Tapas

At the age of fourteen, a profound change came over the young boy. Over several weeks, He found Himself becoming more withdrawn and introverted, often sitting alone in deep contemplation. Then on 7 August 1949, He had an extraordinary experience while sitting on the bank of the Godavari irrigation canal just outside the village. He experienced the dazzling manifestation of a Yogi, who instructed Him to sit in a cross-legged position and close His eyes. The Yogi touched the boy’s forehead at the bhrikuti (the point between the eyebrows), then gently tapped Him on top of the head. Sathyaraju immediately passed into Samadhi (a state of perfect thoughtlessness). Thus began a twelve-year period of Tapas in which He meditated for twenty hours a day on average.
While many in the village were genuinely impressed by the young boy sitting completely still in meditation, others thought He may be acting. Some village boys even started beating His body, throwing Him in the river and even tossing a burning kerosene-soaked rag on Him. While He was not conscious of His body in His deep state of Samadhi, He used to experience severe physical pain when He emerged from this state each day.
To escape such unwanted attention, Sathyaraju moved to a graveyard, where He knew the villagers would not trouble Him. There He was bitten by a cobra and later during the rainy season insects and rodents began to eat the flesh on His legs while He was sitting in the graveyard mud. Nevertheless, He persevered with enormous determination. He emerged on 7 August 1961, at the age of 26, as the great Self Realized Master Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj.
His first public message was broadcast over radio, then printed and circulated on flyers. In this message, He emphasised the importance of never compromising on the goal of Supreme Peace, and eschewing the temptations and visions along the way which create more ego and are nothing but hallucinations of the mind.