Some wore beards several feet in length,
curled and tied in a knot. They meditated quietly, or extended
their hands in blessing to the passing throng-beggars, maharajas on
elephants, women in multicolored SARIS--their bangles and anklets
tinkling, FAKIRS with thin arms held grotesquely aloft, BRAHMACHARIS
carrying meditation elbow-props, humble sages whose solemnity hid
an inner bliss. High above the din we heard the ceaseless summons
of the temple bells.
On our second MELA day my companions and I entered various ashrams
and temporary huts, offering PRONAMS to saintly personages. We
received the blessing of the leader of the GIRI branch of the Swami
Order-a thin, ascetical monk with eyes of smiling fire. Our next
visit took us to a hermitage whose guru had observed for the past
nine years the vows of silence and a strict fruitarian diet. On the
central dais in the ashram hall sat a blind sadhu, Pragla Chakshu,
profoundly learned in the SHASTRAS and highly revered by all sects.
After I had given a brief discourse in Hindi on VEDANTA, our group
left the peaceful hermitage to greet a near-by swami, Krishnananda,
a handsome monk with rosy cheeks and impressive shoulders. Reclining
near him was a tame lioness. Succumbing to the monk's spiritual
charm--not, I am sure, to his powerful physique!-the jungle animal
refuses all meat in favor of rice and milk. The swami has taught
the tawny-haired beast to utter "AUM" in a deep, attractive growl-a
cat devotee!
Our next encounter, an interview with a learned young sadhu, is
well described in Mr.
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