Gurudeva's Travels in Sri Lanka Prior to Meeting Yogaswami
S. Rajam
a. Robert lived as a guest in Buddhist temples and monasteries, conversing with the monks, observing and absorbing their strict lifestyle, ways of life he would later implement in his own monasteries. b. His mentor, Dayananda, was a Buddhist mystic, politician and social activist who engaged Robert in a difficult project —introducing the electric circular saw to the village carpenters of Ceylon who were using simple hand saws. c. Led by young Robert Hansen, the American-Asian Cultural Mission toured Ceylon for months, dancing in every important venue, with the goal of bringing East and West together through dance and music. d. One of the spiritual disciplines given to the young American was a sleep sadhana. He was required to rise every two hours throughout the night to meditate. e. Dayananda campaigned constantly in rural villages. One day he showed the American visitor his powers, closing his eyes and entering the mind of a speaker on the stage, who suddenly began talking about a subject Dayananda and Robert had shared earlier that day.