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Above: Mataji and her husband, R. N. Singh Deo, the King of Patna,
standing by
Shivabalayogi and his mother Parvatamma.
Left: Anandamayi Ma (1896-1981)
the great saint of East Bengal, who helped bring Mataji to Shivabalayogi at her
ashram in Dehradun.
Swamiji’s Second Mother, Mataji
Srimati Kailas Kumari Devi, the Maharani of Patna
Shivabalayogi loved Srimati Kailas Kumari Devi, the Maharani (Queen) of Patna, as his own second mother. Which is why he called her "Mataji", respected Mother.
She was the wife of R. N. Singh Deo, the King of Patna and the Chief Minister of the State of Orissa, India.
Shivabalayogi's astrological prophesies, the nadis, particularly the Kumar Nadi, often refer to Mataji as his second mother. Swamiji said that she was his mother in many previous births. Each time Swamiji takes birth, he said, she is with him.
Swamiji explained that sitting in tapas for twelve years from the age of fourteen, he missed out on a lot of education that a youth would normally have acquired. It was Mataji who taught him about the world.
Mataji made sure that money would never be a limitation for anything Swamiji wanted to accomplish. The royal couple owned a summer house in Dehradun, on Rajpur Road, which they donated to Shivabalayogi and is now the Dehradun ashram. They provided Swamiji with substantial financial support. They paid for his expenses traveling around India and the construction of the meditation hall at the Bangalore ashram, where Swamiji had photos of the royal couple prominently on display.
If it were not for them, Swamiji once said, he would have been stuck in Bangalore.
The King of Patiala
Patna was a relatively small kingdom. However, Mataji’s father was the King of Patiala, a kingdom in the Punjab whose rulers were famous throughout India for their wealth. There was a well-known story about an incident which took place when Mataji’s father was in London. He went into a showroom and inquired about the price of a Rolls Royce car. The employee figured this Indian fellow could not afford such a car and insulted him, apparently using the word “garbage.”
The Maharaja returned to his hotel and instructed his secretary to buy every Rolls Royce that was available in the London area. He had all the cars filled with garbage and paraded throughout London. The incident hit the press and the Rolls Royce name was laughed at. This was how the Maharaja of Patiala demonstrated who he was.
How Mataji Came to Shivabalayogi; Anandamayi Ma
Mataji met Shivabalayogi at the ashram of Anandamayi Ma. It happened during Shivabalayogi’s first tour to North India, when Swamiji was accompanied by Kodandam, Adinarayana, Ramakrishna Rao, and Malaya, staying at the house of B. S. Lamba at Mokampur, outside of Dehradun. The Lambas took some care of Swamiji, but ignored his attendants.
Anandamayi had a very big name in that area in those days. She was considered a very great saint. Her secretary used to visit Swamiji at Mr. Lamba’s house.
On one of his visits, this secretary invited Swamiji to Anandamayi's ashram. Swamiji asked him whether the invitation was from him or Anandamayi. He replied that it was from her and that she had asked him to convey the invitation. Swamiji asked him to get a letter signed by her inviting him to her ashram. He agreed to do that and came back a few days later with the letter written in her own handwriting. Swamiji agreed to come and told her secretary that he would decide on a date and then let her know.
Late in the night before Swamiji was to visit, Kodandam was with Swamiji as it was his habit to sleep on the floor in Swamiji’s room. They typically chatted a little about some subject or another. That night Kodandam asked, “Swamiji, who is this Anandamayi and what is she all about?”
Shivabalayogi on the second floor deck, Dehradun ashram.
The Dehradun Ashram
Being in the cool of the foothills, Dehradun was a place where the wealthy escaped from the intense summer heat. The King and Queen of Patna maintained a summer residence there which they donated to Shivabalayogi, after remodeling it to serve as an ashram. They added the second storey with a meditation hall and rooms for Swamiji.
The ashram was dedicated on February 13 of 1972, which was Mahashivaratri that year.
Dehradun is near the Himalayas and the pilgrimage centers of Rishikesh and Haridwar on the Ganges River. The Himalayas and the Ganges naturally attracted many sadhus and saints, and it was in Dehradun that such spiritual seekers came to Swamiji’s ashram for his darshan.
Devotees who spent time with Swamiji in Dehradun describe him as being very natural and happy there. Shivabalayogi reflected his devotees, and he appeared different in each ashram because the expectations and culture of the devotees in each ashram were different.
Many Indian army officers came to Swamiji and spent their summers at the Dehradun ashram. Perhaps the presence of devotees who were disciplined and unlikely to take liberties allowed Swamiji to be more expressive and familiar.
Swamiji replied, “What should I tell you when you ask me who she is? She is also one amongst us. She is not anyone different. Last night I had been to her and spoke with her. We met each other.” So the previous night Swamiji and Anandamayi had already gotten together and talked.
Swamiji said, “You are going to be there tomorrow. You watch what happens.”
The next evening they took Swamiji to Anandamayi’s ashram. As Swamiji was getting down from the car, Anandamayi herself came forward, did pranam to Swamiji, and embraced him with great affection. By this time she was very old. She took Swamiji by the hand and led him to her own asana (seat) and made him sit there. She sat beside him.
All the people who visited Anandamayi had been told that a yogi by the name of Shivabalayogi would be visiting the ashram. They were all there to see the balayogi. Maharani Kailash Kumari Devi of Patna (Orissa) was a regular visitor to Anandamayi Ma’s ashram. When Swamiji came there, she received his darshan and immediately recognized his spiritual eminence. That was how the Maharani of Patna came to Swami.
The very next day the Maharani Saheba came for his darshan at the cottage in Mokampur where Swamiji was staying. There Swamiji initiated her into meditation and since that day she became one of his most devoted disciples. Both she and her husband, Maharaja Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo, and through them the rest of their family, became devotees of Swamiji.
It was Anandamayi’s role bring the Maharani of Patna to Swamiji. This was the only visit between Swamiji and Anandamayi, and after that her people no longer came to see Swamiji.
Mataji's Own Account
The following is Mataji’s own account of meeting Shivabalayogi.
I think the first darshan I had of His Holiness was on the 6th of June, 1966, as far as I can remember. I was in Anandamayi’s ashram. I was indeed very happy and very fortunate to get darshan of such a divine personality. From then on I went for the darshan of His Holiness morning and evening.
We were initiated into meditation at the Mokampur ashram, but I did not get any vision. I was very regular in my meditation. After a few days, at about midnight or a little later, I got very strong vibrations and my whole brain was shaking. I thought I was dreaming at first, but I realized I was awake. I was continuously seeing all the different gods and goddesses as if in a cinema. I cannot say how long this lasted. It seemed to me that it must have been two hours.
Waiting for Swamiji to Arrive
After seeing Shivabalayogi at Anandamayi Ma's ashram, Mataji and her family began to visit the young yogi every day at Lamba’s house in nearby Mokampur. She could not help noticing that the Lambas were not hosting Swamiji or his companions very well. When Lamba made excuses for not organizing bhajans, it was Mataji who arranged for a bhajan group.
Mataji invited Swamiji to visit their family's house. Swamiji asked her, Where is your house?” She replied that it was at 180C Rajpur Road. “All right, I will come there some time.” Swamiji agreed, but no date was set.
Several days passed until late one night. Swamiji and his attendants were on a drive towards Massurie, a hill station above Rajpur Road, enjoying the air and quiet in the Himalayan foothills. It was about three in the morning when Swamiji suggested they look for Mataji’s house. “See this lady who comes for darshan, this Maharani of Patna, she said that her house is somewhere on this Rajpur Road. Let us try and find her house.”
They turned off the car engine and let it roll slowly down the road while two of the attendants walked by the gates checking for house numbers until they came to 180C. The gates were open. All the others on the road were locked. Swamiji told them to go in. It was dark as they started walking on the driveway. Before they could walk even ten yards, all the house lights went on. They got frightened, thinking the residents would mistake them for thieves, with a car silently rolling to the front door.
The whole family came down to greet Swamiji and invited him inside. An altar was ready, rangoli (auspicious chalk designs on the ground) were freshly drawn, the lamp was already lit, fresh fruit and flowers had been put out, and a fresh garland was ready for Swamiji. Everything was prepared and ready to do puja (worship) to Swamiji, even though he arrived without warning at three in the morning. The puja was performed, then Swamiji and his attendants got back in the car and returned to Lamba’s.
The next evening, when Mataji’s family came to Lamba’s place for darshan,
the Maharani explained. “Swamiji told me that he would come. He didn’t
tell me when. So from that evening onwards, we would get the puja ready every evening. If he didn’t turn up for the night,
we would remove the materials and then put out fresh offerings for the next night.”
A little after this visit, the Maharani asked Swamiji to stay at her house. Swamiji told her, “See, it is Mr. Lamba who got me here. You should be asking him.” She said that she would do that and she told Lamba that she would like to take Guruji to her house to stay there. Lamba just said that he would let her know when she could take him. But nothing happened. She had to ask him on three separate occasions, but he would not give a definite reply.
The Maharani approached Swamiji and said, “Swamiji, in my life I have never requested anything from anybody. But because I wanted you at my house, I went and asked this person. I asked him three times, but he is not responding. So now it is left to you. If you wish to come to my house, you may please come. But I will not ask that man again.”
The next evening, Swamiji called Lamba and told him that he was going to the Maharani’s house. Lamba could not say anything other than assent.
Once Swamiji’s small group went to the queen’s house, they were all treated like princes. Until then they had lots of troubles and difficulties, even to get proper food. The Lambas were happy to have Swamiji, but they gave no attention to the devotees who had traveled with him. They weren’t fed, so they had to make their own arrangements to cook food. Then they ended up having to cook for Swamiji in addition to themselves, making all the arrangements on their own. The coming of Mataji into the life of Swamiji and his devotees was a turning point. After that their lives on the road changed a lot. Before they had been miserable.
The Passing of Mataji
Mataji passed away in 1989 while Shivabalayogi was in the United States. A strange looking bird came to the window where Swamiji was staying and would not leave. When the news arrived of Mataji’s death, the bird died before Swamiji.
Swamiji explained that Mataji came in the form of that bird to die in Swamiji’s presence. Swamiji performed the rites for the bird.
Swamiji said that neither his mother nor Mataji had taken new births, but they were always with him, giving him advice and warnings. They came in his dreams. He said it was as if they had never left Swamiji.
He sighed as he added that all the close devotees had left.