Baba Faqir Chand -
Honesty personified - 1886-1981
I did not have the
good fortune to meet Faqir Baba; he left the body in 1981. In my
hall of fame, I did not meet him,
Ramana Maharshi, and
Sunyata. However, these three
form the powerful, yet silent, background radiation that
influenced most of those I was lucky enough to meet. Thus, I
only encountered Baba Faqir through his old devotees at Manavta
Mandir. They were all, in one way or another, spiritually marked
by his enduring traits of humility, courage, and honesty.
For me, Baba Faqir Chand is an immensely important spiritual
lighthouse. He
deserves for his message, which he perfectly embodied in his own
life, to become more widely known.
Baba Faqir champions meditation as a form of radical honesty! He stands
as a powerful reminder and contrast to the majority of spiritual
leaders who, to various degrees, are traders in spirituality.
This page dedicated to Baba Faqir is not an attempt to create an
objective biography. Rather, it is more my subjective and
projective take on this remarkable being. I see his work through the
lens of Meister Eckhart:
'Merchants go
when the truth appears,
for the truth needs no merchanting.
Behold thy temple cleared of merchants.'
Faqir means beggar.
Now listen to what this Beggar has to say about big ashrams and
grandiose masters:
'This is the
hard fact: the plain truth does not help in establishing centers;
it does not increase the number of followers. But how is anyone
to understand it?
Only after this realization: that I am a bubble of
consciousness. A bubble of consciousness would not claim itself
to be a yogi, sadhu, or a gnani.
Had I not realized this Truth, I might have made claims of my
greatness and got myself worshipped by you and exploited you.'
From what I could hear and sense from his devotees,
Manav Dayal,
Shabdanand,
Capt Lal Chand and
Sita, and many others, he was an uncompromising honest and straight forward
person. What stands out most is
his character, and he emphasized that character comes first by naming
Manavta Mandir as 'Be Men Temple'. His message was clear: First and above
all, be a good human being!
When Baba Faqir visited his own ashram in
Hoshiarpur, the Manavta Mandir Temple, he insisted on paying rent for the
days he stayed, using money from his meager pension. This practice reminds
me of a story about Ramana Maharshi. When offered a glass of orange juice,
he stipulated that he would only accept it if everyone in the ashram also
received a glass. Both examples highlight their profound commitment to
fairness and their deep respect for the communities they led.
The Master who got Enlightenment through his Devotees
Go to 2:35
The following story is quoted from
Shabdanand. Baba Faqir's
master, the great Data Dayal, at one point declared: "Baba Faqir! You are
going to be my successor." Upon hearing this, Baba Faqir jumped into the
air and started singing and dancing in joy.
However, he suddenly stopped his dance, fell to the ground, and began to
cry.
"Oh, Faqir! Why were you dancing, and why are you now crying?" Data
Dayal asked.
Then Faqir replied, "Oh Master! Initially, I was overwhelmed with joy,
hearing that you had chosen me for such an elevated task. But then I was
reminded that I have not yet understood the truth—I have not yet grasped
your teachings! How am I supposed to teach anyone when I myself have not
understood?"
"Do not worry, my dear Faqir," said the wonderful teacher with
visionary greatness. "What I as a teacher have not been able to show you,
will be revealed to you through your own devotees. I am soon to leave my
body. But you will realize the truth after my passing. You will attain
enlightenment by giving Satsang (spiritual teachings)."
After the passing of Data Dayal, Baba Faqir began giving Satsang, and just
as his teacher had predicted, he attained the highest state of realization.
From then on, Baba Faqir always addressed his own devotees and students as
his real Masters.
The Power of Collective
Devotion
Faqir Baba embodies the immense power of true humility for me. His life also
highlights the profound—and at times unsettling—effect of a collective group
of individuals united in their focus and intent. As Nietzsche astutely
observed, insanity is uncommon in individuals but becomes the norm within
groups, parties, nations, and epochs. A synchronized religious unity can act
as an interoceptive stargate, capable of enlightening even its own leader.
However, if the leader's character is flawed, this powerful unity can
devolve into misuse and even atrocities.
The secret lies in the fact that the group itself generates the spiritual
energy that uplifts each individual within it, including the master.
Enlightenment is not a prerequisite for a master. What is crucial is his
unwaveringly honest and incorruptible character—strong enough not to be
influenced by the love and trust that is directed towards him from all
sides.
However, most of us can easily become ensnared by the allure of power and
consequently fall. In my 45 years on the spiritual scene, I have repeatedly
witnessed this phenomenon, which seems to act almost as a natural law of
corruption, manifesting across groups of all sizes. Even former close
friends have succumbed to commodifying spirituality. I myself have been
blinded several times by my own spiritual vanity, believing I was special
and above others. It takes individuals like
Ramana,
Papaji, or a Beggar Faqir, endowed
with extraordinary resilience, to withstand the hypnotic power of ego at the
eye of the cyclone.
"Dear Guru Ji! I was in a very dangerous situation, but then suddenly you
materialized in front of me and saved me!"
Traditionally, most gurus would smile, nod, and affirm their mystical
presence, often leading to grateful devotees donating generously to the
guru's ashram.
However, Baba Faqir responded differently to such accounts. His reply would
often shock those who came to him:
"I was not there saving you. I have no knowledge of the incident you
refer to. Actually, it is your own strong faith and inner power that has
materialized in my form to save you!"
This forthright message, while rooted in honesty, was not conducive to the
usual religious business. Following his revelations, Faqir’s first ashram
faced financial challenges and eventually went bankrupt. The economic model
of many Indian ashrams, both historically and presently, often relies on the
belief that gurus are supernatural beings capable of materializing at will
to assist their devotees with various problems.
One more Truth Revealed Faqir Baba's teachings
underscore the great inner power dormant within each of us, a power that can
be activated through introspection. The initial breakthrough in our wall of
self-protective limitations can be as dramatic and foundational as our first
birth, aligning with William James's concept of being "once born – twice
born." However, this spiritual power is significantly amplified in
collective fields of introspection. Therefore, many people often experience
their first spiritual awakening not in isolation, but in groups centered
around a leader. This
initial moment of awakening is deeply freeing yet paradoxically can also
bind us, as we may find ourselves deeply attached to the environment where
it occurred.
The Twice-Born Worship of the Toy Figure After such a profound experience in a collective field, when we reopen
our eyes, we often can't believe that we were the sole source of this
wonder. Instead, we react like ducklings. When a duckling first opens its
eyes, it imprints on any moving object as its mother. If a toy figure moves
in front of the duckling as it hatches, that figure becomes 'mother.' Humans
are not so different when we first break out of our limited worlds. Like
ducklings, we hand
over our inner power to an outer leader, regardless of their ordinariness or
moral standing.
We should realize that this power belongs to no one and yet, at the same
time, to each individual brave enough to wield King Arthur’s sword. But
often, we do not dare to claim this gift for ourselves; instead, we look for
leaders to project this power onto and then follow blindly.
In the field of Duckling spirituality you will always be doomed to be a
devotee and not a Master in and of your own life.
A Personal Story from My Meditation Workshops About 30 years ago, during one of my meditation workshops, a kind,
good-hearted Indian man around 50 years old fell into a trance at the end of
a group meditation session. After about 30 minutes, he emerged saying:
"Gunnar! What did you do to me? I am in total and absolute bliss!
First, you entered my mind and then took me out into the vast Universe.
After enjoying infinite bliss, we flew as levitated bodies to South India
for a darshan of Satya Sai Baba. It was wonderful. And now we are back here
again! You are indeed a great Guru!"
I responded, "Dear friend, I am very happy for you—but I don’t know
anything about your experience, apart from holding your hand while you were
in trance."
This incident marked the most powerful spiritual awakening he had ever
experienced. As a devotee of Satya Sai Baba, he usually saw Sai Baba’s face
during deep meditation. However, since this incident, my face has
occasionally appeared in his meditations.
I had inadvertently become his 'toy figure master,' a role that
carries a tremendous potential for abuse—believe me!
Conclusion Yet, he, you, and I are all equally that Great Mysterious Power. This is
what Faqir Baba and Papaji were trying to convey to spiritual seekers. They
never met or knew each other but I am sure they would have hugged each other.
Both held up
a mirror so seekers could realize their own lion nature. In this sense, we
indeed need Great Masters who relentlessly strive to make us recognize that
we are THAT supreme and equal reality.
Papaji and Baba Faqir, both
distinguished by
faces that radiate their profound nobility.
Now listen once again to the Faqir:
'He who thinks himself different from
the Guru is in duality.
Therefore, I lay stress time and time again on this fact
that if
you remain attached to the physical existence of any Guru,
you shall not get liberation. Our mind is within and our
thoughts
are also within. The questioner within is the disciple,
and he who answers within is the Guru.
When the questioner gets satisfactory answers to all his queries,
he becomes silent. When our mind does not have any more
questions or when your mind has no desire to know anything,
it becomes silent. This state of silence is known as the union of Guru and disciple.'
Just have the courage to feel and see what is your birth right and
pray for a flock of fellow travelers to find you so that you
together and in total democratic equality can amplify
each others individual universal TRUTH!
