Spiritual Lineage of Punditt Maharaj

To many people, spiritual power is gained by meditation, ritual, chanting, fasting, book study, drawing magical circles, and one hundred and one other methods. The fact is that none of these will give you true spiritual power. Spending time with a Guru is a far better method, but Gurus have gone out of fashion, and besides, how do you know your Guru is true or not?

During the twenty years I spent with Punditt, a lot of that time was taken up with fear and respect. Punditt never made it easy for me. We rarely discussed spiritual disciplines, and we rarely talked about my experiences. There was no debriefing of what I had been through. He knew what I was experiencing, he knew what the next stage was going to be, and that was enough. What was never stated, but I began to be increasingly aware of, was that I had to demonstrate that I was ready for the next stage, whatever that was.

Punditt’s name is obviously Hindu, but his true vocation was Sufism. The mantras he gave me to recite came from the Koran, and I was encouraged to read the Holy Koran. My researches suggested that he had connections with Moinuddin Chisti Sufis who are based in Pakistan, but this was still tenuous. I doubt there is someone in the Chisti Sufis who would know Punditt. I also knew that some of his colleagues worked in India, were vegetarian and teetotal, and practised Jyotish (as Punditt did too).

Punditt and the OTO

So, there was the conundrum. Where, or who, or what were his spiritual roots? It was not until recently that I began to understand what was happening. The true power of the Punditts comes from their spiritual lineage. Association with the Masters of a Spiritual Line bestows extraordinary benefits on the Seeker. That this is known in the western magical tradition is clear, particularly with Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templis Orientalis organisation, where an extraordinary lineage was concocted, which included:

The O.T.O. is a body of initiates in whose hands are concentrated the wisdom and the knowledge of the following bodies:

  1. The Gnostic Catholic Church.
  2. The Order of the Knights of the Holy Ghost.
  3. The Order of the Illuminati.
  4. The Order of the Temple(Knights Templar).
  5. The Order of the Knights of St. John.
  6. The Order of the Knights of Malta.
  7. The Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.
  8. The Hidden Church of the Holy Graal.
  9. The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light.
  10. The Holy Order of Rose Croix of Heredom.
  11. The Order of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch.
  12. The Antient and Primitive Rite of Masonry (33 degrees).
  13. The Rite of Memphis (97 degrees).
  14. The Rite of Mizraim (90 degrees).
  15. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Masonry (33 degrees).
  16. The Swedenborgian Rite of Masonry.
  17. The Order of the Martinists.
  18. The Order of the Sat Bhai, and many other orders of equal merit, if of less fame.

In more remote times, the constituent originating assemblies of the O.T.O. included such men as:

Fohi, Hippolytus, Laotze, Siddartha, Krishna, Tahuti, Ankh-f-n-khonsu, Herakles, Merlin, Arthur, Titurel, Amfortas, Percivale, Mosheh, Orpheus, Odysseus, Vergilius, Mohammed, Catullus, Martialis, Apollonius Tyanaeus, Hermes, Pan, Dante, Simon Magus, Carolus Magnus, Manes, William of Schyren, Basilides, Frederick of Hohenstaufen, Valentinus, Roger Bacon, Bardesanes, Jacobus Burgundus Molensis, King Wu, Ko Hsuen, Christian Rosenkreutz, Osiris, Ulrich von Hutten, Melchizedek, Paracelsus, Khem, Michael Maier, Menthu, Jakob Boehme, Johannes Dee, Francis Bacon, Sir Edward Kelly, Andrea, Thos. Vaughan, Robertus de Fluctibus, Elias Ashmole, Chau, Comte de Chazal, Saturnus, Sigismund Bacstrom, Dionysus, Molinos

And recently:

Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sir Richard Payne Knight, Hargrave Jennings, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Karl Kellner, Forlong Dux, Eliphas Lévi, Ludovicus Rex Bavariae, Franz Hartmann, Richard Wagner, Cardinal Rampolla, Ludwig von Fischer, Papus (Dr. Encausse)

From the O.T.O. Manifesto

Now, this dizzying and eclectic list is remarkable, not because of the unlikelihood of it being true, but that the founders of the O.T.O. felt the need to concoct such a list. To this day, the heirs of Crowley’s legacy and of the Golden Dawn are bitterly fought over in the courts and propaganda wars.

Transcendental Meditation

I learned Transcendental Meditation when I was fourteen, and I continued with the advanced techniques and siddhis until I met Punditt in my early twenties. As you know, before the mantra is transmitted to the meditator, there is a puja, the first part of which is shown below.

The Puja

To Lord Narayana, to lotus-born Brahma the Creator, to Vashishta, to Shakti, and to his son, Parashar, to Vyasa, to Shukadava, to the great Gaudapada, to Govinda, ruler among yogies, to his disciple, Shri Trotika and Varttika-Kara, to others, to the tradition of our masters I bow down. To the abode of the wisdom of the Shrutis, Smritis and Puranas, to the abode of kindness, to the personified glory of the Lord, to Shankara, emancipator of the Lord, I bow down. To Shankaracharya, the redeemer, hailed as Krishna and Badarayana, to the commentator of the Brahma Sutras, I bow down again and again. At whose door the whole galaxy of gods pray for perfection day and night, adorned with immeasurable glory, perceptor of the whole world, having bowed down to him, we gain fulfillment. Skilled in dispelling the cloud of ignorance of the people, the gentle emancipator, Bramananda Saraswati -the supreme teacher, full of brilliance, him I bring to my awareness.

Secrets of the Lineage

The next part is the ritual, which is not important. You might think that the lineages of the O.T.O. and Transcendental Meditation are entirely different, but you would be wrong. Look carefully, and you will note that both mix Gods with Masters. Unless you are familiar with the names you will also notice that the Gods and the Masters are treated equally. In plain view a secret is revealed, a powerful secret that is rarely acknowledged. The secret is this. In the spiritual realms, the Masters and the Gods are perceived as equals. Furthermore, it is possible to perform spiritual work with the Gods and Masters, to commune with them, and to help them.

The O.T.O. List goes one step further as it includes mythological figures from literature, such as Percivale, King Arthur and Odysseus. Clearly, these powerful archetypal people are accessible in the spiritual realms.

The great advantage of working with Spiritual Lineages is that you are working with powerful forces that transcend Time. Time is the Arrow, and there is no structure that tells us which is more powerful, higher, or lower than the magician. The diaries and writings of Dion Fortune show her contact with these powerful archetypal figures of the British landscape.

Qawali Lineage

Punditt introduced me to the Qawali music from Pakistan at a very early stage. Even though I did not know the language, the power of the music and songs is enough to create ecstatic states. The Sufi roots of Qawali are vitally important. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was one of the greatest of Qawali singers, and I was fortunate enough to meet him in Brighton, and see him sing at a number of concerts in the UK. In every interview, Nusrat would recite the Qawali Masters that had gone before him:

  • al-Gazali (1085-1111)
  • Khwaj Moinuddin Hasan Chisti (1143-1234)
  • Ibrahim Qahandazi
  • Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilli
  • Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325)
  • Amir Khusru (1254-1324)

Many of these Masters are celebrated in Qawali songs. It is considered that Qawali predated the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, but some of the Masters originated in Iran. India had a huge effect on Qawali, where the music is also known as Sama (see the Sama Veda).

Sufism Lineage

The origins of Sufism are disputed. Clearly Sufism is associated with the rise of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed, but my knowledge suggests an earlier period of history. Sufis place great importance on the lineage of their organisations, for good reason. There are a many Sufi groups throughout the world, but whoever they revere as the founder of their sect; the Prophet Mohammed will be at the beginning.

Islamic Lineage

Politics inevitably enters the ‘True’ Lineage of the Prophet Mohammed, particularly after the parting of the Shia and Sunni faiths, a legacy that can be seen played out in the nascent civil war in Iraq at the moment.

With this in mind, here is a selection of the various Lineages that abound:

The Four Caliphs

  • Abu Bakr (632-634)
  • Umar (634-644)
  • Uthman (644-656)
  • Ali (656-661)

The Companions of the Prophet

Below is a partial list of some of the companions of the Prophet (saas). Their lives remain a source of inspiration for the later generations of Muslims, including today’s. May Allah be pleased with all of them.

  • Abbad ibn Bishr
  • Abdullah ibn Abbas
  • Abdullah ibn Hudhafah as-Sahmi
  • Abdullah ibn Jahsh
  • Abdullah ibn Masud
  • Abdullah Ibn Sailam
  • Abdullah ibn Umar
  • Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum
  • Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf
  • Abu-d Dardaa
  • Abu-l Aas ibn ar-Rabiah
  • Abu Ayyub al-Ansari
  • Abu Dharr al-Ghifari
  • Abu Hurayrah
  • Abu Musa al-Ashari
  • Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith
  • Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah
  • Adiyy ibn Hatim
  • Aishah bint Abi Bakr
  • Al-Baraa ibn Malik al-Ansari
  • Amr ibn al-Jamuh
  • An-Nuayman ibn Amr
  • An-Numan ibn Muqarrin
  • Asmaa bint Abu Bakr
  • At-Tufayl ibn Amr ad-Dawsi
  • Barakah
  • Fatimah bint Muhammad
  • Fayruz ad-Daylami
  • Habib ibn Zayd al-Ansari
  • Hakim ibn Hazm
  • Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman
  • Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl
  • Jafar ibn Abi Talib
  • Julaybib
  • Khabbab ibn al-Aratt
  • Muadh ibn Jabal
  • Muhammad ibn Maslamah
  • Musab ibn Umayr
  • Nuaym ibn Masud
  • Rabiah ibn Kab
  • Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan
  • Rumaysa bint Milhan
  • Sad ibn Abi Waqqas
  • Said ibn Aamir al-Jumahi
  • Said ibn Zayd
  • Salim Mawla Abi Hudhayfah
  • Salman al-Farsi
  • Suhayb ar-Rumi
  • Suhayl ibn Amr
  • Talhah ibn Ubaydullah
  • Thabit ibn Qays
  • Thumamah ibn Uthal
  • Ubayy ibn Kab
  • Umayr ibn Sad al-Ansari
  • Umayr ibn Wahb
  • Umm Salamah
  • Uqbah ibn Aamir
  • Utbah ibn Ghazwan
  • Zayd al-Khayr
  • Zayd ibn Thabit

The Koran Lineage

The Holy Koran traces their lineage back to Abraham through Ishmael, which aligns with the Jewish and Christian faiths. Christians are surprisingly ignorant at how much of the Koran is about the Patriarchs. Clearly there is far more that links the faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Judaic Lineage

The tradition maintaining the Lineage is alive and well in Islam, but there are problems with Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism, the Lineage goes back to Adam and Eve, and in particular the Book of Numbers; the Lineage is then carried through the Kabbalistic Masters who lived in Europe, particularly Spain and Eastern Europe from the 12 century onwards. The problem is that many Kabbalistic texts are actually propaganda tools to convert Jews to Christianity. However holy (and I am not disputing the saintliness of the Kabbalistic Masters), working with tainted texts is not going to be fruitful unless one knows and is aware of the problem. Here we see the superiority of following the lineage and not necessarily the texts!

Christianity

Jesus claimed his lineage back to the early Prophets, and he had his eye on the future by the creation of the Disciples who would continue the Work. Unfortunately, Christianity veered off into the realms of politics, and the denial that Jesus was married or had children, or that any descendants survived continues to this day. The power of transmission was projected through Rome and the Papal system, where any element of spiritual ability was buried under expediency and power politics. That there is a yearning for the rediscovery of the Line of Jesus is clear in the phenomenon of the Dan Brown books and the Da Vinci Code. Prophets appear regularly in the world to remind the population of God, and it is my belief that the Prophet Mohammed appeared to re-establish the notion of the Spiritual Lineage.

Modern Genetics and Lineage

DNA is the genetic code we inherit from our parents and ancestors. There is nothing revelatory in that statement, but now scientists have discovered that our genes are shaped by our ancestors life experiences. The evidence comes from times of famine in a small village in Sweden but we can see that those same genetic memories can also come from spiritual experiences.

Accessing your own lineage

My great-grandfather was very active in the Theosophical Society. He died ten years before I was born, but he has been very helpful to me for many years now. I keep a photo of him on my altar. You can research your own family to see if you have any ancestors who you can connect to. We all have our own grandparents, and when they pass on, they are invariably around to help us.

Making contact with your own relatives will make a big difference. You can also align yourself with the Saints and Holy Men mentioned on this page, or the Punditts. Going to a holy place or a cemetery will have a similar effect.

Punditts and Lineage

By now it should be clear that Punditts acknowledge all Spiritual Lineages. From my own experience, I can say that I have at some point found myself working within all the Lineages mentioned above. It is clear also that these Lineages connect in mysterious ways. Punditt told me that there have been millions of Prophets, and that history records only a few.

One way of connecting with the Lineages is to read or recite the names of the Prophets and Masters. Another way is to read their writings, or listen to the music of Qawali, as I did, and continue to do. The Lineage of Names is immortal, and does not rely on the survival of books and writings.

Another method of connecting to the Masters is to go their Shrines. If you are not near a Shrine, then a graveyard will serve a similar purpose.

With time, you will find yourself closer to the Prophets and Masters than you ever thought possible. The Holy Books will come alive, and you will start to receive direct knowledge.

Punditt never claimed a direct lineage to any of the Paths I have described above, but in all cases, I have found that lineage to work. Sometimes while were sitting together not saying much (a very common experience), I would see other Punditts or Prophets around him, or a photo of a Saint would come alive. I would point it out rather obliquely, and he would acknowledge. Sometimes he would bow his head to the photo of the Saint.

So, while embracing all these Lineages (and there are others, the list is not exclusive), and the importance of Lineage, and by not telling me what his real Lineage is, he was telling me something powerful. The Lineage of the Punditts is so ancient that that it is older than the recorded history of the planet. To connect to this Hidden Lineage gives us access to ancient knowledge and powers.

The Future

The work of the Master is to always find students who will continue the Work when he is gone. Punditt Maharaj is still with us, but his Silence means that I have to continue his work. Over the years I have found a number of very talented and spiritual people who work with me to discover and develop His work. We will create a new line of Punditts to continue the work in the New Age that is appearing.