Shivabalayogi Tapas Shakti

When Shivabalayogi was in Seattle in 1991, he asked for his biography, records of his conversations with devotees, and devotees' experiences to be combined in a single book. That book is Tapas Shakti.

Tapas Shakti was published in India on the occasion of Shivabalayogi's 59th birthday, on January 24, 1992. It combines his biography, previously written by General Hanut Singh and published on January 24, 1981, under the title, Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, Life and Spiritual Ministration, with Shri Swamiji's answers to a wide range of devotees' questions, asked mostly in the United States and England. Tapas Shakti also contains personal experiences of his blessings.

After Tapas Shakti was published and Swamiji was traveling in the United States, he described it as a spiritual textbook, like the Bible or the ancient Vedas, scriptures that contained the discussions between ancient sages and their devotees. There were times when instead of answering devotees’ questions, he asked them to read the book instead.

The book is unique in spiritual literature because of its detailed account of a yogi’s tapas. The questions and answers range over a broad variety of subjects, including meditation, yogis and spiritual leaders, spiritual trance, Jesus, world affairs, and divine beings.

By Tom Palotas. Printed in India. 530 pages with 35 photos.

The Tapas Shakti team with Shivabalayogi,
by the asana at the Bangalore ashram.
L to R: R. Nelson (designer), T. Palotas (author),
K. M. Babu Rao (printer), and R. Mehta (paper).

We, the present generation, are singularly fortunate for we have with us a living God on Earth in the form of Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj, Swamiji. Through long and arduous tapasya he realized God and became a fully enlightened soul at a very young age. The real greatness of our Swamiji lies in his mission to share and spread his enlightenment to the vast multitude of suffering people in this world.

His heart is open for everyone in pain and suffering. He knows that people suffer because of their own bad thoughts and deeds. He believes that the remedy for all ills lies in transforming wicked minds and souls into good and virtuous ones. He believes this transformation is possible only when the mind is cleaned and the soul purified. He teaches us to transform ourselves through the technique of dhyana or meditation.

For him, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak -- all are equal. He makes everyone feel most welcome. He treats everyone with parental affection. He feeds, he advises, he cares, he protects, and he blesses those who come to him for his help and grace. I have always felt that no matter how difficult your problems are or how serious your worries, you can always be certain of getting relief once you surrender yourself to the loving care of Swamiji.

The divine bliss that you enjoy with his grace can only be felt, for it is impossible to describe in words.

Justice V. S. Malimath
Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal of India
January 9, 1992