Question: Babaji, could you please speak about Swamiji's Mahasamadhi?
Babaji:
In the last 2 or 3 years of His life here on this earth, His physical body fell ill. In 1990 His plane landed in Kuwait on a return from a tour, just at the time that Iraq had invaded Kuwait. So He was held up there for about 25 days, and the plane couldn't fly out. The Indian government offered to fly Him out specially, but He refused unless the other people on the flight were also flown out. In 1991 His kidneys caused trouble, though He continued to give darshan. Sometimes He would have to finish the dialysis session and then come out to give darshan to the crowds that came. In 1994 He went to Adivarapupeta, and used to continue the dialysis sessions at a nearby town of Kakinada. He stayed there some time, and then He dropped His physical body. He was in hospital at the time that His physical body was dropped.
Sometimes we might have the imagination that a Yogi needs to specially sit down and then drop the body in a sort of procedure, but really there is no need. A Yogi is always in the state of stitha pragnya - unmoving and perfectly stable - mentally always the perfected One.
Question: Is His physical body enshrined?
Babaji:
Yes, it was kept in the ground under a mahasamadhi mandir at Adivarapupeta. He was born in Adivarapupeta, performed His tapas there and also attained Mahasamadhi there. Next to the mandir, there is a Shiva and Parvati temple in which He had previously installed the idols. The Shivalingam was brought from the nearby Narmada River, and there is an idol of goddess Parvati. Every year Babaji goes there for mahashivaratri. In 1993 when Swamiji was in the Bangalore ashram I saw Him there. Again even after dialysis, He would go to give darshan. He didn't want to disappoint the people who came to have His darshan. He was always smiling. He said,' I am not going away anywhere. I am always in your heart.'
