baba hari dass (rip) is my guru. i was introduced to him in santa cruz in 1977 by a friend who had met him in india at the neemkaroli baba ashram years before that...babaji, (baba hari dass) had met neemkaroli baba when he was very young in the jungles of india and later he worked for him being the architect and builder of many of the temples that neemkaroli baba wanted built..babaji also was asked by neemkaroli baba to teach yoga asanas and pranayamas to ram dass and others in the ashram. i'm not sure if bhagwan dass ever learned from him but theres a story there too that bhagwan dass saved babaji life...i'm always grateful to bhagwan dass.for that..
anyway..
we had an appointment
shankar, (rip), that friend i mentioned, and my then husband (rip) and I walked into a small room and he was sitting on a mat on the floor all dressed in white robes and a light was coming out from him..he was blissfull.
we all sat down in front of him and i had never in my life felt so familiar with anyone then i did with him..i asked him if we had been married in a past life, (i was being funny, his bliss was contagious) and he said yes, 7 lifetimes ago...(i was probably 27 or 28 at the time, babaji was in his 40s). and my attachmant to him began.
he had already attracted quite a few devotees and he gave satsangs two or three times a week that i attended and eventually, his group, the hanuman fellowship bought a piece of property so he was available 4 times a week now...there were satsangs on sundays in town (santa cruz) with kirtan and meditation and questions and answers and then there were work days tues, thrus and saturdays.there were classes in patangili yoga sutras and the bhagavah gita.there were asana classes that i never attended...i probably hardly ever missed an opportunity to be with him..
just recently an autobiography he wrote was published and the first sentence in the book is *Nothing ceases to exist*
skipping a few years into this journey, after i had my awakening happening, i had had a terrifying dream in which i had the thought that i would cease to exist if he ever stopped thinking about me.. i went to him and told him my dream and he wrote to me on his chalkboard "i will always think about you. " and * nothing ceases to exist..*
every couple of years i remembered it and would wonder..is he really thinking about me all the time? lol..or just some of the time..OR..was the I he was referring to the Self that i am..?
i'm in this video at 2.03 minutes
portrait of baba hari dass by chitra
babaji wrote a letter to someone explaining
from notes on spiritual discourses with shri atmananda
Guru
279. WHO CAN REALIZE THE TRUTH?
Only he who has heard the Truth from a Karana-guru, with earnestness and sincerity. All the shastras [texts] say: ‘Thus far alone can we say. The Guru alone can give the rest.’ Acaryavan puruso veda Chandogya Upanishad, 6.14.2 It means: He who has a Guru alone knows.
420. WHAT IS THE NEED OF A GURU?
Knowledge is of two kinds: objective and subjective. Objective knowledge of all kinds, relating to objects gross as well as subtle, can be acquired only through objective instruments of the same nature, from the intellect down to the gross body. For this, we readily seek the help of equally objective Gurus – like persons, books, instruments and other appliances. But, for the acquisition of subjective knowledge (knowledge regarding the ‘I’- principle), none of the above instruments nor anything objective shall be of any avail. However, the objective instruments, if properly utilized, do the simple service of proving to you that you are not the body, senses or the mind. They can do nothing more, and your intellect also cannot grasp anything beyond the objective. The subjective experience of the real ‘I’ is exclusively the subject of Vedanta. This can be gained only by personal contact, in an attitude of complete surrender, with a Jnyanin [Sage] who is established in that subjective Reality. This Jnyanin, though appearing to the ordinary man as embodied, really stands beyond the body, senses and mind – as Atma itself. But the disciple, as long as he feels himself embodied, sees the Guru only as a personality. Slowly, the disciple realizes that he is that living principle beyond the body, senses and mind. Then he finds the Guru also correspondingly exalted. At last, when the disciple, taken thus to the brink of the mind, listens to the words of the Guru explaining the nature of the positive Self, he is suddenly thrown into that supreme experience of the ultimate. It is only then that he realizes the state of the Guru to be that always, whether in apparent activity or inactivity. Thus alone can Truth be ever realized.
638. HOW TO KNOW THE GURU? You need not and cannot know the Guru. If you know the Guru or if you do not know the Guru, in either case you cannot become a disciple. So you had better accept him when you feel you must.
639. DOES THE GURU ACCEPT ANYONE? It is not the Guru personally who accepts anyone. The Guru accepts everyone who is sincere and earnest about knowing the Truth. Therefore, if the aspirant has accepted the Ultimate Truth as his goal, certainly the Guru’s acceptance of him is a foregone conclusion. It is the spontaneous corollary to the decision of the aspirant. If the aspirant is only prepared to open the mouth of spiritual earnestness, the nectar of Advaita will come in from the Guru, uninvited.
184. CAN A PERSONAL GOD BE A GURU? ‘I say no.’ Because a personal God is nothing but a concept. Truth is beyond all concepts. Truth by itself can never be your Guru; because, looked at from the standpoint of Truth, there is nothing else existing by its side. Truth knows no duality. Therefore, only one who has realized the Truth can be a Guru and take you from the relative sphere to the Absolute. Hence the necessity of a living Guru.
315. CAN A SAGE WHO HAS LEFT HIS MORTAL COIL BE A GURU TO A NEW ASPIRANT? No. Never. When a Sage leaves his mortal coil, nothing remains over except pure Atma [Self]. But if the relationship has been directly established when the Sage was alive, it is enough to lead the aspirant to the ultimate Truth. The fact whether such a Guru-disciple relationship has been directly established is known only to the Guru. Nor can any formal tattvopadesha [instruction into Truth] be the criterion. If the disciple has deep love and devotion for the person of the Guru who is a Sage, it is enough. Nothing more is needed for the disciple, by way of sadhana [discipline] or instruction from the Guru, to reach the Ultimate and stand established there. Shri Vativishvarattamma [see glossary] was a living example of this fact. Even if the disciple is incapable of such deep love and devotion for the Guru at the outset, there is no cause for discouragement. Because the Guru is love incarnate. Even if the aspirant is mentally prepared to make a surrender to the Guru on the body level, and if he has the readiness to listen and act up to the instructions of the Guru at least for the time being, he is provisionally accepted as a disciple. Later on, when the Truth is imparted to him in the regular order, the whole of the Guru goes into the disciple and takes his abode there. It is only then that the aspirant becomes a regular disciple and the relationship is established for ever.
766. HOW TO FIND OUT A REAL GURU? One who follows the path of devotion to a personal God in a sattvic manner, his ultimate goal being the absolute Truth, invariably places upon his deity the responsibility of finding him a Karana-guru. The deity within gives the suggestion at the proper time and it never fails; because the suggestion emanates from his own sattvic nature, which is very close to the background Truth. But if the aspirant is one who follows the path of discrimination alone, the conditions are different. 89 It is never safe to accept a Guru merely on grounds of appearance and worldly reputation. Both are equally deceptive. To test another, to see if he is competent to guide you to the Truth, is also impossible; because you will have to be higher than the other, to apply such a test. Therefore a regular test is out of the question. The only reasonable recourse, left to you, is to put all your doubts and difficulties before the proposed Guru; and to listen to his answers patiently, relying more upon the response of your heart than upon the intellectual satisfaction that you receive from his answers. If he is able to satisfy you both ways, you may without hesitation accept him and follow his advice and instructions.
251. WHAT DOES A GURU DO FOR A DISCIPLE? It is something which a disciple need never bother herself about, and which the intellect can never grasp. You need only know that a Guru takes you from the phenomenal to the Absolute. You will be able to get a glimpse of it only when you rise higher and higher. From the level of the mind, you can never conceive how it takes place. Much less understand it. Your question is purely from the mind’s level. So give it up. Do not try to solve it, for the time being. Ultimately, you will come to the position that the question was not necessary at all.
463. WHAT DOES THE GURU GIVE ME? ‘The correct perspective.’ The world and its objects, when viewed through the perspective bestowed by the Guru, appear transformed into that ultimate Reality, just as the brackish and poisonous waters of the ocean are transformed into pure water when they pass through the heat of the sun above.
303. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE GURU TALKS TO THE DISCIPLE?
‘It is the Truth that speaks the Truth to the Truth. That is the Truth about it.’ When the Guru talks to the disciple, it creates a deep conviction in him regarding the point at issue; and he becomes more and more attached to the Guru. 691. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE ‘GURU-DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP’? From the standpoint of the Guru – who is impersonal – he has no disciple. But he allows the disciple to take him as his Guru. That is all. The impersonal is not connected with the personal; but the personal is connected with the impersonal. The Truth is the world; but the world is not the Truth. When once you have accepted a Karana-guru, you must unconditionally and unreservedly surrender your ego to the Guru: who represents the ultimate Truth. Remember the words of Shri Shankara. … jivo na ’ham deziko ’ktya zivo ’ham .. Shri Shankara, Advaita-pancaratnam, 1.2 I am not the jiva. But I am Peace, because my Guru has said so.
799. TO BE NEAR OR AWAY FROM THE GURU – WHICH IS MORE ADVANTAGEOUS?
Each has its own advantage and disadvantage. When one is near the Guru, the obstacles that come up are transcended immediately, in spite of the retarding influences of the ego. When you are at a distance from the Guru, the progress might be slower but will certainly be steadier, being dependent on ‘yourself’ alone.
1135. WHY DOES THE GURU TEACH AND WHAT?
Because the disciples earnestly and sincerely ask questions. But when the Truth is being imparted, the Guru stands as Truth beyond the talk; and the disciple is also pulled up, in spite of him. The disciple may begin by listening to the talk, but he is soon taken beyond the talk. The talk is not itself the Reality, but the Reality is in the talk and is the goal of the talk. The personal is taken up by the impersonal for discussion, and the language of the personal acts as the medium. But the personal – including the medium – is given up, when the background is visualized. The question presupposes that the disciple is imperfect and that the teacher is perfect. The teacher shows the disciple that he too is perfect, and there the teaching ends.
1295. THE GURU THOUGHT
It is taken indiscriminately in more than one way. One such way is the thought: ‘I am the Guru.’ This is forbidden; because, by that thought, the ultimate is crushed and the apparent ‘I’ gains in strength. But in the next thought, ‘The Guru is in me’, the ultimate will gradually devour the ‘me’ and leave one as the ultimate Truth. 877. WHEN DO I BEGIN TO LOVE MY GURU? When that which has been given by the Guru is accepted wholly, love for the Guru springs up within you. 536. WHAT IS THE REAL GURU-DAKSHINA (TO THE KARANA-GURU)? The disciple’s establishment in the ultimate Truth is the greatest and the only dakshina (offering) one can humbly place at the feet of the Guru for the invaluable services rendered by him. 790. HOW TO THINK OF MY GURU? Think of your Guru only in the dualistic sphere. Don’t apply your intellect to it. It is far beyond your intellect. Apply your heart to it and get lost in the Guru. Then the Ultimate dances like a child before you. But when you think of the real ‘I’-principle or ‘Consciousness’, think that they are the absolute Reality itself, beyond name and form. All these are but synonyms of the ultimate Reality. But the Guru alone has the revered place of honour and veneration in all planes. It is an experience that sometimes when you go deep into pure Consciousness and get lost in it (nirvikalpa samadhi of the Jnyanin), you see the person of your Guru there, and this vision throws you into an ecstatic joy taking you even beyond sat-cit-ananda. Blessed indeed are you then.
Notes on Spiritual Discourses of Shri Atmananda (netdna-ssl.com) page 90
this video sounds greatest with earphones. btw