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Holy
796 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 11 2015 : 6:23:35 PM
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Dear friends of this forum,
from time to time different sufis, yogis, jnanis and so on have crossed my life. I feel connected to all of them and have learned from all of them. For the purpose of inspiration and insight, these sharings of meetings are happening. The intention was always to make clear, that realized people are living among us and that they are capable of helping us among our paths in most different ways.
Some of them are giving hints, some of them confront you with your believes and ideas, some others provide tools (e.g. yoga practices), again others just share their love and realization with you. Some prefer to stay your teacher and guide, others take your hand and eat, sleep and even go partying with you :) After many years of interaction with these people, the primary insight here has been:
No matter what they are saying or doing, their realization and god-conection stays untouched. Even though the words or actions may be completely contradictory to one another, the grace and beauty that is happening to them seems to be completely uneffected. To the degree of not judging, anyone open to partake by their grace can do so independent of anything else.
Shibendu Lahiri, being the great grandson of Lahiri Mahasaya, has crossed my way at the end of last year. He is a mixture of jnana yoga and kriya yoga personified :). Very loving, very down to earth, but also very direct and dependent upon the situation also uncomfortable or shocking. He himself calls it the rudra aspect, fiercefully coming out of him as needed.
A weekend with him constitutes of three parts, Friday is Jnana Yoga and an introduction into kriya yoga as a tool or as he says a bridge to Jnana Yoga. The requirement for understanding his Jnana Yoga teaching called Swadhay (= the ways of the self) is something he refers to as "the energy of understanding". This energy of understanding is either present or can be cultivated by the kriya practice. Sometimes he also speaks of "good brains" that are needed. The energy of understanding can be so great, that a direct jump from divisive to nondivisive consiousness can happen any moment as he says. But to help along, as a bridge, the kriya practice is taught on Saturday.
The practice itself is as it is learned from his father. Due to a second meeting this year with him, he told me several details about his personal life, when he did learn the kriyas, how long it took him to master the kriyas and higher kriyas and at which point his father wanted him to start initiating others into kriya yoga. To make it short, he studied, married and then started to practice for about 18 years until mastery. He told me that he was quite lazy in comparison to many other kriyavans, therefore it took him so long. The reason was a lot of work and his family he said. To me he is a good example of a householder yogi who is successful in worldy life and yogic accomplishment.
The Saturday is a day of teaching the techniques, touching the chakras and practicing the techniques in small groups with advanced kriya practitioners helping along.
On Sunday both swadhay and kriya are brought into the greater picture of Patanjali's yoga sutras, mapping the different phases of yoga-life onto the 8 limbs. What was most valuable in this for me was the exact procedures for entering into samadhi.
The first time meeting with Shibendu was very intense, in a country Gurunath also shows much much more. On Friday while speaking of nonduality, he was able to give a taste to it several times by enhancing the presence and energy, sometimes accompanied by outbursts of rudra-ic displeasement with the "shoddy little ->I<-" as he calls it :D In some one could see fearful reactions, but the nondual effect was most nice :D
We talked with Shibendu about Gurunath and Hariharananda and he told me, that Gurunath might have met his father to learn the kriyas. He also spoke of his meeting with Hariharananda. All in all he was quite pleased to see some younger folks and hugged and kissed everyone whenever he came into the room.
The Lahiri family always had a strong focus and attraction to the third eye, something which continues with Shibendu. Hariharananda at some point shifted the attention to the crown, while Gurunath created a smooth blend of third eye and crown. There were no expactations on Saturday night, the sleepiness was very intense here due to excessive gaps of sleeptime over several days. Was into good kriya amounts too (144+) those days and fell into bed very early at 8-9pm. Lying on the back side, the sleep absorption suddenly focused into the third eye and different dimensions of it became visible. The entering presence of Shibendu opened layers upon layers of the third eye, creating a magnetic pull upon the "seer" and then drew me through most exotic most ecstatic and very visual vast dimensions to something unexplainable, a living mystery beyond the invisible but suddenly visible realms. At some point consciousness lost itself and after some hours dreams and silences entered the scene. The next morning kriya as always and a remeberence of "okay, this man I like :D".
Sunday was quite uneventful, except the gold-worthy hints how to practically increase the kriyas until samadhi.
The second meeting with him in the country I live (after so many years of not coming here) was a little different. He was much more paced on Friday, rudra was more relaxed and waiting for Saturday ;). It was in a Yoga center where different schools, teachers and programs were offered. A lot of curious people could partake on that day. Two friends and me met Shibendu before the first meeting in the dinner room. Suddenly he was behind us and my friend noticed and we greeted him in namaste and went to his back. He is quite small in size, standing like a sufi, unnoticed and very ordinary. No luxury or specials, he partook in the dinner with everyone else. Standing behind him, I felt the need to touch his body and give him a welcoming massage. Unlike some other yogis, he has no problem with physical touch and warmheartedly smiled. Later while eating (we seperated from him) ecstatic energies started to enter my heart with Shibendu's smile appearing. Very loving this man :)
Due to the mixed yogic group in a country of technical precision and clarity, he spoke very nicely but similarly in content to last years meeting. The behavious of a seperate I, its tricks to keep continuity to its seperation and about the energy of understanding that can dissolve the division either instantly or over time by the practice of kriya. This time he intensified the presence to such a degree that shivapath-like the space-time started to change, making his oneness with all and everything visible and allowing all the visitors to come in touch with this nondual-consciousness. He appeared to be a cosmic inhabitant of the universe, not a human of this planet alone, but a living part consciously one with the whole. My friends also perceived the shift, therefore the intensity was great enough for those with attention to not miss the event for sure.
On Saturday the techniques were taught and on Sunday the same procedure as last year. Again time and space started to change at exact that moment when he looked at the trees behind us and started to speak about samadhi and the subject and object becoming one. I was happy to see my friend silently telling me that it has started again :D. With enormous elegance the intensity grew merging everything into nondual savikalpa samadhi (with perception) for several minutes. It was so effortless.. :) Suddenly he started talking about most mundane things, loughing and joking although everything was melting simultaneously but he managed to distract more and more until the shivapath calmed down and the divisive appearance started to dominate again. Later that day an old woman told me that she felt one with him and everythign and that she was telling this to anotehr boy, but that he did not understand a word. Obviously independent of the intensity, if you are looking around or are intensly occupied with your own thoughts or distracted otherwise, it is possible to oversee these kind of happenings. In this regard I like Gurunath's approach most, he doesn't do it in parallel so much, but makes everyone alert and receptive before blasting the whole thing into bliss nirvana :D At least everyone's body-mind in some way benefits from such a happening, the clearance of grosser and subtler obstructions deepens the practice the days after very much!
We met an indian woman, she was already quite advanced in the higher kriyas. In a more private talk with one friend, she shared her experience with the practice of the higher kriyas and her entrance into samadhis lasting for weeks nonstop. She had a very beautiful and pranically filled aura, always a pleasure to see women more advanced on the yogic path.
I also met another man, he was obviously intensly joyed and blissed out. Very ecstatic and loughing like a child. He reminded me of the siddha boy. Later I learned that he was practicing the higher kriyas in very good amounts too.
Shibendu's kriya weekends are practically for free, but he takes a dakshina that is given to him by everyone according to his capacity as a donation for his work. There was one boy who had no money with him and Shibendu said it is okay if he really has no money.
Some pictures from the last event:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/1.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/2.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/3.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/4.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/5.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/6.JPG
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...202015/7.JPG
Another sharing along the way :)
Happy practice to all
and enjoy! 
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amuhai
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2015 : 8:34:35 PM
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Thanks for sharing Holy.
It requires a certain level of calmness, and the activation of certain chakras, to perceive these auric and subtle changes in the atmosphere that occur in the presence of advanced practitioners and masters.
Your descriptions are heartwarming and inspiring, and indicate your dedication to practise.
At some point, do not be surprised if somebody meets you and writes about how you changed the atmospheric vibrations--hehe
Have you thought about writing a book with title like : Meetings with Masters.?
Many thanks again.
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BillinL.A.
USA
375 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2015 : 8:46:12 PM
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Super inspirational sharing as usual Holy, thanks!  |
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So-Hi
USA
481 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2015 : 07:50:46 AM
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Entertaining as always thanks for a good read, and the clearly enjoyable effort put into the writing, your personal time spent is being appreciated.
It was also nice to see in the pictures Shibendu is still healthy and happy doing well. If you are still with him give him a hug for me. |
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Anibaru
Chile
72 Posts |
Posted - Nov 16 2015 : 8:56:08 PM
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I had my Kriya Yoga initiation with him too!
(Yes! he actually came to Chile!  )
A good experience. I liked how he addressed the thing of sects, organizations and others
in our spiritual path.
It was because of him that i came in touch with the Kechari mudra (i managed to
"reach" it but i now i lost it ....)
Happy he is still doing well!
Blessings. |
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Holy
796 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2015 : 8:46:39 PM
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Thank you all, you are welcome :)
@Amuhai
agree with you. Practitioners will more easily perceive what is going on. Regarding a book, it is too early for books :P Perhaps after some decades? (= Still a lot to practice here :)
@So-Hi
wrote the first post some weeks after the meeting, but forwarded your hug via intention to Shibendu and perceived his smile :)
@Anibaru
just practice talabya some times, hold the tongue up and the flexibility will come back. Normally kechari cannot be lost anymore. Perhaps some stiffness can occur, but 1-2 days should be enough to bring the tongue back into game :P
Small update:
A new friend got initiated by Shibendu in that weekend and he is practicing very nicely since. A lot of stored emotional topics came up with his practice that were stored in the one or other chakra and after some initial shock of the instant changes in his life-flow, he is very much happy at the moment with the increased energy to handle life. Most of his fears, which were a topic for him too, have disappeared. Saw him some weeks after the initiation, from no practice to full practice and he started to radiate nice pranic vibes.
We had the chance to practice with him and another person together. Mantric practices scale best in groups, this he said by his own observation, something that was clear here already. Especially mental pranayama or OM technique rocks with 2+ people. Kriya pranayama also enhances, but not to the same degree. Maha mudra +- does not change at all. Final attention on a chakra (meditation part) also enhances very much. The same goes for all after effects where all are sitting in silence to make the energies settle, those phases also scale wonderfully. Scaling means, any additional person in the group enhances the intensity of presence to a phenomenal degree :D
Shibendu is physically doing very well. He has quite a big belly, but can sit on the floor and stand up without any problems. It is clear, that a hatha yogi will be much more capable when nearing his 80's, but most kriya yogis do not move their bodies much. The new generation may have more insight into physical activities, therefore athletic kriya masters may be more often to see in the future ;) Still he showed some techniques he is obviously doing every day to keep his joints and muscles flexible. Could grab some of them in motion, but the video is incomplete. Perhaps next time if he should show it again, the full moves can be captured. They are simple arm and leg rotations, but he was addressing all body parts.
In the end of that weekend Shibendu played music from different religions, believes and danced to each one of them in front of all. His dance style is very funny, but he was able to keep the rhythm and also to make the one or other intense move, which was suprising. God bless all the great masters with health and a long life, so that they can function long enough until the next generation is ready to take over.
Happy practice and enjoy :)
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Shibendu Lahiri
