I’m sharing this with all of you because I am so inspired and uplifted by quietword’s recent blog on “Just Human?” and by the many beautiful responses to it. As you know, I hold that being real about one’s humanity is essential to spiritual growth. I’d like to share with you two true stories about Swami Sivananda that shaped my understanding. Both stories were told to me personally by Swami Venkatesananda, who was Sivananda’s secretary and an eyewitness to the events.

At the time of these events, in the 1940s and 1950s, Sivananda was at the height of his fame in India as a great guru and saint. One day a junior swami came to him and said, “Gurudev, there is a young woman at the gates of the ashram. No one knows who she is or what she wants. She is crying and won’t speak.” Sivananda said, “Bring her to me.”

When the young woman came before the master, she collapsed on the floor, sobbing and shaking. He gently lifted her up and said, “Daughter, what is wrong?”

She cried out, “I am the worst sinner in the whole world!”

A playful smile came on Sivananda’s face. He said, “Really? How interesting! I’ve always wanted to meet the world’s worst sinner. Tell me, what have you done?”

His unexpected warmth and gentleness broke through her hysteria and she stopped crying. After a moment she said, “I am pregnant and have no husband.”

A mock frown of disappointment appeared on Sivananda’s face. “What? Is that all? I was expecting a really good story!”

She stared at him in disbelief. He said gently, “Your family has thrown you out and you have nowhere to go. Is this correct?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

“You will stay with me until your baby is born. I have two devotees, a married couple who have prayed for years to have a child. Your baby will answer their prayer. Then I will send you to stay with another couple, also my devotees, in another part of India. You will be their niece and they will help you start a new life.” He then directed one of the swamis to arrange accommodations for the woman.

The next morning the junior swami came to Sivananda and said nervously, “Gurudev, several swamis and sadhus have come to speak to you.” Sivananda said, “Send them in.”

The leader of the group presented Sivananda with a petition and said, “Swamiji, we object to this immoral woman living among us. This is a place of holiness. It is not right to have her here.”

Sivananda said to his staff, “Summon everyone immediately.”

Soon several hundred residents of the ashram were before him. He said, “Bring a chair and bowl of water. Place them before me.” This was quickly done. He said, “Bring the young woman.” She came and was terrified at all the men so obviously hostile to her. Sivananda said, “Sit in the chair, daughter, and do not be afraid.” She did so.

He rose and said, “All of you may leave today if you please, but she remains with me. If any of you also wish to remain, you must come forward now, bow at her feet, bathe them, and worship her as an incarnation of the Divine Mother.”

By the end of the day, over half of the swamis and sadhus were gone. Sivananda kept his word to the young woman. She had her baby and left to begin her new life. Soon many new people came to the ashram. Within a year, it was larger and more prosperous than ever.

That was the human side of Sivananda, merciful to those in pain and sorrow, and harsh and unrelenting to hypocrites. Now here is the other side. Venkatesanada was the only witness to the event. He told me the story in private thirty-five years ago.

It was a winter day and very cold, with a strong wind blowing from the Himalayas. Everyone stayed inside trying to keep warm. However, for some reason, Venkatesananda had to walk across the courtyard to a building on the other side. What he saw in the courtyard stunned him.

In the middle of the courtyard knelt a man, a starving and filthy beggar whose few tattered rags offered no protection from the cold wind. The man was weeping uncontrollably. Walking in circles around the man was Swami Sivananda, chanting the prayers reserved for solemn worship of deities in the temple. The act of walking in circles around an object of veneration is an act of extreme reverence, called circumambulation, widely practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam.

Sivananda stopped when he saw Venkatesananda, whose heart nearly stopped when he saw his master’s eyes. Venkatesananda could not put his feelings into words except to say that he saw an energy and power beyond anything he ever saw in a human face, before or after.

Sivananda said, “His suffering is over,” and left the courtyard.

To understand the impact of those words, it is the same as Jesus saying, “Your sins are forgiven.” Sivananda was absolving the man of all his karma. That is what shook Venkatesanada to his core. Only God can do that.

This is how I learned that the path to becoming an instrument of God on Earth includes always being utterly and completely human.

Peace to all,
Mike