Shivabalayogi - Other Aspects of Shivabalayogi's Mission

Other Aspects of Shivabalayogi's Mission

Once he was asked, "What is Swamiji’s teaching?" He simply replied, "Dhyana. Vibhuti. Bhajan. Bhava samadhi." (Meditation. Blessed ash. Spiritual music. Divine ecstasy.)

Swamiji explained that yogis use bhajans to awaken spiritual awareness and prepare students for meditation. Singing songs of devotion to God is an expression of the path of devotion (bhakti). Swamiji once said, "Yogi is love." In the bhakti marga (devotional path), the spiritual seeker focuses their mind entirely on a particular deity or 'Ishta', which is their chosen object of devotion. Through this practice they lose the individual ego and gain a larger consciousness. This path is exemplified by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Mirabai and Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

"Bhava" denotes the mood of ecstasy and self-surrender which is induced by the maturing of devotion to one's 'Ishta.' Addressing the understanding of true Bhava Samadhi, Shri Swamiji himself would say, everyone is in some sort of bhava of the guru because of their attachment to the guru. The mind's attachment and devotion is the true bhava. Only when the bhava has fully ripened does the sadhaka (spiritual seeker) experience "bhava samadhi." Spiritually mature sadhakas will usually not exhibit any outward signs which may be indicative of the depth of their experiences.

Bhava was controversial throughout Shivabalayogi's public programs, and his own statements on the phenomenon appear inconsistent. However, he was intolerant of any public criticism or interference with devotees' bhava experiences. About bhava samadhi, Shri Shivabalayogi once said:

"During this all your bhava (the mind’s feelings) will get concentrated on your favorite deity and thus your mind becomes more concentrated, more single-pointed. Then meditation itself becomes much easier and consequently one would take up meditation more willingly. "It's like giving chocolate to a child to make it go to school. But one should not settle just for the chocolate - one must go on to school. In the same way, one must meditate."

Shivabalayogi often used the expression the "path of devotion" (bhakti marga) to describe spiritual life. To some devotees he would say:

"You can win over anything with devotion. If God can be won over by devotion, rest assured that anything can be won by devotion. You have to come from devotion to practice meditation. Only then will you get Self realization. You should begin meditation with devotion. Chanting and bhajans are for devotion. They are the start for the spiritual path. Just like you go for the first class in primary school. It’s like that. Prayer, bhajans, homa, japa and all these things help you develop further and further on the spiritual path. Gradually they will bring you into the line of meditation."

When people asked for blessings and healing, Shivabalayogi typically gave them blessed vibhuti (ash), which symbolizes the formless Divine and is meant to encourage faith on the part of the devotee

Giving prasadam (blessed food) was also very important for him, and devotees often arranged for mass feedings of thousands of people. Shri Swamiji once explained the importance of mass feedings as follows: "Look if you eat at a restaurant then it is simply food. But when the food is offered to God it becomes prasadam. During mass feedings if someone contributes even a little food to the occasion, that person’s bhava (the feelings of the mind) will be purified with this thought, 'May my little contribution be helpful in the feeding of the poor and needy.'"