Lots of amazing, mysterious things happen in this world. At the top of the list are miracles and siddhis. They occur when divine life-energies imbued with brilliant consciousness and vitality stream into our world from finer realms close to the source.

Countless other mysteries of our world—those that don’t seem to be divinely choreographed—are generally lumped together as phenomena, which are better addressed elsewhere.

Miracles are extraordinary events beyond our sensory and scientific understanding, which are caused by divine intervention in human affairs—events such as:

• healing the sick,
• removing troubled spirits from people and places,
• communicating cosmic truths, especially prophecies,
• stigmata (crucifixion wounds manifesting on hands and feet),
• rising from the dead,
• weeping or bleeding statues or paintings,
• angels showing themselves to people,
• feats of superhuman strength,
• solar and stellar events that defy scientific explanation,
• and more… and more… and more…

Siddhis (a Sanskrit term) are extraordinary abilities that come from meditation and other devoted spiritual practices that attract divine energies, allowing practitioners to defy time, space, gravity, and other natural forces of our world, while…

• communicating mentally,
• moving physical things mentally,
• levitating,
• materializing and dematerializing physical things, including the body,
• being physically present in two places at the same time,
• healing the sick,
• surviving only on life-energy (no food or water necessary),
• transmitting transformative life-energy to others with a gaze (shaktipat),
• staying young and healthy for hundreds of years,
• and more… and more…

In this article we’ll look at just a few of the more famous miracles and siddhis of recent times, and along the way we’ll try to figure out how they’re possible… what these “divine intercessions” really are… and why they seem to happen more often to Catholics (especially young Catholic girls) and to Hindu spiritual practitioners.

Catholic Miracles

The Catholic Church has a long history of miracles, and today we’ll glimpse three similar cases involving apparitions of Mother Mary and various angels and saints. We’ll trace back in time and try to figure out how those miracles happened… and why.

Note: Part of the reason why, of course, is that the Catholic faith developed around the miracles of Jesus and spread quickly from the Holy Roman Empire (encompassing nearly half of Europe) out across the world, to become a powerful, stable spiritual force on Earth… but there’s more to the story.

Garabandal, 1961, apparitions on random days

Note: The events at Garabandal aren’t officially recognized by the Catholic Church as “miracles,” largely because of the chastising nature of the prophecies and dire warnings that the girls received. But the Garabandal events are miraculous, even if the messages stress guilt and sin and punishment over hope and inspiration. (In a moment we’ll consider how information coming to us from finer spirit is apparently “filtered” by our beliefs, hopes, and expectations.)

In the early 60s, the USA (America) and the USSR (Russia) were in a Cold War that had been festering since the second world war. It was a period of growing tensions between capitalist democracy and communist socialism, and everyone was afraid it would erupt into a real war. Nuclear missiles of the two Superpowers would crisscross over the Atlantic, reach their targets, detonate, and virtually destroy life on Earth. (Fortunately, a nuclear war didn’t happen.)

Meanwhile, on a clear, pleasant June evening in 1961, Conchita and her three girlfriends Jacinta, Mari L, and Mari C (ages 11 and 12) were playing on the outskirts of a small mountain village in northern Spain, when they were startled by a thunderclap, and suddenly a brilliant, beautiful angel was hovering before them. The four girls were in awe.

The angel appeared to them again the next day and announced that a few weeks later, on July 2, they would see Mother Mary, a key religious figure for Catholics. And so began a series of amazing events, as people started to come from miles around to witness the divine visitations, which began happening several times a week in 1961-62, at unpredictable times, day or night. The girls were silently informed when each meeting was to happen, and they’d run (sometimes backwards) along tortuous mountain trails (without stumbling or falling) to the meeting site. As soon as the vision happened, they’d fall on their knees hard and noisily among the sharp rocks (never showing signs of abrasions or injuries). Their faces reflected perpetual beauty and ecstasy as they stared up at the apparition of Mary, whom only they could see. When the growing crowds made loud noises, or when the girls were poked or pinched or even struck, they were never distracted, nor were they ever harmed in any way. When bright lights were shined directly in their eyes at night, they didn’t blink, and their eyesight wasn’t affected. On one occasion, a communion wafer was videotaped materializing in one girl’s mouth.

These events, observed by many, would clearly be deemed miraculous by most of us. The girls would get messages from Mother Mary and convey the information to the people. They’d sometimes quickly gather items (rosary beads, for example) from the visitors beforehand to have them blessed by Mary, and then later, somehow, the girls would be guided back through the crowd to return each spiritually infused item directly to the proper stranger. Sometimes they accidentally dropped items in their hurry to see Mary, then Mary, after their session, would tell them exactly where to find each lost item so it could be returned, blessed, to its owner.

The Garabandal messages were straightforward:

People are sinful and unrepentant. As a result, human conditions are getting worse and worse. God one day soon will issue a warning of cosmic scale that everyone on Earth will be able to see and feel. The girls said they know the nature of the miracle and when it will happen, but they’re not allowed to reveal the details until eight days before the big event, giving people time to prepare. If people heed the message, there’s a chance for redemption of humanity. Otherwise, the proverbial end time or judgment day will be upon us.

Note: The 60s were a time of fear and uncertainty, which were reflected in the messages received at Garanbandal. Catholics today seem to be more attuned to the Divine in everyone and everything, choosing love over fear, as espoused by Franciscan monk Fr. Richard Rohr.

That miracle hasn’t happened yet. The girls (three are still alive) are in their 70s now.

The most in-depth source of information about the Garabandal miracle is probably the easy-to-read book Garabandal: Message of Hope, by Fr. Jose Luis Saavedra.

There are also popular (and fascinating) videos on youtube:

• Garabandal, Unstoppable Waterfall (English and Spanish with subtitles, 1hr, 20min) is professionally produced with interviews by experts (most notably Fr Saavedra) who describe how the four girls were pressured by people, including public officials and church officials, to renounce their experiences as hallucinations or lies.
• The Story of Garabandal (English, 23min) contains a lot of original footage from the events.
• Marian Apparitions in Garbandal, Spain (English, 8min) offers a nice, concise overview of events.

Note: Those four girls were born in 1949 (same as me). Three of the girls are still alive, but they’re all approaching their ‘expiration date’ (same as me). So… the stipulation that the girls (now in their 70s) will announce the big event eight days in advance suggests that the revelation might be ‘coming soon to a neighborhood near you.’ We’ll see how things unfold, say, in the next 10 years… but maybe we shouldn’t hold our breath, as we’ll see in a moment when we conclude the discussion of these Catholic miracles.

Meanwhile, let’s look at two earlier Catholic miracles with similar prophecies—Fátima and Lourdes.

Fátima, 1915-1917, apparitions on the 13^th of every month

In May of 1915, the Lusitania passenger ship sailing from New York to England was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat, killing 128 Americans on board and turning the “great war” of Europe into the first “world war,”or WW1.

That same summer, with humanity sinking into darkness, a miracle of light began to materialize in a family pasture in Fátima, Portugal. Nine-year-old Lucia and three of her girlfriends were out tending sheep in the big pasture called Cova da Iria, when they all saw a human figure begin to materialize above the trees in the meadow. Not just once, but on three different occasions between May and October. The girls were awe-struck. “It looked like a statue made of snow that became almost transparent by the rays of the sun,” Lucia reported later to family and friends.

The following spring (1916), Lucia (now 10) went out shepherding, this time with two of her cousins—Francisco (9) and Jacinta (7)—and the angel appeared again, this time as a fully formed apparition. The angel told the astonished kids that Mother Mary would visit them the following year. And so began the miracles of Fátima, when Mother Mary appeared to Lucia and her two cousins on the 13th of every month, from May to October, 1917.

Note: Mother Mary spoke (mentally) to Lucia. Jacinta could also “hear” her speak, but the boy (Francisco) could only see Mary; he couldn’t hear the words. I think boys often have a tougher time with spiritual refinement, for various social and biological reasons. I recall spirit friend Konstantin Raudive urging me (while speaking through a radio) to heed my wife on spiritual matters, “Regina as your twin soul can help you a lot. Listen to her inner voice and you will be in the right way.”

Each monthly message typically had the same simple reminders: Pray the rosary every day, and come back next month on the 13th. Mary also talked to the kids often of sins, sufferings, reparations, and supplications.

But each message also had some unique information:

• May 13. The BIG Catholic childhood question is probably at the forefront of the kids’ minds: “Will I go to heaven?” In any case, Mother Mary says, ”Yes, you (Lucia) will go to heaven. She too (Jacinta). And, yes (Francisco too), but first he must say many Rosaries.”
• June 13. A sick woman in the village will be cured within a year if she embraces Catholicism. Mary says that Lucia will live a long life because Jesus wishes to use you to make me better known and loved… though her two cousins may go to heaven sooner. Do not be disheartened. My Immaculate Heart will never abandon you, but will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.
• July 13. With the first world war raging in Europe, this is the longest and most urgent message. It includes three secrets that the kids are not to tell anyone. (Later, though, when their local bishop orders Lucia to tell him the secrets as an act of holy obedience, Lucia reluctantly recounts 1) a terrifying vision of hell where the souls of poor sinners go, 2) a predicted end of WWI and the start of WW2 with its atomic bombs and the worrisome trend of godlessness that is taking root in communist Russia and could spread around the world, and 3) a vision of church leaders and laypeople being murdered by soldiers.). Some excerpts: In October I will tell you who I am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle so that everyone may see and believe.… God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart…. If people obey, the war will end and peace will reign. Otherwise, an even bigger war will break out, presumably with atomic weapons: When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father…

Note: Here in the July message, Mary seems a little cryptic about her identity. “In October I will tell you who I am….” It reminds me of a contact my colleague Maggy Fischbach received (via computer) shortly after the death of her father Albert. After getting settled in the afterlife, Albert was taken to a “Hall of Records,” where he was greeted by “Father Antoine,” a spiritual leader who’d had a big impact on Albert when he was a child. Our spirit friends said later that when Albert was in the Hall of Records he was really in the presence of one of The Seven finer beings who supported our work, but Albert “spoke to the finer being in awe and addressed him as Father Antoine.” So, there’s a lot we have yet to learn about finer spiritual beings, who they really are, how they appear to us, and to what degree our impressions of them (and from them) are shaped by our own thoughts, beliefs, and expectations.

• August 13: Pray and sacrifice.
• September 13: The big miracle will come next month.

So, in October some 70,000 people from around the world crowded onto the family pasture to behold the miracle at Fátima.

• October 13: Mother Mary reminds the kids to tell the priests that a chapel should be built here in the pasture in honor of “The Lady of the Rosary.” She says the war will end soon. Then Mary lifts her hands to the sky, and Lucia shouts, “THE SUN!”

Then came an astonishing 10-minute event that’s come to be called “The Miracle of the Sun.”

Miracle of the Sun, Oct 13, 1917

It was a cloudy, rainy day in Fátima, which didn’t bode well for a miraculous event. Finally, though, the sun broke through the clouds, and one of the girls looked up and shouted, “THE SUN!”

People closest to the girls immediately looked up, and some started pointing at the sun, and in moments, heads throughout the vast multitude were looking up.

Different people saw different things as the sun came out, but this is a general scenario that most people experienced:

“The dark clouds broke and the Sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky. It was said to be significantly duller than normal…. Witnesses reported that their previously wet clothes became ‘suddenly and completely dry, as well as the wet and muddy ground that had been previously soaked because of the rain that had been falling’.”

Bear in mind that some people at Fátima saw nothing out of the ordinary, while these specific visions were seen by many different people:

• The sun danced around in the heavens.
• The sun zoomed toward Earth on a zigzag course as though it were going to crash.
• Brilliant rainbow colors spun out of the sun like a pinwheel.

The three children themselves saw all of those visions. Also, they said that while the heavenly light show was going on…

• Apparitions of Jesus, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and Saint Joseph hovered over the crowd, blessing the people.

Notes: Another reminder that throughout most of the cosmos, communication is typically a silent sharing of thoughts and impressions among resonant minds. Events like Fátima (and Garabandal) are apparently choreographed by powerful spiritual beings who share thoughts and impressions with people on Earth who are receptive. Many of us humans (maybe most) are not very receptive to fine spiritual life-energies, since we’ve learned to communicate through the dense structures and energies of our world—the organs of our five senses, sound waves, light waves…. The more enmeshed we are with earthy communication, the less receptive we are (consciously) to finer spiritual communication. In any case, the human mind always filters in-coming spiritual thoughts and impressions with the beliefs, hopes, and expectations of the receiver. That’s how I understand things, and if it’s correct, then it helps to explain the different experiences of the witnesses at Fátima.

What if… Lately I’ve been wondering if the countless stars in our material universe, including our sun, are really brilliant and powerful spiritual beings residing closest to the source (or God), and the mighty, fiery orbs we see in the heavens are just how those brilliant beings appear in our material universe, sustaining the galaxies, planets, and their inhabitants with life-energy as well as light and heat. It’s a bit of a mind-blower… and a distraction from the article, so let’s move on….

Lourdes, 1858, apparitions on 15 consecutive days

In Lourdes, France, a small town (pop. 4,000) at the foot of the Pyrenees, 13-year-old Bernadette Soubirous lived with her struggling family in an abandoned building on the edge of town, near Massabiele Grotto, a large cave surrounded by lush vegetation near the river Gave. Her only education was the Catholic teachings that she studied at night. She was a happy child, responsible for taking care of her brothers and sisters.

Bernadette was blessed to have 18 encounters with Mother Mary in 1858. Here’s a glimpse:

• February 11: Bernadette goes out with her sister and her friend to collect firewood, but she lags behind because of her asthma. She’s removing her shoes and socks to wade in the water when she says the cave suddenly exhales a gentle wind and rustling sound and emits a golden glow. A beautiful woman materializes before her wearing white robes with a blue sash and a yellow rose on each foot, and holding a yellow rosary in her hand.
• February 25: Bernadette encounters the woman a second time.
• February 28: The woman tells Bernadette that a church should be built at that spot.
• March 10 (or thereabouts): The woman speaks (again, telepathically) to Bernadette, telling her to come to the grotto for 15 consecutive days, to pray the rosary, to drink from the stream, to pray for the conversion of sinners, and, again, to urge the priests to build a chapel there at the grotto. (Quite the to-do list!) Bernadette heads for the river to drink from it, but the woman stops her, directing her instead to a nearby trickle of water. The girl has to scoop out four large handfuls of sandy soil to get enough water to sip. Then the woman vanishes.

The crowds that grow over the next 15 days watch Bernadette strolling solemnly through the cave, studying its features, communing with the angelic lady, and sharing the information she gets. She’s told again to locate a stream, to wash in it, and to the tell the priests to build a chapel there. She’s also told three secrets that she can tell to no one. (She’ll take those secrets to her grave at the end of her short life.) Meanwhile…

• March 25: On the fifteenth day, the woman identifies herself as Mother Mary and tells Bernadette to pray and to make sacrifices for sinners.

(The Basilica at Lourdes would be completed in 1872. In the ensuing decades millions of people would flock to the spring, but only about  7,000 would claim to be healed by immersing their bodies in the water. Only about 70 of those miracles would be certified by the Church. Bernadette would spend her life serving as a nun, and the Church would declare her a saint after her death in 1875 at age 35.)

Notes: Our INIT group in the 1990s also received a lot of “miracles” of sorts. A large team of refined spirits devised ways to deliver meaningful information to us through our technologies. They said through a radio, “It can only work when the vibrations of those present are in complete harmony and when their aims and intentions are pure.” Applying that message to the Catholic miracles above, we could say, simply, that miracles can come to people of pure heart. The magnitude of the steadfast Catholic faith for the past 2,000 years, especially as taught to impressionable young girls, certainly tends to purify many hearts, it would seem.

At the same time, though, “The Seven” finer beings, who monitored the amazing “ITC contacts” we received in the 90s, told us through a telephone answering machine: “The word ‘higher being’—notice that we never gave us this name ourselves—does not stand, as it is often misinterpreted by falsely religious people to be purified, rid of all sin, whatever the word ‘sin’ means for them. There are also entities here interested in that situation.”

That, too, might help explain the nature of Catholic miracles. Catholicism is heavily invested in the notion of “sin,” and as the brilliant beings spoke to the children, their messages were shaped to a large degree by the beliefs and expectations of the kids. I think that’s just how finer spiritual forces interplay with our world—through our consciousness. A Catholic (or anyone) who understands and acknowledges their “inner light” might get very different messages in such encounters. Messages that are more enlightening and uplifting.

About those miracle healings? Life-energies throughout the cosmos emanate from the source, are transduced by countless spiritual beings at many levels, and apparently contain not just information (consciousness), but also vitality—the capacity to create, sustain, and heal life everywhere. Again, how receptive we are to those vital qualities of the life-energies is determined largely by our thoughts, beliefs, and expectations. Spiritual practices like contemplative prayer and meditation can refine our spiritual vibration to make us more receptive.

And about those secrets that Mother Mary told the kids at Lourdes, Fatima and Garabandal? I suspect they’re all similar to the ones Lucia was forced to divulge to her bishop: Darkness is encroaching on humanity once again, so another apocalypse is coming. As our spirit friends told our INIT group through a computer in 1996: ”We have often given you the real purpose of ITC contacts: Mankind at the end time should be led back to the principle. Light and darkness shall unite and form a whole again. What people experience now is not the actual beginning of the apocalypse, but only the first symptoms of it.” Maybe Mary and her friends have to drop by every so often with these Catholic miracles simply because time is so illusory here on Earth, and it’s hard to make accurate predictions. They apparently know an apocalypse is happening, they’re just not sure when all the big excitement will begin—Earth shifting on its axis due to polar melt, perhaps, horrific fires and floods… or whatever else is in store.

It’s impossible to determine exactly when (or even if) such an event will happen. Time is too nebulous, and too many variables are involved to pinpoint a date. If it doesn’t happen before Conchita and her Garabandal friends have all died, then Mother Mary will, presumably, choose the next generation of Catholic girls to entrust with the secrets.

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Siddhis of the Far East

Good religious practices like Western prayer (above) and Eastern meditation (below) can refine the human spirit and purify the heart, providing fertile ground for divine intercession. Nowhere is that more evident than in India, where miracles called “siddhis” are almost commonplace…

… at least, siddhis used to be commonplace in India, before common sense took over during the “Age of Reason” or “Age of Enlightenment” some 300 years ago. When we examine miracles (siddhis of India in particular), we might have to reevaluate the whole idea of “common sense”—that is, what seems normal to us humans as we perceive the world through our five senses. At the same time, we might have to ask: Is “Age of Enlightenment” really the same as “Age of Reason,” or is it the opposite? You’ll see what I mean, below.

The best description I can devise for Hindu spirituality is this: Many pillars or streams of brilliant light extend from India to the source, which Hindus call Brahman. These divine streams of life-energy are forged by noble lineages that extend hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, in which enlightened teachers teach students how to sustain conscious contact with the source, who then become enlightened teachers of other students, and on and on across the generations. It’s through these noble lineages that the ancient wisdom was preserved—passed from teachers to students across the ages—until languages were devised (probably before Babylonian times, recalling the Tower of Babel), and they could be written down as the Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, and other holy texts.

Many of those “siddhas”* who die and settle in fine realms stay spiritually connected to their students on Earth, offering guidance and support and infusing them with streams of rich life-energy. Some of those bright teachers who settle in brilliant afterlife realms eventually decide to come back to Earth for another lifetime… and they sometimes inform their refined friends on Earth where they’ll reincarnate, and into which family. And thus continue the noble lineages across the centuries, forging these streams of light to the source.

So let’s take a look at some of those enlightened teachers, called siddhas, and the miraculous things they’ve experienced, which are called siddhis.

*Note: Siddha, translated from Sanskrit, means “perfect one” or “accomplished one,” and siddhi can refer either to the achievement of perfection, or to one of the many miracles that happen once that perfection is achieved. It’s that spiritual perfection, the result of prolonged conscious contact with the source, that mystics of the Far East and Middle East (Hindus, Buddhists, Sufis….) have deemed “enlightenment” in the cosmic sense of the word. Siddhas are more familiarly referred to as “swamis” or “yogis,” or in a teaching capacity as “gurus”… though most gurus and swamis and yogis have never achieved the most purified spiritual refinement of a “mahasiddha,” which we’ll also describe briefly below.

Yogananda, Sri-Yukteswar, Lahiri Mahasaya, and Babaji

This is certainly India’s most famous siddha lineage, simply because it was described in intimate detail in Paramahansa Yogananda’s milestone book, Autobiography of a Yogi. (Most of the information below comes from that book.)

Note: To help readers avoid getting distracted by lots of names and aliases of the gurus, we’ll call them, simply, Babaji, Lahiri, Sri-Yukteswar, and Yogananda. At the end of the article is a brief bio of each guru, with all their names and some personal information. Other names will also be shortened: Pranavananda become Pran, Kevalananda becomes Kev, and so on. The abbreviations aren’t meant to be disrespectful—just convenient for writing and reading the article.

There are said to be mystics living in the Himalayas today leading multidimensional lives, retaining their youthful physical form for centuries. Babaji is one such ageless ascended master, said to have been born in the year 203 AD, who inhabits the northern Himalayan caves near Badrinath Temple in northern India.*

• Babaji appeared in front of Lahiri multiple times between 1861 and 1935.
• Lahiri was initiated into a breath meditation technique called Kriya Yoga by Babaji, then became the guru of Sri-Yukteswar, who also described his own encounters with the ascended master Babaji in his book, The Holy Science.
• Sri-Yukteswar was, in turn, the guru of Yogananda, who also discussed Babaji in his own book, Autobiography of a Yogi. Yogananda writes, “The Mahavatar Babaji is in constant communion with Christ; together they send out vibrations of redemption, and have planned the spiritual technique of salvation for this age. The work of these two fully-illumined masters—one with the (physical) body, and one without it—is to inspire the nations to forsake suicidal wars, race hatreds, religious sectarianism, and the boomerang-evils of materialism.”

*It’s unlikely that Himalayan Yogis like Babaji actually sit in caves for centuries in their physical bodies. That would be a little boring, even for a siddha. According to these accounts, spiritual masters live in many worlds at the same time—on Earth and in various spiritual worlds, or Lokas, and their physical bodies are just used as dense anchors on Earth that some of them choose to sustain over long periods of time. Their subtle physical bodies can apparently levitate, bilocate, and maybe even “disappear” (or cease to exist on Earth) for long periods of time, and then rematerialize when a siddha has an important task to do on Earth, such as to visit a living siddha.

Here’s their story (condensed and paraphrased), starting from the most recent and tracing back in time:

Paramahansa Yogananda

A few highlights from Yogananda’s early life, especially some siddhis he experienced:

• Lahiri becomes the family guru. Old family friend Abinath, a sort of uncle, visited one day, took the young Yogananda aside, and told him a story. He said, “Your dad Bhagavati was my boss before you were born. I recall one day when I wanted—no, needed—to take time off to visit my guru (Lahiri), but your dad insisted that doing my office work was more important than becoming ‘a religious fanatic.’ It was a very sad day for me. While walking home along a forest path, I silently told my guru, ‘I cannot live without seeing you!’ Then, against all odds, I encountered your father on that isolated path!… and we walked together. Along the way we paused to absorb the beauty of a serene meadow glistening in the late afternoon sun, when my great guru (Lahiri) suddenly materialized before us and said, ‘Bhagabati, you are too hard on your employee!’ then disappeared. Your father was stupefied, and after a long while said, ‘Abinath, my friend… my wife and I will accompany you to visit your guru. We leave tomorrow.’”
• Lahiri heals young Yogananda. It was around the time Yogananda was born that the guru Lahiri died, and by then the guru’s picture had become the centerpiece of a family shrine. As a child, Yogananda and his mom would often meditate together in front of the picture, which held “a holy vibration,” and as the boy grew up, the family guru was always in his mind, transforming over the years from a little picture in a frame to “a living, enlightening presence.” In troubled times, the guru gave Yogananda solace. In fact, Lahiri had even saved the boy’s life when, at age 8, he was dying of Asiatic cholera. Mother told her dying son to look at the guru’s picture above the bed, and when he did, he says, “I saw there a blinding light, enveloping my body and the entire room. My nausea and other uncontrollable symptoms disappeared!”
• Yogananda’s spiritual destiny. Shortly after that healing, Yogananda was sitting in bed in a sort of reverie when he heard a voice in his head, “What is behind the darkness of closed eyes?” There was a flash of light, then a series of moving pictures passed through his mind—different saints meditating in mountain caves. The voice said silently, “We are the Himalayan yogis.” The visions of saints were then replaced by “silvery beams expanding in ever-widening circles to infinity.” Then came a silent dialog. Yogananda asks: “What is this wondrous glow?” Voice replies: “I am Iswara. I am Light.” Yogananda: “I want to be one with Thee!”
• Distracted by meditation. So began Yogananda’s spiritual journey. He spent so much time meditating at home in the attic that he was often chastised by his brothers and sisters for shirking his responsibilities.

Backtracking a bit, here’s how Yogananda met his guru, Sri-Yukteswar:

After graduating high school—barely—the young Yogananda joined an ashram. Now, he thought, he could meditate to his heart’s desire. But even here he was soon reminded incessantly by loud calls from his fellow students to come down out his lofty place (again, the attic) and fulfill his responsibilities. On one occasion he had to accompany a fellow student to the market for food and supplies. As they worked their way through the crowd, Yogananda was suddenly stopped short by the sight of a tall, white-bearded priest in an orange robe standing solemnly in an alleyway… staring back at him.

“My guru!” thought Yogananda. In recent years he’d been dreaming often of a saintly man with a white, pointed beard and leonine features, observing him in his dreams and smiling.

Then he shook his head. Couldn’t be. Obviously a coincidence. How could the Gurudeva of my dreams be here at Varanasi, in this market, at this moment?

Yogananda forced himself to turn around to resume shopping, but his feet suddenly became fixed on the ground. His friend was amused by Yogananda’s antics, struggling to lift his feet.

“My guru!” he thought again. He handed his armload of packages to his friend, turned around, and ran through the crowd to stand directly before the priest.

“Gurudeva!” Yogananda exclaimed.

The priest replied, “Oh, my own, you have come to me! How many years I have waited for you!”

They stood in silence for a long time, life-energies streaming from heart to heart. Yogananda knew that this holy man would lead him to the source… God… Brahman. And so Yogananda left the marketplace and his fellow student (and the ashram), hand in hand with his new guru—Sri-Yukteswar.

Sri-Yukteswar Giri

Here are a few spiritual highlights from Sri-Yukteswar’s life, as recounted by his student Yogananda:

• Immunity from parasites. When Yogananda visited his guru Sri-Yukteswar, the sleeping area was usually filled with mosquitos, and Yogananda would wake up with dozens of mosquito bites. The mosquitos avoided the guru, who told Yogananda, “If you buy a mosquito net for your bed, buy one for me too. If they sense you but can’t bite you, they’ll find me.”
• Immunity from predators. One day, while Sri-Yukteswar was sitting at an outdoor table with one of his students, a six-foot cobra slithered out of the bushes and made a beeline toward the guru. The student was terrified. Cobras in India caused more than 5,000 deaths a year in India. Sri-Yukteswar simply smiled and started to clap in a slow, rhythmic cadence as though to welcome or transfix the snake, which approached within a few feet of the guru, stopped, spread its hood, and swayed back and forth as though deciding whether to strike. They stared at each other for a minute—guru clapping and smiling, snake swaying and probably trying to detect any fear or ill intent but finding only a sense of peace—then the cobra retracted its hood and slithered away on its journey.
• The challenge of focusing the mind. During one of Yogananda’s learning sessions, sitting together with his guru Sri-Yukteswar in a silent, shallow meditation with closed eyes, the guru suddenly halted his discourse and said quietly, “You are not here.” Yogananda, protested, “Guruji! I haven’t stirred. My eyelids haven’t moved. I can repeat every word you said!” The guru replied, “Nevertheless you were not fully with me. Your mind was busy creating three institutions. One was a sylvan retreat on a plain, another on a hilltop, a third by the ocean.” Yogananda was taken aback. Those thoughts had indeed been present, almost subconsciously—vague thoughts he’d never really talked about. He glanced at his guru, a little embarrassed. Sri-Yukteswar said, “Your architectural dreams will materialize later. Now is the time for study!”
• Instant healing. Early in his apprenticeship with Sri-Yukteswar, Yogananda was taking a host of medicines at home in Calcutta because his body was literally wasting away. On one of his frequent visits to his guru (12 miles away), Sri-Yukteswar said, “Medicines have limitations; the creative life-force has none. Believe that and you shall be well and strong.” Two weeks later, he was at a normal weight, his health completely restored. The guru insisted that it was Yogananda’s own mindset that had cured him, though Yogananda felt sure his guru’s powerful influence had made the difference. It was apparently the combined focus of two resonant minds sharing a mutual outcome that attracted divine life-energies to shape the reality—the student’s mind that was growing quickly in spiritual strength and the guru’s mind that was already powerfully focused. On many occasions Yogananda witnessed Sri-Yukteswar’s instantaneous divine healings of people suffering from tuberculosis, diabetes, epilepsy, paralysis, and other debilitating conditions. Now Yogananda knew first-hand what relief and gratitude those sufferers must have felt.
• Making miracles quietly. Yogananda recalls: Other gurus talked of miracles but could manifest nothing. Sri-Yukteswar seldom mentioned the subtle laws but secretly operated them at will. He wrote: “If I entered the hermitage in a worried or indifferent frame of mind, a healing calm descended at the mere sight of my guru. Every day with him was a new experience in joy, peace, and wisdom. Never did I find him deluded or intoxicated with greed or emotion or anger or any human attachment. Sri-Yukteswar would frequently remind us students at dusk, ‘The darkness of maya is silently approaching. Let us hasten homeward within.’ With these words he reminded us of our need for Kriya Yoga.”
• Conscious contact with the source. Yogananda recalls: Though born a mortal like all others, Sri-Yukteswar had achieved a godlike unity—no obstacles between human and Divine. Sri-Yukteswar had told Yogananda, “Even when my own guru Lahiri Mahasaya was silent, or when he conversed on non-religious topics, I discovered that he had transmitted massive, incredible knowledge to me nonetheless.”
• Sri-Yukteswar’s early spiritual quest. In 1884, Sri-Yukteswar met Lahiri Mahasaya, who became his guru and initiated him into the path of Kriya Yoga.* Sri-Yukteswar spent a great deal of time with his guru in the coming years, often visiting Lahiri in Varanasi (500 miles away). In 1894 he was honored by a brief visit from his guru’s guru, Babaji, who advised Sri Yukteswar to write a book comparing Hindu scriptures and the Christian bible. Babaji also bestowed on Sri-Yukteswar the title of Swami during the encounter. Sri Yukteswar completed the requested book that same year (1894), with the title Kaivalya Darsanam, or The Holy Science. It became his legacy to help bring the noble religions of East and West together with science. (Sri-Yukteswar had graduated from a Christian college.)

*Note: So, what is Kriya yoga? Therein lies the secret of the siddhi, according to Mahavatar Babaji and his siddha lineage. In a nutshell, siddhis (or miracles) are the fruits of samadhi, or a meditative state that advances through various stages of spiritual development. Samadhi stages vary from guru to guru, in both the names and the numbers of stages involved, but they all generally agree on two basic truths: 1) Living on Earth with a busy brain and its five senses blocks us from perceiving the source that rests both at the center of the cosmos (Brahman or God) and at the center of our self (atman or soul). 2) Spiritual development is facilitated by samadhi stages that can move aside the blockages bit by bit by silencing the busy brain, until we can make conscious contact with the source with its rich, all-powerful life-energies (prana or Holy Spirit).
The two ultimate samadhis are often called savikalpa and nirvikalpa. Savikalpa is an experience of realizing our true spiritual self and achieving conscious contact with the source briefly, often a minute or less, and can result in profound insights and powerful life-energies streaming into and through us. Nirvikalpa is a meditator’s prolonged conscious contact (or merging) with the source. That’s when a person becomes a truly enlightened being with powers to wield miracles at will. It’s also sometimes equated with death of a spiritual master’s physical body. Kriya yoga is the set of samadhi stages employed by Mahavatar Babaji and the other gurus in his siddha lineage. What makes techniques like Kriya Yoga powerful is not the techniques themselves, but the divine life-energies that stream through the practitioners from finer realms.

• The afterlife of Sri-Yukteswar. When siddhas in a spiritual lineage die, many of them stay in touch with their friends and students back home on Earth. They communicate sometimes with words, says Yogananda, and sometimes with thought impulses. Sri-Yukteswar told Yogananda he was now living as a rarefied guru on an “illumined astral planet” called (literally) Hiranyaloka. He was helping advanced beings to get off the cycle of reincarnation… that is, to become cosmic beings never again having to live in a physical body in a material world. Everyone in Hiranyaloka, during lifetime, had ascended through savikalpa into nirvikalpa. Over the course of many lifetimes on Earth, accruing many seeds of karma (or memories of bad choices that get stuck in the spirit), they’d all passed through the various ordinary astral worlds where most people awaken after they die and pick up more karmic seeds. They’ve polished away most of their karma by the time they arrive on Hiranyaloka, which is also visited and inhabited by many light and energy beings from finer realms.

Lahiri Mahasaya

Here are a few highlights from Lahiri’s life, especially the siddhis he experienced, as recounted by his students:

• Rama dies and is resurrected. The two young men, Rama and Sri-Yukteswar, had become best friends while training with their master Lahiri. Rama got seriously ill of Asiatic cholera and doctors were summoned, doing treatments and giving medicines that had little effect, to Sri-Yukteswar’s growing alarm. He begged Lahiri to intervene for Rama, to heal him, but the master just smiled and said Rama will be fine. To Sri-Yukteswar’s horror, his friend Rama died, so he stayed all night, grieving and crying, as the body hardened with rigor mortis. The next morning when he trudged back to the ashram, Lahiri smiled and asked how Rama was doing. Sri-Yukteswar moaned, “He died yesterday. They’re planning his cremation today.” Still smiling, the Master pointed at a lamp and said, “Take seven drops of castor oil from the lamp and drop them into Rama’s mouth.” Sri-Yukteswar protested, “He’s dead, Master.” Still smiling, Lahiri said, “Just do as I say.” So Sri-Yukteswar returned to the corpse, pried open the stiff lips, and allowed seven drops to drip onto the teeth. He was stunned when Rama’s body shuddered violently, his eyes flew open, and he croaked with a dry voice, “I saw Lahiri in a blaze of light! He told me to quit sleeping and come with you to see him!”
• Lahiri blesses baby Yogananda. Around the time Yogananda met his guru, Sri-Yukteswar, at age 17, his older brother Ananta gave him a spiritually infused silver amulet… a life-changing time with a fascinating backstory: In 1893, Mom brought baby Yogananda to see her aging guru, Lahiri (who would die two years later). She stood at the back of the crowd, patting the baby and praying fervently for her baby to be blessed by her guru, whom she could barely see through the crowd. Lahiri came out of his meditation, looked directly at her and beckoned her forward. The crowd parted as Mom and baby made their way to the guru. She bowed at his feet as he took baby Yogananda, held him in his lap, placed his palm on the baby’s forehead as a baptism, and said, “Mother, your son will be a yogi who carries many souls to God’s kingdom.” When Yogananda was around age 9, his mom was visited by a monk, who conveyed a message from “the great masters” that a silver amulet would materialize in her hands tomorrow during her meditation. She must receive the amulet and entrust it to her oldest son Ananta until his little brother Yogananda begins his spiritual journey, at which time he must turn the amulet over to his brother. The next day the amulet materialized between her palms as promised, she gave it to her son Ananta, who in turn gave it to Yogananda around the time (at age 17) that he found his guru Sri-Yukteswar.
• Lahiri reveals God to swami Pranavananda. “I used to meditate for eight hours every night,” swami Pran told Yogananda. “I had wonderful results! Cosmic truths lit up my mind. But there was always a little veil between me and the Infinite.” So Pran said he visited his guru, Lahiri, and implored him to help with that final step—conscious contact with the source. After much pleading, his guru finally said, “You may go now and meditate. I have interceded for you with Brahman.” So Pran went home, and while meditating that night he was flooded with light and timeless knowledge as his connection to the source was established at last! “Never from that day forward has the blissful creator remained hidden from my eyes,” he said. Conclusion: For humans to connect consciously with the source through Earth’s dramas is very difficult. Dedicated moral living and meditation can move us painstakingly closer, but intercession by someone who’s already connected can forge the connection instantly, once we’ve purified ourself.
• Swami Kevalananda gets a glimpse of the spirit realms.  Yogananda’s dad arranged for an academic tutor, swami Kev, to help his son with his schoolwork… but the tutor turned out to be more of a spiritual tutor, much to the delight of the boy, showering him with stories about his spiritual adventures with his guru Lahiri. Swami Kev reminisced that he’d had the rare good fortune to be able to visit his guru, Lahiri, in his Varanasi home, nearly every night for 10 years. Meeting with a dozen or so other young disciples seated in a semi-circle around the master, Kev “felt an indescribable peace permeated with the master’s fragrance, as though from a lotus of infinity.” One night, while the Master channeled wisdom from the ancient teachings of the Vedas, he was asked about the planes of consciousness, or Lokas. Master Lahiri smiled and replied, “I will undergo those states now, and presently tell you what I perceive.” For several hours he went into great detail about those arbitrary levels of spirit that flourish with brilliant life between our material universe and the source (see the earlier diagram of the 7-level cosmos). Conclusion: A mental map of the cosmos is the sort of cosmic knowledge that had been passed down through countless generations of siddha lineages in India… among those who’d achieved a sustained conscious connection with the source. (more about the Lokas… )
• Blind Ramu’s eyesight is restored. Tutor swami Kev told young Yogananda another story about the blind boy Ramu, another close disciple who would often fan the master Lahiri with a palm leaf during his meditations with his students. Ramu had told Kev that he’d been blind from birth, so Kev urged him to ask the master to restore his eyesight. The next day Ramu approached the master Lahiri reluctantly and humbly (he didn’t want special attention), and asked if he could heal the blindness. Lahiri said, “Ah, Ramu, I see you’ve been put up to this, but you’ve been misinformed. I have no healing power.” Ramu replied, “Certainly the Infinite Power within you does?” The Master said, “Ah, that’s different. God has no limitations.” So, after some meditation, he touched Ramu’s forehead between the eyebrows and said, “Keep your concentration here while chanting the name of Rama for 7 days.” On the seventh day Ramu woke up with perfect vision. Conclusion: Miracle healings on Earth only happen when divine life-energies enter our world in a focused stream. If a “healer” is involved, it’s because the healer is a pure-hearted person who simply acts as a vehicle or prism through which that focused life-energy can pass. Devoted prayer by pure-hearted people can have the same prismatic healing effect.

Mahavatar Babaji

Here are some highlights from Babaji’s life, especially the siddhis he experienced:

• Lahiri meets Babaji. At age 33, Lahiri was a government accountant for India’s military in the town of Danapur in the northeast corner of the country. In 1861 his boss surprised him with a reassignment to Ranikhet, some 500 miles away at the foot of the Himalayas. He and an assistant took the month-long journey by horse and buggy, and Lahiri settled into a comfortable job that didn’t take up much of his time. He loved going out for long walks in the hills, and on one occasion was startled by a voice high in the mountains calling his name. It was late in the day, and he needed to find his way home before dark, but the voice was compelling. He climbed quickly and discovered a cave, where a young man in a robe smiled and welcomed him. He was astonished that the young man looked like a young version of himself… other than his glowing, copper-colored hair! The young man pointed out the neatly arranged wool blankets and bowls and asked if they looked familiar. Lahiri was dumbfounded. He wondered, What’s going on here? Of course it’s not familiar. The young man tapped him on the forehead, and later in life Lahiri would reminisce: “A wondrous current swept through my brain, releasing the sweet seed-memories of my previous life!” At the touch, Lahiri exclaimed, “Of course I remember now! You’re my guru Babaji. You’ve always belonged to me. I spent many years of my last incarnation in this cave!”  Babaji replied, “I’ve waited more than 30 years for your return, watching you through your astral journeys, emerging as a babe into your current life, your struggles… I’ve always been watching, waiting for this perfect day….” On his way home, Lahiri spent a few days visiting friends. As he described his cave experiences, it was evident to everyone that their lives would never be the same… especially Lahiri’s.
• No mention in the history books. Babaji was born in 203 AD, according to legend, but doesn’t show up in history books because his soul purpose has been to support mankind quietly, especially through the lives and teachings of other swamis whom he observes and supports constantly from behind the scenes, and sometimes visits by materializing in their presence. He speaks in Hindi but can also converse vocally in any language, as well as exchange information silently, mind to mind.
• Forever young. Those who’ve seen him materialize describe Babaji as youthful (around age 25), fair-skinned, and medium build and height, with a glowing countenance. Dark eyes contrast with his lustrous copper-colored hair.
• Disciple Lahiri. Lahiri could wield miracles easily and naturally because he was Babaji’s main disciple of the 19^th Century and got a lot of attention and support from the master. But Lahiri said it’s not an exclusive relationship. “Whenever anyone utters the name of Babaji with reverence, that devotee attracts an instant spiritual blessing.”
• No food or drink. Sustained by life-energy (the way spirits are nourished), Babaji doesn’t eat or drink. As a social courtesy to visiting disciples, he’ll sometimes take a bite of fruit or cooked rice in milk and butter.
• Long-term commitment. While great prophets and luminaries like Christ, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, and Mohammed come to Earth for a lifetime at certain crucial periods, Babaji moves in and out of our world over the course of centuries to provide on-going support for humanity.
• Traveling the Himalayas. Swami Kev (mentioned earlier) reported being with Babaji and other Himalayan masters (including two advanced American disciples) when they traveled as a group from place to place. Sometimes they’d travel on foot, but usually they moved instantly, simply vanishing from one camp and materializing in another.
• Sis urges Babaji to stay. One evening Ram Gopal, “the sleepless saint,” had his first extraordinary encounter with Babaji. Ram was a close disciple of Lahiri at Varanasi at the time. Alone on the banks of the Ganges late one night, Ram encountered a lovely young woman levitating, surrounded by a soft halo. She came out of meditation and told Ram, “I am Mataji, the sister of Babaji. I have asked my brother and Lahiri to meet me tonight to discuss a matter of great importance.” In moments, the four of them were together. Lahiri, Mataji, and Ram knelt at Babaji’s feet. A sense of glory passed through Ram, but he was a bit stunned when Babaji announced his intent to leave the Earth after all these centuries and return home to finer spirit. His sister Mataji said, “I’m aware of your plan, beloved Master. It’s why we’re here tonight. Why would you leave your body?” Babaji said, “What difference does it make whether or not my Spirit is visible or invisible to people?” With sisterly wit, Mataji replied, “Deathless Guru, if it makes no difference, then please don’t ever relinquish your form.” After a pause, Babaji said solemnly, “I see that God is speaking through your lips, Blessed Sister. My body will continue to remain visible to a small number of people on Earth.”

There are so many miraculous stories throughout Yogananda’s biography (browse the book…) that the reader soon begins to think about the dichotomy of life on Earth and life in spirit… which is real, and which is an illusion?

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Biographies in a nutshell

Paramahansa Yoganada: Born in 1893 as Mukunda Lal Ghosh, second son in a family of eight children. Father (Bhagavati Ghosh) was a man of intellect, a kind but sometimes stern father, and a vice president of India’s big railway company. Mother was a purely loving woman who taught the kids lessons of discipline from Hindu scriptures. She startled one of her daughters one day when she mentioned in passing that she and Mr Ghosh only had sex once a year, solely for the purpose of childbearing. (TMI, Mom! 🙂 ) When Mother died (Mukunda was just 11), Father took on her gentle, loving nature, and his face even began to reflect her wise, kind gaze, as though she’d become a part of him. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Mukunda took vows in the venerable Swami Order and was given the name Yogananda. It would become his mission in life to share Eastern spiritual wisdom with Western civilization… certainly not to replace the noble traditions like Christianity, but to encourage peace, understanding, and unity among the various religious faiths.

Sri Sri-Yukteswar Giri: Born in 1855 as Priya Nath Karar in Serampore to a wealthy family of landowners.  His father died young, leaving Priya to manage the estate. He did well in a Christian college and developed in interest an the Bible, which led him eventually to write a book, The Holy Science, an effort to bring Eastern spirituality and Western spirituality together with scientific principles.

Lahiri Mahasaya: Born in 1828 as Shyama Charan Lahiri to Gourmohan and Muktakeshi Lahiri, in the village of Ghurni, India. In 1832, a flood killed his mother and destroyed their home, after which his family moved to Varanasi, where he received education in philosophy, Sanskrit, and English. His father arranged for him to be married to Kashimoni in 1846, and he taught her how to read. In 1851, he began working as a government clerk and academic tutor. He met his guru Babaji while employed as a government accountant in India’s Military Engineering Department.

Mahavatar Babaji: According to legend, Babaji was born on 30 November 203 AD. The spiritually gifted child was given the name of Nagaraja or the “serpent king.”  As a young boy he joined a group of wandering yogis living in conscious contact with God, and over the years found his way to the isle of Sri Lanka, south of India. The group made their way to the remote town of Katargama, hidden in the dense jungle, that had a long history of mystery and miracles. It’s where Nagaraja met his first guru, Bhogarnatha, who taught the young man the secret of Kaya Kalpa, a technique to infuse the body with vitality and youthfulness over long periods of time. That guru, Bogarnatha, then told him to travel from Sri Lanka to southern India to meet his second guru—the great sage Agastya. This new guru introduced the young man to Kriya Kundalini Pranayama (later to become kriya yoga), a powerful breathing technique for attaining higher states of consciousness. Finally, this second guru Agastya told the young Nagaraja to move to the famous Badrinath temple in far northern India, high in the Himalayas. There he lived alone in a cave and kept practicing all he’d learned from his two gurus. He soon became well known among the other yogis living near the temple, who gathered around the nearby hot spring during the heavy snows of winter. Over the centuries he met with many spiritual practitioners and regular people, such as journalists and writers, not just when they visited his cave, but sometimes in their dreams and meditations… or even through techniques like bilocation, where an aspect of himself would show up physically in their presence. (read more… )

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About the author…. After nearly dying of colon cancer in 1988, I seemed to become allergic to technical writing in an office cubicle. I began taking long drives in the mountains listening to audiobooks like Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, a fictional account about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. My surgeon, John RM Day, introduced me to Siddha Yoga, and Regina and I attended a ballroom seminar in which the siddha, the lovely Gurumayi, streamed life-energy (shaktipat) to the crowd through her gaze. I didn’t feel those waves of life-energy consciously, though Regina was beautifully overwhelmed, a feeling that lasted for years. That eventually led me to ITC research—communication with the spirit worlds through technology. Writing is my life’s work. — Mark Macy