Yogiji Maharaj & The Balak Connection

Yogiji Maharaj’s personality was different. He didn’t make people become better Satsangis. They became Satsangis on their own out of love for Yogi Bapa. His style was different, he didn’t have to “make” people become sadhus; his way was such that he could attract the most malicious person and turn him into an ideal devotee.

Step 1: Synthesize the simple statement.

• Yogiji Maharaj had the greatest respect for balaks.
• Yogiji Maharaj’s love attracted people to him.
• Yogiji Maharaj lived a life where he sought happiness for others.

Step 2: Start off with a shakeup.

Note: This activity will need materials, and will take some time to prepare. It would be ideal if you gathered the materials before sabha.

• Provide each balak with a ruler. However, have different units of rulers. For example, give one balak a ruler that measures in inches while another receives one in centimeters. Another one could even have a yard stick. Feel free to create any other ruler - just involves taking a sheet of paper and drawing lines for whatever unit of measurement we choose.
• Then, have all the balaks measure one object (e.g. the length of the mandir, the length of the whiteboard, the length of the door, the length of the room, etc).
• Before letting them loose, make a note that whoever has the most accurate measurement of the object wins.

Tip: This activity could be done with tablespoon/cup/pint/quart measurements too.

It’s obvious that the balaks will come back with different measurements. The answers will be in inches, centimeters, yards, millimeters. It’s hard to relate to these because they are all different measurements; all used around the world. The point is that with the Satpurush, we have a certain unit of measurement. We can relate to him by miles, inches, whatever, but that’s our unique way of connecting with him.

Thus, the Satpurush can relate to anyone. It doesn’t matter what unit you’re using. He knows all the units of measurement. There for we uses one measure with little Tarun, another with the mischievous balaks, and yet another with the man caught stealing shoes.

Step 3: Support the simple statement with prasangs filled with concrete details. Yogiji Maharaj knew how to connect with everyone, especially balaks. The famous phrase, “Young people are as precious to me as my own heart” was told truthfully by Yogiji Maharaj. He had this unique way of showing love. These prasangs below will show how he used his love to spread Satsang.

• Little Tarun - Yogiji Maharaj knew what to do and what to say to cheer up the crying balak. Yogi Bapa took time to connect with the balak. That’s what made him unique! That’s why not only balaks but everyone could connect with Yogi Bapa. 
• The Mischievous Balaks- Even to the most bad-behaved balaks, he would show so much patience. Balaks were the center of Yogiji Maharaj’s thoughts. Even in the middle of his katha, while he was talking, if a balak interrupted, he would take time to listen to the balak. Thus, through his love, he connected with kids.
• Champal Chor- Almost every balak knows the story of the Champal Chor. You can use this to your advantage to ask the balaks what they know about the story. Then, fill in the details. After Yogiji Maharaj ‘released’ the champal thief, 50 years later in Atladra, he showed up with a tilak chandlo, jabho lengho. He grabbed Swami’s hand, and asked him, “Swami, mane olakhyo? Yogiji Maharaje je chorne chhodi didho hato ae hu aa tamaaro chust Satsangi thaine betho chhu" 

The last prasang, especially, exhibits that Yogiji Maharaj used his love to turn thieves into karyakars. This was his “divya-tantra”. Through his love for balaks and his devotees, he spread Satsang worldwide into Africa, America, and many other places.