In 1992, Swamishri was in Sarangpur. In the evening assembly, Swamishri was sitting in a sofa near the Smruti Mandir. Many sadhus and devotees were seated around him. At that time Swamishri noticed Yogi, a young balak from Dallas. Swamishri called Yogi over to him. Swamishri then told him that he had not seen Yogi in the morning arti and that he should not miss arti in the morning. Someone then told Swamishri that Yogi’s sanchalak was sick and Yogi was taking care of him. That is why he could not make it to arti. After the assembly was over, Swamishri called Yogi over again. Swamishri said to Yogi, “You did not come to the arti, I thought that you must still be sleeping. I scolded you. For that forgive me. Sorry, maari bhul thai gai. (It was my mistake).”

In 1990, in Mahesana, the youths were digging the foundation for the new mandir in full force. Swamishri was very pleased to see them do such hard seva. Immediately, he joined in, leaving his attendants standing in dismay. “Come on, pass the container,” he said. No one knew what to do. Each of them were thinking whether or not they should pass it to him! He was 69 and above all, the guru! Seeing everyone at a standstill, Swamishri immediately bent down and picked up the container, filled it with sand and started passing them to the next person in line. The youths realized the situation. They started filling only half of the container with sand. So Swamishri said, “Fill them up to the brim!” In all, Swamishri picked up 32 containers and wanted to go on but the sadhus and devotees stopped him. Everybody thought that this was enough, but again the next day he joined in.

Swamishri is the head of our Sanstha. He is the guru of over 750 sadhus and thousands of devotees worldwide. Yet he always leads by example. He apologizes to even the most junior devotee, and joins in whenever there is seva to be done. Even today, Swamishri continues to inspire and lead by example. Our guru truly is an Idol of Inspiration!