Lahiri Mahasaya: Tales and Teachings

• Tales from Lahiri Mahasaya's Life
• Guru Teachings with Biographical Details
• Words of Acclaim

Tales from Lahiri Mahasaya's Life

Shyama Charan Lahiri (1828-95)

YOGA aims at well-being and development. There are many yogas, ways or methods. Shyama Charan Lahiri (1828-95), also called Lahiri Mahasaya and Lahiri Baba, lived as a married accountant and gave kriya yoga to 5000 persons while "in strict secrecy and seclusion". Remarkably - for "Most people knew very little about him," the Americanised guru Yogananda wrote.

Some variants of kriya yoga were made known through Lahiri Mahasaya. The guru also made many scriptual commentaries that have been published and republished.

And first you get to know about Lahiri Mahasaya through thirteen stories or so.

Lahiri's wife began to laugh

EACH DAY Lahiri Baba used to walk down narrow lanes of Vanaras to the Ganges River to have a bath, followed by a devout disciple. Suddenly the guru called out to him,

"Please, tear a piece of cloth for a bandage!"

The follower was puzzled but did as he was asked to do. All of a sudden the wheel of a passing cart made a rock fly up. It hit the leg of the guru and caused a large, deep, open wound. It bled a lot. Lahiri Baba asked his follower for the bandage and wrapped his leg. The follower looked at, got puzzled once again, and asked:

"Holy sir, you knew the rock was coming, so why not avoid it?"

Lahiri Baba said that some "destiny" (karma) had to be worked out by allowing it to happen.

They walked on. Soon they came to the house of Lahiri Baba. Standing in front of it was his wife, Kashimani Lahiri. She called to her husband,

"What has happened?"

He told her a rock had caused a cut to his leg, so he had wrapped a bandage around. She began to laugh, pointing to his leg. Looking down he saw that he had bandaged the wrong leg.

He had reached that stage, that rare stage. [Retold]

COMPARE: "The Master [Ramakrishna] went into samadhi. His face radiated a heavenly light. Bereft of outer consciousness . . . His gaze was indrawn and transfixed in communion with the Self. After a long time the Master began to recognize the world around him." [Rap 305]

Childhood of Utpal - the son of the youngest daughter of one of Lahiri Baba's grandsons

When Lahiri Mahasaya's grand-grand-grandson Utpal was three years old he would often get into a solitary chamber and talk with someone he described as "Shyam Baba".

One evening his parents wanted to go to a cinema with him. Utpal went into his room, and after a time he told his parents that Shyam Baba did not want him to go to the cinema. Therefore the boy did not go, but stayed at home with his grandmother.

When the show was over his parents came home thoroughly drenched. There had been a sudden, heavy shower of rain. [Retold]

Not too costy

A CERTAIN maharaja was a disciple of Lahiri Baba, and once took him to his house and made arrangements for his comfort.

There was also an extremely poor man nearby, and he asked Lahiri Baba to come and visit him. Lahiri Baba did. The man prepared a fish curry for him. The vegetarian Lahiri Baba took rice and fish curry and slept at the house for some time.

When he returned, the maharaja wanted to know why he and the pauper were treated differently: He himself used to prepare high-quality dishes for his guru, and yet the guru didn't seem fully pleased.

Lahiri Baba said that behind all those costly arrangements was a sense of pride, and he was not comfortable with it. But the pauper was wholly humble and simple-minded. Therefore everything tasted sweet in his house.

POOR AND uneducated disciples of Lahiri Baba were treated equally with the rich by him, and many of them were honoured for attainments in inner diving (diving inside, a facet of the art or yoga).

Anybody with some measure of sincerity and devotion would get kriya initiated, while others were turned away in spite of whatever learning, culture and riches they possessed.

Some of the rich too might be honest, simple and good. Lahiri Baba's help was given to many - to high and low, rich and poor. Thus, the maharaja Ishwarinarayan Sinha of Benares was one of the devoted followers. The maharaja of Khetri was another.

[O 1: Yoganiketan, Professor Bhattacharya's book there.]

Bank apologies

ONCE Lahiri Mahasaya went to the bank to take care of some business. When he came there the bank was very busy, there was a very long line of people waiting. Because of the long line Yogiraj went to a bench in the bank to sit down and wait.

As he was sitting he gradually became wholly inert. He did not seem to breathe in any way while sitting there. He sat like that for a long time. Time came for the bank to close up. Then bank employees spotted him and brought the bank manager to where he was seated and asked what to do. He said,

"We must not disturb. We will just wait here. We are actually much blessed to be here and witness this thing."

After some time Lahiri Baba gradually regained normal waking consciousness. Looking around he saw it was dark outside and that the bank had closed.
      When he realised the situation he bowed his head and apologised to the bank employees for keeping them from going home to their families. But the bank manager and employees felt much blessed. They accepted no apology and said, "It was a great honour for us to be here with you. Please don't think of apologising!"

They then took care of Yogiraj's bank transaction with loving ado. [Retold]

A Screw Loose

A woman devotee started for Varanasi to sit at the holy feet of Shyama Lahiri. While she was still on her way to the station, the train whistled. The woman prayed devotedly and earnestly to Lahiri. Suddenly the driver found that the train did not move although the wheels were revolving. After an investigation it was found that a screw was loose and was the cause of the trouble. But during this hubbub the lady had ample time to board the train.

When she had finished greeting Lahiri on reaching Benares, he smilingly advised her to be more punctual on her future journeys. [Retold]

The Man with the Light

Some time after Shyama Charan was initiated in kriya yoga at the Dronagiri Hill, he witnessed a few interesting events at the place. There was a temple on the Dronagiri. It was visited every midnight by a mendicant ascetic. There used to be a halo of light around him. The light could be seen from a great distance. The man would stay a little within the temple and then go away. Nobody would disturb him at that time.

Now it happened that a hungry disciple of Babaji took some poisonous fruits by mistake one day when Babaji was away. Deadly poison made the man wholly disfigured. Shyama Lahiri and his companions at first did not know what to do. Then they remembered the man with the halo, and carried the patient along and laid him on the road to the temple.

Next day the man came back all recovered and told what had happened to him. At midnight the mendicant ascetic came and caught sight of him on the road, thundering, "Who are you"? Then he kicked the ill one twice, and this made him fall down to a much lower place of the hill. But the man felt renovated and sound again as soon as he fell. [Retold from Bhattacharya's biography]

The Death of Yukteswar's Friend

Yukteswar once begged Lahiri for the life of one of his friends. Lahiri first asked him to get him treated by a doctor. But the doctors said it was hopeless. Yukteswar, however, prayed Lahiri insistently for his friend's life. At last Lahiri gave him a small bottle of Neem Oil (Oil Margosa) and asked him to administer a few drops to his friend.

But when Yukteswar came to this friend's house, he found no sign of life in him. He got indignant. Did Lahiri jest with him over life and death of a man? But he did as he had been told to do and put a few drops of the oil through the lips of his friend. Now the friend slowly opened his eyes.

A few moments later he came along with Yukteswar to revere Shyama Lahiri and thank him. The oil was just as excuse, Lahiri told Yukteswar later. [Retold]

Woman in a Coloured Sari

A man with a disreputable character came to Lahiri Baba with a challenging attitude. As soon as he entered the room the kriya-yogi asked his disciples to close their eyes. He would show them all a magic, he said. The newcomer too felt curious and closed his eyes.

Strangely enough, everybody saw a lady in a colored sari and asked Lahiri Baba why. He smilingly explained that the lady in question was the mistress of the newcomer.

The pride of the man went to pieces at this unexpected display. He repented the challenging attitude entered with, laid himself at the holy feet of the kriya master and asked to be initiated. Lahiri Baba agreed to initiate him if he could extricate himself from the lady at least for six months. Otherwise there would be no need for initiation, he said enigmatically.

The man stayed away from the woman only for a few months, fell seriously ill and died. Thus it was unnecessary to initiate him. [Retold]

How a Man was Initiated

Hitalal Sarkar worked in a brick-making factory, and had only heard the name of Shyama Charan Lahiri. Then one day at work he felt a sudden and irresistible impulse to go somewhere he did not know. At once he had to start for the railway station, where the booking clerk at the counter asked him where he wanted to go. But Hitalal could not tell, he did not know it. Searching his pocket he found eight rupis and a few small coins. The middle-aged booking clerk thought that Sarkar sought a place where he could pacify his mind, so he gave Hitalal a ticket for Varanasi (Banaras).

Hitalal got off the train at Varanasi and headed for the main centre of the Bengali residents there. He was taken to the entrance of the lane that led to the house of Lahiri Baba. Hitalal reached the end of the lane, wondering where to go from there. Right then Shyama Lahiri appeared at the entrance of his house and asked Hitalal to come in.

The guest asked Lahiri Baba how he could know him, and was told not to worry over such matters till he had finished his meals and rested from the journey. In the afternoon many learned gentlemen assembled before Lahiri Baba in his drawing room. Hitalal could not understand anything of their discussions on spiritual matters.

Next morning he went with Shyama for a bath in the Ganga. Afterwards he was told that it was Shyama who had brought him there by spiritual force: The time was ripe for him to get initiated into kriya yoga. [Retold]

Lahiri's Picture

Gangadhar Dey was a painter and photographer. Lahiri was generally averse to letting anyone photograph him, but in response to his disciples he agreed to pose. Before the photo was taken, he asked Gangadhar how photos was made, and Gangadhar explained it eagerly. A few moments later the photo was taken but there was no Shyama Lahiri on it. Lahiri Baba smiled naughtily and asked the photographer, "What does your science tell you?"

Gangadhar prostrated himself before the yogi and said, "My pride has been shattered." Then he asked the kriya guru to pose again. This time all went well.

The first prints of the photo were very small. [Retold]

And by the way, there is not just one photo of Shyama Lahiri. Another photo is on-line at the Sanskrit Classics.

An Original Lahiri Baba

IN THE best-known original picture of Lahiri Mahasaya his chest is bare and there is no cloth around it. In traditional kriya one practices without shoes and shirt. And yet the image of Lahiri Mahasay they use in the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) has a cloth painted onto it, and his hair is done too. It happened after the guru Yogananda felt deeply wounded by some remarks he heard about it. Some people called Lahiri Baba a barbarian because he was bare-chested.

Things are hardly as superficial and rigidly conform in lots of countries any more, or on the beach.

Yogananda then advised an artist to paint a torso cloth onto the photo in order to stop such arbitrary and opinionated self-glorification.

There are two basic black-and-white versions of the photo today. One is the original with the symbolism of the bare chest. The other is the one with a large cloth, a massive shave and hair-cut etc. Thorough "face-lifting" of pictures can sacrifice facets of authenticity.

To gain the valuable item, be firm for it.

More on the picture

Paramhansa Yogananda had a photograph that had been given to his father Bhagabati Ghosh by Lahiri Baba. The picture had quite an origin. We let Yogananda relate parts of a story he heard about it:

"It appears that the master had an aversion to being photographed. Over his protest, a group picture was once taken of him and a cluster of devotees . . . It was an amazed photographer who discovered that the plate which had clear images of all the disciples, revealed nothing more than a blank space in the centre . . .

After that a certain . . . photographer, Ganga Dhar Babu, "taking every precaution for success, . . . exposed twelve plates. On each one he soon found . . . once again the master's form was missing." [The rest of Yogananda's version of the happenings: LINK]

A photo is a photo even though it is tampered with

A KRIYA disciple once understood: "The photo (with a large cloth painted on it etc.) has been tampered with! It isn't authentic!"

He put it away away thinking he would never take it out again. "I've put it away! It's no good!"

When his guru heard this his face softened with great concern. He was all love and remarked, "This photo is still his photo - why do you feel it's no good?"

He spoke lovingly with concern. Yet the young kriya disciple still felt the photo was tampered with.

[Retold. O 3: Cf. Yoganiketan, Kriya Stories No. 19]

Assisted by a Turban

Once Lahiri and six other disciples of Babaji went to the banks on the other side of a river in the hill-country near Ranikhet in the Himalayas. There was not much water in the river-bed when they crossed it, walking. But when they were to return, the river stream had swelled. The current was very strong. What to do? One of the disciples took off his turban. The turban cloth was about ten metres long. He tied seven knots in the turban cloth, one for each of the seven persons in the company. Then he threw it into the river and asked his brothers to hold on tight to a knot each. He himself saw to that the turban kept afloat. Thus, helped by the turban cloth all came safely back to their side of the river. [Retold from Ysl]

His Life and Some of His Teachings

Life

Among other titles and great appellatives are "Yogiguru Bhagavan Shrimat Brahmachari Anilananda Maharaj". His biographer Jogesh C. Bhattacharya uses that. One or more "Shri" may be put in front of his name too, according to Indian custom. Hence "Shri Shri Lahiri Mahasaya" or "Yogiraj Shri Shri Shyamacharan Lahiri Mahasaya" or "Yogiraj Shri Shri Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya". The surname Lahiri came to be attached to his forefathers after they received a village named Lahiri in the Bagura district. But really, the surname was Lahiri Sarkar, where Sarkar is a title. Shyama Lahiri did not use it.

Shyama Charan Sharman Lahiri (1828-95) was born at the village Ghurni in the district of Nadia in Bengal. His mother and father worshipped Shiva. In Ghurni his father had established a Shiva Temple, but one day a great flood washed it away. As a result, the family moved to Varanasi (Banaras) in 1834. There the young Shyama Charan went to school. And he attended a government college for eight years, showing exemplary conduct and diligence.

"When salt was lacking in his curry, he would never want it," informs Bhattacharya. Shyama was keen and had power of judgement. He was married at eighteen, when his bride was nine. In due time he initiated her into kriya-yoga. Yogananda tells of it. He also recounts how Shyama Lahiri lost his interited 288 bighas of land to relatives who had unlawfully occupied it for long. They did not keep their promises to send him some rent, either. He was swindled by relatives!

Shyama Lahiri turned out to be a dutiful householder. He and his wife had two sons. Three years before his father died in 1952 he entered the Military Works Branch, P. W. D., Benares Division where he served as an accountant. He also taught Hindi, Urdu and Bengali to engineers and other officers of his department.

Working in the army as a civilian accountant, one day in 1861 he was transferred to the Ranikhet army headquarters in a forest region near Nainital in the Himalayas. It is 14 miles outside the town at Drongiri. Roving or climbing the hills around there, one day he was gently knocked on the head by a recluse called Babaji on the Drongiri Mountain, and consequently taught kriya-yoga. Through that knock Lahiri Mahasaya attained to something that is hard to put in words fairly and squarely, and "There are differences in details of how exactly the Yogiraj received his first initiation," says Bhattacharya. But, as it stands out, one day a stranger on a hill touched his head and lo! Shyama Charan suddenly understood he had used to meditate in a cave at the place in a former life. No one knew the name of the stranger, but they called him such as Jnana-Netra, Tryambaka Baba ("Father Three-Eyes") and Shiva Baba. Yogananda further tells in his autobiography how Babaji "whipped up" (called into being) a palace for his chosen disciple to be initated in on that place, only to remove it after the initiation, jewels and all.

Lahiri's first disciple after he left Ranikhet and came back to the plains was a garland-maker. It happened very often that so-called educated gentlemen would have to wait for years for receiving initiation from him.

The guru refused to be given material presents. Receiving gifts was almost a forbidden thing in his family, and he followed that sort of family tradition with scrupulous care. He would only take five rupees when he initiated anybody, he was instructed to do so by his own guru, Babaji. Shyama Lahiri sent the sums to his guru.

Shyama Lahiri was not for indiscriminate propaganda for kriya-yoga. He would rather ask his disciples to go on silently. A time would come, he said, when the yoga would be accepted world-wide.

He would generally instruct his devotees not to forsake their normal social and religious customs. He did not want to disturb patterns of living as long as they did not stand in the way of progress. He would normally ask his disciples to marry at the proper age and adopt the house-hold life. Exceptions were made for those who were bent on renunciate living.

He also interpreted twenty-six Hindu scriptures in the light of kriya yoga, including the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and Manu Samhita.

It is said he shunned the public gaze.

Lahiri Mahasaya's Teachings, with Life Information Interspersed

Just oneself, one's inmost self

Kriya results in poising the seeker in inner Wisdom by which he attains Eternity (past, present, and future). The steadfast practice gradually brings the seeker to the After-effect-poise where his seeking self is merged in the ultimate Self.
[Ut 43, Sleka abstract]

After the knock [see Ay ch 34] he thought it was well to obey his guru and get back to his wife and children and work among women and men as a heaven's gate. He turned out to be such a great unionist (yogi) that his mind would remain in peace all the time even while engaged in common household duties. Or he could rove other places as a mystic light.

A nebulous light was rapidly floating over the Ganges; the strange luminescence was reflected in the opaque waters. It approached nearer and nearer till, with a blinding flash, it appeared . . . and condensed itself instantly into the human form of Lahiri Mahasaya. He bowed humbly. [Ram Gopal, rendered by Yogananda - Ay ch. 33]

Normally he spoke only meagrely. Instructions for those of his line of endeavours include:

In order to achieve eternal Realisation, the seeker must practice the following perfectly (,) holding onto . . . the Self:

1. . . . knowing;
2. The practice of Kriya, abandoning expectations for results;
3. Looking forward to the Kutastha [Hw 52]

Kutastha is in "the area in between the eyebrows" and also a door to Eternity, it is specified by authors in his line of tradition. [Hw 22 ff]

He was also much learned in scriptural matters and yet rather unattached to things of the world, and yet he wrote scriptural commentaries, a lot of such works, where he decreed much also. This spells he seemed unattached - but there is a limit to that too, seemingly. He poses as one of the secretive gurus (also called masters) of SRF (Self-Realization Fellowship) and of some other kriya-giving branches that have surfaced in the West lately.

The Autobiography of a Yogi's first edition is now on-line, in the public domain. You can see these hints and extract sum up highlights of his life and main teachings without going into tall-looking tales and details very well. [Link]

More lessons of Lahiri Baba

Knowledge of the ultimate Self is to know Oneself by oneself. [Lahiri Baba (Saying 90, in an on-line summary)]

"Always remember that you belong to no one, and no one belongs to you." [Lahiri Baba saying in ch. 34.]

I am ever with those who practice Kriya," he said . . . "I will guide you to the Cosmic Home through your enlarging perceptions. [Lahiri Baba saying, ch. 35]

Clear your mind of dogmatic theological debris . . . Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance; the divine Voice has the answer". [Lahiri Baba saying, ch. 35]

It's also written:

"Even when Lahiri Mahasaya was silent, . . . I discovered that nonetheless he had transmitted to me ineffable knowledge." [Sri Yukteswar in Autobiography of a Yogi, chap 12]



"Lahiri Mahasaya carefully graded Kriya into four progressive initiations. He bestowed the three higher techniques only after the devotee had manifested definite spiritual progress [which could be honesty]. (. . .)

"His . . . interpretations were recorded and arranged by various disciples. Some of [them] were more discerning than others in correctly conveying the profound insight of the guru . . . Through their zeal, the world possesses . . . commentaries by Lahiri Mahasaya on twenty-six ancient scriptures. (. . .)

"Lahiri Mahasaya may justly be called Yogavatar, or Incarnation of Yoga.
      "Lahiri Mahasaya . . . gave his chelas [dear friend-disciples] liberty to express their lives in conformance with environment and upbringing. (. . .)"
      [From Autobiography of a Yogi, 1st ed. chap 35]



Lahiri's Kriya is graded in steps and stages, but there were more than four of them. "Nowadays there are very, very few who have any knowledge of these very high stages of practice such as 4th, 5th and other higher stages of Kriya." - Yoganiketan Kriya Library (on-line)

And then: "After completing the required number of Kriya the performer has to sit quiet contemplating on the poise that results. Being absorbed in the poise is likened unto enjoying the nectar that floats up by churning the epical sea of milk. [Note 1] The mind has to be gradually detached from all thoughts whatsoever diving deep into the vastness of quietude and continued poise. This part is deemed essential to control the mind in order to plunge eventually into the "nothingness" of Samadhi [union and bliss]." [O 3]: Yoganiketan Kriya stories, no. 6.

Still more tales and teachings are found below:

1. Autobiography of a Yogi Online

Words of Acclaim

The passages below are mainly paraphrases of words by professor Jogesh Chandra Bhattacharya [O 1, unless otherwise indicated. - TK

"The present volume is an outcome of a Gracious Command . . . How else could I dare to go into the mystery of an astounding spiritual personality like Shri Shri Lahiri Mahasaya?" - Jogesh Chandra Bhattacharya.

Yoga

Yajnavalkya of ancient India thought yoga to be the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Self (Paratman]. In this light the yogi considers his body as the temple for worshipping that Self. Through yoga techniques the limited consciousness of a man gradually expands into the vaster world of divine attention - many other terms are used for it too - till the devotee attains lots of Self-Realization.

The processes of the kriya yoga taught by Lahiri Mahashaya make one gradually fit to [rise into] the Divine within ourselves, with much less effort than is usually necessary.

Simplified

According to instructions he got, Lahiri Baba simplified the processes of Raja yoga [kingly yoga] into a few stages and made it available to the common man who is not totally lost in worldly duties with handy techniques to adhere to and developing skills.

Lahiri Mahashaya . . . felt for us at the heart of his heart and . . . Kriyayoga teaches man that God is to be discovered in [one's] own body first, [by] concentrating [the] gaze on the point between his eye-brows . . . Mantrayoga [mental repetition of certain sounds too] can . . . lead man to success, . . . through a constant chanting.

Much difficult processes of yoga were simplified by Lahiri and his guru Nagaraj (Babaji). This Kriya yoga has been called the "Sahaja Kriyayoga", the Kriya that comes naturally, without putting much artificial strain on the body and mind.

There is no . . . danger [of disease resulting from moderate or sagely adjusted] Kriyayoga even if one commits a mistake . . . . Kriyayoga is "Sahaja" (meaning literally "that which originates at our very birth") also in the primary sense that it is a process where we have to take recourse to the regulation of breath, the process of inhalation and exhalation. [Jogesh Chatterjee, Ch 1, its last two paragraphs]

Stepping on

"No one does anything; all is done by God." - Lahiri Baba, also called Lahiri Mahasay(a), [O 4: See Yoganiketan, Garland of [108] Letters, No. 12.

LAHIRI Baba (1828 and 1895) was triple-resurrected in 1895, writes Paramahansa Yogananda in chapter thirty-six of Autobiography of a Yogi. A main purpose of that book is to lay bare the lives of Indian yogis, and also the life of Yogananda. [Cf. Pa]

In the literature Lahiri Baba is presented as the disciple of Babaji and the guru of Yukteswar and many others. You may find a lot mentioned in source reference B below. As for naming, the phenomenal guru is now fairly well known by some millions or less "over there" in the United States as 'Lahiri Mahasaya', and one also finds 'Lahiri Baba' in the strain of swami Hariharananda, who passed away on December 3, 2002. And there are many other turns and appellatives. Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi tells how Shyama Lahiri:

• Travelled in the air.
• Resurrected himself in three body shapes.
• Made a follower gain weight in an instant.

More

1. Lahiri Mahasaya Specialities - 1
2. Lahiri Mahasaya Specialities - 2
3. Lahiri Mahasaya Specialities - 3
4. Lahiri Mahasaya Specialities - 4
5. Lahiri Mahasaya Specialities - 5

Ay: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 1st ed. New York: Theosophical, 1946. Online. [oaks.nvg.org/pv6bk12.html]

Bi: Satyeswarananda, sw., tr: Complete Works of Lahiri Mahasay Vol. II: The Bhagavad Gita Interpretations of Lahiri Mahasay. The Sanskrit Classics. San Diego, 1991.

Clh: Dimmit, Cornelia and van Buitenen, J. A. B. trs: Classical Hindu Mythology. Temple University. Philadelphia, 1978.

Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2006.

Gv: Satyeswarananda, sw., tr: Complete Works of Lahiri Mahasay Vol. I: The Gitas: The Vedic Bibles. 2nd rev. ed. The Sanskrit Classics. San Diego, 1992.

Ha: Yogananda, Paramahansa. Autobiography of a Yogi. 12th ed. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship, 1981.

Hw: Satyeswarananda, sw., tr: The Commentaries' Series Vol. III: Hidden Wisdom. With Lahiri Mahasay's Commentaries. 2nd rev. ed. The Sanskrit Classics. San Diego, 1986.

Iv: Satyeswarananda, sw., tr.: Inner Victory: With Lahiri Mahasay's Commentaries. The Sanskrit Classics. San Diego, 1987.

Ut: Satyeswarananda, sw., tr: Complete Works of Lahiri Mahasay Vol. III: The Upanisads: The Vedic Bibles. The Sanskrit Classics. San Diego, 1992.

Notes

[1] The sea of milk appears in an ancient myth where devas and asuras put their heads and hearts and hands together and churned that occult sea for treasures. Much of value came out of it in the start, but then the results became poisonous and it had to be stopped. [See the book coded Clh in the book list above for more]

Lahiri Works on the Internet and in the Form of Books

Recently Lahiri Baba's writings have become available in English through the efforts of committed friends outside Self-Realization Fellowship. Many works can be downloaded.

Lahiri Baba's disciple Yukteswar chose Satyananda to head his organization in India and sent Yogananda to the West. Satyeswarananda was taught and trained under Satyananda, got an MA (Master of Arts) degree in philosophy, etc, and knows some languages. He has written biographies of Babaji and Shyama Lahiri, "Masters of the Original Kriya". He has also written on other kriya gurus and edited and published the complete works of Lahiri Mahasaya.

1. The Gitas (Guru Gita, Omkar Gita; Abadhuta Gita, Kabir Gita).
2. The Bhagavad Gita: Interpretations of Lahiri Mahasay.
3. The Upanisads (with the commentaries of Lahiri on these books: Tejabindu Upanishad, Dhyanabindu Upanishad, Amritabindu Upanishad, Niralambo Upanishad, Taitiriya Upanishad.
4. Hidden Wisdom (with the commentaries of Lahiri) The Manusamhita, Yantrasara, Tantrasara, Linga Purana, Panini on Education, Japaji (Japji): The First Book of Guru Nanak.
5. Inner Victory (with the commentaries of Lahiri Baba) Sri Chandi; Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,. Charaka: The Book of Medicine.

Some English translations of works by and on Lahiri Baba are on-line and can be downloaded:

• O 1: Jogesh C. Bhattacharya: Yogiraj Shri Shri Lahiri Mahasaya. On-line at yoganiketan.net
• O 3: Sailendra Bejoy DasGupta: Kriya stories On-line at yoganiketan.net
• O 4: Lahiri Baba: Garland of 108 Letters. On-line at yoganiketan.net
• Swami Satyanananda: Yogiraj Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya: A Biography. On-line at yoganiketan.net
• Lahiri Baba: Patanjali Yoga Sutras. On-line at yoganiketan.net
• Lahiri Baba: Teja Bindu Upanishad. On-line at yoganiketan.net
• Lahiri Mahasaya: "Chap 13 Statements"
  [www.americanswami.com/yoga/2004/02/lahiri_mahasaya.html]
• Swami Nityananda: Kriya Yoga Vigyan. On-line at yoganiketan.net