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Devraha Baba was one of the greatest Indian masters. He departed in 1989. People say he was 250 years old at that time. Baba lived at the side of the Yamuna River across Vrindavan, the city of Krishna. It is where Devraha Baba’s ashram with its white tower visible from afar is still located. One will need a boat to get to the ashram. It is the place where Kesha Das, a German follower of Devraha Baba has been living for over ten years. The ashram is supervised by the two close pupils of the master. One of them, Bali Maharaj was still a young boy when a merchant together with his wife came to Baba and asked him to work a miracle.

Baba told Bali to grasp a handful of rice and toss it up. The rice froze in the air in a form of the sacred Om.

“Trifle!” the merchant exclaimed. “This is the trick the fakir shows in our village. Show me a real miracle!”

“All right” Devraha Baba said and gave a wave of the hand. The merchant turned into a buffalo. His wife started screaming but the buffalo gave no response – he was just standing there chewing the grass peacefully. Having kept the naive merchant in such a state for about forty minutes Baba turned him back into a human. Then both the merchant and his wife dropped on their knees in adoration at Baba’s feet and remained his true worshippers till the end of their days. Devraha Baba was Brahmarishi, which is the highest level of Yogis comprehension.

Baba lived at the manch, the so called platform elevated above the ground on poles and holding a straw hut of the yogi. The manch survives to this day. Devraha Baba did not let other people touch it. It was believed that his energy was so strong that it could kill. Sometimes the Elder let his leg down the platform and put it on the head of the visitor – it was the way he gave his blessing.

A lot of people of different backgrounds came to visit Baba and there was one day when Mahatma Gandhi came. During the conversation Baba told Gandhi:
- Do not go to Delhi.
- But I can’t” Gandhi objected. “It is going to be a great meeting and thousands of people are waiting for me
- Then take a blanket and never leave it.”
With this Devraha Baba threw him his old blanket. Gandhi carried the blanket with him but he left it in the car before his speech. Mahatma was shot dead at the meeting.

Baba walked bent, which is evident in the picture, as he always hold internal Kumbakha and Uddiyana Bandha. Sometimes he would go to the Yamuna River to wash and would disappear under the water for several hours. Some people saw the yogi walking upon the water. Devraha loved the river and often said that he was a child of the Yamuna. Baba lived by milk and water from the river

Behind Devraha Baba’s ashram are the fields where Krishna played with his gopis five thousand years ago. Here is Radharani Kund, a pond created by Krishna to comfort his beloved Radha when she had a grouch on Krishna for not paying attention to her. The locals still greet each other with the words “Radhe, Radhe!” in remembrance of Krishna’s beloved.

At the end of 1980s a group of Soviet journalists visited Devraha Baba. A story about him was shown in a program called “Vzglyad”, which was popular at that time. Baba above all blessed the journalist by putting his leg on the journalist’s head and said that he gave his blessing to all Russian people. He added that Russians would have to suffer a little more for the better.

He predicted the breakup of the Soviet Union and the visit of Gorbachev to India, which had not been yet officially announced. Baba said that he knew Gorbachev well and wanted him to come over to get an advice and blessing. It is well known that Gorbachev together with his wife visited Baba. There was even a helicopter landing spot for important visitors not far from the manch. No one knows though what kind of advice Devraha gave to the first and the last president of the Soviet Union.

One day a team of western researches and journalists studying Indian yoga and sadhu came to the Elder. One of the scientists asked Devraha of his age. Baba only smiled in response. Then the researcher asked the yogi to give him a strand of his hair to examine it in the laboratory so that he could find out the age of Devraha Baba. Three months later the scientist came back to Baba. He was crying – the analysis showed that the hair belonged to a five-year old child.

Sometimes Devraha Baba went to the Himalayas. He allowed accompanying him till Rishikesh only. No one knows where he then went. At the great religious celebration of Kumbh Mela people saw the yogi at different place at one and the same time.

Once Baba said to the author of the book “Living among Himalayan Yogis”, Svami Rama: “Happiness is the greatest of all the riches. Punctuality is of great importance as well. Practicing of the advance breathing methods is significant too. Methods of not ageing are the methods of pranayama.”

In his lifetime the yogi was fond of the cows and took care of them He said that the cow is the only living being whose urine and manure have healing value. The last words of the master were: “Save the cows.” .

When the yogi was dying a top of his skull broke off – this happens to powerful yogis when their life energy leaves the body to rise above. At his behest the body of Devraha Baba was placed into a wooden cage and submerged in the waters of the Yamuna River. When after several hours the cage was lifted up, it was empty – the saint dissolved his body in the water. Before he left he had said: “I will be able to help you even more without a physical body.”

Mantra to Devraha Baba:
OM DEVARAHAYA DIGAMBARAYA MANCHA SINAYA NAMO NAMAHA!!!
   Om again and again I bow down to Shree Devraha baba,
   always dwelling in God, completely naked, living in a manch.

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OUM DEVARAHAYA DIGAMBARAYA MANCHA SINAYA NAMO NAMAHA