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!

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