Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj (24 January 1935 – 28 March 1994) is a yogi who claimed to have attained self-realization through twelve years of arduous tapas, meditating in samādhi (state of total absorption) for an average of twenty hours a day. After he completed tapas, he was given the name Shivabalayogi, which means "Yogi devoted to Shiva and Parvati." In Hinduism, Shiva is God in the form of a yogi. Bala (Sanskrit: child) is one of the many names for Parvati, God in the form of a yogini. The name reflects that Shivabalayogi is a manifestation of both the male and female aspects of the divine (Ardhanarishwara). Generally, devotees called him simply "Swamiji" meaning "respected Master". For three decades he traveled extensively in India and Sri Lanka, initiating over ten million people into dhyana meditation. From 1987 to 1991, he traveled in England and the United States. Shivabalayogi's teaching is based on the Vedanta, emphasizing the need for sadhana (spiritual practice) to achieve Self-realization. Childhood Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj was born Sathyaraju Allaka on January 24, 1935, in the small village of Adivarapupeta in the rice paddy country of the Godavari River delta in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. The villagers earned a living making cotton saris and dhotis (man's wraps) on handlooms. Sathyaraju's father, Bheemanna, was a weaver; he died before Sathyaraju was three. The young boy was raised in poverty by his mother, Parvatamma, and maternal grandfather, Goli Satham. Sathyaraju was said to be determined and honest. Initiation in Tapas Arou visited the nearby Draksharam temple, where he prayed to Lord Bhimeshwar to grant him peace and the understanding of his relatives for certain actions he felt he had to take. Eventually a profound change came over him. He became withdrawn and introverted. His appetite began to shrink and he started to lose interest in other worldly activities. Sathyaraju claimed to have experienced samadhi (enlightenment) on August 7, 1949 when he was fourteen years old. He was sitting on the bank of the Godavari irrigation canal just outside the village, eating palmyra fruit that he had divided up between him and his eleven friends. As Shivabalayogi described the incident, he was squeezing the fruit when his body began to tremble with vibrations; a bright light emanated from the fruit in his hands, and he heard the cosmic sound of Aum. As he watched, a black lingam (symbolizing the absoluteness