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.

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