Where are the flying Yogis?

My parents were great Sanskrit pandits, well versed in traditional wisdom, who believed in many old cultural belief systems. One of them was that yogis can fly. We often hosted workshops on verifying the truth value of the ancient beliefs – concerning two essentials – one was the Divine origin of the Vedas, and the other was that the yogis do fly.

Interestingly anyone with a story to tell about someone came to know about someone who might have met someone who met someone who had seen someone in a remote place – meeting a yogi – who claimed that someone’s guru was a yogi who often claimed that he could fly over the Himalaya. Any such story teller received rich hospitality at the Panditji’s house – at all hours. If we objected inconvenience to our studies or the cost of these uninvited make-believe visitors – father would quote an oft-repeated Sanskrit text : “Atithi – devo – bhav” “Be worshipful to the guest”.

By the age 15, I had made up my mind to be a yogi. By 18, I read Kalidas’s ‘Kumar – Sambhav’ where romantic story of Shiva-Parvati is vividly described how the beautiful virgin Himalayan princess goes after a powerful handsome yogi and eventually with her seductive powers – overcomes his resistance. Kalidasa’s description of Parvati’s beauty and seductive force had overpowered my young mind and heart and by 20 I was on my way to conquer Kama and await some Himalayan princess in the snowy heights.

During my hundreds of yogic foray and arduous journeys looking for a flying yogi – who could teach exercises ultimately leading me to Nirvana. I must have met more than 2000 monks (sadhus) belonging to various sects – in many shapes, sizes, multi-colored, multifaceted, long and short matted hair – sitting in various attractive and ugly postures – sex criminals and drug addicts – claiming super-natural powers. But I found not a single flying yogi.

In 1985, Nirmala and I took a 15 days ardous trek from Uttarkashi to Kedarnath. The route we took was old prilgrims which had now been abandoned since the motor road came to existence. At Kedarnath we were told about this great Yogi of Himalaya who can be seen in a Padma-asan (crossed-leg posture) at the twilight hour near the parikrma of the main temple.

Huge matted hair tied up on his head were dyed crinkee brown, red-eyes, wide open – he stared at my petite wife. We saw his piercing eyes as we passed him on the outskirt (parikrma) round of the temple. Nirmala was fixed on this handsome powerful figure. “I want to give him something,” she said. At the next round (parikrama) we stopped in front of the Yogi, and my wife bowed before the handsome yogi and politely placed a 100 rupee note at his feet.

The Mahayogi was out raised: “ bus, itina sa ..ja, chha mahine me hi tera sarvnash ho jayaga. Tere bad-bacche , gharbar-jayadad – sab kuch nasht ho jayaga. Ye is mahayogi ka shap hai..”

Nirmala was shaken but pretending “what did yogi-maharaj said..” asked me meakly.
“Shame upon you to speak in this manner to a mothershakti. If you had such powers you’d not be sitting here begging, you drug addict. Shame upon you.” And I took my wife away from the shrine of Kedarnath, the final resting place of Adi Shankaracharya.

That curse of the Yogi did not materialise till this day (2005). But (in case) Nirmala did once perform Puja at the Shiva-lingam on top of the Tungnath Temple at 14,000, to ward off the curse. (!)

Once I was in Tibet visiting a monastery. I was told the Dalai Lama was an accomplished yogi who can fly. But the chief Abbot (lama), in all sincerity, while disclaiming no direct knowledge of this fact, asserted that once the Dalai Lama had presided over six monasteries situated at the top of six distant mountains at the same time, and on the same day.

“Did your Holiness, witness this miracle?”, I politely asked. “No, no, my great predecessor (guru) at this monastery had narrated this historic event”, the young Lama conferred.

I argued. If that was the case why then Indian army was needed to escort the Dalai Lama from Lhasa when the Chinese forces invaded Tibet? He could have flown out on his own yogic force!

Some years later, I met a few faithful scientists in Bangalore, who tried to convince me of the yogic supernatural force – “Oh, flying yogi! That was possible in ancient times, before the discovery of the Newtonian gravitational force in 1686. In the modern materialist (kaliyug) age, the yogis now ride on the aerodynamic force made in the U.S.A.” .