52. Maheshwarananda introduced me to two yogis from Guha Ashram
Initially, in the ‘80s, eleven yogis lived in the Guha Ashram. In the ‘90s, the Guha Ashram continued its development, and at different times there were twenty, and sometimes twenty-five people there. Some of the yogis lived there permanently, and some came for a few months or a few years in order to take a course of study.
At first, there were only Indians there, but since the ‘90s, several Western people have appeared there, which is quite natural, since the path of meditation and self-knowledge has nothing to do with the origin of a person, as the only criterion is the spiritual and energetic readiness of the practitioner.
In the ‘90s, some yogis from the Guha Ashram appeared from time to time in Puttaparthi. Naturally, this was a secret, as they simply came under the guise of ordinary visitors, and there was no official information about this. Of course, more sensitive people could feel the special energy and divine light coming from the eyes of these people.
I was lucky because Maheshwarananda himself introduced me to two yogis from the Guha Ashram, one of whom was named Yogi Hari; the second yogi did not want to name himself. I was fortunate enough to communicate with them quite a lot during the period when they temporarily resided in Puttaparthi.
The essence of the spiritual path is contemplative self-knowledge, in Sanskrit this is called “atma-vichara.” Where your physical body is located does not matter, you can live in large cities such as New York, Moscow, or Delhi, or you can settle in the Himalayas. It doesn’t matter at all whether you are a family or a monk – it doesn’t matter what your profession and position in society are; spiritual awareness is a deep inner process.
The fact that Sathya Sai Baba created the Guha Ashram in the Himalayas is a unique event, and the yogis who practice there are, of course, amazing people. Sathya Sai Baba sent them to the Himalayan ashram because it suited their high spiritual qualities and the peculiarities of their life path.
No need to think that living in a Himalayan cave is the only right path leading to self-knowledge. Sathya Sai Baba never said that all people should go to the Himalayas or become hermits. There are a huge number of ways and methods leading to the awakening of the inner God.
God does not live in the Himalayas, not in Jerusalem, and not on the sacred Mount Kailash, but in the depths of the spiritual heart of each person, therefore only contemplation and meditation can lead to self-realization.