0:00 chapter forty of autobiography of a yogi by paramhansa yogananda i returned to india gratefully i was inhaling the blessed air of india huge harbor of bombay even this my first day off the ship was a foretaste of the year ahead twelve months of ceaseless activity
0:52 friends had gathered at the dock with garlands and greetings soon at our suite in the taj mahal hotel there was a stream of reporters and photographers. Bombay was a city new to me. I found it
1:09 energetically modern with many innovations from the West. Palms line the spacious boulevards.
1:17 Magnificent state structures vie for interest with ancient temples. Very little time was given to sightseeing, however. I was
1:27 impatient, eager to see my beloved guru and other dear ones. Consigning the Ford to a baggage car,
1:36 our party was soon speeding eastward by train toward Calcutta. Our arrival at hauro station found such an immense crowd assembled to greet us that for a while we were unable to dismount from the train
1:54 the young maharajah of kusin bazar and my brother bishnu headed the reception committee i was unprepared for the warmth and magnitude of our welcome.
2:07 Proceeded by a line of automobiles and motorcycles, and amidst the joyous sounds of drums and conch
2:17 shells, Miss Fletch, Mr. Wright, and myself, flower-garlanded from head to foot drove slowly to my father's home my aged parent embraced me as one returning from the dead long we gazed on each other speechless with joy of years long past were grouped around me not a dry eye among us passed now into the archives of memory the scene of loving reunion vividly endures unforgettable in my heart fail me let the following description from my secretary suffice to-day filled with the highest anticipations i drove Yoganandaji during his college days,
3:27 and finally entered a narrow walled lane.
3:30 A sudden left turn and there before us towered the simple but inspiring two-story ashram,
3:38 its Spanish-style balcony jutting from the upper floor.
3:43 The pervasive impression was that of peaceful solitude in grave humility i walked behind yoganandaji into the courtyard within the hermitage walls up some old cement steps trod no doubt by myriads of truth seekers the tension grew keener and
4:08 keener as on we strode before us near the head of the stairs quietly appeared the great one swami
4:16 she teshwas ji standing in the noble pose of a sage my heart heaved and swelled as I felt myself blessed by the privilege of being in
4:27 his sublime presence. Tears blurred my eager sight when Yoganandaji dropped to his knees
4:34 and with bowed head offered his soul's gratitude and greeting, touching with his hand his guru's
4:41 feet and then, in humble obeisance, his own own head he rose then and was embraced on both sides of the bosom by sri
4:52 no words passed at the beginning but the most intense feeling was expressed in the mute phrases of the soul how their eyes sparkled and were fired with the warmth of renewed soul union.
5:07 A tender vibration surged through the quiet patio, and even the sun eluded the clouds to add a sudden
5:15 blaze of glory. On bended knee, before the Master, I gave my own unexpressed love and thanks, touching his feet, calloused by time and service,
5:27 and receiving his blessing. I stood then and faced two beautiful deep eyes, smoldering with
5:34 introspection, yet radiant with joy. We entered his sitting-room, whose whole side opened to the outer balcony first seen from the street.
5:47 The master braced himself against a worn Davenport,
5:50 sitting on a covered mattress on the cement floor.
5:54 Yogananda Ji and I sat near the guru's feet
5:58 with orange-colored pillows to lean against
6:01 and ease our positions on the straw mat.
6:08 I tried and tried to penetrate the Bengali conversation between the two Swamijis for English. I discovered is null and void when they
6:17 are together, although Swamiji Maharaj, as the great Guru is called by others, can and often does speak it.
6:28 But I perceived the saintliness of the Great One through his heartwarming smile and twinkling eyes.
6:32 One quality easily discernible in his merry serious conversation
6:37 is a decided positiveness in statement,
6:41 the mark of a wise man who knows he knows because he knows god his great wisdom strength of purpose and determination are apparent in every way
6:52 studying him reverently from time to time i noted that he is of large athletic stature hardened by the trials and sacrifices of renunciation. His poise is majestic, a decidedly sloping forehead,
7:08 as if seeking the heavens dominates his divine countenance. He has a rather large and homely
7:14 nose, with which he amuses himself in idle moments, flipping and wiggling it with his fingers like a child. His powerful dark eyes are haloed by an ethereal blue ring.
7:28 His hair, parted in the middle, begins as silver and changes to streaks of silvery gold and silvery
7:35 black, ending in ringlets at his shoulders. His beard and mustache are scant or thinned out,
7:43 yet seem to enhance his features and, like his his character are deep and light at the same time he has a jovial and rollicking laugh which comes from deep in his chest causing him to shake and quiver throughout his body his face and stature are starking in their power as are his muscular fingers he moves with a dignified tread and erect posture
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