Tapas completion
Shiva Bala Yogi
Completion of Tapas
The night before the twelfth anniversary, Lord Shiva materialized before the yogi in the same form he typically had throughout the previous twelve years, in the form of a handsome, well built jangama devara ascetic. A dazzling light flashed like lightning from the guru’s body. Instead of the dark hued jangama devara, there stood before him the snow white and sublime form of Lord Shiva, Shankara Bhagavan. His guru finally revealed his true form to Swamiji.
Shankara Bhagavan was accompanied by his divine consort, the Goddess Mother Parvati. The gods conversed affectionately with Swamiji, whom they looked upon both as their disciple and their child. Shankara Bhagavan told the yogi that his tapas was over. “You may go wherever you like and do whatever you wish,” said Lord Shiva. Swamiji replied that he had no wish to go anywhere or do anything in particular.
Lord Shiva asked, “You may ask for anything and it shall be granted to you.”
Again Swamiji replied that he desired nothing and he would do whatever Lord Shiva wanted. “I did not do this tapas on my own. You made me do this. Tell me why you made me do this tapas. Tell me what you want me to do henceforth. If you do not want me to do anything in particular, then I will return to my old life.”
Well pleased with this answer, Shankara Bhagavan told him that his mission would be to awaken the dormant spirituality in people. He would serve the public in general and help those on the spiritual path to gain liberation from the illusion of creation. To accomplish this mission, the yogi should travel and give darshan to the people to wean them away from materialism and bring them onto the path of spirituality. He should initiate those who seek God into dhyana yoga (the path of meditation) and guide them so they can gain liberation in this life. He should comfort those who grieve and heal the sick by giving them vibhuti, ash blessed with spiritual and healing powers. Finally, Shankara Bhagavan said that he would make his disciple sit in tapas from time to time as the need may arise in the future.
An enormous crowd of people, some estimated at more than one hundred thousand, gathered in Adivarapupeta from the nearby villages and from distant places. Each Mahashivaratri, Shri Swamiji used to be carried to the top of the tapas building and sit under its dome to give darshan. On this occasion, the crowd was much too vast and Shri Swamiji would not be easily seen if he were sitting inside the building’s second floor. So the villagers constructed a platform in front of the meditation building made of rough wooden poles and palm leaves tied together with hemp rope.
Shivabalayogi was to appear in the afternoon at around three o’clock. His tapas had begun with the cosmic sound of Om miraculously emanating from a palmyra fruit. Twelve years later, his completion of tapas was marked by the same sacred sound of Om, only this time emanating from Shivabalayogi’s holy body. The melodious sound originated from an involuntary expression through his divinely transformed body.
The doors of the meditation temple were thrown open and as the yogi came out, a mighty roar went up from the assembled multitude. Considerably weakened by lack of nourishment during the two month long samadhi, Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj had to be helped and carried up the stairs to the high wooden platform where his dais was prepared. As the yogi came into full view of the vast assembly, a thunderous cheering broke out. The surrounding countryside reverberated to the shouts of jai (meaning victory) from a hundred thousand throats.
Standing there with eyes closed, in a semi-conscious state of spiritual ecstasy, Shivabalayogi silently showered his blessings on the people who had come for his darshan. The people who pushed and jostled to get a closer view saw a yogi whose skin had become beautifully fair and shone with an indescribable luster. His body, though weakened by the rigors of his intense tapas, visibly exuded peace and spiritual grace. His face was so divine that one was compelled to stare, but at the same time even with his eyes half closed, one could not withstand the intense power of his look.
The surge of the crowd threatened to collapse the platform and push people into the nearby reservoir. Shivabalayogi opened his eyes, looked around and gazed steadily at the crowd. The gathering became quiet and steady. Jostling, pushing and pressing suddenly stopped as if by miracle. A portion of the platform had partially collapsed, but the structure held firmly throughout the rest of the day. Later when some devotees asked Shri Swamiji why it had stopped falling down the way it had, he said that was when he had opened his eyes completely. Through his mere glance, Shivabalayogi had controlled the crowd to prevent any accident or injury.
