After Swami Shankardasji finished his morning routine there was time and opportunity for us to talk some more. I resumed the line of questioning I had followed the day before.

"How old was Tat Wale Baba? Was he really as old as he's said to have been?"

"It is difficult to say," replied Swami, "because no known records exist and Tat Wale Baba stopped aging after he reached around thirty-five years of age." Swami continued, "A man who was a classmate of Tat Wale Baba's in elementary school, and who had seen Tat Wale Baba later in life, commented that Tat Wale Baba had stopped aging. The man died recently and he was about ninety-five years old."

By assuming that Tat Wale Baba was of equal age as this classmate I estimated Tat Wale Baba's year of birth to have been about 1890.

"That would place Tat Wale Baba's age at about eighty-five years when he was killed," I stated, looking for a confirmation from Swami.

"That is about right," he said.

"How did you meet Tat Wale Baba?"

Swami gleamed as he recalled this precious moment in his life. "I was seven years old when I left home in search of Lord Shiva. I wandered all over India and, finally, some yogi told me to do tapasia in the Himalayan mountains; then, maybe I would find God. So, in 1965 I went to Rishikesh and stayed at Swargashram. There, I read in a book that without a guru it is not possible to get moksha (liberation) and Brahman realization. My search for my guru intensified. I went to the Manikut mountain to do tapasia, still hoping to find Lord Shiva. As I came up the mountain I saw Tat Wale Baba sitting on a stone in the front of his cave. He looked to me like Lord Shiva. When I saw him my heart and body started to shake, and I became very afraid. I ran away into the forest and took refuge under a tree, until evening, when I returned to Swargashram. For the next three days I sat near the Ganga. I read the Gita and fasted, drinking only Ganga water. I prayed to God for guidance. I returned to Tat Wale Baba's cave. I was no more afraid. We looked at each other simultaneously. He smiled at me, and I immediately felt close to him. So I stayed, and I have been with him since."

Swami got up and reached into a folder from which he withdrew an album of pictures. He showed me his collection of photos. "I'm putting together a book of pictures so visitors can see a history of Tat Wale Baba's life."

From that statement one idea led to another and the impetus for writing this book was born. Swami Shankardasji and I chatted for several more hours. "I don't usually talk so much," he said.

However, with my time quickly slipping away I needed to press for more information."Did Tat Wale Baba do asanas?" I asked.

"Not usually. He preferred long meditations to asanas," replied Swami.

"Did he teach any techniques?"

"Yes," Swami said. "After I was in Tat Wale Baba's service for two months he gave me initiation and taught me some meditation techniques. He taught different techniques for sadhus, different techniques for yogis, and different techniques for the general people. He also gave out general knowledge. For example, when a visitor once asked him how to control the mind he said that you can't stop desire because it is like trying to stop the Ganges. He said to let the mind flow. But, wherever the mind goes there also see your God, your personal God. That way your mind automatically comes back to the concentration on the goal, God.

"Tat Wale Baba said when you work do everything in the name of God, everything for God," continued Swami. "Never help anyone for the fruits, only as service to God. Then, that which is good for you, God will give himself. In this way people will become as children of a cat - whatever a kitten needs, the mother cat immediately provides. Otherwise, they will be like a baby monkey where the mother is running and jumping and the baby must wait or chase after it for nurturing."