It was the first question after the Swami’s evening program and was totally unrelated to anything the Swami had spoken about. The guy was in his mid-thirties and was leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets.
He narrowed his eyes as he spoke, an expression that gave him a distinctly challenging air.
“I am nobody’s guru,” the Swami declared instantly, looking directly at the man.
He paused and said in a quieter voice, “I am everybody’s servant.”
It sounded almost as if he were rebuking the man for asking such a silly question.
The Swami paused and lowered his head. I was sitting close to him and heard him say almost to himself, “Actually I am not even a servant; a servant of God is no ordinary thing.” He looked up. “We shall have kirtan now.”
San Francisco | USA | 1969
Mukunda Goswami | Miracle on Second Avenue | Page 197