In the Footsteps of the Yogi
The 1999 U.S. Tour of Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj
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A couple of days later, at a program in Wilmington, Delaware, Swamiji explained to the group that, "Once you have asked a question, it becomes the responsibility of the Guru to rectify any problem you may have. It is like children asking questions of their parents. That is why Swamiji has these question-and-answer sessions." Swamiji continued, "It is like children asking questions of their parents and then leaving the responsibility entirely to them. Swamiji will always help. Swamiji gives his dhyan free. When asking questions, you don’t have to look at your watch: ten minutes, $1; twenty minutes, $2; thirty minutes, $3. He is giving you the initiation free. Everything is free. You give your mind and heart freely, and he gives his love freely to you. In the same way, give him your problems as well." A question was asked by a devotee who had driven to Wilmington from Philadelphia that evening to be with Swamiji. She said, "If you’ve made a lot of mistakes in your life and you’ve been manipulative and angry and want to change, what do you do?" Swamiji reached out, and with a loving smile, gently caressed her hair. He said, "Swamiji talks about his two Gurus. His spiritual Guru was Lord Shankara, and his earthly Guru was Tapaswiji Maharaj, who lived to the age of 185 years. Both of them gave initiation free. Similarly, Swamiji gives his initiation and his love absolutely free. When he gives initiation, he takes all the negativities from you and gives you positive vibrations. First you must have faith." Swamiji said, looking at the devotee, "And to you personally he says that the tears in your eyes show there is regret that you are expressing to Swamiji. Your heart will be clear, and Swamiji will give you love. Love, compassion, and forgiveness will all come to you, and what you perceive to be improvement will take place." Swamiji asked her, "Who made the idea of God? Himself? No. We people have made the idea of God. If you can make God and tell God, ‘You are God,’ it shows how much power you have in you. God didn’t just come to you and say, ‘I am here.’ So, with meditation, he makes a link to you." Swamiji continued, "Why is Swamiji stressing the word ‘free’ again and again? The relation between Swamiji and you is that it is one big family now. You have come to him, and you have established a link with him, and that link remains as a family link, and it will remain forever. If you leave him and go away and then come back to him, he will take you back again. He cannot leave you, and he will not leave you. Those who have come here once today will come back. He will get you back." He continued, "Swamiji says there is a purpose in his coming here all the way from India at this particular time. There are very difficult times ahead. He has come here and gives his meditation free so you will do meditation and correct yourselves, then be able to help others. There are no two ways about it, there are difficult times about to come. So make the most use of Swamiji’s presence, because he has brought all the positive elements and all the love, and that love he is giving to you free." Swamiji turned again to the devotee from Philadelphia and smiled. "Do your meditation, and everything will be all right." Another devotee asked if Swamiji would speak about the difficulties that are coming to the world in the times ahead. Swamiji said, "There can be many difficulties; for instance, natural disasters, like the recent earthquake in Turkey where thousands have died. When you are doing meditation, your sensitivities are heightened. You will feel the vibrations of impending disaster, and you will do something about it. How do they give you a weather report twenty-four hours a day? If you know what is coming, you will prepare, you will be cautious. We have the power of gravity that keeps us balanced on this earth. We also have energy. The energy that is there is going to give us forewarning of impending doom, or disaster, or whatever. Then we will take steps to prevent harm to ourselves. Warnings can also come in meditation through thoughts that arise. Willpower is what is heightened and enhanced through meditation, and this will help us." A devotee asked if this was the first time Swamiji was visiting this country. He replied in English, "Do you feel it is the first time? 1988, ‘89, ‘90, ’91, come in own physical body. ‘98, ‘99, this body." Swamiji’s interpreter continued, "Now he has chosen the body of his devotee, and in ‘98 and ‘99 has manifested in this body. If he is not the original Shivabalayogi, only manifested, do you think everybody will believe him? This is not his original body. This is an unusual phenomenon in the world. This has not happened before. That is why all of you here today are lucky to perceive this phenomenon, because he is Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj. He took mahasamadhi. He has now taken another body, and he is here. He has manifested through the astral. With a yogi, you never use the word ‘die.’ One who has done tapas, all his senses are in his power, and the laws of the cosmos are in his power. He gave up his original body and went into yoga nidra. This process of getting ready to use M.P. Singh’s body started in 1982, as stated in the book. Within a few minutes of mahasamadhi, he came into this body and sent a message to the devotees."
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About the Book
One of the greatest of all spiritual masters comes frequently to teach in America today. He is Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj. Swamiji is that rarest of beings, a true God-Realized yogi. When Swamiji was fourteen, Lord Shiva appeared before him and placed him in samadhi, in which he meditated virtually without ceasing for twelve years. This process is called tapas, which Swamiji completed on August 7, 1961. From then on, he initiated millions of people in India into the yogic meditation known as dhyan and has made several trips for this purpose to the U.S. and Europe. Swamiji dropped his physical body through mahasamadhi in yoga nidra, also called "yogic sleep," on March 28, 1994, and immediately merged his atman, or soul, with that of a devotee he had been preparing for this service. It is in the body of this devotee that Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj continues to fulfill his mission both in India and the West. This is a true and remarkable story. The editor has spent much of his available time during the last three years at Swamiji’s side, working for him at his meditation programs or sitting with him in darshan. Swamiji is not a spiritual teacher in the ordinary sense of the term. Swamiji is a Guru at the highest level, a Sadguru, and a uniquely wise, compassionate, and loving person. The shakti, or divine energy, he radiates has to be experienced to be believed. Swamiji’s spiritual power, often manifested through Guru leela, or divine "play," awakens the seeker to the Self within. To be with Swamiji is to experience the reality of the divine spiritual presence. Swamiji’s American mission is in its early stages. In his present body he is conducting annual tours of North America, and this book tells the story of his 1999 visit. In the pages of this book, Swamiji gives instructions on how to practice dhyan, the benefits and results of doing so, the meaning of the Guru-devotee relationship, the role of bhakti, or devotion, in spiritual practice, and the purposes of his mission. He does this against the background of the extraordinary drama he enacted for three months in the company of his devotees during the 1999 tour. This is the first book published about Swamiji in America. It is a product of Swamiji’s entire family of devotees, guided by the master himself, who inspired it from beginning to end with the power of the Guru’s love. The book belongs above all to those around the world in the past, present, or future who dedicate their lives to walking In the Footsteps of the Yogi.
About the Author
Ramcharandas is a devotee of Sri Sri Sri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, who lives with his family in a rural area of eastern Virginia. He has compiled this book about Swamiji from a variety of sources, including personal notes made while traveling with Swamiji on the 1999 tour, video tapes of Swamiji’s interaction with devotees, audio tapes of Swamiji’s question-and-answer sessions at the two-week retreat in Pennsylvania, anecdotes and poems submitted by other devotees, and accounts by devotees of their mystical experiences while with Swamiji.