The Bangalore Murthy

We are grateful to Mr. K. B. Viswanath for providing this additional information to the August 20, 2011, post on this blog.

The idea of installing a marble statue of Swamiji in the Bangalore ashram temple was proposed by Mr. Viswanath to the Bangalore trustees who supported the idea.

Mr. Viswanath and his wife Smt. K. Accava Viswanath graciously donated the entire cost of of the sculpture.

______

The earlier blog did not give proper credit to the Viswanaths' inspiration and generosity. The installation of Shivabalayogi's murthy in the Brahma Vishnu Maheshwara Temple is of great service and value for all devotees, as is Mr. Viswanath's ongoing work for Swamiji and devotees as working chairman of the Bangalore Trust.

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Viswanath.

Sri Shivabalayogi (1968) Online

The first completely English book on Shivabalayogi, written by Prof. S. K. Ramachandra Rao, is now online.  It was published in Bangalore in 1968.  Later that year, Shivabalayogi sat for a one-year tapas at the Bangalore ashram on Bannerghatta Road.

You can read the complete book, Sri Shivabalayogi, online and there is a text only, printer friendly version that you can download.  This excerpt from the book suggests the awe with which Shivabalayogi was regarded in those early years after he finished his twelve-year tapas:

We have heard that in ancient times Lord Krishna made Bharata-Varsha holy by his Avatar amongst the animals and inanimate on this earth, people young and old were so drawn to him that the sound of his magic flute and the touch of his divine presence would perform a miracle in them each such that they would emerge changed and chastened beings.  This was “Krishna Leela” as people termed it, while Krishna himself laid no claim to the leelas.

Believe it or not, here and now, the twentieth century has produced a Shivabalayogi who has many “Tapoleelas” to his credit but lays no claim to them.  The yogi has considered it his duty to wipe the tears of every distressed being that approaches him for succour, radiating into the suppliant a cheer and a titter leading to comfort and peace.

Spiritual Ministration Online

Shivabalayogi holding up a copy of the 1989 edition

of Spiritual Ministration, presenting it to the public

on the occasion of his 54th birthday.

The complete 1989 edition of Shivabalayogi's biography by Gen. Hanut Singh, Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj Life and Spiritual Ministration, is now available online. Originally published in 1981, this was the first book on Shivabalayogi available in the West.

You can read the entire book online, with all original illustrations and appendices, or download (text only, printer-friendly) the book, all at the Spiritual Ministration pages of the Handloom website.  No charge.

The Handloom website contains many archived materials on Shivabalayogi, including free downloads of audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with Shivabalayogi; Shivabalayogi chanting om namah shivaya namaha; a booklet on Shivabalayogi, A Brief Sketch, published a few months after he completed twelve years of meditation; a booklet entitled The Lahari that was published in Bangalore in 1989 from material collected in England the previous year; a detailed article on the practice of The Practice of Dhyana Meditation;  and a summary of the great spiritual treatise, the Yoga Vasishta.

Serious Sadhana (Spiritual Practice)

Shivabalayogi in London, around 1990.

From Nick Black in London:

I’ve been a meditator for 35 years, followed yogic spiritual practice very seriously and intently for a long, long time. But like many of my generation, I tended to fall for spiritual groups and leaders who in the end turned a little toxic. So I’ve gone my own way for some time. Being a journalist and writer, I kept a good eye out for all the minutiae of eastern spiritual movements, plus being a jyotish astrologer in my spare time. But for some strange reason, Shivabalayogi never appeared on the radar screen in all those years.

Earlier this year I completed an exhausting, very tiring nine-day recitation of the Devi Mahatyam/Chandi Path for Navarartri. Doing that is a bit like pulling teeth.  My mind, body and senses rebelled. Serious sadhana is a sort of give-away title for tapas, if you think about it. Little did I know what was to happen next! The very day after I’d finished it, the boon came: the Master appeared.

I kept having visions in meditation of a matted hair Yogi of beautiful aspect, leading me in meditation, encouraging to deepen practice . . . my meditations increased to an hour, to two hours, so that on weekends I’d manage five hours at a stretch all under the influence of the matted hair inner Yogi. He told me to put ash on my head and so I started doing that.

The experiences continue in full and delicate force and are unlike anything I’ve ever really known even after all this time on the yogic path. He is shimmering always, either as a sort of protective body casing or, this is hard to explain, twinkling in a miniature form in the sahasara crown chakra. Believe me I know the difference between fantasy and reality, and such experiences are just too overwhelming concrete to ignore.

Then a few weeks ago I was in a bookshop and came across a copy of Gen. Singh’s biography of Shivabalayogi (Spiritual Ministration, see http://www.handloom.org/Books_main.html) and you can probably guess what happened next! I realized this was the matted hair Yogi who had been visiting.  I’ve known lots of spiritual teachers and ways of being, but this was like a death and a birth. Death of all the clutter, the old me, the old ways of relating. Birth of something truly wonderful.

Shri Swamiji passes power to his devotees

to do tapas. Shri Swamiji is with a person

who completed five years of tapas.

What happened and happens is that the great Yogi revealed himself in astral form, took over my body in a very literal sense, and forcibly pulled my body and eyes to meditate with the attention on what Indian tradition calls the bhikruti, the third eye. No choice about it! I sit, “POW” comes the great Yogi, locks my body and mind and sight, and deep we go . . .

This is happening day in, day out. I’m in absolute bliss, hard to describe, just overwhelmed with gratitude and the reality of this sea-change in life.

It’s very strange that I missed him completely all these years. I can only say I wasn’t ready, that things happen at their own time and space, and that there is such an element of destiny. How can I love and revere this person whom I never met, and yet whom I have and who is with me so intimately.

The Shivabalayogi websites, the books, the You Tube videos are like nectar at present. There are some fantastic performances in the kirtans available for download. [http://www.handloom.org/Bhajans_Home.htm] I imagine, however, the bhava experiences raised some controversy. I can see how they could be manipulated. That’s a whole other thing happening… my hands and body get thrown into all sorts of positions when I watch Swamiji on You Tube or listen to the kirtans. I cannot thank you enough for putting all this out there. I’m in that odd stage where everything moves me to tears, it’s so profoundly beautiful.  So… thanks so much!

I’ve got a blog called Serious Sadhana, found on http://serioussadhana.blogspot.com/

Adivarapupeta Ashram on Television

A popular Telugu Channel ETV 2, visited the Adivarapupeta ashram and recorded Swamiji's Samadhi, the temple of Lord Shiva and Parvati Devi temple, and the ashram activities. The program will be televised on the following days and times.

ETV2 Telugu
Monday, 12 September, 2011  7:00 AM to 07:30 AM IST
Tuesday, 13 September, 2011, 1:00 AM to 01:30 AM IST

The programs can also be seen at these same dates and times on the web:
http://www.yupptv.com/etv2_live.html
http://www.freedocast.com/etv2channel

Swamiji's Smiling Face: from Bangalore to Adivarapupeta

from Sudarshan Reddy Balakrishna:

As usual, Sunday evening bhajans were going on at the Bangalore ashram (July 31). I was sitting with the bhajan group enjoying the bhajans. Suddenly I felt an urge to do meditation. I went aside and sat for meditation. Few minutes passed by in meditation, then all of a sudden I went into deep meditation. My body was reacting differently, like how it will react when you get fever. It was like that. Then I was seeing a face in front of me.

In the midst of that experience I got a bit disturbed and wanted to remove it. I tried shaking my head with eyes still closed, thinking if I shake my head it will go away, but it was of no use. Then I recognized the face as Swamiji’s, eyes half open and smiling a bit. It was almost round in shape. This continued to be there for about 5-10 minutes before it vanished. Then my body became normal and bhajans also got over and I came out of meditation.

The experience was so refreshing. I was so happy for having Swamiji's darshan in meditation. I almost felt like saying loudly to everyone that I had Swamiji’s darshan in meditation today. I wanted to dance in joy.

Exactly six days later I was in Adivarapupeta for the 50th tapas anniversary celebration. I went to Swamiji’s Samadhi. As soon as I entered my attention was driven to a photo kept there. To my surprise I was seeing the same Smamiji’s face in the photo which I had seen in my mediation six days earlier: the same face, with eyes half open and smiling.

Phanisree: Divine Light & Darshan

I am Phanisree, Swamiji’s devotee from the Adivarapupeta ashram.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary function of the divine guru, Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, some of his devotees gathered in Adivarapupeta ashram on June 21, 2011 and meditated ten hours a day for 48 days, until August 6. During this period, on July 16 while I was making a flower garland for Goddess Parvati, I saw a divine light emerging from the flowers. The light was powerful. The divine light engulfed the surroundings of the ashram. I felt that Swamiji was blessing the meditation program by passing his divine power.

On August 5 and 6, a special chariot procession was arranged through the streets of Ramachandrapuram, Draksharama and Adivarapupeta. On the evening of August 5, Swamiji’s picture with a white colored shawl was placed on the dais of the decorated chariot. The procession started in the streets of Draksharama and continued to Adivarapupeta. As the procession moved towards the ashram, I saw Swamiji wearing a blue colored shawl giving his darshan to me and the people around me. He was waving his hand towards us. I felt that it was nothing other than his physical body. I  felt Swamiji’s energy and his spiritual currents passing into my body. As soon as I saw his physical body, I was amazed. I felt tears of joy and entered into the state of euphoria.

The next two days, August 6 and 7, I also experienced the same divine energy. In fact my experience cannot be expressed in words. On August 7, I felt that Swamiji entered into each and every devotee and was doing all the preparations for the mass feeding. Each and every program on that day was also very special and powerful. I remembered the olden days when Swamiji was with his physical body.

Nooka Raju: Adivarapupeta Meditation & Darshan

From Nooka Raju, headmaster of the school in Kakinada:

I used to visit every weekend to do service at the Adivarapupeta ashram. On August 5, I applied for leave and went to the ashram to participate in the chariot procession in Draksharama. I also stayed in the ashram for meditation. Suddenly I could sit in meditation for four hours continuously and I had a nice vision of Swamiji with lightning, as it would appear before rain.

In Drakshrama the procession was ready to start. Vibuthi from the Samadhi was applied to Swamiji’s photo, A coconut was broken, camphor was burned and arthi was given to Swamiji. The drummers started beating, dancers started their dance, and fire crackers exploded. The chariot moved from the place where it had been standing and started moving forwards. A powerful vibration engulfed the atmosphere. Attracted by Swamiji’s divine power, people pressed their palms together and bowed.

Bournemouth, England

From Shivakami Hernmarck:

Mid-July of this year, in Bournemouth, England, Thomasina Craster and Krishan hosted R.B. Singh and his wife, Vidyawathi, Shivabalayogi devotees now living in Bangalore, India. Thomasina's flat turned into a mini-ashram for a few days with much cooking, meditation & laughter. Seven meditation and bhajans programs were organized over mornings and evenings. The bhajans were very powerful and everybody joined in — about thirty people on some evenings. As Shivakami reports, the programs helped awaken enthusiasm among devotees who had known Swamiji from his visits to the U.K. over 1987 to 1991.

The Bournemouth group was so inspired by the devotees’ visit that they planned regular monthly programs. The first was on Sunday the 7th of August, the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Shivabalayogi’s completion of twelve years of tapas. They had a very good program in Bournemouth with focused, silent meditation, good strong energy bhajans and (just enough) prasad.

K. Yashoda: Tapas Anniversary in Adivarapupta

We celebrated Shri Swamiji’s 50th tapo siddhi anniversary in Adivarapupeta in very grand fashion. We started the 50th tapo siddhi function on 21st June, 2011.

Shri Swamiji completed his tapas in Adivarapupeta fifty years ago to show mankind the way to conquer ego and misfortune through meditation, to get whatever we need in this life, and to get God realization.
To remember his mission of meditation, we invited and encouraged devotees to do 48 days of meditation starting June 21 and continuing through August 6 of 2011. Some joined after two or three weeks and were doing meditation whichever way they could. Some reached up to ten hours of meditation at a time during this period. They had nice experiences. Even in their own places, devotees were encouraged by this request and started doing more and more meditation. They gathered at Adivarapupeta at the end of the 48 day period and participated in the August 7th function.

On 4th of August, we arranged a grand chariot procession in Ramachandrapuram with bhajans, drums and trumpets. In front of the procession, we arranged for announcements about Shri Swamiji’s life history and the purpose of meditation. Shri Swamiji was taken in the chariot in the streets of Ramachandrapuram. People gathered everywhere and offered arthi and flower garlands to Shri Swamiji. Invitations and pamphlets about meditation were distributed to the crowd.

On 5th of August, a big procession was arranged in Draksharama. This went around the streets of Draksharama until 8:30 in the evening. The Draksharama procession started at 4:30 in the evening with 50 members of dancing people called garadi, a cultural dance of Andhra Pradesh. Behind the dancers showing their talents were drummers with very big drums, about six feet wide, with a big sweet sound.  Sri Swamiji travelled in a big decorated vehicle with beautiful lights in the shape of a flower. The lights in the petals were blinking in different colors giving an impression of Devaloka (the world of the gods; heaven). In the middle of flower, Shri Swamiji was sitting with half closed eyes.

As soon as the procession started people felt a spiritual current passing from Swamiji to whoever was standing in the streets. People were seen with tears in their eyes, affected by the currents from Shri Swamiji. Sometimes we could see Swamiji’s hands waving towards us from the chariot. The photo was of Shri Swamiji in a white shawl, but Shri Swamiji gave us darshan from the chariot wearing a blue shawl. It was a remarkable experience.

The dancers were attracting children who were passing by. They followed behind the puppet dancers happily dancing and calling them by name. Big fireworks with crackers and lights were arranged along with the chariot. Pamphlets about meditation were distributed.

The chariot with Shri Swamiji in the centre slowly entered Adivarapupeta at nine o’clock in the night. The people of Adivarapupeta remembered the old days when Shri Swamiji entered the village for Mahashivaratri function. Even at ten o’clock in the night, the people of Adivarapupeta waited at their doorsteps to greet Shri Swamiji with arthi plates and flower garlands. The youngsters asked the dancers to come to their own streets and dance, so that Shri Swamiji would also come and bless their houses.
The procession was grand. The very real spiritual presence of Shri Swamiji in front of them, people were stuck up with tears and shock.

The procession was so large that the tree braches lining the streets of Adivarapupeta were a bit of an obstacle. Volunteers cut the lower branches and the procession slowly moved from one front door to the next, receiving greetings of the devotees.

The procession entered into the ashram at eleven in the night. Shri Swamiji was given a grand welcome by the devotees in the ashram. They got trance and started dancing in front of the chariot at the ashram entrance. Shri Swamiji entered the Samadhi at 11:30 p.m. and distributed prasadam. Mass feeding got started at 11:30 p.m.

Adivarapupeta Samadhi, Swamiji's birthday January 24, 2011

The August 7th function went on very well with homa and beautiful bhajans. Of course, people were happy to see Shri Swamiji with his beautiful smile in the decorated Samadhi, a big garland of roses around his neck. Devotees offered silk shawls and flower garlands to Swamiji without interval. At one o’clock, the ashram trustees served a big mass feeding. Evening programs started with puja at Shri Swamiji’s Samadhi. It was a pleasurable experience to watch. Devotees gathered around Swamiji and chanted his 108 names, offering puja with flowers and heartfelt devotion.

After Samadhi puja, the children’s bhajan group performed dances for the song of Shri Swamiji’s history, showing how he took birth in Adivarapupeta and how he was made to sit in tapas by Lord Shiva and got God realization. It was a beautiful performance of the village children. Hands up for them. At seven o’clock in the evening, a second mass feeding started.  More than thousand devotees had their spiritual food that night.

To see video of the dance program inside the Adivarapupeta temple, follow these YouTube links:
http://youtu.be/YM5uSPCScQ4

http://youtu.be/YvnzodvGWsg

C.H. Satyavathi, Draksharama, Swamiji's Darshan

I am C. H. Satyavathi from Draksharama. I attended celebrations in Adivarapupeta for the 50th tapas anniversary of Sri Swamiji.

On 5th August, there was a procession with Shri Swamiji’s photo carried in a chariot from the ashram through Adivarapupeta.  I was waiting for the procession to enter Adivarapupeta, near the Neerelamma temple.  As the procession entered slowly, I got a shock seeing Shri Swamiji in his real, human form in the chariot. I had tears in my eyes and my heart started thumping. I started running towards the chariot to hold Sri Swamiji’s feet and do namaskar [bow]. Seeing my state a lady near me took hold of my hand and stopped me from running towards Swamiji. She said it was only a photo of Swamiji. But she also had darshan of Swamiji. In the photo, Shri Swamiji was wearing a white shawl, but the Shri Swamiji who gave darshan to both of us wore a blue shawl. His face was smiling and he waved his hands towards us. It was not a dream. We could really see Sri Swamiji sitting in the chariot.  We were in the middle of the road forgetting our surroundings and not realizing the crowd around us. We were amazed at the darshan we received with our open eyes. In was an experience of a life time. We never expected this type of experience which we received on that day.

The next day we were cutting vegetables at the ashram. But we never felt that we were cutting vegetables or had done any work. We felt Sri Swamiji had entered everybody and he himself was cutting vegetables and doing all the cooking.

I attended the 7th August function and participated in the homa and bhajans. Sri Swamiji’s face was glowing with broad smile greeting everybody. Even while I was ringing the bell in the temple I could see Shri Swamiji in the lingam. The lingam became as wide as Shri Swamiji’s face. I could see Parvati on one side and Lord Shiva with matted hair on the other side of the face of the lingam. I left the bell and did pranam [bow] on the floor feeling shock and happy. When I got up and went close, the lingam appeared as it normally in the ashram.

The mass feeding was a grand thing.  Lots and lots of people were sitting. Normally I used to have sciatica pain in the leg. But that day after the darshan of Swamiji, I never felt pain. I served the large crowd carrying the buckets of blessed food. I was running and doing the service with Swamiji’s power inside me.

During puja at the Samadhi, I saw light emerging from Swamiji’s face. Swamiji was so happy.

50th Tapas Anniversary, Bangalore, Dehradun, Adivarapupeta

The new idol of Swamiji installed

in the temple at the Bangalore ashram.

Bangalore   August 7th program this year at Bangalore was celebrated with bhajans, homa, abhishekam and annadanam (mass feeding). Many devotees were in bhava samadhi.  The special events this year were the consecration of a new temple to Five-Faced Hanuman (panchamukhi hanuman), a project undertaken by Mr. Doraiswami, one of the ashram trustees, and the installation of a new marble statue (murthy) of Shivabalayogi inside the temple on its south side.

The new statue was undertaken by two Bangalore devotees who noticed that many people coming to the temple did know about Swamiji. They come just to see the gods. So Mr. Mohan and Mr. Madhu, as well as Mr. K. B. Vishwanath, the working Chairman of the Bangalore Trust, wanted people to know that this is an ashram and who is Swamiji. Mr. Vishwanath proposed the idea to the Bangalore trustees who supported the idea.

Mr. Viswanath and his wife Smt. K. Accava Viswanath graciously donated the entire cost of of the sculpture. The statue has been installed in the place where Swamiji used to sit during temple functions.

The chief guest this year was Justice M. N. Venkatachalaiah, retired Chief Justice of India. He spoke to the crowd after the homa and described how he has known Shivabalayogi since the 1960’s. A former trustee of the Bangalore Trust, he spent a great deal of time with Swamiji, often not leaving his ashram until very late at night. In those early years at the original Bannerghatta Road ashram, Swamiji got very frustrated with all the difficulties the devotees were suffering. When Swamiji threatened to leave Bangalore for good, Justice Venkatachalaiah helped convince Swamiji to stay and helped him obtain the present ashram site.

Baba Shivarudrabalayogi from Dehradun also addressed the devotees after the homa, assuring them, as he has in Adivarapupeta during Mahashivaratri, that Shivabalayogi continues to work through bhava samadhi. He made no mention of his emergency appeal over the internet on July 17 asking devotees to complain about encroachments at the Dehradun ashram, and Baba’s own threat to fast until death. Very few devotees in Bangalore know about this emergency appeal by Baba.

Dehradun  A group of fifteen to twenty long-time devotees of Swamiji gathered in General Hanut Singh’s home at the Dehradun ashram on August 7th to celebrate the 50th tapas anniversary with meditation, kirtan (bhajans) and bandhara (annadanam). We understand that programs will continue monthly at the General’s house.

The homa and programs in the main Dehradun ashram concluded by reading a prepared message from Baba. You can read more about this function at Baba's website, http://www.shivarudrabalayogi.org.

Adivarapupeta   This year, Miss K. Yashoda invited devotees to celebrate the 50th tapas anniversary with a 48 day meditation retreat at the Adivarapupeta ashram, ending on August 7th. Two devotees, one from Bangalore and another from Delhi, joined on June 20th; others joined later. After his return, the Bangalore devotee described how his daily meditation increased to twelve hours, some days eighteen hours. He said he became able to communicate with cows, snakes and other animals around the ashram.

The day before the anniversary, Miss Yashoda organized a procession with a huge picture of Swamiji through the streets of nearby Draksharam and Ramachandrapuram.

We hope to have photos and more information to you in our next Shivabalayogi Currents report.

Swami Shankarananda

FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011
Shivabalayogi Mahasamadhi Service

Today is Shivabalayogi's mahasamadhi. Actually it's on Sunday but it's very difficult to get you all here again on Sunday. It's a problem so we do it today. So, something about Shivabalayogi: he was a great saint, a self-taught saint who spent twelve years meditating. During that time every day he took a one-hour break - so for twenty-three hours a day he was meditating. He meditated on Lord Shiva continuously. After twelve years Shiva told him to leave his meditation and start passing on his energy to everyone.

The uniqueness of Shivabalayogi was that he gave God-realisation just by meditation. He did not do any kind of ritual. He just said 'dhynam' - that means meditate. And while meditating people would have an inner feeling of great peace and bliss. 'Shiva' is lord, the inner guru, God. 'Yogi' is the outer guru, that is your physical body. Why he used 'Shivabalayogi' for his name is because you've got to have control of the outer body before you can have control of the inner self. He believed, taught and gave experiences to many just by meditation and they attained the state of unique oneness with Lord Shiva. Sometimes he is referred to as a direct incarnation of Lord Shiva Himself. And this great guru travelled all the way to Sri Lanka with a piece of loin cloth around his waist to install a lingam at the Gayatrhi Lingeshwara temple in Nuwara Eliya. And this lingam in Sri Lanka is actually growing into the shape of Ganesha.

Shivabalayogi carried it all the way himself. That's a picture of him carrying the lingam to Nuwara Eliya to install. He came out of meditation in 1961 so he's a recent guru for some of you who were around during that time. And when you asked him a question he always gave unique answers like this one question a student asked him: “With all the Hindu pictures of Shiva, do we assume Shiva is a Hindu?” his answer was “Shiva is not Hindu. He is for all the worlds but in each world he is pictured according to their imagination. It depends on their moods and emotions.”

Another question: “In India there are a lot of gods that people can worship if you are of the Hindu faith. In the west, as Swamiji's mission goes on, is it that people in the west sfrom a Christian tradition will begin to worship Jesus more?” And he answers, “Whatever Christ taught and preached, that's exactly what Swamiji teaches and preaches. So automatically people will start believing more in Christ and will follow the path of Christ.”

That is Shivabalayogi and his answers.

By Swami Shankarananda, South Africa.

Copied from http://fridaysatsang.blogspot.com/2011/03/shivabalayogi-mahasamadhi-service.html

Sally Moburg: A Real Dream

July 8, 2004, Ganesh Place

After my early morning meditation, I laid back down at 7:30am, and woke up at 9am, thinking that I should get up. As I lay there somewhat awake, and somewhat still asleep, the following happened/dream:

I was taken to the meditation hall at Indian Valley Retreat Center. We had just finished pada puja to Swamiji in new body. Swamiji then went and sat behind a partition in the hall. That Swamiji then appeared to be sleeping, and I was somewhat embarrassed over this.

In the meditation hall, Swamiji in his original body appeared in the chair. He appeared to be the same age as when he left his body. Swamiji looked so beautiful and happy. On the other side of the partition, (where Swamiji new body sat), Swamiji would laugh, then Swamiji in old body would make the same laugh. This went back and forth for some time.

From the back of the room, I was watching and crying to once again see my Swamiji in his original body. I wanted to go to his feet, but I could not move. Swamiji was talking beautiful English, stopped talking and then said "Oh, I have two of my old devotees here," and called for Geeta and me to come to him. Geeta and I went to Swamiji's knee, our heads on Swamiji's feet. I could not stop crying. Swamiji got up to walk, and put his arms around Geeta's and my shoulders. I kept crying and kissing his beautiful hands, continually saying "I love you."

As we walked among the retreat people, Swamiji stopped, looked at me and said, "What do you want Sally?" For a second, I thought of all the things I could ask for, and then said "I want Swamiji always in my heart." Swamiji smiled and then I actually felt a small thump in my heart, as if Swamiji had actually gone there.

Swamiji kept walking with his arms over Geeta's and my shoulders. I kept kissing Swamiji's hand, and began wondering where Mriganka had gone. She was not there to see what was happening. We walked past the closed bathroom door, with the light on, and I knew that Mriganka was inside. Swamiji gave a rap on the door with his knuckle and said "Mriganka-ji."

We walked further, then turned around. As we walked by the bathroom, Mriganka came out to go back to the meditation hall. She casually gazed over her shoulder at us, and continued walking. I was so surprised that Mriganka was not reacting to see Swamiji in his original from. Then, as if it had finally struck her to see that it was Swamiji, she turned to Swamiji and fell to her knees. In a huge loud voice, with her hands going up in the air, she kept repeating "Balayogi Maharajiki!" Her face was so beautiful and lit up with joy and ecstasy.

The new people in the hall had been silent watching this, wondering who this Swamiji was. They had never met the original body. Then everyone began putting their hands in the air going "Balayogi Maharjiki!" The whole room and devotees were estactic. Swamiji then walked back up to the chair on the stage, smiled and waived goodbye to us as he walked off the stage and behind the curtain.

Note: On July 6, 2004, in my meditation, I had been asking Swamiji for a vision of Swamiji's holy lotus body.

Raj Ahlawat, Tapas Anniversary 1987

I know today Sri Swamiji's fiftieth anniversary tapas day is being celebrated in the Bangalore Ashram with great enthusiasm. Devotees from all over India & various countries are there.

We do recollect celebrating the 7th August function when the Brahma, Maheshwara, Vishnu temple was inaugurated. I would like to share with you my experience.

In end of July of that year, I wrote to Swamiji that I would love to come, but it was not possible as it was the children's study time, very expensive, and many more reasons. However, I was very keen to be there. Matter finished.

Out of the blue, on 4th August, my husband Rajji told me that we are going to the Bangalore Ashram. I was elated. On reaching there on 6th August,we were called to have Swamiji's darshan in his room. The moment he saw me, he had mischievious smile and said, "You were not coming. How did you manage?" I thanked him for his kindness, as I was sure it was his call.

50th Anniversary Tapas Completion

Today, August 7th, 2011, is the fiftieth anniversary of Shivabalayogi's completion of twelve years of meditation in samadhi, a spiritual austerity called tapas.

Shivabalayogi emerged from his tapas on August 7, 1961, a fully Self-realized yogi. For three decades he traveled to give darshan, the blessings of being in his presence. Through the powers inherent in his Self-realization, Swamiji evoked powerful spiritual experiences.

Swamiji encouraged people to meditate and experience the truth for themselves.

Another Forty Years, or Four Hundred

Shivabalayogi cutting a 59th birthday cake, evening of January 23, 1994.

On this occasion he said he would be around for another forty years.

On the eve of his 59th birthday, Shivabalayogi was cutting a birthday cake with devotees at the Bangalore ashram. That was when he promised to be around to cut cakes for another forty birthdays, suggesting he would live until 2034.  He dropped his physical form a few months later.

Almost two decades later, more and more devotees are drawn to Shivabalayogi and the internet has expanded beyond anything most of us imagined.

There are many devotees who knew Swamiji directly. As time goes on, this direct knowledge and the experiences of "old" and "new" devotees become more and more precious. Let's keep this knowledge and these experiences alive.

But Shivabalayogi hasn't gone anywhere. He is in mahasamadhi which means that he is still present, only no longer limited by his physical body.

Maybe when Swamiji said he would be around another forty years, he was referring to the devotees who actually knew him. Maybe if we keep this knowledge and these experiences alive, old and new, Swamiji will continue cutting birthday cakes for another four hundred years!

More information, please visit www.shivabalayogi-writer.org