Gargamuni Swami, a young man in his early twenties was alone, a traveling mendicant. He had recently arrived in Gainesville from Miami where he had been teaching with three other sannyasis. They had decided to go separate ways, he making his way up to Gainesville.
Far from being cosmopolitan like his hometown of New York, Gainesville was a small college town, with only two main streets and a paltry excuse for a downtown. However, in the last couple of years it had become a bastion of progressive thought centered around the university, its hub being the Plaza of the Americas. People would gather there to convey their ideas and as of late, many political rallies were being held protesting America’s participation in the Vietnam War and the recent Kent State shootings.
One of the local leaders of the anti-war movement, David Liberman, was becoming frustrated with its efforts. He had long ago become disillusioned with the establishment but now could see the hypocrisy of those aiming to bring it down. He, along with a few friends, had begun gravitating towards another direction, reading Eastern philosophy and discussing amongst themselves. Then one day a friend told him that there was a swami in the Plaza. “What do you mean a swami in the Plaza?,” he asked incredulously. He proceeded to go there and to his amazement saw a bald-headed man in orange robes chanting, eyes closed intently with a crowd gathered around.
Gradually, the swami brought the chanting to a close and then reached for his bag, reverentially lifting out a large brick-colored book. Pointing to the research library just to his left he called out, “There are so many books in that building. But not one of them gives the Absolute Truth. It’s all just mental speculation and relative knowledge. But in this book,” he said as he displayed it for all to see, “the Absolute Truth is its sole content.”
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