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ence for all life. I confer upon Hamsananda now the title of Achārya, for he is one who lives as an example of what he teaches."
Hamsānanda bowed his head as tears of joy streamed down his face. All were in ecstasy at this unique moment in the history of their ashram.
The journey progressed still further into the heights, partly on foot, to reach Mandi'Om where only a handful of men lived like hermits. There were only a few small chalets nearby, no modern facilities or electricity. Upon seeing how moved Gurudev was by the profound quiet of the mountains, Achārya Hamsānanda offered, “Gurudevji, will you not accept this ashram as your future abode for meditation and grace us with your spiritual presence and insights?”
Gurudev thanked him for his genuine and spontaneous offer. With lightness, he expressed his feeling, "Some day I would like to return here to breathe this air of serenity, but now I am a bird flying freely in the air. How can I call any one place home when I feel the whole universe as home?"
At the third ashram in the mountains, Gurudev found a surprise gift awaiting him. Vidya, one of the students, greeted him with a bow and a cape of snow-white wool which she had specially knitted for him by chanting “Namo Arihantānam" each time she took a stitch. She had completed the shawl in only three days' time.
Gurudev gave more discourses at Yoga Institutes in Marseilles, Lyon on a return visit, and Paris. Hundreds of young people came to hear him. Sixteen young women who were studying yoga at the Institute in Paris requested that Gurudev bless them. At a small gathering, clad in white saris, the eager devotees bowed before Gurudev to receive the sacred vasaxep powder through his hands.
The day before Gurudev and Shantilal left Paris for London, Gurudev and Swami Ranganāthānanda of the Rama-krishna Mission gave talks to a large audience at the Centre D'Etudes et De Recherches. One could have heard a pin drop in the room. Many said that it was the first time in their lives they had ever been so moved.
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