Dev Bhumi : the Abode of the Gods in India

I am taking you on an exploration of the saints and siddhas of the Kumaon region going back over a hundred years. From family stories I learned that my father had a special connection love and devotion for Sombari Baba. My Uncle Hubba told me many stories and I read others from a monthly magazine that was published in Almora in the 1930s. I started by soliciting accounts from his original devotees and translated many of them from the Pahari hill dialect. No one can claim that he or she can write about the saints. Writing about them is just like a drop of the ocean”an indescribable experience of grace. As Tulsi Das has said in the Ramayana: 'Vidhi Hari Har Kavi Kovid Bani Kahat Sadhu Mahima Sakuchani. 'Even the speech of deities like Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh poets and men of wisdom falters in depicting the glory of pious souls (saints).True devotees like nothing better than to sit together and hear stories of those who have inspired them along the path to God. May these recollections many from people who have since passed on inspire your path.Contents:Foreword by Ram DassPreface by Raghu MarkusIntroductionPart INeem Karoli Baba MaharajHow this book came to bePart IIThe Sages during the Chand DynastyShri Raukhdiya BabaSwami VivekanandaShri Harshdev Puri MaharajKhaki BabaPart IIIEarly DaysDescriptions of Sombari BabaKakrighatPadampuriFirst Darshans with BabaAnnapurna SiddhiPilgrimageHealingAnimalsOrdinary MiraclesLessons and GraceQuotes from Sombari BabaPredictionsMahasamadhiPart IVHairakhan BabaBal Brahmachari MaharajEpilogueGlossaryAcknowledgmentsCredits