The only time I had the opportunity to meet Swami Rama was in 1996 at his Rishikesh ashram, Sadhana Mandir. He was not well but was kind to invite me and my friend, Dr. David Frawley (who was also accompanying me), for a brief “darshan.”  After a few moments, he fixed his hypnotic gaze on me and said, “You should meet Swami Veda.” The meeting was over with these words. He asked someone to bring us both to Swami Veda.

Dr. David Frawley knew a lot about Swami Veda but I had no clue who this “guy” was. As usual Swami Veda was “eternally busy.” After a few moments we both realized that we needed to leave him alone, so we left. Even though the meeting was brief, I felt very drawn to him. I had “goose pumps” like some sort of electric currents were emanating from his body.

Around the same period I had purchased a piece of land in Rishikesh. Each time I would visit there, a powerful vision would come of many meditation cottages where people were doing sadhana. I had no clue about this vision. I also had no clue about the big king cobra who greeted me, standing eye to eye ten feet away, when I first went to see this land.

Due to personal finances, I sold the land a few years later and forgot about it. In 2005, when I was showing a visiting friend from Delhi around the Rishikesh area, I happened to pass in front of the same land. I decided to drive in to see who had purchased it and what was happening there.

It was a real shock. Rows of meditation cottages from my vision greeted me. Even the structure and color were the same.

To my great surprise, Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, created by Swami Rama through Swami Veda, stood there in all peaceful, tranquil and serene grandeur.  A few months later when I again visited SRSG, Swami Veda was there.

“Swami Ji is very busy but he can see you for a few minutes,” Dr. Prakash Dixit Ji very smilingly and humbly told us after informing Swami Veda about our visit.

The “few minutes” stretched to a couple of hours, and then a couple more hours at dinner that night. The next day I was blessed to receive my initiation. The connection from the past life was re-established. I again found my Lama.

For so long I was looking for someone to fix the noise of thousands of  buzzing bees in my ears, which had taken away my sleep and peace of mind. Swami Veda said, “OK ! Now I know why you have come…!!”

The story continues in different shades on different levels since then.

For information about an Ayurvedic retreat in Mauritius with Dr. Sharma, go to upcoming events.