An everlasting Memory of Affection and Concern

Swami Brahmanandaji has said in the Eternal Companion (p. 227): ‘Blessed are those who have received the grace of an illumined guru. The guru shows the way to the other shore, and removes all the obstacles.’

I am really blessed to have such an illumined Guru in revered Swami Yatiswaranandaji Maharaj. It was he who laid me foundation of my spiritual life at the Ramakrishna Ashrama in Bangalore.

It is a thrilling experience for me to recollect the formative days of my spiritual life.

First Meeting

In 1953, after finishing my college education in Hassan [in Karnataka], I came to Bangalore for graduation and joined the Central College. I was searching for a room to stay and continue my studies. It so happened that I got a room in a house at West Anjaneya Temple Road, which was at a walkable distance to the Ramakrishna Ashrama at Bull Temple Road.

I used to go to college in an auto-rickshaw, but return to my place on foot. One day, as I was returning from the college I saw the signboard of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama. The next morning, I went to see the Ashrama. I entered the Ashrama premises and was very happy to see the grand landscape. The campus was full of greenery with mango and other trees. The mango trees were full of mangoes that were of easy reach by one’s hand. There was a special fragrance in the air. I was simply fascinated by the place. As I walked the Ashrama grounds, I felt tremendous inner joy at the sublime beauty of nature.