Autobiography of an Avadhoota - Part II by Avadhoota Nadananda

Author:Avadhoota Nadananda [Avadhoota Nadananda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GuruLight
Published: 2017-01-13T18:30:00+00:00

Beware, They Are Watching

O nce after a long pilgrimage, I returned to Haridwar, and with a hope to get accommodation in any of the ashrams I reached Saptasarovar, but it was in vain. In those days as I had vowed to wear just a piece of gunny bag, none of the ashrams were ready to open doors for me. I decided to stay either on the ghat of Ganga or on the verandah of any of the ashrams. I opted to stay on the verandah of Virakta Kutia as I felt it would be a safe and secure place than on the ghat. In the nights there used to be the menace of stray dogs and night time Romeos. The fishermen especially used to be at the ghats , even though fishing is prohibited in the Ganga in that area. If I stayed at the ghats , I would definitely be tempted to oppose them and there would definitely be a quarrel. So I thought it better to avoid a scene there.

It was winter at its peak. I had with me just one blanket to save my body from that biting cold. Spreading a cloth on the verandah, and covering my body with the blanket, I tried to sleep in that harsh winter. Once night, perhaps at midnight, a swamiji came near me and covered my body with another kambal (shawl). I had not been able to sleep and was partially awake, so I could easily identify him. I had known him earlier from my stay in Gangotri. He was a reputed scholar in Vedanta, and well-known for his selfless service to visiting sadhus in Gangotri. He had lived in the Himalayas either in Gangotri or in Uttarkashi for years, not even coming down to the plains. But however strong one may be in mind or body, it is only nature that has the final say. The facilities for sadhaks in Gangotri in those days were just the bare minimum. They often fell victim to malnutrition first. Now, after a long stay, he might have felt the inevitable changes in health and life, so he was back in Haridwar and staying at Virakta Kutia during the winter time. I remembered well his help during my purascharan on Srividya mantra at Gangotri, about which I have narrated in volume 1 of my autobiography.

The next morning I thanked him for his generosity and told him that I didn’t need an extra kambal and could withstand the cold with just one blanket. I was thinking of returning it to him but he disagreed and said the cold was going to intensify and one blanket would not suffice. He asked me to keep it as reserve, and I did so. Slowly our relationship grew deeper. I wondered at his scholarship and deep contemplation of philosophy. Of course as usual, we would have difference of opinion on the spiritual subjects, but somewhere in the core of my mind I liked him and considered him a good friend.

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