Venerated Shivapuri Baba (vegetarian): Wandering Sannyasin and Right Life Teaching, Part 2 of 2

On His pilgrimage, Baba met many intellectuals and heads of state, such as respected scientist Madame Curie, Beloved Mahatma Gandhi Ji (vegetarian), Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, His Excellency Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (vegetarian), and Madan Mohan Malaviya (vegetarian), along with Shah Kings of Nepal. After 40 years and tens of thousands of kilometers traveling, Sri Govindananda Bharati finally returned back to His birthplace of Kerala, India, in 1915. He was 90 years old.

In 1961, British academic and author John Bennett met the 135-year-young Shivapuri Baba. This was the beginning of a lengthy interview, which was later compiled in the book “Long Pilgrimage: The Life and Teaching of the Shivapuri Baba.” In this excerpt, Shivapuri Baba explains the meaning of Right Life to a Hindu visitor: “What is the greatest aim of life?” “To see Truth.” “Why should we want to see Truth?” “Because before that, we cannot be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.” “What are the chief elements of the Right Life?” “Discrimination and devotion. You see for maintaining body, you have to discharge certain duties towards nature, towards family, towards society, towards government, and towards profession. All these should be planned, done with dexterity. Then for making your mind strong, you have to cultivate virtues, charity, self-control, fearlessness… this is discrimination. The rest of the time you should devote to thinking of Truth in various ways without feeling monotonous. This is Devotion. The most important thing is to see that you do not waste your time on any other work.”

Shivapuri Baba emphasized the importance of His teachings over focusing on His life story. There are a few books in Shivapuri Baba’s instructions on leading the Right Life, including “Right Life – Teachings of the Shivapuri Baba,” which includes recorded questions and answers, as well as “Save Mother Earth From Nuclear Holocaust by RL,” “The Gita and Right Life As I Understand It,” and “The Shivapuri Baba – His Teachings from different angles.”

Nepal reportedly held the dearest place in Shivapuri Baba’s heart. He enjoyed observing the sunrise from the heights of Shivapuri, casting a radiant orange glow over Mount Everest, and compared the sight to seeing God Hirmself.

Shivapuri Baba passed away on January 28, 1963, aged 137 years old. In commemoration of the Hindu Saint, the Shivapuri Baba Shrine located in Kathmandu, Nepal has a small library that contains His spiritual teachings.