T. S. Anantha Murthy 

Following is an Amazon Review

Laura De Giorgio

The main attraction of this book for most people may be that Tapasviji lived to 185 years.

He prolonged his life through three kaya-kalpa treatments, which are a far cry of what is popularized as kaya-kalpa over the internet these days. The treatment Tapasviji went through involved the use of some herbal preparation, which caused him to go unconscious for a number of days, and was conducted in a womb-like atmosphere - a totally dark room, in which a person would be in a way reborn and would have to be taken care of much like a baby needs to be taken care of. In the process of the kaya-kalpa treatment, his hair, skin and teeth were replaced or rather a new set of teeth would re-grow, the old skin was replaced with a new one and the grey hair was replaced with the dark hair he had in his youth. During the treatment he drank nothing but a cup of milk with those herbs once a day, and whatever time he was conscious he was immersed in meditation on the infinite. As he himself said, herbs used in kaya-kalpa were of secondary importance, what mattered the most was that the person be immersed in meditation on that which is immortal and eternal.

Tapasviji was about 100 years old at the time of first treatment and he was ready to die, but then a man offered to do kaya-kalpa treatment on him, which lasted 3 months. In exchange, he then performed the same treatment for 3 months on the man. After the treatment he apparently resembled somebody 30 to 40 years old.

When he was about 150 years, he underwent the treatment again - this time for an entire year, and later on, he underwent the treatment one more time, but only for about 40 days.

Tapasviji was born as a prince and when he was about 55 years old, he went on a business trip - it took a long time to travel back then, so by the time he came back home, few months later, his wife and son were dead. He was so grief stricken, that he renounced his life as a prince and started living as a sannyasi - just with loin cloth and a begging bowl. He invested all his time in doing tapas -in practicing austerities and they were rather extreme. One of them was that he spent 25 years holding one arm up, though he was eventually told that such austerities were not appropriate, nor necessary for kali yuga.

He went many times on fasts - some of which lasted for a year, where he'd be drinking just one glass of milk a day. He spent most of his time in samadhi - immersed in the infinite. He asked for a favor that he could spend thousand years in samadhi, but it was refused because he was told that what is needed is to offer spiritual instruction to others and if he just lives immersed in samadhi he won't be able to serve others in a way that may be more helpful for people.

Due to his intense spiritual practice, many spiritual powers were unleashed within him, but he preferred not to use them unless it were absolutely necessary. At one point a young sadhu who had a hut built close to Tapasviji was jealous because people were paying more attention to Tapasviji then to him, so the young sadhu planted some iron prongs in the ground and threatened the villagers that he will bring about the storm and it will ruin their crops. The villagers went to see Tapasviji and he told them not to worry - he pulled out the iron prongs and cancelled the incantation the young sadhu did. The young sadhu ran away.

At times these books about Indian yogis as well as some Chinese masters are more fun to read than fairy tales or science fiction, as different spiritual masters wage battles using spiritual powers.

Another time, some other young sadhu, killed a fish and swallowed it then regurgitated it and brought it back to life and he asked old Tapasviji if he had any such powers. Tapasviji took a dead log, sprinkled some water on it, and within minutes branches with green leaves began to sprout out of the dead log.

There are also stories about yogis who'd shapeshift into tigers mostly so they wouldn't be bothered by people and so that they would be left alone.

Then there are other spiritual masters who can fly or teleport, as well as some who have been around for something like 5,000 years. One such man attributed it to eating some 'soma' plant - though it was never clear what that soma plant is. The only thing mentioned was that on the leaves of the plant at some point red dots appear and that's when it should be eaten. On the other hand, since that man was also immersed in meditation most of the time, that would seem to be the more likely cause of his longevity than a plant. He didn't offer the plant to Tapasviji, nor did Tapasviji ask for it.

Few other highlights of the book are that the woman who was Tapasviji's mother was reborn, as well as his son, and some relatives and he met them again and was instructed to offer them spiritual instruction. Both of them have also recognized him when they met him.

Tapasviji was devotee of Krishna and he had many spiritual visions and experiences both of Krishna and of other divine beings and spiritual masters.

Another review

Romarishi

Maharaj: A Biography of Sriman Tapaswiji is one of the best spiritual books I've ever read. It's on my top ten spiritual books of all time. It's an amazing true story that will captivate you. Of course, the fact that Tapawiji lived 185 years is remarkable enough but the story is full of other equally amazing details, including the 40 years that he spent practicing meditation and extreme austerities high in the Himalayas. We are fortunate that this wonderful book is back in print and easily available. It is a true spiritual classic for the ages.