Mahavatar Babaji (; ) is a legendary immortal yogi and

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

, who is said to be living in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

. He is said to have taught multiple revered historic yogis, including Lahiri Mahasaya (1828–1895). Babaji first became recognized through the writings of

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian and American Hindu monk, yoga, yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga school, Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self ...

, who devoted a chapter of his '' Autobiography of a Yogi'' to Babaji and founded Self-Realization Fellowship, a modern yoga movement that Babaji is associated with. The cave where Babaji met Lahiri Mahasaya, located near Ranikhet, is now a tourist attraction and place of pilgrimage in India. There is little historical information about Babaji. According to Yogananda, Babaji has intentionally kept his birthplace and birthdate a secret.

In popular culture

Mahavatar Babaji was on the cover of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''.cnn.com He can also be seen on the cover of

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

's 1974 album '' Dark Horse''. Songwriter Roger Hodgson of English rock band Supertramp composed a song called " Babaji" in reference to Mahavatar Babaji. This song was recorded and released on their 1977 album '' Even in the Quietest Moments...'' In Book 3 of '' Conversations with God'' (1998), by Neale Donald Walsch, it is mentioned that Babaji may at one time have resurrected himself from the dead, like

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. The 2002 film '' Baba'' featured a fictional encounter with Mahavatar Babaji. The film was produced by Rajinikanth, a devotee of Babaji.

Notes

References

External links

*'' Autobiography of a Yogi'' on

Wikisource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babaji, Mahavatar 203 births Hindu ascetics Consequentialists Hindu mystics Indian Hindu saints Indian Hindu monks Indian Hindu yogis Kriya yogis Longevity myths Paramahansa Yogananda People considered avatars by their followers People from Tamil Nadu Religious pluralism

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

External links