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“Knowledge of the Self is the only way to liberation. Devotion is the essence. Mantra, etc., are the supportive aspects. Move along the path with devotion and love, and who can obstruct your way? You are all my children!”

5.0 out of 5 stars
BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BOOK !!!
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2022
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Actually I read this book twice before doing a review! The second time I read it much slower and paid closer attention to each chapter. I wanted to fully understand it and as I was reading this book, I could feel some changes taking place inside of me. I could see that my thoughts were transforming to more positive, higher thoughts. I love the guided meditations at the end of each chapter. There is a real living higher loving energy that is present behind each word being said. One of the best books I have ever read in my life. VERY INSPIRING and LIFE CHANGING for me !! Thank you so much to the author for writing this beautiful book

There is nothing more powerful than the promise of an enlightened being. The enlightened don't lie, ever. And they don't make or take such promises lightly. But Baba's promises go far beyond those of most enlightened beings. In the breadth and scope of his pledge to us, he reveals a level of divine mastery which is rare, even among the enlightened.

While it is impossible for us to comprehend the magnitude of realization prompting a promise of this order, it does behoove us to draw near, with an open and expectant heart, to the One who promises. Baba Lokenath calls us to him, reaching across the distance of a century, eager to uplift every dimension of our lives. He reaches out with an intensity of love and compassion, extended as the active and intervening hand of grace, to heal our ills and personal deficiencies, however large or small, however tenacious they may seem, however hopeless we feel about them.

And however much the promise fulfilled may uplift the circumstances of our lives, inner and outer, its true and ultimate benefit lies in the stream of Divine Life which the promise brings us closer to.

Baba's Life, Practice and Attainment

Baba Lokenath attained a state of divinity which is beyond all human comprehension. Most yogis focus on a particular yogic path, that of Jnana (path of discriminating knowledge), Karma (path of selfless action), Bhakti (path of devotional surrender to the Divine), or Ashtanga (Patanjali's) Yoga to lead them to Ultimate Reality. Baba, however, diligently practiced the principles of all four. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Divine Incarnation of Bhakti, taught the world the path of Bhakti alone. Jagadguru Sankaracharya taught only the path of Jnana. Baba Lokenath is the Divine Incarnation of Jnana, Karma, Bhakti and Ashtanga Yoga. Mastering all of them, Baba became the Incarnation of their synthesis, the living essence and full embodiment of the universal religion of love, the Sanatana Dharma, which is taught in the Bhagavad Gita. Baba taught, from the essence of his exalted being, that the Bhagavad Gita is more than scripture. It is an eternal song meant to be sung through the medium of our lives. As the living example of his own teaching, Baba came to be called “The Song of the Living Gita.”

Baba’s mastery was at every level of being and form. He attained total Divinity in human form, which his name, Lokenath (master of the worlds) denotes. Baba Lokenath realized Ultimate Perfection on the physical plane, the divinization of human form, which is the final and most difficult transformation, through an extraordinarily prolonged period of sadhana. Playing the role of the perfect disciple, humbly and completely surrendered to the Lotus Feet of his beloved Guru through eighty years of intensive austerities in both the jungles of the lower plains and snow-covered regions of the Himalayas, Baba was granted enlightenment of the highest order. Lokenath was ninety years old. His Gurudev was a grand old man of 150 years.

The enlightened Lokenath soon discovered that he had surpassed his beloved Guru. Guru Bhagwan Ganguly had selflessly led Lokenath to that exalted state before personally attaining Liberation. Surprised, stricken with sadness, and filled with compassion, Lokenath wept for his Master.

Understanding Lokenath’s tears, Guru Bhagwan smiled tenderly and reassured his disciple there was only cause for joy. He knew he would soon shed his old body and quickly return to Lokenath in his next incarnation. He asked Lokenath to then lead him to his enlightenment through the path of integral yoga. Upon hearing Guru Bhagwan's plan, Lokenath, overwhelmed with gratitude, promised to grant his wish. Weeping with joy, Lokenath prostrated himself at his Master's feet.

Baba Lokenath’s relationship with Guru Bhagwan is unique in its tenderness. It is rare, if not unprecedented, for the disciple to accept responsibility for leading the master to realization of Ultimate Reality. The reversal of Guru and disciple roles, with the newly enlightened disciple immediately prostrating himself at the unenlightened Guru’s feet, and the Guru requesting his disciple to lead him to enlightenment, is an exquisite and touching revelation of mutual, mirrored humility. It serves to remind us of the true selflessness of all genuine spiritual attainment, as well as of the endless, delicate and unpredictable beauty of divine unfoldment.

Empowered with total Divinity, Baba Lokenath boldly proclaimed a father's boundless love to his children of coming generations:

“For more than a hundred years, I have traveled through the hills and mountains and have amassed enough spiritual treasures. You shall sit at home and enjoy the fruits of my austerities.”

He had achieved the highest that could be achieved in the human form. From the total transformation of his gross body to his subtlest being, he left no path untouched, and flowered into the embodiment of Purna Avatar— God Himself.

As the living embodiment of integral yoga, Baba manifested the ultimate human potential, attaining Oneness with the Divine at every level. Showing the path of discriminating knowledge, devotion, and Karma Yoga, Baba demonstrated movement in the world of dynamic activity, with the heart committed to the Divine, and with the intelligence in alliance with the ground of the pure Cosmic Potentiality and Cosmic Intelligence.

Baba taught, “Knowledge of the Self is the only way to liberation. Devotion is the essence. Mantra, etc., are the supportive aspects. Move along the path with devotion and love, and who can obstruct your way? You are all my children!”

Baba stressed devotion to and love for one's own Guru and to the Divine. Knowledge of the Self, however, is equally important. Baba emphasized critical vigilance of one's own mind. Through continual self-assessment, with the grace of the guru, one is brought to innate, pure intelligence, which is connected to the subtle nature of cosmic design. Intuitive perception of subtle truths blooms with steady self-examination, lovingly offered at the feet of the guru with the prayer for purification.

Rather than outward renunciation, which can become an escape, Baba asks for action performed with the spirit of service to the Divine. Whoever seeks Baba's grace is guided, often in inscrutable ways, to inner transformation, without the necessity for drastic changes in normal social and family life.