Sri M on The Start of His Journey & Finding His Guru

At the age of 19, spiritual teacher Sri M was given money to pay his examination fee, but he decided to run because he felt that he was in a cage. ‘I wanted to fly out like a free bird’, Sri M told Puneeta Roy. He ran away and embarked on a journey, shifting between places - Chennai, Delhi, Haridwar, Badrinath.

As Sri M explored and wandered, he came to the last Indian village, Mana. He just saw caves and nobody else and was left disappointed and disillusioned. But as he came back and gazed at the Alaknanda river, calculating how long it would take to end his life there - it was at that moment that he noticed a dhuni.

As he went inside it, there was Babaji, who suddenly stood up. ‘I knew who he was...those eyes were unmistakable,’ said Sri M and told Roy that Babaji’s first words were: “Ghumphirkarwapispauchgaye!” (You have wandered all around and you’re back here!).

It was at that moment that Sri M held onto Babaji's feet and promised that he wouldn’t go anywhere. Staying with him for three and a half years, Sri M went all around the Himalayas and saw many wonders. This was just the beginning of his journey at 19.