In traditional Indian society, it is customary to accept monasticism only if there is a blessing from the parents. Govinda went to his parents' home in northern India and asked for a blessing to leave his position and become a monk. Deep down he was worried that his relatives would refuse to give their blessing. However, to his surprise, his parents and the whole family supported his decision.
The relatives were able to understand the seriousness of the situation and were respectful of Sathya Sai Baba's blessings. After that, the young man returned back to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba in 1982. Sathya Sai Baba then instructed him to live in the ashram, practice mantras, and wait for further instructions.
A year later, Sathya Sai Baba unexpectedly called Govinda to him. The inspired young man went to his room, and when he entered, he saw Sathya Sai Baba had invited nine more people to the meeting. Sathya Sai Baba announced to all those present that they were not gathered by chance, but they all had a common spiritual mission they would fulfill together. All ten people in attendance were from different parts of India and were complete strangers to each other until that moment.
Sathya Sai Baba announced to them that he wanted to organize an ashram in the Himalayas, and it was for this purpose that he brought the group of ten together. Sathya Sai Baba said they would have to settle in this ashram and practice meditation according to the instructions he would give them. Sathya Sai Baba called this mountain ashram "Guha Ashram," which means "cave ashram;" another meaning of this name is the cave of the spiritual heart. Soon after this meeting, Sathya Sai Baba blessed them for the journey, and they set off for the Himalayas.
50. Guha Ashram in a cave under the sacred mountain Narayana Parvata
While these ten disciples were still in Puttaparthi, Sathya Sai Baba told them that on the way to the Himalayas, one more person would join them, and in total this group would consist of eleven people. Just before leaving Puttaparthi, he presented them with Akshaya Patra.
This part of the story usually attracts especially great attention from readers. What is Akshaya Patra? This is a magical jug in which food materializes. Stories about "Akshaya Patra" have existed in the Vedic tradition since ancient times.
When the ascetics of antiquity went to the Himalayas, they, according to legend, had such wonderful jugs in which rice, vegetables, fruits, and honey sweets materialized. Stories about such wonderful jugs or tablecloths (self-assembled) exist, literally, among all peoples.
Guha Ashram is located in a cave under a sacred mountain called Narayana Parvata. The caves in the Himalayas in which ashrams are founded are usually very large, and sometimes represent labyrinths of halls and corridors for many kilometers.
The climate of the Himalayas is very contrasting; in summer there is a real Indian heat, and in winter there is a lot of snow and severe frosts lasting several months. Thus, a stable comfortable temperature inside the caves is the most important condition for the comfortable life of cave yogis.
The main entrance to the Guha Ashram cave is located on the northern slope of the mountain. This cave is very large and complex in its structure with several entrances located on different slopes of the mountain. Right at one of the entrances to the cave there is a source of pure water, which yogis could use for drinking, as well as for daily ablutions.
So, in 1983, eleven people, with the blessing of Sathya Sai Baba, went to the mountains in order to organize an amazing Guha Ashram in a Himalayan cave. In 1986, that is, three years later, Govinda returned to Sathya Sai Baba's ashram and again met with Maheshwarananda.
At that time, Govinda, despite his young age, headed the Guha Ashram. He came to Sathya Sai Baba in secret, under the guise of an ordinary visitor. With the permission of Sathya Sai Baba, he shared information about the Guha Ashram with Maheshwarananda, for Maheshwarananda's mission was to describe the history of the founding of the ashram and events in the life of the yogis in the Himalayan cave.
As Maheshwarananda told me, when he learned about the existence of such a unique cave ashram, he immediately wanted to join this group of yogis. He made a request to Sathya Sai Baba, but Sai Baba allowed him to visit the Guha Ashram only for a short time. Sathya Sai Baba explained to Maheshwarananda that his task was to describe this ashram in detail in his book, but to continue living permanently in Puttaparthi.
51. Sathya Sai Baba announced the closure of the Guha Ashram, but in fact it continues to exist today
There is no need now to retell the content of the book that Maheshwarananda wrote. Some of you are already familiar with this wonderful book. For those of you who have not read it yet, I highly recommend reading it. Maheshwarananda recounted many wonderful events in the life of Sathya Sai Baba's Himalayan ashram. I do not think this book will leave anyone indifferent.
We often talked with Maheshwarananda about various aspects of Kriya Yoga meditation and mantra practice, and I also asked questions about Guha Ashram with great interest. Maheshwarananda was quite open and gave detailed answers. I am very grateful to fate for meeting this unique person.
At some point, Sathya Sai Baba officially announced that he had closed the Guha Ashram. This news literally shocked me. In fact, the reason for Sathya Sai Baba's statement was very simple. The book about Guha Ashram came out in the late ‘80s and instantly became very popular. After reading this book, people reacted differently, some were simply delighted with the stories set forth in the book, but there were also those who wanted to go to the Himalayas at all costs and find the secret ashram.
I know several cases where Indians, Americans, Germans, as well as a couple of Russian guys went in search of Guha Ashram. Attempts to find the Guha Ashram began to happen more and more often, as people read the book and immediately went to the Himalayas. Obviously, without the blessing of Sathya Sai Baba, it was absolutely impossible to find the ashram. It is not difficult to organize a trip to the Himalayas. It’s an open area. All you need is to get in a car, and you can visit all the holy cities located in the upper reaches of the Himalayan mountains.
Sometimes people went alone, sometimes two or three. The groups were always very small. People found Mount Narayana Parvata easily on the map, but they walked long and hard through the mountains and naturally could not find the ashram. Such places of power have very serious energy protection from intruders. You can pass at a distance of several meters from the entrance to the sacred cave, and simply not notice it. You can also walk past a group of yogis who are practicing meditation or mantras, and you will get the impression there is no one around.
The energy protection of the Guha Ashram is very strong, and there is an impact on the consciousness of a person, in that one who is not spiritually ready will look and not see. Even being very close to the entrance to the cave, a person coming without the special blessing of Sathya Sai Baba would see only the slope and the mountain; it will seem to him there is no cave at all, although, in fact, the entrance to the sacred cave will be right in front of him. That is why it is impossible to go and find the Guha Ashram simply by ordinary effort.
Some attempts were on the verge of dangerous outcomes, but fortunately no one died. I know of one case where a man went looking for Guha Ashram and got lost in the mountains, fortunately he was found by passing tourists. Some broke their legs or arms and had to turn back. As attempts to find the Guha Ashram began to increase, Sathya Sai Baba announced that he had closed the ashram.