Shivabalayogi in Madras 1964

Color, 8mm film taken in Madras (today’s Chennai), India, in December of 1964. These are some of the earliest meditation and bhajan programs conducted by Shivabalayogi. We can see Swamiji putting vibhuti (blessed ash) between devotees’ eyebrows (the third eye), blessing them in this way so they, in turn, could use the Yogi’s vibhuti to transmit his initiation to large crowds of people – one person at a time. Shivabalayogi’s programs generally consisted of initiation, an hour of meditation practice while Swamiji meditated in samadhi, followed by an hour of bhajans (spiritual song) during which Swamiji again meditated in samadhi. He never gave any discourse. He taught in silence. Scenes include mass feeding. Shivabalayogi, like other great spiritual masters, places a great emphasis on feeding people prashad (blessed food). The original film has no soundtrack. The bhajan “Shiva Shiva Shankara” (a Telugu bhajan written for a movie about the life of a yogi) was recorded in Adivarapupeta and “Om Namah Shivaya” was recorded in Bangalore.