Shivabalayogi’s
Soul Connections — Contents
Forty More Years & the Old Guard
Deviprashad Baurai “Postmaster” — Dehradun
Garaga Narasimha Murthy — Adivarapupeta
Hindi Master — Adivarapupeta
Adinarayana — Bangalore
Vittal Tambre — Bangalore
K. L. Ghai — Sambhar Lake
K. Gopanna — Kakinada & Adivarapupeta
R. C. Nanda — Jhansi
R. Thippana — Anantapur & Ratnagiri
Hosting Swamiji — in the West
Azul’s Om Shiva — Portland
Much more to come!
You can read many devotee experiences in the STORIES section of the Shivabalayogi website
Shivabalayogi said again and again that he has a soul connection with each devotee. He explained that his devotees incarnate with him lifetime after lifetime on different planets and in different circumstances. Guru and devotee are connected by a soul bond, like a close family. He said that many devotees incarnated while he was doing tapas and others will follow.
“That is the relationship between guru and disciple. It is called atma [soul] relationship. Just like you or your husband or your children, you all are children to Swamiji. You have to be a part of the family always. It is called the atma relationship.”
“Right now Swamiji is a yogi. In his next incarnation he does not know what he will be, but even then you will be following him. Wherever he goes in his incarnations, all the devotees or disciples will follow him to the same planet.”
Much of what I know about people I learned from my family, and then observing other people. Much of what I know about Shivabalayogi, and more importantly, what I do not know about Shivabalayogi, I learned from other devotees.
Each devotee has his or her own experiences of Shivabalayogi,
and Shivabalayogi reflected back each devotee’s unique individuality to that
devotee. Questions from someone interested in the scriptures were answered
in terms of the scriptures. Those who were serious in nature and preferred
the path of meditation received answers emphasizing meditation and experiences
in meditation. Those who were more attracted to the path of devotion
experienced bhava. Those who wanted a male child, a disease cured, or a
job promotion received that. Shivabalayogi met each devotee on his or her
own level, but always inspiring them to sense a greater unity.
As Shirdi
Sai Baba said, “I give people what they want in the hope that they will begin to
want what I want to give them.”
We can learn a lot about Shivabalayogi, and therefore about ourselves, from other people who knew him. Perhaps that is one reason why Swamiji referred to his devotees’ experiences as his treasure.
Many devotees’ experiences have been collected in the books written on Shivabalayogi. The following pages offer a little more personal information about a few of the many, many devotees who were close to Swamiji and saw a great deal about the Master. Hopefully, we get a sense of how each devotee is unique.
One man came to Swamiji and asked whether the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were fiction or really happened. Swamiji asked him whether he had any grandparents. The man said he had. Swamiji replied that the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were as real as his grandparents. Then Swamiji asked the man the name of his father. He answered. Then Swamiji asked for the name of his grandfather. Again the man answered. But when Swamiji asked for the name of his great grandfather, the man did not know.
“You do not even know the name of your great grandfather and you ask me about the Ramayana and the Mahabharata?”