Meeting Baba Nityananda

Param Poojya Swamiji was born into a royal family in southern India. But HE says that HIS childhood was more like that of Lord Krishna, surrounded by enemies and dangers. Brought up in the opulence of palaces, HE used to be served with an array of dishes and sweets every day. Yet, out of utensils made of gold and silver, HE would prefer to eat just boiled gram, the diet of the poorest of people.

Swamiji remembers:

“I never fell in doubt as to what to do, what not to do; what was right and what was not. Parties used to be held at the palace, and wine used to come in crates. I never looked upon them as evil, but just ignored it all. Having experienced self-realisation as a child, I used to just climb up to the third floor of the palace and meditate, even though I did not know what the word ‘meditation’ meant. I started writing and organizing plays with other children. MY parents were increasingly concerned about MY ‘unusual’ activities.

“As a school-going child, I could play all musical instruments, and was the leader of the Musical Band. Once, after returning from a long march heading the Band, wielding a massive baton, I forgot to take off MY heavy boots before stepping into the house. Seeing this, MY grandmother rebuked ME very strongly. In a fit of anger, I took off the boots and threw them at her face (breaking a couple of teeth!). Disturbed by such acts of MINE, MY parents decided to send ME to the family Guru, Baba Nityananda. This was in 1959, and I was eleven.

“Baba Nityananda’s ashram (‘Guruvanam’) at Kanhangad in Kerala was in a dense forest, which had been developed over the years of Baba’s stay there. When I was taken in MY princely clothes to Baba Nityananda, He said, “Send that beggar here”. I guessed that He meant ME, so I jumped up and sat on His lap. I felt great happiness, sitting there in Baba’s lap, before a crowd of 12,000 people, which included MY parents. But the very next moment, Baba threw ME off saying, “Do you think this is your throne?” In just one moment, MY utter joy was transformed to utter shame and sorrow. Such is the Guru’s drama! He then called ME and soothed ME (since I was crying) and gave ME a sweet. Even though I used to be served eight kinds of sweets daily in the palace, I went wild on tasting the one Baba gave ME, and I started running after Him, asking for more. He had hidden the box of sweets behind Him. Finally, He threw the box at ME, saying, “Take it, you beggar!” Though I felt slighted, I couldn’t resist the sweets. I finished off those sweets and went into a trance.

“People say that Baba murmured, “He has begging for it for sixteen births!” In that trance I had a vision of MY past sixteen births. I regained my senses after two hours, and by then the crowds had dispersed. I kept on crying, sad that Baba had to come to this earth so many times to redeem a sinner like ME. Over the next 15 days of MY stay at Baba's ashram, I had experiences that could fill volumes. Guru mila to sab mila, Na to mila na koi : If you find the Guru, you have found everything, else you have nothing.”