my delight, I came upon a small, secluded, crystal clear lake encircled by dense green growth.
Since there was no sign of human presence in or around the lake, I stripped off all my clothes and pierced the serene, mirror-like surface of water. Totally enjoying the refreshing water and sense of complete freedom, I swam out to the middle of the lake and floated peacefully in my own slice of Heaven.
Suddenly, two rifle shots shattered my reverie. The bullets punctured the water within a foot from my head. I quickly hid all but my head below the water and looked around. It took only a few seconds to identify a boat about fifty yards away with two men in it, shooting a rifle—at me!
Where that boat came from I’ll never know. As far as I could see, the pond was totally enclosed by a primeval wilderness. There were neither roads leading to the lake nor houses on shore. After they fired a third bullet in my direction, I darted beneath the water. Under water, I could hear more bullets whizzing within a few feet of my body. A sharp thrust of panic rippled through me. I had no idea why they were shooting at me, or why they felt they could get away with it. Then it struck me that this lake was so isolated and remote, I could be killed and no one would ever know what happened to me.
I felt very helpless, alone and scared. Every time I surfaced for air, a round of menacing shots encircled me. I couldn’t stay under the water forever. Frustrated and desperate, I dove as far as I could into the dark recesses of the water and called out silently to God for help.
“Please get me out of this,” I implored. “I’ll go back to the ashram,” I promised. “I’ll go back to