Maheshwarananda wrote his famous book Sathya Sai Baba and the Nara Narayana Guha Ashram in the late 1980s. The writing of this famous book was preceded by unusual events. In 1982, two people from northern India came to Puttaparthi. Since Maheshwarananda himself was also a northerner, he took an interest in these two visitors. One of them was called Acharya, and he was an elderly monk of the traditional Shankaracharya order. The second was Govinda, a young man who at that time had just graduated from university.
Sathya Sai Baba paid great attention to these visitors and invited them to audiences almost every day. Maheshwarananda wondered what Sai Baba was talking to them about. Acharya and Govinda shared with great pleasure all that Sathya Sai Baba had spoken to them, making no secret of it.
Sathya Sai Baba’s advice to the young man surprised Maheshwarananda. Govinda came from a wealthy and influential family, and he was a recent graduate of one of the major universities and had a degree in mathematics. He was going to get married in the near future and was thinking about a successful career. However, Sathya Sai Baba advised the young man to leave his career and become a monk. Sathya Sai Baba recommended Govinda devote himself entirely to the study of philosophy and the practice of meditation.
In traditional Indian society, it is customary to accept monasticism only if there is a blessing from the parents. Govinda went to his parents’ home in northern India and asked for a blessing to leave his position and become a monk. Deep down he was worried that his relatives would refuse to give their blessing. However, to his surprise, his parents and the whole family supported his decision.
The relatives were able to understand the seriousness of the situation and were respectful of Sathya Sai Baba’s blessings. After that, the young man returned back to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba in 1982. Sathya Sai Baba then instructed him to live in the ashram, practice mantras, and wait for further instructions.
A year later, Sathya Sai Baba unexpectedly called Govinda to him. The inspired young man went to his room, and when he entered, he saw Sathya Sai Baba had invited nine more people to the meeting. Sathya Sai Baba announced to all those present that they were not gathered by chance, but they all had a common spiritual mission they would fulfill together. All ten people in attendance were from different parts of India and were complete strangers to each other until that moment.
Sathya Sai Baba announced to them that he wanted to organize an ashram in the Himalayas, and it was for this purpose that he brought the group of ten together. Sathya Sai Baba said they would have to settle in this ashram and practice meditation according to the instructions he would give them. Sathya Sai Baba called this mountain ashram «Guha Ashram,» which means «cave ashram;» another meaning of this name is the cave of the spiritual heart. Soon after this meeting, Sathya Sai Baba blessed them for the journey, and they set off for the Himalayas.