Inspiration by Swami Narayan Tirth.

Today I would like to talk a bit about a marvelous incident which occurred over one hundred years ago. The event I would like to talk about took place in a remote part of Eastern India during the latter part of the nineteen century. It involved a solitary man, one who had withdrawn from the world and given up all thoughts of worldly pleasures. This holy man lived in a small cottage near a pond called Chandan Talab. Although nowadays this area has become a populated area, in those days the cottage was very isolated and sat next to a great forest. This secluded sannyasin lived a life of renunciation, spiritual practices, and meditation far from any village or farm. He was full of divine energy, but, because of the high state of his mind, this great man made no attempt to preach or otherwise attract any followers. This saintly man was named Swami Gangadhar Tirth Maharaj.

Swami Gangadhar Tirth Maharaj lived a very simple, solitary life, yet he was very concerned with the affairs of the world. His only contact with the outside world was through a disciple, a humble man who provided his Guru with food by begging in a nearby village. One day, the yogic powers of Swami Gangadhar Tirth revealed to him that difficult times were ahead for ordinary people because of the effects of the age or era in which we now live. The period in which we now live, as you know, is called the Kali- Yuga, or the Age of Darkness. The Swami knew that the effects of the Kali- Yuga made it very difficult for ordinary people to remain on any spiritual path. He knew people would need help in finding spiritual illumination, since the influence of the Kali-Yuga made it difficult for people to advance spiritually unless they had already progressed to a high state of awareness. A most important aspect of this account is that Swami Gangadhar Tirth Maharaj had been blessed with the discovery of a very special means of awakening spiritual consciousness. This was truly a great discovery, since previously the awakening of spiritual consciousness was very difficult. Few people qualified for receiving help even from very advance souls. Because of the effects of the Kali-Yuga, no means were available to advance the cause of ordinary seekers because of these factors.

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Swami Narayan Tirth soon began to initiate others into the Shaktipat system and as the number of followers grew, he founded a meditation center. The great spiritual personality of Swami Narayan Tirth bloomed as the years went by. The mood of ecstatic communion was constant in this great man, and it was said that he was in continuous meditation. Among the great teachings left by this saint, the following teaching is beautiful in its clarity and simplicity:

1. Get up early before sunrise every day without fail. Fold up your bed and sit in meditation after performing the morning bath.
2. Nature is infinite and extravagant. It is capable of giving you anything you need. You should, however, exploit it to the extent you need. The sources of nature should never be wasted.
3. Lead a simple life and cherish high spiritual principles. Remain constant during pleasure or pain. Take your work to be the worship of God.
4. Do not interfere mentally in the movements of Shakti during meditation. Surrender yourself completely to Shakti, and give it liberty to operate upon you. Remain a witness throughout and rejoice while Shakti has its play in you.

Finally, and of great importance to us, among those he initiated was Shri Yoganandaji Maharaj. Shri Yoganandaji Maharaj in turned initiated Shri Swami Vishnu Tirth Maharaj , who initiated our present day Guru-Maharaj, Shri Swami Shivom Tirth Maharaj. Thus this majestic power of spirituality has been handed down and this same power is now available to all of us. Because of this important event, the science of Shaktipat is now spreading all over the world, as predicted by Shri Swami Gangadhar Tirth over one hundred years ago.

Source : http://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~keutzer/kundalini/narayan.html

https://www.siddhaashramcenter.org/lineage/