Baba Hari Dass (Devanagari: बाबा हरि दास) (26 March 1923 – 25 September 2018) was an Indian yogi, silent monk and commentator of Indian scriptural traditions of dharma and moksha. He was classically trained in the Ashtanga of Patanjali (also known as Rāja yoga), as well as Kriya yoga, Ayurveda, Samkhya, Sri Vidya, Tantra, Vedanta, and Sanskrit.
Baba Hari Dass took a vow of silence in 1952, which he upheld through the rest of his life. Although he did not speak, he was able to communicate in several languages through writing. His literary output included scriptural commentaries to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, Samkhyakarika, and Vedanta Panchadasi, collections of aphorisms about the meaning and purpose of life, essays, plays, short stories, children's stories, kirtan, mantras, and in-depth instructional yoga materials that formed the basis of a yoga certification-training program.
Upon his arrival in North America in early 1971, Baba Hari Dass and his teachings contributed to the creation of several yoga centers and retreat programs in the United States in Santa Cruz County, California, and in Canada at Salt Spring Island and in Toronto. He was an early proponent of Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of health and healing, and helped introduce the practice to the United States.
In an annual rendition of the Indian epic Ramayana, he taught performing arts, choreography and costume making. In line with his emphasis on karma, he opened Sri Ram Orphanage for homeless children in Haridwar, India in 1987. To the local population of Nainital and Almora, Baba Hari Dass was also known as Haridas (lit "servant of Lord Hari"), Haridas Baba, Chota Maharaji (literally "little great king"), or Harda Baba.
Early life, education, and spiritual path
Hari Datt Karnatak was born on 26 March 1923 in the town of Almora in Uttarakhand, India. He was the fifth of seven children. His family was of a Kumaoni Brahmin Karnatak lineage. Hari Datt was born in the lunar month of Chaitra, in Shukla Paksha (Rama Navami).
Hari Datt grew up in the lower Himalayan region of Kumaon that encompasses the Almora district and the Udham Singh Nagar district. Early in life, he listened to stories told by older people about siddha yogis Sombari Baba Maharaj, Gudari Baba, Suri Baba, Khaki Baba, Aughar Baba, and several other saints of that region. His parents were devotees of a saint of Kumaon, Hariakhan Baba Maharaj, who was known to visit Almora.
On a journey to Haldwani in 1929, Hari Datt received his first Darshana with the sage Sombari Baba Maharaj. A Darshana is a "sight" or "viewing" of a highly revered person, which can awaken the latent potential for spiritual growth or intellectual understanding.White, Jonathan, ed. (1994). Talking on the water: conversations about nature and creativity. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. .
Leaving home at the age of eight Hari Datt's early childhood years were marked by a feeling of separation. His parents were puzzled by his strange behaviour of leaving the house early in the morning and refusing to go into the house. He also didn't like to go to school to learn reading and writing.
Hari Datt's father was a Sanskrit scholar and strict disciplinarian who forced Hari Datt to memorize Sanskrit grammar and prayers. In 1931–1932, his father died at the age of 56 of a heart attack. While this event shook the whole family, it also brought Hari Datt a sense of relief. With the pressure lifted, Hari Datt was free to do anything he wanted. However, he assumed more responsibilities by helping his mother in farming, taking care of the cows, and threshing grain. He also had to go to school and do homework.
He was attracted to the freedom that monks had in their lifestyle, unburdened by an excess of clothing or work, and who did not have to attend school. His mother came home one day to find him sitting, wearing only a loincloth, with wood ash smeared all over his body.
Hari Datt had several conversations with his mother about God, soul, and peace. His view of the surrounding world as a restraining box, made of earth as the bottom, and the sky as the top, induced him to weep. Eventually, despite his mother's refusal, he decided to leave.
Brahmacharya school
In 1931, Hari Datt was initiated into Brahmacharya School with his mother's agreement, near Kumaon and later stated "I was initiated at the age of eight and would do my practices every morning and night before eating food."
A regimented daily schedule included six hours of sleep, rising at 4:00A.M., walking a mile in the dark to bathe in a river regardless of the season or weather conditions, a teacher-guided group study of homework and preparation for exams. Upon joining the school he was told by the teacher, "You have to learn to bear all kinds of hardships in life. We can train our body in any way we want." Daily duties included manual labour, carrying water from a river in a valley, collecting firewood, cooking, cleaning, and gardening. He practiced and became proficient in martial arts, Hatha yoga, Shatkarma, Mudras and Sanskrit. The teacher was not a monk, although he wanted to be a monk. He would talk about politics and how the British came to India as traders and gradually took over the whole country. He resented British rule and would teach how to survive in the wild, and how to become revolutionaries.
Young Hari Datt Brahmachari and other boys were able to study, prepare for their grade school and high school exams, and do yoga exercises. The teacher, eventually left that place and joined the army. The school’s diminished group continued their daily routine until they also disbanded, leaving only a few. By 1936, it was no longer a school but became a small study class. At that time, unlike other boys who were determined to get good jobs or receive a good education, Hari Datt Brahmachari didn't know what he wanted to do in life. His friends joked, "Just go on looking for some saints. Some day you may find someone, or you may go on looking forever."
Naga Baba, Udasi Baba and Swami Nityananda Maharaj
Hari Datt's interest in the monk lifestyle resurfaced on more than one occasion. He contacted travelling sannyasins in temples or in public engagements in order to learn their wisdom and inquire about yoga techniques. Some of those early encounters fell short of his expectations. Trying to learn about the life of a Naga Baba (naked sannyasin) became a debacle. The kind of mischief other boys engaged in, like throwing rocks or disturbing the monk's meditation, resulted in cursing, angry outbursts, and a chase.
Another sannyasin who attracted Hari Datt's attention was Udasi Baba, credited by adult followers as possessing supernatural powers over ghosts or curing sickness, and who lived in a cremation ground. One day, when he had nobody to cremate at his site, he joined an encampment of local people and looked like an ordinary man who craved attention. He acknowledged that his tales of subduing ghosts were fabrications and that "ghosts are for those who are afraid of ghosts." These encounters resulted in a diminishing attraction for monkhood for the 12-year-old Brahmachari.
In 1935, Hari Datt met Swami Nityananda Maharaj, who lectured and held gatherings that many adults attended. "I was very eager to listen to Swamiji's talk. It was the first time I met a famous sannyasi who was surrounded by intellectuals, lawyers, professors, etc. Swamiji stood up chanting OM in a deep voice...Then he started his speech." For a boy to mix with adults who were following monks was not encouraged. It was believed that young lads couldn't understand spiritual subjects; in contrast, however, from Hari Datt's perspective, "older people simply became a hindrance for youngsters." Since Swami Nithyananda's lectures were in English, Hari Datt could not understand the content. Yet he was keen to observe the ascetic form of the swami, who was wearing a tiger skin and using a trident staff, was a follower of the Shiva order. Swamiji was a proponent of establishing dharmashalas locations, called Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, for pilgrims on their way to the Mount Kailash.
Darshana of Anandamayi Ma and samadhi In 1935, when Anandamayi Ma visited Almora, he went to see her in a trance state some interpreted as samadhi: "I heard that a woman saint was in town. Her name was Ananda Mayi Ma. I was very excited to see a woman saint...a woman who looked to be 35-40 years old. Her eyes were closed. Her face looked like golden light. Everyone outside bowed to her and people hurriedly took her to Ranikhet to a secluded place to rest." He listened to a lecture by a pundit who invoked the Yoga Sutras to interpret her state of consciousness and what level of samadhi she was in. Intrigued, he discussed further experienced darshan and how samadhi brings knowledge of God with an older colleague in the Brahmacharya school. He was discouraged from viewing samadhi as an emotionally induced trance that could occur during devotional singing (Kirtan) or dancing. In contrast, he was told that through formal training, the regular practice of pranayama and meditation (Dhyana), samadhi could be attained and take deeper roots.
Also in that discussion, the issue was raised of renouncing the becoming a sannyasi would require a radical departure from social norms compared to the householder life of grihastha, and "If everyone renounces the world, then one day all the old generation will die out and there will be no new generation." He agreed that such statement was quite right, however, since everyone is not meant to be a householder, the natural balance would still be sustained by everyone performing duties for the world. "When this thought came in my mind it removed the reality of my friend's argument. I felt good and did not lose my attraction for the life of renunciates."
First teaching in Hatha Yoga and Swami Satyananda Giri In 1936, Hari Datt Brahmachari attended classes of Swami Satyananda Giri (disciple of Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri) of Dashnami Sanyasi Sect (originated by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya), who visited Almora region. Swami Satyananda was well versed in classical yoga tenets and encouraged adults to use the practices of Hatha yoga. He postulated that developing a strong body, in which the soul resides, aids in the journey toward emancipation. Techniques he demonstrated and explained were based in Ashtanga Yoga and Hatha Yoga of the seven limbs: Shatkarma, Asana, Mudra, Pratyahara, Pranayama, Dhyana, and Samadhi. He also used Ayurvedic principles of the balanced food of three-doshas, consistent eating habits, and avoided oily and fat rich foods.
When young Brahmachari was asked to demonstrate what he knew, Swamiji was surprised and pleased to see well-developed postures and mudras as Brahmachari explained he practiced those in Brahmachari School by his own doing rather than learning from someone else (asanas, pranayamas, shatkarmas, and mudras). Swamiji asked him to teach others in his class, who were adults. "Swamiji saw my Sarvangasana and was very pleased. I showed the series of 12 postures of Surya Namaskar (sun salutation). Swamiji liked the way I did the postures and said I should come back every morning and show the people the method of doing asanas." Due to that teaching experience, his feeling of being a misfit in the class and shyness went away. He was also well received by adult learners.