An excerpt from 2011…
Today I was walking around the ashram, doing what can only be described as having a mid-twenties existential crisis. I met a gentleman with flowers in his hand and assuming he had a meeting with Gurudev I asked him if he needed anything and if Swamiji was aware of his appointment. He said yes. So I went into the satsang hall to turn on the lights and make sure everything was prepared for Swamiji to meet with his guest. Upon reaching there I saw all arrangements had already been made. Just then I heard the door open, I turned around and saw Swamiji standing there smiling. With a huge smile on my face, acting as though I had just stumbled upon a secret treasure, I folded my hands greeted Swamiji and spoke, “Swamiji I was wandering around the ashram and I found a guest who is here to meet with you. With a bright smile on his face, he exclaimed, “You wandered well!”
The moral of the story is “I wandered well.” We all wander in circles in life and sometimes we don’t even know why. I was having a huge crisis and Swamiji gently brought me back to reality. I realized that I my wandering was “well” because I wandered into Swamiji! This is the role of the Guru. At those times when you cannot shake off the illusion, the Guru comes into your life unexpectedly and unannounced to make you to understand that every movement in the world is mere wandering and the only reality is the Self. If I spent my whole life wandering and in the end wandered into Swamiji, I would have lived my life well.