Fond memories of bliss – Part 25

This incident in the life of Sri Sri Swamiji must have taken place when Sri Sri Swamiji was still a teenager [about 15 years old], in His hometown Cuddalore, a beautiful coastal town in the State of Tamil Nadu. Even in that tender age, Sri Sri Swamiji’s mind was always filled with questions such as, ‘What is the purpose of life? What is the origin of all creation? Who is that great person or force that has created this beautiful world? If there is a Creator, why does He not explicitly reveal Himself? Is death the end of the road? If not, what lies beyond that?’ so on and so forth. He was always lost in such thoughts and immersed in a deep trance like state – immersed in His Self.

An amusement park in Cuddalore was one of Sri Sri Swamiji’s favourite places. He would sit there, all by Himself, gazing at the wide world and the evening sky, in deep contemplation. One such evening, when Sri Sri Swamiji was all alone in the park, a group of ruffians came there and began hurling abuses at Him, who in their view was an ordinary school-goer. They began threatening and abusing Him in a foul language. Though merely a teenager, Sri Sri Swamiji remained unperturbed. He continued to be in deep contemplation. The action of the ruffians did not create even the smallest impact on this lad. The ruffians continued with their abuses for a while, trying to provoke the young lad who showed not the least response. After a time, however, the ruffians gave up their game of abuse stunned at the lad’s composure, calmness and serenity. All of them fell at Sri Sri Swamiji’s feet and sought His pardon. Sri Sri Swamiji’s face bore no ill-will but held the same calm smile. Neither the abuses thrown earlier nor the reverence shown later seemed to touch Him at all. One cannot but be reminded of a similar incident in the life of the great Sant Eknath.