My yoga teacher Chandnaji introduced me to Swami Veda Bharati in March 2008, since he felt I was so curious about meditation and probably needed it at that point of time.

On our way to Rishikesh I had picked up my book Walking with a Himalayan Master by Justin O’Brien which I had bought some time back, but never read. Well, on this trip the book became very engrossing and fascinating to me. Before this day, my ‘religion’ only stemmed from my parents and society, but even then I had a questioning mind; who knows if there really is a God, can you ever ‘find’ Him? Is there a logic to Karma theory? How valid are mantras in Sanskrit? Etc.

That day is entrenched in my mind.  Arriving at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama perhaps around 11 am, my first impression was: Serenity, and that it looked organized and above all clean and calm. We had a simple lunch (sitting traditionally on the floor) and then we waited, seemed like a long time, till maybe 4 pm when we could finally meet Swamiji. We were tired and my thoughts were, is really worth coming all the way?

We had a very brief meeting with Swamiji. After preliminary greetings I asked him, I am confused, what does meditation do, and that it is difficult to practice in a regular disciplined way. I don’t really remember his reply, but he said let us do a 2 minute meditation. The 2 minutes seemed to last a long time. I sat in Vajra Asana and closed my eyes and that changed my world. My highest experience was that I felt this specific and intense heat in my body clearly from Ajnana chakra to the nabhi chakra area. And I could FEEL my heart fluttering as though it had wings. What an elated experience that was, I can never forget. And I thought to myself what is happening to me, why am I reacting like this, why am I so excited. Forget this, and be yourself again! Finally the 2 minutes were over and opened my eyes, thanked Swamiji, nothing more was said. We went our way, but my life has changed. Although SVB-ji always said experiences are not important, what matters is how deep you go, this is a unique experience I could never forget.

It was my eye opener, and my thoughts and values of the Universe changed. My mind opened to the immense field of spirituality and the truth within. Truly, I understood the meaning of ‘Guru’,