08/25/2021
In the Brahmacharya Vidyalaya, regularity, discipline, conformity to the rules and regulations were equally binding upon every student.
When I look back at the golden times of my school life with Sri Yoganandaji, there comes to mind a flood of happy recollections that provide a never failing source of joy.
When Paramahansaji left for America, I felt miserable. The presence of his assistants were no solace to us. The absence of Paramahansaji created a vacuum that could not be filled by others. As most of us were of tender age, we felt his absence keenly. He alone was our intimate friend, playmate, brother, father, mother; and his relation with us was spiritual, sacred, and purely divine.
Time went by, and in 1935 I was again blessed with the darshan of Guruji at Ranchi....It was not a student who was to meet his teacher, but a sincere and devoted son who was to meet the beloved father after a lapse of many years....He looked at me with the same loving but piercing glance and with tender smile on his lips. There was no question from the great Master inquiring after my worldly welfare.... In his presence I felt as if I were again a little boy sitting in front of the Guru. At long last I dared to ask whether he was leaving us and going back to America. With same tender smile, which radiated love, light, and bliss, his simple answer was: "Am I not always with you?" My strong feeling of separation vanished.
Since then, whenever I think of Guruji, I feel as if he is present amongst us.
-- YSS magazine, 2005
