The earliest film we have was taken
in Adivarapupeta in March of 1963, about a year and a half after
Shivabalayogi completed twelve years of tapas and shortly before he left
Adivarapupeta for the first time.
Adivarapupeta is a small village of
mostly weavers in the rice paddy county of the east coast of south India.
It is the birthplace of Shivabalayogi, and it is where he completed twelve
years of meditation in the state of enlightenment.
The color films (two play buttons on
the left) are remarkable not only because of the beautiful scenes of
Shivabalayogi in samadhi and giving darshan, but also because they show
how generously Shri Swamiji gives divine experiences - bhava samadhi
(spiritual trance).
First film (Part A).
The opening scenes show the place by the Godavari River canal where
the fourteen-year-old yogi was initiated into tapas, then the small
temple built where he sat in meditation for more than ten years until
he emerged fully Self realized on August 7 of 1961. Scenes show
devotees in procession with the yogi and his mother through the
village street. Many people are in divine trance (bhava samadhi), a
transforming state of consciousness in which the mind is still and the
body is moved by spiritual forces. It is a wonderful Divine play to
witness and experience. The final shots are precious glimpses of the
great yogi in samadhi, his body moving from powerful spiritual
currents, then some shots with his eyes open and giving a powerful
look (darshan) that can be felt even through this video. The bhajan
"Sri Balayogisha" was recorded in Adivarapupeta in 1994.
Second film (Part B). The film shows many of the powerful divine trances (bhava
samadhi) evoked by the spiritual presence of Shivabalayogi,
particularly during spiritual song (bhajans) One can see men, women
and children manifesting the presence of different gods: Shiva,
Parvati, Hanuman, Ganga, Krishna, Nataraj, Naagaraj and others. For
example, we can see a man in Hanuman trance climbing trees
effortlessly. The bhajan "Shivayogideva ravela" ("Divine Shiva yogi
come to me") was recorded in Adivarapupeta in 1994.
These two films are part of the
"Shivabalayogi Movie Collection" DVD video, and many scenes from them
are incorporated into the "Divine Play" DVD video as well.