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AllenBunting
Registered: 08/08/09
Posts: 2
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| | 08/19/09 at 05:21 AM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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The following is an passage from my father's book "The Long Road Back", concerning his experiences in WWII. He met a saint in Bombay that had some sort of connection to Ghandi, though I know that Ghandi did not have a guru.
I would very much like to know who the Hindu saint is that my father describes. My limited research could not pin down the historical person. He sounds somewhat like BABAJI, but he is more of a mythical than a historical personality. The ashes all over his body tend to indicate that he was a sadhu.
“Mahatma Ghandi was in a British prison in 1942 and was held at a British compound outside Bombay. We went to the area to receive our monthly paycheck, which was far overdue. Ghandi was housed in a small house, about the size of a garage in the center of a park-like area. We passed next to the building on the way to the naval office. Ghandi was outside getting some exercise. He saw us and waved to us giving a Hindu blessing. This was very special to me as I had long been an admirer of him.
“On one of our outings in Bombay, we saw one of Ghandi’s mentors, an Indian holy man at the Hindu college. The college was in a park-like area and the classes were all outside with the students sitting on the ground surrounding the teachers. As we passed through the area we came upon an elaborate pavilion. As we approached we saw what at first glance was an old man seated in front of a fire. As we drew nearer we saw that he was a young man, handsome, with snow-white hair. He was seated in front of the fire with his legs crossed. We were informed that the position was permanent: he never really moved from that position. He slept that way and performed all other functions from that position. That was his penance to his holy ones. Each time an individual or a group approached him, he reached his hands into the fire and then covered his body with the white ash. An attendant then washed his body clean. He did this over and over again. When we were in front of him, he seemed especially curious and asked our guide about us and then gave us a huge smile and a blessing. While were were in front of him, we observed that his hands were as soft and delicate as a child’s hands and his body seemed perfectly formed despite his years of not moving. He was a very handsome man and one felt a special reverence and awe in his presence.”
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