlantic Books Berkeley CA 1986 p 109 ASIN B002XB5XQK Design by Cosmic Inc 11 April 2022 Programs amp Retreats Mount Madonna Center a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a first has generic name help http frombindutoojas com lama foundation bare URL a b Ram Dass amp Rameshwar Das 2013 p 47 Ryan A Jones Ryan James D Ryan 2007 Neem Karoli Baba Encyclopedia of Hinduism Academic 2000 2013 Retrieved 23 July 2014 Detailed Information www lamafoundation org Archived from the original on 5 September 2015 Retrieved 27 April 2022 Prologue drgarygibbs com Archived from the original on 13 August 2015 Retrieved 27 April 2022 The Lama Foundation 1974 San Cristobal NM Foreword Hariakhan Baba Known Unknown Sri Rama Foundation Davis CA 1975 The Hanuman Fellowship is a non profit organization founded by the students of Baba Hari Dass in 1971 http hanumanfellowship org Towsend Peggy R 27 July 1996 Musical Matrimony Jazz Weds Anthropology at Mount Madonna Santa Cruz Sentinel CA Retrieved 25 June 2015 via newspapers com A Conference Retreat and Yoga Center in the Heart of California http mountmadonna org Hanuman Fellowship Rebuilding Santa Cruz Sentinel 26 February 1982 Retrieved 18 July 2015 via website Lee Virginia May June 1983 The Silent Master of Mount Madonna Center Yoga Journal Retrieved 24 July 2014 Lee Virginia May June 1983 The Silent Master of Mount Madonna Center Yoga Journal 18 19 Retrieved 24 July 2014 Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple Hanuman Fellowship 2008 Retrieved 24 July 2014 The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple and Ganesha Temples are located within the grounds of the Mount Madonna Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences established in 1978 by the students of Baba Hari Dass Bentheim Steven Simon 2005 Couple Congruence and Spirituality Expanding Satir s Model Through PDF Couple Congruence and Spirituality Expanding Satir s Model Through University of Victoria Retrieved 7 July 2014 Greenwell Bonnie 2002 Energies of Transformation A Guide to Kundalini Process Energies of Transformation A Guide to Kundalini Process Motilal Banarsidas Delhi p xi ISBN 9788120818156 Retrieved 7 July 2014 Sovatsky Stuart 1987 Euro Hinduism in America From Vivekananda to Deepak Chopra Merlian News p 107 Retrieved 7 July 2014 Ruddell Steven September October 1976 Pleasure and Pain Yoga Journal Sep Oct 1976 Yoga Journal Retrieved 16 August 2014 Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa and Michael Tierra Independently we both first learned Ayurvedic medicine from our respective spiritual mentors myself with Baba Hari Dass and K P with Yogi Bhajan p X The way of Ayurvedic Herbs Lotus Press 2008 ISBN 978 0 9409 8598 8 Bhagavan Das 1997 p 44 Saraswati Swami Yogeshwaranand 1977 Atma Vijnana Science of Soul Rishikesh Yog Niketan Trust pp 11 24 Crovetto Helen 2013 Bhairavi Cakra Goddess Mandalas Rituals in Contemporary Tantra s Nondualism academia edu pp Intro Jewel in the Jungle DVD edition Sri Ram Ashram Documentary by Rashmi Cole Oceanview Bookstore CA 2005 Sri Ram Orphanage founded in 1984 located in Uttaranchal near the town of Haridwar http sriramfoundation org index php sri ram ashram Hari Dass Baba 1977 Ashtanga Yoga Primer Santa Cruz CA Sri Rama Publishing p 52 ISBN 0 918100 04 6 Lee Virginia May June 1983 The Silent Master of Mount Madonna Yoga Journal Retrieved 28 July 2014 Dattatreya Datta Guru Feuerstein 2008 pp 22 23 Awasthi Dr Brahma Mitra Yoga Sastra of Dattatreya Swami Keshawananda Yoga Institute Retrieved 25 August 2014 Feuerstein 2008 p 23 a b Samuel 2008 p 8 Ranade R D 1926 A constructive survey of Upanishadic philosophy Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan The Origin of Yoga Discover yoga online com International Yogalam 2007 Retrieved 28 September 2014 Werner Karel 1998 Yoga And Indian Philosophy Motilal Banarsidass Publ pp 119 200 ISBN 81 208 1609 9 Bryant Edwin 2009 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali New York North Point Press pp xx ISBN 978 0 86547 736 0 White David Gordon 2014 The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali Princeton New Jersey Princeton University Press pp xvi ISBN 978 0 691 14377 4 Vivekananda Swami 1982 Raja Yoga amp Patanjali Yoga Sutra New York Ramamkrishna Vivekananda Center ISBN 0 911206 23 X Baba Hari Dass 1975 Hariakhan Baba Known Unknown Yoga Journal March 1985 Baba Hari Dass Yoga Journal Mar 1985 p 14 Baba Hari Dass Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Vol I 1999 p 3 Dass Baba Hari 1999 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Vol I Santa Cruz CA Sri Rama Publishing p 5 ISBN 0 918100 20 8 Baba Hari Dass Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Vol I 1999 p 2 Ramayana 36th Annual Ramayana Mount Madonna School Hanuman Fellowship June 2014 Retrieved 10 August 2014 Sethuraman Vidya 13 June 2013 Ramayana A must see show in Bay Area India Post Retrieved 29 August 2014 Jha Ritu California school celebrates Ramayan for 33 years Rediff com Rediff News Retrieved 28 August 2014 Chatenever Rick 12 December 1986 Ramayana is a unique phenomenon Santa Cruz Sentinel p 15 Retrieved 18 July 2015 Baba Hari Dass Official Updates From The Hanuman Fellowship www babaharidass org Retrieved 24 June 2015 Baba Hari Dass Memorial pages 25 September 2018 Retrieved 25 September 2018 Silent monk Baba Hari Dass who inspired thousands at the Mount Madonna Center dies at 95 The Mercury News 26 September 2018 Retrieved 15 May 2021 Miller Johanna 27 September 2018 Spiritual leader founder of Mt Madonna Center dies at 95 Register Pajaronian Retrieved 27 September 2018 Ibarra Nicolas 26 September 2018 Silent monk Baba Hari Dass who inspired thousands at the Mount Madonna Center dies at 95 Santa Cruz Sentinel Retrieved 26 September 2018 Baba Hari Dass Official Updates from the Hanuman Fellowship A celebration of life for Baba Hari Dass the silent monk 8 October 2018 Zonszein Mairav 26 October 2018 The legacy of Baba Hari Dass Santa Cruz s silent guru San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved 28 October 2018 Baba Hari Dass Official Updates From The Hanuman Fellowship www babaharidass org Retrieved 22 May 2022 Works cited Edit Primary sources Edit Hari Dass Baba 2019 Path Unfolds The Autobiography of Baba Hari Dass Santa Cruz CA Sri Rama Publishing ISBN 978 0 918100 42 9 Secondary sources Edit Bhagavan Das 1997 It s Here Now Are You A Spiritual Memoir New York Broadway Books ISBN 0 7679 00081 Feuerstein Georg 2008 Yoga Tradition Prescott Arizona Hohm Press ISBN 978 1 890772 18 5 Fuess David C October 1983 Ramayana Self Service The Wall Street Journal p iB Jones Constance Ryan James D 2006 Baba Hari Dass Encyclopedia of Hinduism Infobase Publishing pp 179 ff ISBN 978 0816075645 Leviton Richard March April 1990 How the Swamis Came to the States Yoga Journal 91 126 ISSN 0191 0965 Retrieved 27 February 2022 Mukerjee Dada 1990 By His Grace A Devotee s Story Santa Fe NM Hanuman Foundation Publishing ISBN 0 9628878 7 0 Mukerjee Dada 2012 1996 The Near and The Dear Santa Fe New Mexico Hanuman Foundation Publishing ISBN 978 1 887474 02 3 Ram Dass 1978 1971 Be Here Now San Cristobal NM Lama Foundation ISBN 978 0517543054 Ram Dass Goleman Daniel 1978 Journey of Awakening A Meditator s Guidebook Random House Publishing Group ISBN 978 0552615785 Ram Dass 2001 Still Here Embracing Aging Changing and Dying New York Riverhead Books ISBN 1 57322 871 0 Ram Dass 2004 Paths to God Living the Bhagavad Gita New York Three Rivers Press ISBN 978 1 4000 5403 9 Ram Dass Rameshwar Das 2010 Be Love Now New York Harper One ISBN 978 0 06 196138 0 Ram Dass Rameshwar Das 2013 Polishing the Mirror How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart Boulder CO Sounds True ISBN 978 1 62203 380 5 Samuel Geoffrey 2008 The Origins of Yoga and Tantra Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 69534 3 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Baba Hari Dass Talks With Babaji Archived 28 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine Sankat Mochan HanumanVideos Edit Hari Dass Baba Doing Rare Mudras Story Baba Hari Dass and Mt Madonna Dallas Cyr Sacred Hand Mudras David Fuess Portals Biography Philosophy Hinduism India Religion Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Baba Hari Dass amp oldid 1149029981, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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