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.
DEDICATION of TAPAS SHAKTI
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
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).
Tapas Shakti,
By Tom Palotas. Published in Bangalore, January 24, 1992..
530 pages with
35 photos. Hard bound.
Please note that Tapas Shakti is
printed in India and the print & paper qualities are not as good as that
in the West.
Buy Tapas Shakti $16.00 U.S. plus shipping & handling
to
order by mail: 