05 Apr Gurudev – A practical Yogi
Sixty years back, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda carried a kamandalu and wore wooden Khadau (sandals with a knob between the first and second toe). His hair was tied with a saffron scarf in a knot at the back of his head. His kutiya in Uttarkashi was dug near Swami Tapovanam’s cottage. It was difficult to enter it, since it was dug below ground level, and one had to bend to enter it. One always wondered how a tall person like Swamiji used to go in and out of that entrance for years. It had a low roof, and anyone with a decent height could neither stand straight nor sleep with legs stretched. The roof was thatched, and it had a matching thatched door to keep out the howling cold wind.
Once, a devotee asked Swamiji how he managed with such a tall frame.He quipped, “Acrobatics are not allowed for sanyasis. For sitting, meditating and relaxing the back, it is sufficient.”