Professional career &
evolution of a Guru

After coming to Delhi, Guruji resumed his studies, and on completion of his technical education he got a job, in 1958, as a Surveyor in the All India Soil and Land Use Survey, IARI, Pusa, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture. This job entailed long and extensive tours (8 to 9 months in a year) along with his team in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, etc. for soil survey mapping to evaluate the quality of soil and to determine which particular crop the soil was suitable for. This gave him an opportunity to travel for long periods of time in mountains and plains and after working hours, he found ample time to pursue spiritual advancement and practise long hours of meditation.

When I joined the All India Soil and Land Use Survey in 1959, I casually met Guruji, who was my senior colleague. Since both of us used to go on separate tours, we seldom met each other. It was in 1963 that we made a joint tour of Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh which brought us closer, and soon we became good friends. People do become friends, but it is due to sheer good luck that one gets a really good friend. There is a saying in our language “yaar milya, samjho rabb milya”. It was the same situation. One day, I offered him home hospitality to which he readily agreed, and we started staying together in the same house. This lasted for about two-and-a-half to three years (1965-1967). The more I enjoyed his company, the more was I impressed by his simplicity, straight-forwardness, kind-heartedness and spiritual bent of mind. For long hours he would sit for ‘Paath’. He was so unattached to money that he never hesitated to part with a major portion of his salary to needy persons or colleagues.

As a good friend, I would often try to impress upon him the need to save some money for any emergency. Although he would invariably listen to me, he did not pay any heed to my advice on money matters. Under the circumstances, I took it upon myself the responsibility of maintaining his bank account, kept the passbook and the cheque book in my custody, and provided him sufficient cash for his day-to-day needs. One fine day, I was shell-shocked to find that he had withdrawn the entire amount from the bank (through a withdrawal slip) without my knowledge. He gave the sum to a colleague who was in desperate need of money in connection with a marriage in his family. There was no limit to his generosity.