Shiva Bala Yogi Virtual^* Darshan  
   * (Virtual:  non physical, but being such in essence or in having the power or practical effect)

Know the Truth Through Meditation

The Living Yogi - Swamiji's Presence after Mahasamadhi

Mahasamadhi, the great or final samadhi, is the process by which a yogi permanently discards the physical body. Shivabalayogi attained the final samadhi and dropped his physical body on March 28, 1994, and his sacred body was interred in Adivarapupeta on April 2, 1994. Some believe he only entered yoga nidra (yogic sleep) with an intention to remain physically present for at least another forty years.

Swamiji insisted that yogis do not die. Unlike ordinary human beings, the physical body does not limit the yogi’s consciousness, being or personality. Yogis remain permanently established in the spirit. He assured devotees that if he left his body permanently and entered mahasamadhi, he would be more available to them. “If I am not within the bounds of my body I am more available to you. If I am in samadhi, I am very easily available. Answers are very easily available.”

The great Yogi of Yogis remains present in the same ways he gave blessings and darshan while he was in his own physical body. His most striking presence is through bhava samadhi in which a devotee’s consciousness is temporarily immersed in the divine. Shri Swamiji once explained the phenomena as when he merges a devotee's soul into his own soul — soul can also be referred to as the astral body, the light body, or the subtle body. Bhava samadhi is a spiritual experience evoked by the presence and power of Shivabalayogi.

The yogis who serve as agents of God continue their work long after they have dropped their physical form. Swamiji gave Buddha and Jesus as examples. “Nobody can do anything to Buddha or to Christ. They will live forever. Even if somebody tries to do anything to them, nothing will happen. Even if it appears as though they are affected, that effect will remain for only a small time and again they will continue. They are like rivers that keep flowing forever. Sometimes you get bad water in the river, but with new rains, the water again will be pure.”

Swamiji often referred to the pattern of yogis who become well known and their work established only after they dropped their physical bodies. God realized beings are seldom recognized in their own physical lifetimes, he would say.

A month before his mahasamadhi, Swamiji assured devotees of a global mission. He predicted that within forty years, there would be a single spiritual tradition in the world, including India, America, the Near East, and Europe. He and his devotees were working not for themselves, but so that people can come to know God. Swamiji said that he had placed people throughout the world in positions to be able to help in this work. The time would come when they can come forward and participate.

Swamiji’s work is to bring people into the line of meditation. “You want to know the mission of Swami? Listen! To bring eighty million people throughout the world on the path of meditation, that is the mission of Swami. See, before Swamiji actually comes on the stage, some of his devotees come and do the necessary ground work. Then Swamiji does the main portion and whatever is left gets accomplished by the last batch of devotees. Every time Swamiji has taken a human body, it happened more or less in the same way.”

Shivabalayogi appointed no successor. His work continues to be done directly and through his many devotees and disciples.

“A yogi is like a king who serves all the people in his care. But when a king dies, a new one is immediately installed. When a yogi dies, the world has to wait several hundred years before another completes tapas to continue the work.”

“Yogis do bless their disciples and they get spiritual powers from that. They train some disciples. Some come to this country to teach what they learned from their guru, the yogi. There may be many more such disciples than are publicized in this country. Such disciples teach meditation, just like the yogi taught.”

Shri Swamiji was never limited by his physical body. Yogis have the power to be present in any number of astral bodies. For three decades while he was in his own physical body, Shri Swamiji gave darshan through his astral presence, sometimes present in bhava samadhi to answer questions, give guidance, bless vibhuti, and generally do whatever he would do in his own body. This phenomenon, like his presence through meditation, spiritual trance and bhava, and vibhuti, continues. Shivabalayogi is The Living Yogi whose blessings are in the silence that transcends time and space.

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