Childhood
Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj was born to a poor family of weavers in the South Indian village of Adivarapupeta, on January 24th 1935. He was given the name of Sathyaraju by his parents Parvattama and Bheemana. The young Sathyaraju, like any young boy loved playing with his friends and be happy go lucky. He had a dynamic personality and character. Little did he know or anyone else for that matter what the future was about to hold for him and eventually the world.
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Samadhi
On August 7th 1949, at the age of 14, Sathyaraju and his friends went out for a swim one afternoon. It was a small irrigation canal by the Godavari river next to the small village. After the swim the boys had stumbled into a grove of palmyra trees by the Godavari canal, and had discovered a ripe palmyra fruit close by. As Sathyaraju held this fruit in his hand, his body started to tremble. Out of this palmyra fruit emerged a divine flash of light and he heard the holy cosmic vibration of ‘Om’. As he continued to watch, the fruit turned into a black Shivalingam. At that point the Shivalingam split into two and there manifested a 7-foot tall, well built, handsome ascetic. The ascetic had long matted hair that was piled on top of his head and wore a white loin cloth. The aura around the ascetic blocked out all other observations by Sathyaraju, because of the intense brightness.
This divine mystic who appeared in front of Sathyraju, was no other than Lord Shiva (God of Cosmic Dissolution, special protector to those who meditate, the manifestation of God or the Holy Spirit). At this point He told Sathyaraju to sit down and close his eyes. Now, with the mere touch of his finger to the spot between Sathyaraju’s eyebrows and a tap on his head, Lord Shiva made him lose all consciousness and put him in a state known in yogic scriptures as Samadhi (where body consciousness is lost through absorption in the Supreme Godhead).
This divine mystic who appeared in front of Sathyraju, was no other than Lord Shiva (God of Cosmic Dissolution, special protector to those who meditate, the manifestation of God or the Holy Spirit). At this point He told Sathyaraju to sit down and close his eyes. Now, with the mere touch of his finger to the spot between Sathyaraju’s eyebrows and a tap on his head, Lord Shiva made him lose all consciousness and put him in a state known in yogic scriptures as Samadhi (where body consciousness is lost through absorption in the Supreme Godhead).
Tapas
From that day onwards Sathyaraju meditated for 12 years to complete tapas (penance) as per the instructions from his Guru, Lord Shiva. Sri Shivabalayogi meditated for 23 hours a day for 8 years and 12 hours per day for the remaining 4 years. The first 8 years were dedicated to mastering the four directions: East, North, West and South. Sri Swamiji had gone through many physical hardships in his 12 years of tapas.
A few examples are noted here:
But while in Samadhi he was not conscious of his physical body. The only time he actually encountered the pain was during the one hour period when he would come out of Samadhi to take a quick bath and maybe a glass of milk. With all these tests of spiritual and physical hardships, anyone would have given up. But Sri Shivabalayogi was determined to finish the tapas Lord Shiva initially had given him.
A few examples are noted here:
- In the beginning, a few individuals thought the young boy was putting on an act and started to abuse him. Even with this abuse he remained motionless, in Samadhi.
- A village man burned his body with a kerosene soaked rag, as Shivabalayogi sat in meditation
- Sri Swamiji had to endure the tropical heat & rains
- Rats, insects, snakes gnawed and crawled over his body, his jata was manifested with vermin
- Many times he was bitten by cobras and his temptations were routinely tested.
But while in Samadhi he was not conscious of his physical body. The only time he actually encountered the pain was during the one hour period when he would come out of Samadhi to take a quick bath and maybe a glass of milk. With all these tests of spiritual and physical hardships, anyone would have given up. But Sri Shivabalayogi was determined to finish the tapas Lord Shiva initially had given him.
Completion of Tapas
From June of 1961 to August 1st 1961 the ‘boy yogi’ remained in ‘Nirvakalpa Samadhi’. When midnight came about on August 1st 1961, Lord Shiva and Mother Parvati brought him out of Samadhi to ordinary consciousness. At this time Lord Shiva declared his Tapas complete and was given his new spiritual name Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi. Shivabalayogi literally translates into ‘The yogi dedicated to Shiva and Parvati”. This name represents the dual aspects of the male and female energy of the Almighty, better known as Ardhanareeshwara. On this night the mother and father merged into the yogi’s body.