Be inspired by
BABA HARI DASS

1923 – 2018

Baba Hari Dass was a silent monk whose life of discipline, yoga, and love has inspired people around the world. Babaji, as he was affectionately called (Baba means “father”, ji means “respected”), was first and foremost a master yogi, having practiced the disciplines of Yoga from childhood. His lifelong example of peacefulness encouraged regular practice of his teachings.

Babaji was born near Almora, India, in 1923. From a very early age he was attracted to the life of the monks who stayed near his village on pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar.

At the tender age of eight he left home to study and practice yoga in the jungle. He subsequently traveled around northern India learning and deepening his spiritual knowledge through rigorous practice and from the encounters he had with numerous sadhus (holy persons) and saints.

God is a word that indicates a power which can’t be explained. Enlightenment is a term that has no limit. So our desire for enlightenment or God is limited for us to inner peace,

which we have experienced in the past and we want to experience in the future. There is nothing wrong in desiring peace. The duality will go away by itself when the desire merges into that peace.

BABA HARI DASS

The Journey

Experiential Learning

Babaji completed the traditional vows of a Vairagi Vaishnav (qualified non-dualism). It is from this classical grounding that Babaji taught ancient scriptures of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Bhagavad Gita, and Samkhya Karika, as well as the philosophy and practices of classical Ashtanga Yoga (eight-limbed yoga), Karma Yoga (the yoga of selfless action), Bhakti Yoga (a spiritual path of loving devotion), Jnana Yoga (an intellectual path of scriptures and self-study), and Tantra Yoga (purification through mantra, “chanting”, mandala, “circle”, and mudra, “symbolic gestures”).

Vow of Silence

In 1952, at the age of 29, Babaji took a 12-year vow of silence. At the completion of his vow, he chose to continue this austerity because it brought him peace and inner silence. He remained silent for the next 66 years until his death.

Arrival to america

In 1971, Babaji arrived in the United States at the invitation of a young American couple who had traveled to India to find an authentic teacher and learn about yoga. He was sponsored in the U.S. by artist and professor Ma Renu (Ruth Horsting). Babaji initially lived in seclusion at Sea Ranch in Northern California, until word spread about his presence and students began to meet with him, seeking guidance in their lives and on their spiritual paths.

In 1978, Babaji inspired the founding of Mount Madonna Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences and Mount Madonna School. Also on the campus, the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple was completed in 2003 as a place of devotion and peace. Babaji initiated and led Yoga and Ayurveda programs ever since the very early days in the U.S., and from that beginning, Mount Madonna Institute emerged and was officially formed in 2006.

In 1984, Babaji founded the Sri Ram Ashram, a loving home for abandoned children and a K-12 grade school near Haridwar in Northern India.

Associated Projects

Other centers dedicated to Babaji’s teachings include the Salt Spring Centre of Yoga and School on Salt Spring Island near Vancouver, B.C., and spiritual communities in Vancouver, B.C., Toronto, ON and Los Angeles, CA, USA.

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His Legacy

guiding the path to peace

Babaji taught by writing, answering formal questions, meeting people informally, demonstrating practices, and most profoundly by his example of love, spiritual discipline, and peace. His concise and deeply perceptive style of writing communicated volumes in very few words. He taught that yoga was a way of life that included virtuous living and self-reflection.

Babaji was loved and admired for his wisdom, humility, patience, humor, encouragement and acceptance of all who came to meet him and learn with him. He possessed a profound sense of self-discipline and a deep knowledge of Yoga and Vedic philosophy. He had a great love of children and a legendary sense of play. While treating everyone with a sense of equality, Babaji somehow managed to form an individual bond with each of his students, inspiring them in spiritual practice, guiding them to self-reliance and bringing out their latent talents and gifts.