The Crazy Wisdom of Ganesh Baba: Psychedelic Sadhana, Kriya Yoga, Kundalini, and the Cosmic Energy in Man

Description

Shri Mahant Swami Ganeshanand Saraswati Giri (ca. 1895-1988) was known to all who loved and studied with him simply as Ganesh Baba. At the age of four, he was brought back from death through an initiation by Lahiri Mahasaya and through this initiation descends from the same Kriya Yoga lineage as Paramahansa Yogananda. He became a swami under his guru Sivananda and later went on to run the Anandamayi Ma ashram. Drawn to the life of the Naga Babas, he became the head of the Ananda Acharya, Naga followers of Lord Shiva who consider cannabis and other entheogens to be the gift of the gods. The unique set of principles and exercises Ganesh Baba developed from the tantric practices of traditional Kriya Yoga and Shivaism became the core of his personal teachings of Crea (for creative) Yoga. Ganesh Baba's message of systematic synthesis of the spiritual and secular was carefully developed for and embraced by contemporary students in the 1960s, especially those whose path included the use of entheogens. This book contains the core of Ganesh Baba's Crea Yoga teachings, from the beginning stages of conscious control of one's posture, breath, and attention to finally extending one's awareness to the farthest reaches of the cosmos. Eve Baumohl Neuhaus shows that the life of this scholar and crazy saint was as instructive as his teachings. She includes many personal reminiscences of this inspirational and challenging teacher from her own life and those of fellow students, which demonstrate that Ganesh Baba's extraordinary life was in keeping with his own role as the embodiment of Lord Ganesh, the remover of obstacles.

Eve Baumohl Neuhaus was one of many students who worked with Ganesh Baba when he was in the United States from 1979 until 1985, typing and retyping his manuscripts. She has been a schoolteacher since 1988, giving workshops in art, mythology and Crea Yoga in central California where she lives.

"True to the wishes of her teacher, Eve Baumohl Neuhaus skillfully offers a glimpse into the life and profound teachings of Ganesh Baba. In so doing, she enriches the spiritual literature of today with the tantric wisdom and wit that transcends culture and healthily disregards political correctness. An entertaining and thought-provoking read." * Robert Sachs, author of The Passionate Buddha: Wisdom on Intimacy and Enduring Love * "For those unlucky enough to have missed him in the flesh, this text offers the next best thing: a distillation of Ganesh Baba's most fundamental teachings, his unique and prophetic synthesis of East and West, science and spirituality, madness and method. Through personal narrative Eve portrays the fun and frustrations of learning from a crazy guru whose profound and mischievous ways blew our minds to infinity!" * Roxanne Kamayani Gupta, Ph.D., author of A Yoga of Indian Classical Dance * "Add this endearing, wise, and well-named 'Trickster' to the list of great teachers. His message was clear: mind can only point to the Truth, to find it you have to live it truly and fully for yourself!" * Alice O. Howell, author of The Heavens Declare * "In this loving and insightful spiritual memoir, author Eve Baumohl Neuhaus introduces us to her larger-than-life, iconoclastic spiritual teacher and his all-encompassing Cycle of Synthesis. True to his name, Ganesh Baba, he bursts through the barriers of any preconceived Western notions of a guru. She offers a simple yet profound spiritual practice based on his teachings that would delight her teacher and draws together contemporary Western spiritual seekers with the ancient wisdom of the East." * Heather Mendel, author of Dancing in the Footsteps of Eve and Towards Freedom * "A treasure chest of Ganeshian Wisdom from the original psychedelic guru, himself." * Shri Mahant Baba Rampuri, author of Autobiography of a Sadhu * "I love every page. Though Baba was a master of beautiful prose, Eve pulls together, clarity, and makes sense of his teaching in a concise way much more accessible, I think, to a current reader. What a triumph!" * Deniz Tekiner, Ph.D, author of Modern Art and the Romantic Vision, June 2010 * "The Crazy Wisdom of Ganesh Baba is very inspiring and touchingly human. Eve has provided a book full of divine wisdom embodied in Ganesh Baba's radiant presence which shines on every page." * Mark Dyzckowski, author of The Doctrine of Vibration, June 2010 * "Today there is a growing movement, an extension of the spirit of the 1960s in which the specialist is giving way to the generalist and the generalist is yielding to the holistic individual, an amalgam of various ways of knowing and being that allows the body its due in one's spiritual process. Eve Baumohl Neuhaus's The Crazy Wisdom of Ganesh Baba offers an exciting synthesis of this Bengali wise man's practice that encourages unity of body, mind, and spirit. Her creative synthesis of his teachings offers the initiate a superb introduction to another way of pilgrimaging to wholeness." * Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D., author of Grace in the Desert and co-editor of Reimagining Education * "For Yoga aficionados, the book is a wonderful addition to your library, filled with pearls of wisdom and reminders of how daily practice of the body and the mind lead to living in spirit, beyond the illusion of time." * Kala Ambrose, examiner.com, June 2010 * "This book is laid out to reflect Ganesh Baba's scattered, but repetitive teaching style. Pictures, diagrams, drawings, fonts, quotes, and more have been used to give both authenticity to the complexity of his teachings as well as the multidimensional aspects of life itself." * Victoria Holmberg, New Age Retailer, October 2010 * ". . . has enough to keep the serious seeker as well as those just curious, engrossed. Written by Eve Baumohl Neuhaus, one of Baba's many students, this unusually candid book throws light on the life and times of Baba . . ." * The Times of India, August 2011 *