Meeting a Sadhu
August 6th, 2017
At first glance, I thought I had met this elder Indian man who looked very humble, like a Sadhu / Pundit. I said Namaste & went on my way, not giving much thought to this realized soul, a swami & yogi among us. We can call him Shoonya as he liked the thought of nothing.
I now write as I want to clearly articulate my thoughts and understanding of the depth of which was communicated.
On the first day of our talk, I attempted to communicate in Hindi, but the essence of what was communicated was difficult to comprehend. Later during that discussion, the Sadhu revealed that he spent many years traveling the world & spoke excellent English.
As I peppered him with questions, he shared from the depth of his experience, at times, I felt beyond the intellect.
I asked about attraction and he said that it is perfectly natural and not to suppress it. He said that in time & with maturity, these desires will go. He said that one should not suppress his desires or this energy will explode. I feel as though this feverishness has left me, but I still have attraction in my eyes. He said that this is perfectly fine.
Upon ending our talk, I asked him if he was a swami and he said only on the outside, not on the inside. I listened and wondered & then later asked him what he meant. He said that complete and utter dispassion is what is called Vairagya. Abiding in this energy is the goal, is becoming a Swami. He mentioned that he had spent many years with another spiritual leader and even served in another ashram for near 20 years. He was very close to some other master. He left this path to seek asylum in The Himalayas near Tehri. There he spent several days and months in silence, mouna.
He laughed and laughed from the stomach / gut, a genuine sense of joy emitting in the space, the Akash.
As we spoke more, he revealed to me that inner Vairagya is the ultimate goal. He also discussed the Rajas of activity and doership. I wondered how to become more sattvic in nature.
At the end of our talk, I asked him if there was anything I could bring him, & to my delight, he said honey as he had a sore throat at the time. I was happy that I would have the opportunity to serve this sadhu. I left feeling lighter and filled with spiritual wonder. I later delivered the Patanjali branded honey.
Earlier on the second day, one of the ashramites was carrying food scraps from the kitchen. He said in Hindi that he wanted to feed the mother and children next to the river. I wondered what he meant as my Hindi is limited. As we approached my guest room, I realized that the sadhu had asked this ashramite to offer food to the mother pig and her piglets next to my room. I had heard some very loud pig noises from next to my window, but did not think anything of it. I wondered why this pig was so excruciatingly loud and annoying. In my small mind, I wondered why we have loose pigs running around in Indian towns. The sadhu next door to me, instead realized that these pigs were starving and were trapped due to high water levels in the river. The ashramite wondered if he could enter my room, and the sadhu said that he (me) is a teacher, so there is no need to worry about the ashramite entering...I thought this was very sweet. I gladly invited the ashramite in to feed the family of pigs and I left for a WIFI cafe in Rishikesh somewhere. Later I realized my own selfishness.
On the second day we met, the sadhu was casually sitting and enjoying the day. I sat and exchanged some pleasantries and we began to discuss spirituality. He said that even if you want to remain in the world, aspire to be a sadhu within, renouncing the world and all of it's trappings. He said something that inspired me. I asked him how we can overcome the comfort and trappings of the material world and he said that this must be an inner calling. He said that one day he had all of the luxuries of the material world including transportation via A/C car, money in his pocket, & offers from many people to start schools / programs around the world. He even had several marriage proposals. Internally though, none of these things brought him happiness, and on one fine day, he completely dropped it and left without even a penny in his pocket. He renounced even the comforts of his spiritual path & guru, his position and comforts / luxuries that came along with it to beg & become a sadhu. He went from 87kg to 56kg within 3 years. He gained physical vitality and slept for 5 hours wherever he could each day. He meditated and found solace in abiding in the self. After several years as a sadhu, he came down from Gangotri &/ Tehri when Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar contacted him. He visits the ashram from time-to-time. He lives on one small serving of daal (lentil soup) & rice per day.
One funny story he shared was when some visitors came to visit the ashram and they started asking him for all sorts of basic necessities. He even cooked for them. They thought he was the security guard and by the end of their stay, realized he was a Swami and took blessings / darshan from him before leaving. I remember having a similar experience at the Bangalore Ashram. When Kashi Bhaiya first started teaching our one-month-long Vedic Wisdom course, I kept wondering when this young man would leave and the real elder teacher / Swami would arrive to take our course...little did I know I would have the honor of spending six straight weeks with one my favorite senior teachers.
The sadhu, Shoonya, shared that he found that the key to life is presence. Your intellectual knowledge is not the answer, but rather your vibrations. What vibrations do we carry in each and every moment? He mentioned some famous saints and I agreed that they carry an unfathomable presence, a vibration that is pure energy, love, & joy.
As we spoke, he asked about my birthday and he said this date signifies a desire for divine consciousness and solitude. I agreed and he mentioned the path of solitude and the time it takes to reach the goal. He said, I paraphrase, "why not go into solitude, meditate, realize your self, and then come back to share what you've found with others?" I wondered about this and surrendered it to Gurudev. I still have a desire to find my own inner peace, my own silence, & reach self-realization in the Himalayas somewhere, but feel that this is not what Gurudev wants for now. I surrender to Gurudev and he has specifically asked me to come to the Bangalore Ashram for seva. The Himalayas will have to wait for some time / some lifetime.
He shared about some different techniques he learned and how he spent time learning Osho's techniques like dynamic meditation back in the 80s. He mentioned reading over 50 books by Osho. I told him that as I was fully devoted to Gurudev & that I decided against learning other techniques. Gurudev once said that if you go spiritual shopping then it's like digging several wells, but never reaching water. One of my mentors, my teacher training teacher and first blessings teacher once said that, even after 25 years, Gurudev had told her that she's only experienced a drop in the ocean of consciousness. There is so much to learn and experience on this path, the field of consciousness is truly infinite.
As my conversation with this sadhu ended, I asked him how he felt about being here now? He said that he felt a great sense of inner happiness and joy. He said that after 40 years on the path, he felt that his Prarabdha Karma was done and he could abide in sanyas (sanyasi is the fourth and final ashrama / stage of life). He said that he felt no desire to teach / become part of any organization / start any organization. He reminded me of when Swami Rama left his Shankaracharya post in search of solitude. It was only after several years that Swami Rama decided to create the Himalayan Institute.
The lingering question I feel for many like Swami Vivekananda and Swami Rama, is, did they leave in complete peace & samadhi while building their spiritual communities?
I leave this time with the sadhu wondering and inquiring about two things; how can I cultivate complete inner dispassion, vairagya, and how can I be an authentic sadhu from within.
With Love.
Jai Guru Dev,
An Aspiring Yogi
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