Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

PERCEPTIONS

TAPAS SHAKTHI 24th January 1935 - Bom in a small village called Adivarapupeta by the mouth of the Godavari river on the east coast of India. Original name Satyaraju. 7th Aug 1949 - Lord Shiva in the form of a jangama devana (a devotee of Shiva who lives by begging, wears his hair matted and smears his body with ash) appears before Satyaraju. He asked the boy to sit in padmaasana and by touching the point between his eyebrows put Satyaraju into a trance. In the trance Satyaraju could see a black Shiva lingam surrounded by dazzling light. Oct 1949 - When Balayogi found that some villagers were harassing him during his ta- pas, he decided to shift to an aashram at Pasalpudi, a village about 8 km from Adi- varapupeta. maadhi after taking his bath. The pain be- gan so excruciating that he grew frustrated and decided to give up the life of a yogi and return home to lead a normal life. When he was leaving, his old guru suddenly ap- peared before him and initiated him into the panchaakshari mantra "Om Namah Shivaya". He told the boy that by repeat- ing the mantra daily his pain from the cobra bite would go away. Jan 1951 - A famous saint Tapaswiji Ma- haraj who was reputed to have undergone kaayakalpa, the ancient Vedic technique of rejuvenation, met the Balayogi for the first time. Oct 1952 - Tapaswiji Maharaj initiated the Balayogi into the Surya upasana mantra, a mantra for worship of Sun god. From then on the Balayogi did japa of the Surya man- tra for two hours daily. 28th Oct 1953 - During the night, the Balayogi was aroused from his deep nirvikalpa samaadhi by a tap on his leg. When he came to consciouness he saw an intensely bright light flooding the entire mandir. He saw the snow white and di- vinely beautiful form of Shankar Bhagvan, God Shiva. Oct 1954 - One night his divine guru (Lord Shiva) appeared in one of his periodic vis- Dec 1949 - When the Balayogi was going to the canal for his daily mid- night bath he was bitten on the leg by a black cobra. The Balayogi ignored the bite and went back to his sa-

its. He told the Balayogi that his japa of the Surya mantra would soon bear fruit and the god Surya would manifest before him in 10 days. It was on the Kartika Poornima of 1954 that the Balayogi had Saakshatkaam of Surya and thereby granted siddhi of the world of the Sun. 12th Oct 1955 - Tapaswiji Maharaj the great saint attains mahaasamaadhi. On midnight of the same day the coiled body of the cobra and walked over it, thesnake was enraged and bit him on his left thigh.On his return from the bath, he stepped once more over the snake. This time the, snake bit him on his right foot. When he sat down to meditate, he fell unconscious onto the wooden plat- form when Shiva gave darshana to the Balayogi. At the end of his tapas, the yogi recognised the naag and told Shiva that it was the snake which had bitten him. The naag had been sent by Shiva to test the yogi's fearlessness. May 24th 1956 - Tempted by a maiden ... captivatingly and divinely beautiful bathed in a glowing strange light. Balayogi did not succumb. 1 Aug 1961 - Balayogi or more properly Shiva Balayogi as he was now named, marked his completion of the twelve years of yoga tapas by chanting the sacred sound of Om in a melodious voice. His guru re- vealed to him his ( guru's ) real identity as Lord Shiva. 7th Sept 1965 - Swamiji undertakes a forty- day Tapas during the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965. 7th Aug 1968 - Swamiji begins one year of tapas in Bangalore. 7th Aug 1969 - completes his one-year ta- pas. Dec 1971 - Swamiji undertakes forty-day tapas because of 1971 Indo-Pak war. 7th Aug 1977 - Opening of the international centre for Indian culture (the meditation hall) at the new Aashram in Bangalore. 1989 - Swamiji consecrates a Shivalingam in Venice, Italy. 994 - Swamiji attains samaadhi. opened the door of the dhyaana mandira and saw a huge cobra (naag). When the Bala-yogi stepped on

Shri Shiva Bala Yogi Maharaj

The life of a saint essentially is the life of the spirit. The life of the spirit is usually difficult to fathom because ma- hatmas are usually reserved and do not reveal much. Swami Galayogi underwent a 12- year Tapas (being immersed in samadhi during which there is no consciousness of the body or physical surroundings, unlike Dhyaana (meditation which is intermit- tent and interrupted by thoughts). Tapas is continuous like the flow of oil. Initially Tapas follows a six-hour cycle. Begin- ning from midnight the person will be im- mersed in samaadhi for about five to five and a half hours. At the end of that period the eyes will automatically open and the person will emerge from samaadhi. This cycle will be repeated at eleven in the morning, at five or six in the afternoon, and again after midnight. When emerging from samaadhi the person should drink some water then take light nourishment restricted to milk and fruit. Yoghurt may be taken instead of milk. After this light meal the person should sleep for about ten minutes to di- gest the milk and fruit. Thereafter one may walk around within the house or aashram compound. This rest period be- tween samaadhi should be restricted to a half or one hour. During the midnight rest period the person should have a daily bath and then test for one hour. As the inten- sity of tapas increases, the person re- mains in samaadhi for longer and longer periods until reaching the advanced stage of continious samaadhi , for the full twenty-four hours, except for a one-hour break at midnight to bathe and consume some milk and fruit.

— Thomas L. Palotas — “Tapas Shakti”