the advaita vedanta philosophy (of non-dualism). Swamiji taught that the purpose of life is to attain Self-realization, by performing sadhana (spiritual practice) and overcoming the illusions and imaginations of the mind. He also taught that meditation can be used to relieve tension and live a peaceful and stress-free life in the world. Other aspects of Shivabalayogi's mission Once he was asked, "What is Swamiji’s teaching?" He simply replied, "Dhyana. Vibhuti. Bhajan. Bhava samadhi." (Meditation. Blessed ash. Spiritual music. Divine ecstasy.) Swamiji explained that yogis use bhajans to awaken spiritual awareness and prepare students for meditation. Singing songs of devotion to God is an expression of the path of devotion (bhakti). Swamiji once said, "Yogi is love." In the bhakti marga (devotional path), the spiritual seeker focuses their mind entirely on a particular deity or 'Ishta', which is their chosen object of devotion. Through this practice they supposedly lose the individual ego and gain a larger consciousness. This path is said to be exemplified by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Mirabai and Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. "Bhava" denotes the mood of ecstasy and self-surrender which is induced by the maturing of devotion to one's 'Ishta.' Addressing the understanding of true Bhava Samadhi, Shri Swamiji himself would say, everyone is in some sort of bhava of the guru because of their attachment to the guru. The mind's attachment and devotion is the true bhava. Only when the bhava has fully ripened does the sadhaka (spiritual seeker) experience "bhava samadhi." Spiritually mature sadhakas will usually not exhibit any outward signs which may be indicative of the depth of their experiences. The outer playful expressions of Bhava that often occurred during bhajans, such as people getting up and dancing, were controversial throughout Shivabalayogi's public programs, and his own statements on the phenomenon appear inconsistent. However, he was intolerant of any public criticism or interference with devotees' bhava experiences. About bhava samadhi, Shri Shivabalayogi once said: "During this all your bhava (the mind’s feelings) will get concentrated on your favorite deity and thus your mind becomes more concentrated, more single-pointed. Then meditation itself becomes much easier and consequently one would take up meditation more willingly. "It's like giving chocolate to a child to make it go to school. But one should not settle just for the chocolate – one must go on to school. In the same way, one must meditate." Shivabalayogi often used the expression the "path of