Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi Maharaj
An Introductory video to Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi Maharaj (click Play)
His Childhood
Swamiji’s precious gift to humanity was His spiritual lineage holder, Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi Maharaj.
Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi Maharaj, lovingly known as Babaji, was born on 20th September 1954 in Kolar, a township in Karnataka, India. His parents, Dr. Shankara Dikshitar and Sharada Devi named the child Srinivasa Dikshitar, affectionately calling him Seenu.
Seenu had a comfortable childhood and received affection and love from his entire family. Yet, he often experienced a peculiar pain, as if he had descended to a place where he did not belong. He experienced a sense of alienation from this world – in that it was not his true home.
Babaji’s first true spiritual experience was at the age of 7, when he heard his sister sing Bhaja Govindam, a composition of Adi Shankara. The song which translates to mean ‘Sing the glory of God and remember Him, strives to adopt the Divine Consciousness, because when death occurs to the body, no worldly wealth, status or power will come to your rescue.”
This line especially had a powerful impact on the young Seenu, who was captivated by the thought of birth, death and the Immortal Soul. Seenu often wondered, ‘If I am the Soul that is immortal, why is it that I am not conscious of it? What is the secret behind it?”
Seeking answers to these questions, Seenu was influenced by the philosophical teachings of Adi Shankaracharya, Sri Ramana Maharishi and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He received immense spiritual knowledge from the teachings of these great Saints and was deeply inspired by the wisdom that they imparted onto this world. Slowly, an intense yearning awakened in him to find a Guru of that caliber, who had liberated Himself and was capable of guiding him towards the highest Truths of life, towards liberation.
His Spiritual Awakening
In 1971, at the age of 16, while meditating in a Hanuman Temple, he heard a Divine voice whisper in his ears, “Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj is your Guru. He will guide you to cross this ocean of worldly illusion."
This appeared strange as he did not know much about Shivabalayogi. The following 2 to 3 days, Seenu wandered the temple grounds in the hopes that the same voice would materialize and offer him more information about his Guru.
While walking along the roads of Mysore, he again heard a whisper in his ear, “Go to the Raghavendraswami temple. There you will know about your Guru.” Immediately, he proceeded to the temple where a devotee of Shivabalayogi, came forth to tell him about the great Yogi.
The devotee also gave him a biography of the Divine Guru to read. The book was profoundly mesmerizing and created such an impact on the young Seenu that he knew he had found his true Guru.
Seenu was elated when he found out that Swamiji would be visiting Mysore in 2 days. The day before physically meeting Swamiji, Seenu had a dream in which Swamiji summoned him and asked him what he desired. Spontaneously Seenu answered “Gnyana, Bhakti, Vairagya” (Knowledge, Devotion and Detachment). Pleased with his answer, Swamiji gave him the ‘Om Shivaya Shivabalayogendraya Parabrahmanaya’ mantra and told Seenu that if he repeated the mantra with faith and devotion, he would be able to reach Swamiji very soon. Swamiji then, blessed Seenu with vibuthi. Unconsciously, after waking from the dream, Seenu was repeating the mantra. The power and intensity of the mantra engulfed Seenu and he completely surrendered to it.
The next day, Seenu went to the public programme where Swamiji was present. His mind surrendered at the Lotus feet of his Guru completely and immediately love and devotion towards his Divine Teacher manifested in his heart. Thus began the Divine Romance of young Seenu with his Spiritual Master. Seenu would spend hours immersed in thoughts of his Guru and at nights, it was dreams of Swamiji.
In 1974, Seenu was sent to manage Swamiji's Ashram in Dehradun where Seenu commenced his spiritual life of service and sadhana at the lotus feet of his Guru. In that same year, Swamiji gave Seenu the responsibility of managing and taking care of the Ashram.
Seenu served his beloved Master and the inhabitants of the Ashram unconditionally. Among his many duties were tending to the needs of the ashram visitors and the local inhabitants and upon the instructions of his Master, he even undertook the arduous task of caring for mentally handicapped boys. Nevertheless, Seenu would still meditate for long hours in the fruit orchard in the Ashram compound.
For 20 years from 1974 to 1994, Seenu served his Guru with total devotion and dedication. Swamiji guided Seenu in his spiritual training in a close Guru-disciple relationship. His wisdom grew as he gained insight into the spiritual truths expounded to him by Swamiji. It was these 20 years of unwavering service to his beloved Guru that granted Seenu the fruits equivalent to 7 years of Tapas.
His Tapas
On 28 March 1994, Swamiji attained Mahasamadhi. Following the ceremony, Seenu returned to Chamundi Hills where he used to meditate as a boy. While sitting in dhyana in Chamundi Hills, Seenu received a vision of Swamiji. He fell into a deep meditative state for some days, until he was finally aroused by a sound nearby. Turning to see the source of the noise, Seenu beheld the dazzling figure of Swamiji, surrounded by a glowing light. Swamiji spoke to Seenu saying, "Your time has come to do tapas. Because of your 20 years of selfless service, you have the fruit of 7 years of tapas. So if you perform tapas now for another 5 years, that will be enough."
Seenu was placed into Tapas by his Guru on 10 November 1994. Seenu adopted the training methods for his Tapas as given to him by Shri Swamiji which were designed to eradicate the ego completely.
Babaji has described tapas by saying that: " If you try to hold the mind still, focused on one point for only a minute or two - for only a moment or two - you will find how difficult it is. However if you can focus the mind like this, single-pointedly focused on one point without any thoughts for one whole hour, then one is said to be meditating. If you can meditate like this for seven to eight hours at a stretch then one is said to be performing tapas.”
Swamiji bestowed upon Seenu, the title of Shiva Rudra Balayogi after the completion of His third year of Tapas. 'Shiva' signifying the state of complete stand-stillness of the mind, 'Bala' being one of mother Parvati's names, and 'Yogi' denoting one who has attained Yoga - the permanent union of the mind with the Supreme Peace of Infinite Pure Consciousness - the Self.
On the final day of his fifth year of Tapas, Lord Shiva and the Divine Mother Parvathi appeared to Seenu in the form of Ardhanarishwara (half Lord Shiva and half Mother Parvathi) and bestowed upon Him their Divine blessings which eventually led Him to the Supreme Realisation of the Self. The Divine had one final test to ascertain if total surrender of the mind into the Divine Consciousness, the Immortal Self had occurred. They said, “Now that We have come due to your tapas, you do not require your Guru and can go ahead to get many followers."
Spontaneously, Shivarudra Balayogi said, “I want only the Lotus feet of my Guru. I offer my life at the Lotus feet of the Divine Guru who helped and guided me to this. So please, if You want to bless me, bless me so that I can always remain at the Lotus Feet of my Guru and serve Him and work according to my Guru's guidance. It is the Guru's Grace which is needed and nothing else. Whatever the Guru, my beloved Swamiji, wants I will do and there is no other desire."
The Divine Form smiled at His reply and blessed Him. As the Form vanished, Shivarudra Balayogi witnessed His beloved Guru Shri Shri Shri Shivabalayogi materialising in front of Him. Swamiji bestowed His blessings on Shivarudra Balayogi before instructing Him, "After you come out of tapas, inspire the people of this world to practice dhyana and know their true Self. Through this practice they can achieve Total Peace." Thus, on Kartik Purnima , the 16th of November 1999, Shri Shivarudra Balayogi emerged as a Yogi, One who has gone beyond all illusions of the mind and exists in absolute peace.
The Legacy Continues
Babaji is the embodiment of love and compassion. He is the personification of all that is hope, happiness, contentment and peace and His Divine presence is a salve to distressed souls seeking their way on the journey towards Enlightenment.
Babaji continues the legacy of His Guru by teaching the ancient meditation technique, ‘Jangama Dhyana’ (which was taught to His Guru by Lord Shiva Himself), bhakti marga, (devotional path) Maha Agnihotras, annadhanam and other programmes that are dear to His Guru.
Babaji has altruistically devoted His life to the service of humanity. With the Dehradun ashram as His base, His mission of teaching the Divine Truths and spreading His Guru’s name has taken Babaji all over the world.
In 2004, Babaji’s first world tour commenced, where He imparted spiritual knowledge in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, United States of America, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. Babaji’s annual world tour was the most looked forward event for His devotees all over the world.
In 2020, even when the world was suffering from the pandemic and lockdowns, Babaji continued to serve Swamiji’s Mission and give hope to his devotees across the world through weekly online meditation and satsang sessions and chanting of Ram Naam Sankirtan.
And the journey continues…