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The Living Yogi
now a free e-book download
available in two different e-book formats:
epub format (Barnes & Noble Nook & standard library)
mobi format (Amazon Kindle)
The origin of this book is two days after Shivabalayogi’s body was interred in the Adivarapupeta Samadhi. Sri Swamiji, through bhava samadhi, asked for a book on his mahasamadhi to be ready within two weeks. Swamiji asked that the book contain different perspectives and theories.
A draft was ready in a week because the author, Tom Palotas, had already spent three months in India, spending time with Swamiji and devotees, and collecting history and experiences. That initial draft was read to Swamiji in bhava. It contained some accounts of devotees’ carelessness and misconduct which proved too controversial, so publication was delayed.
Over the next months, a new chapter was added about the experiences devotees were having with Swamiji. These were meditation and bhajan programs in which Shivabalayogi was present through bhava samadhi. When this second draft was presented to the Bangalore trustees, the additional chapter also proved too controversial.
The result was The Living Yogi, published by the Bangalore Trust and presented to the public in Adivarapupeta on April 2 of 1995, the first anniversary of Shivabalayogi entering mahasamadhi.
That edition has been out of print for many years.
Now, the complete book, including the original publication of the 108 names of Shivabalayogi and all illustrations, is available as a free download.
The e-book also contains a supplemental introduction and restores the chapter that was deleted from the 1995 edition.
From the Supplemental Introduction:
“Were I to be writing The Living Yogi today, I would delete and re-write a lot more than what some of the Bangalore trustees had wanted. I would write about people blessed with bhava samadhi who claim the privileges of a yogi. I would write about the risks when profound spiritual experiences collide with human frailties. But then, if I were to write the book today, it would not as accurately reflect the profound loss that devotees experienced after Shivabalayogi’s mahasamadhi.”