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Baba Hari Dass (Devanagari: बाबा हरि दास); born 26 March 1923 in Almora near Nainital, Uttar Pradesh, now Uttarakand, India, is a yoga master, a silent monk, and a commentator of Indian scriptural tradition of Dharma and Moksha. He was classically trained in Ashtanga Yoga – Raja Yoga of Patanjali (the Yoga of Eight Limbs),〔What is Ashtanga Yoga, The Eight Limbs: Yamas and Niyamas; http://pacificcultural.org/yiteachings.html Pacific Cultural Center, Santa Cruz, CA〕 as well as Kriya Yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Tantra Yoga, Vedanta, and Sanskrit. Born into the 13th generation of a Kumaoni Karnatak Brahmin family, in the lunar month of Chaitra, in Shukla Paksha (Rama Navami),〔http://www.drikpanchang.com/navratri/chaitra-vasant-navratri-dates.html?year=1923〕 he is also an author, playwright, martial arts teacher, sculptor and builder of temples. Upon his arrival in the US in the early 1971, he and his teachings inspired creation of several yoga centers and retreat programs in California and in Canada. His extensive literary output includes scriptural commentaries to Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Samkhya Karika, and Vedanta, collections of wisdom aphorisms about the meaning and purpose of life, essays, plays, short stories, children's stories, kirtan mantras and in-depth instructional yoga materials that form the basis of a yoga certification-training program. He was an early proponent of Ayurveda in the United States, an ancient Indian system of health and healing. In an annual rendition of Indian classic Ramayana,〔David C. Fuess; ''Ramayana – Self Service''; ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 1983; page iB〕 he taught performing arts, choreography and costume making. With the emphasis on selfless service (karma yoga) that guided his life and action that benefits the world, he devoted himself to helping others and in 1987 he opened (Sri Ram Orphanage ) in Haridwar for homeless children in India. Although he does not speak, he is conversant in several languages in writing. To the local population of Nainital and Almora, Baba Hari Dass was also known as Haridas (''lit'' "servant of Lord Hari"), as Haridas Baba, as Chota Maharaji (''literally'' "little great king"), or as Harda Baba. ==Early life and spiritual path (1923–1963)== Baba Hari Dass grew up in the lower Himalayan region of Kumaon division, which includes Dunagiri (also called Dronagiri), known as the birthplace of modern day Kriya Yoga, and the temple of Shakti or Mother Goddess. Rich in ancient lore, already known during times of Mahabharata War, the region is also known as Kurmachala and encompasses Almora, Nainital, Bageshwar, Champawat, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar. Early on in life he listened to stories told by older people about ''siddha'' yogis Sombari Baba Maharaj, Gudari Baba, Suri Baba, Khaki Baba, Aughar Baba, Hariakhan Baba Maharaj (Babaji Mahavatar) and several other saints of that region. In 1929, on the way to Haldwani, during the winter time, he received his first darshana with the sage Sombari Baba Maharaj,〔Be Love Now: The Path of the Heart; by Ram Dass and Rameshwar Das; 2010, HarperCollins Publishers, New York; ISBN 978-0-06-196138-0; p. 284-290.〕 also known as Paramanandji Maharaj in the village Kakarighat, by the Koshi river, where Sombari Baba Maharaj lived under a huge Banyan tree in a tiny hut built into its roots. Darshana is viewed as experiencing the presence of a highly revered person, which can awaken latent potential for spiritual growth, or intellectual understanding. An American poet, Gary Snyder, who was immersed in the Buddhist Zen tradition, explaining his meaning noted, "It's a gift; it's like there's a moment in which the thing is ready to let you see it. In India, this is called darshan. Darshan means getting a view.."〔White, Jonathan, ed. (1994). Talking on the water: conversations about nature and creativity. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0871565153.〕 Following the experience of Sombari Baba Maharaj at the age of six his father died a year later. He had several conversations with his mother about God, soul and peace and he resolved to seek spiritual freedom (Sanskrit: मोक्ष mokṣa). He formed the view of the world as being a restraining box made of earth as the bottom and sky as the top. That box, which created a feeling of separation and sadness also induced him to weep. He decided it had to be lifted. He made known that conviction to his mother asking her to release him from the confinement of "this box of earth and sky." To that she said, "I can't", he replied, "I'm going."〔Baba Hari Dass, ''The Yellow Book: The Sayings of Baba Hari Dass'', 1973, The Lama Foundation; ASIN: B001U2T24W〕〔''The Babaji Interview''; By Devyn (Mount Madonna School); http://newsasaurus.newscenter.com/articles/09April/09AprilBabaji.html〕 He had left home at the age of eight〔''Baba Hari Dass''; Encyclopedia of Hinduism; Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan; Infobase Publishing, New York; 2007; ISBN 978-0-8160-5458-9〕 and joined an ashram for young yoga renunciates in the jungles of Kumaon, where he was initiated into Brahmacharya.〔Baba Hari Dass, The Yellow Book: The Sayings of Baba Hari Dass, Lama Foundation; 1st ed. 1973; ASIN: B001U2T24W〕 At that young age he practiced and became proficient in Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga, Shatkarma, Mudras and Sanskrit. "When I was about 14 years old... I visited different villages in Himalayan mountains." In that experience he encountered several Westerners who were learning yogic practices and remembered them as "true seekers". That shaped his attitude towards inclusive way of teaching yoga later on. He was initiated with Sannyasa diksha at the age of 19 years, in 1942,〔"In 1942 he took initiation as a monk in the Vairagi Tyagi Vaishnavite order"; Encyclopedia of Hinduism; Constance A. Jones and James D. Ryan; ''Baba Hari Dass''; Infobase Publishing, New York; 2007; ISBN 978-0-8160-5458-9〕 into the Vairagi-Tyagi Vaishnava order of Ramanandi Sampradaya〔 (followers of Saint Ramananda originated in the 15th century). His guru, Baba Raghubar Dassji Maharaj, a reclusive sadhu, a highly regarded renunciate and Sanskrit scholar, was known for minimal verbal communication and did not have a large disciple following. He met with his disciples only once in every two-three years to convey yoga sādhanā instructions to his advanced followers.〔 In 1952–1953, while living in a burial place called Ghati, Baba Hari Dass described experience of a legendary Kumoan yogi Hariakhan Baba while staying in a cave in a cold wintertime. While sitting by the side of the fire he fainted and his left arm fell into that fire: "I saw Hariakhan Maharaj come into the room and bend over me…, I saw him clearly, removing my left arm from the fire pit... By some unknown power I was related to Hariakhan Maharaj."〔Baba Hari Dass, ''Hariakhan Baba: Known, Unknown'', Sri Rama Foundation, 1975, p. 76-79 ISBN 0-918100-00-3〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Baba Hari Dass」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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