During his spiritual pursuits in the ensuing months, Gurudev came upon the philosophy propounded by Swami Vivekananda, one of 20th century’s greatest spiritual figures, who led the revival of the Vedic spiritual heritage not just in India but also in America and Europe. Vivekananda strongly advocated practice of Vedic philosophy through the restoration of Guru-disciple system which alone, he believed, could lead to spiritual evolution around the world. Heeding Swami Vivekananda’s advice, Gurudev began search for a Guru in right earnest. One of Gurudev’s relatives suggested he go to Baba Shri Gangainathji, an ascetic yogi who lived in the village of Jamsar, 27 kilometers to the north of Bikaner. In April 1983 Gurudev visited the ashram.
There was nothing extraordinary about this first meeting – a group of people had gathered to meditate in Gangainathji’s presence. Gurudev sat at the back of this crowd simply observing. While there was no interaction between the two in this meeting, something prompted Gurudev to visit Baba’s ashram a few days later again. It was during the second visit, when Gurudev bowed and touched Baba’s feet that the master touched Gurudev’s head by way of blessing. The moment Baba touched Gurudev he felt a tremendous energy, like a bolt of lightning passing though his body. This was Baba’s way of giving Diksha (initiation) and also passing on the mantle of ‘Siddha Guru’ to Guru Siyag.