Fond memories of bliss – Part 11

This incident occurred almost 20 years ago. Sri Swamiji was in a constant state of vicharam those days. Sri Swamiji was immersed in self-enquiry and thoughts about the atman, impermanence of the body and mind. Anything and everything that occurred would trigger self-enquiry and He would dive deep within His self spontaneously.

On this particular afternoon, Sri Swamiji happened to pass by a rather quiet street. A few vehicles were speeding past up and down the street. There was a lamp-post on one side. As Swamiji walked down that street, he accidentally bumped into the lamp-post. What would an average person do in such a situation? What would be his reaction? He would probably curse the lamp-post or himself and move on in a hurry.

But what was Sri Swamiji’s reaction? At first He thought “ Oh! The lamp-post has hit me” No sooner did that thought appear than a second thought that rose immediately “ No! Wait! Did the lamp-post hit me or did I strike the lamp-post?” This thought had a cascading effect and drove him inward into self-enquiry. He went deeper and deeper within his Self and totally lost himself. It was as if He got struck with that thought and went into a deep trance. Hours rolled by and there was no movement at all. The passers-by would have, naturally, wondered if something was wrong with Him. This lasted for a very long duration after which He slowly regained consciousness. That is when Sri Swamiji realized how long He had been standing there.