Thanks with Love to Baba (Swami Shankarananda Giri)

By
Per H. Wibe
www.kriyabanservice.com
Personal Experiences of Per on Kriya Yoga and Meditation on the eve of building
Hiranyagarbha Meditation Temple, Tapovan, Rishikesh, India.
The building is completed, but the dream of Sriyukteswarjee has just begun. Now
that your enormous eorts to build this ashram have borne fruit, Kriya students
from around the world will gather here to seek inspiration and pursue spiritual
growth for centuries to come. Great eorts give great results this is the divine law.
On this special occasion, I have been asked to write about my spiritual journey
throughout the years and to share my experiences of my meetings and travels with
you.
As a young boy, I searched for the Truth. I discussed Christianity with priests,
arguing that mere belief was not sucient. I felt that we had to be certain through
inner knowledge and experience. Since any belief inherently includes doubt, no
belief can satisfy our longing for harmony. Hearing about water is not the same as
drinking it ourselves.
My desire for harmony and the right school in life was not satised when I was
young, although I knew that many special things were going to happen in my life. In
the meantime, I developed knowledge, useful skills and endurance in many dierent
sports.
At the age of thirty, my desire for the Truth was clear and strong: I wanted to
increase my level of happiness, to dissolve duality in Life.
By the time I met you in 1995; I had been pursuing spiritual growth for twenty years
while raising a family and running my own company. I had changed many aspects of
my lifestyle, and I used every possible moment to practice meditation, whether it
was day or night. I meditated for two hours beginning at 5 a.m. I meditated again
for some time in the middle of the day, as well as for one hour in the afternoon
before returning home from work. When I found time in the evening, I meditated for
fteen minutes, half an hour, or whatever time was available. Usually I also
meditated in the late evening or during the night. This was my routine for many
years. How is it possible to meditate so often in the midst of so many daily
responsibilities and activities? The reply is simple: A strong desire! The desire is the
most important motivation. If the meditation practice is good and stable, the desire
to sustain it will grow stronger and stronger. To meet the Lord in the cave is so
beautiful and nourishing that we want to do it more and more often.
Despite all my eorts to meditate, study spirituality and travel for spiritual
purposes, I did not feel completely satised. I knew what was missing: Someone in
the esh to conrm my understandings and experiences, and most of all, to support
my desire to teach and help others to nd the spiritual path.
We rst met in Oslo in May 1995 when you gave a public talk. During the talk you
said, "I want to retire after some time, and I need people to help me". I felt that you
recognized my desire, and that your words were addressed directly to me in order to
ensure that an eternal connection between us would be re-established.
The next day I was initiated. Two days later we met personally to discuss my
horoscope. The organiser had announced that you read horoscopes according to
Cosmic Astrology, which you had learned from your master Prabhujee, who in turn
had learned it directly from Sri Yukteswarjee, the founder of the system. Frankly, I
was not interested in astrology. I felt that much of the astrology in the market place
was supercial, and I knew that astrology could not help me to attain my goal: To
dissolve duality.
My desire was to improve my horoscope through meditation, not to be told about
my current status and the diculties that lie ahead. I was already well aware of my
current state and diculties!
The rst thing you said to me when we met alone was, "What I said during the talk
was for you". The rest of our meeting revolved around my future as a teacher of
Kriya.
In October 1996 I traveled from Norway to India with you for the rst time. You
asked if I could accompany you, and within half an hour I decided to join you, which
was not so easy given my large family and the responsibilities of running a one-man
company. The purpose of our trip was to travel to Rishikesh to look for a suitable
location for the future Kriya Yoga ashram. But rst we went to Bhubaneswar, where
you had your base and school. I was happy to see dedicated school children
practicing yoga and to meet Sudhamaa, who has contributed so much to your work
throughout her lifetime.
One evening in the meditation hall in Bhubaneswar, when the others had left, I
continued to meditate alone. Deeply settled, I suddenly sensed that someone else
was in the room. It was as if someone were breathing around me. Noticing this, I
became uncertain, and the presence of the breathing quickly disappeared.
I went immediately to your room to tell you about this experience and to ask for
your opinion. Although other people were with you, you perceived the urgency in my
approach, and asked if I wanted to talk with you alone. I explained what had just
happened, and you said, "It is Sri Yukteswarjee. He wants you to take Kriya
responsibility".
Your reply did not surprise me. After all, my desire to teach had been intensifying for
more than fteen years, and by that time it was clear and strong. In addition, I had
acquired a profound love and respect for Sri Yukteswarjee! The next evening I
experienced the breathing again. This time it continued for a while. I got up and
walked slowly around the room, trying to nd out where it was coming from. It
wasall over, permeating the entire room, just as the Divine permeates Life.
Since that time, Sri Yukteswarjee has come to me again, not just in India but also in
Scandinavia. This happens when I am about to take decisions related to setting
aside more time to teach.
After several days in Bhubaneswar, we went by plane to Delhi and from there by
taxi to Rishikesh. We arrived late at night and searched for a hotel. In the hotel room
we meditated most of the night, and you told me that our travels to search for a
suitable ashram location would be mentioned in your biography in the future.
During our travels we met numerous people, including the leader of the largest
ashram in Rishikesh. He knew the area well and told us about vacant plots and
possible locations. After looking at dierent possibilities for two days, we returned to
Delhi to stay overnight. You had a ight to Bhubaneswar the next morning, while I
was to stay one more night before returning home. At night, after we had been
meditating for some time, you initiated me as a teacher of Kriya Yoga.
In the morning we went to the airport by taxi, and on the way you suggested that I
rent the taxi for the whole day to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.
Several hours later the taxi arrived in Agra. It was so crowded there that we had to
park quite far from the famous building. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a man
opened the car door and exclaimed, "I am your guide in Agra today". I asked the
price and agreed to it. After guiding me for some time, he asked why I was in India.
I told him about Swami Shankarananda Giri from Bhubaneswar and our trip to
Rishikesh. "Really?" he said. "I am a disciple of his, too, and I even attended his 50th
birthday celebration in Bhubaneswar one year ago!" Imagine - the rst person I met
in Agra was one of your disciples!
I conducted my rst Kriya initiations in Trondheim, Norway, in October 1997.
According to the advertisement, you were to teach the course, but due to some
hindrances in India, you were not able to come. There were 18 people waiting for
you that day. Instead they listened to my little speech, and to my surprise 14 of
them wanted to be initiated afterward. Many of them are still practising today with
good results.
In 1998 the land for the ashram was purchased. I arrived there shortly afterwards.
During the rst night we meditated in your room. That night we felt a strong
presence of Sriyukteswarjee he came to us in dierent ways to bless the site of
the new ashram.
You have made a tremendous, sustained eort to realise the dream of this ashram.
I have visited this place many times during the years, and I have seen your eorts
very closely. Even before the construction could start, so many matters needed to
be settled. The building has been raised according to the dream of Sriyukteswarjee.
You have been the architect, the designer of all the details, the purchaser and the
supervisor of the entire construction process from start to nish. You have not been
a general sitting in the tent. On the contrary, you have been on the front lines,
"risking your life", so to speak.
In addition to all your work in Rishikesh, you have travelled to many other countries
to teach Kriya. Your school in Bhubaneswar has grown from a few hundred students
to more than one thousand and ve hundred during this period. Furthermore, you
are involved in important work to secure education for poor children in the village of
Raiarkhol and the surrounding areas. The facilities and land have been donated by
the family of Sudhamaa. The schools have a high level of performance and have
been awarded prizes in the state of Orissa.
Many years ago you asked me to attend a Kumbha Mela. I said that I would do so if
I could stay close to you. "Your bed is ready, close to me in my room," you replied. It
had to be like this. My only goal for the ten years I have been travelling to India has
been to be close to you, meditate with you whenever possible, and experience you
in action and everyday life. All your eorts are dedicated to helping others, to
express the Divine in Life.
About one year after we met, I said that I would help you as much as possible. I
never repeated my promise because my desire was so strong. Whenever I called
you during those years, just to hear about the progress in Rishikesh or to oer some
help, you would sometimes say, "You are calling at the right moment. I was just
about to stop the work and send the workers away". Usually it was only you and I
who knew about this, but sometimes some of the swamis, who have contributed a
great deal to the work, were with you when I called. A short time ago, I called you
late at night; it was around midnight in India. I was thinking about you and hoping
that the work would be completed on time in August. I called and apologised for
disturbing you so late, but added that I was thinking about you and the progress of
the work. "It is not too late. We are just sitting here planning the rest of the work,
who is going to do what, and so on," you replied.
I am telling these stories to illustrate what we already knew - that when people
meet on the spiritual plane, in the Divine, physical distance has no meaning.
In 2001 I went to the Kumbha Mela in Allahabad later than the rest of the group. I
had gotten the number of the Kriya Yoga camp, but I was told beforehand that it
would be dicult to nd you since the area was quite large with many camps and
people. I ew from Oslo to Delhi and then from Delhi to Varanasi (previously known
as Benares, the city where Lahiri Mahasaya lived). From Varanasi I took a taxi to the
Kumbha Mela site just outside Allahabad. After leaving the taxi, I had to walk since
the area was so crowded. I asked a policeman where to go, and he pointed in one
direction. After walking with my luggage a few hundred meters, a small car full of
people stopped in front of me. The driver got out and asked if they could help me. I
said, "Thank you very much, but I do not think you have room for one more person
with luggage." "It is no problem. We will manage," the driver said.
After driving around and searching for about 40-50 minutes, we found the camp. I
expressed my gratitude, and the driver and I exchanged addresses and phone
numbers, and said goodbye. We have been in contact several times since then.
I entered the camp and found the meditation room. You were giving a talk, and I
went in to let you know I had arrived. You expressed your happiness to see me, and
asked if it had been dicult to nd you.
"No," I replied. "With good help I was lucky to nd you quickly."
Later I was told that three others used more than two days to nd the group. I had
not anticipated any trouble. To say that I was convinced I would easily nd you and
the group is not correct, I did not think about it at all. I just looked forward to
arriving and seeing you again.
I am very grateful for all your help during all these years. You love to see the
spiritual progress of your students and to help them attain mastery over their own
lives. This is the aim of a master. It is his greatest joy and a sign of dignity.
I have made many mistakes in my life, and I still do. During the period when I rst
met you, I wondered many things: How to improve, how to proceed in Life, how will
the story end? Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". This statement
comes close to the experience itself, though it is very far from it.
The nal part has to be discovered from inside. If not, duality will continue.
I pray for improvement for the freedom and ability to join in the work, however Life
decides how this should unfold.
Yours with love,
Per