Shri Shivabalayogi Maharaj (24 January 1935 – 28 March 1994) is a yogi who claimed to have attained self-realization through twelve years of arduous tapas, meditating in samādhi (state of total absorption) for an average of twenty hours a day. For three decades he traveled extensively in India and Sri Lanka, initiating over ten million people into dhyana meditation. From 1987 to 1991, he traveled in England and the United States. Shivabalayogi's teaching is based on the Vedanta, emphasizing the need for sadhana (spiritual practice) to achieve Self-realization.