This is an incident from Shyam’s early childhood. He must have been about five years old, perhaps around ten or eleven. Even at that tender age, he was drawn to devotion towards God. He would read various Puranas. With each reading, his devotion grew deeper. He would narrate stories of devotion to his friends. Together, they built a small temple. In it, they placed a sacred Shaligram stone as the deity. Every evening, he and his friends would gather in one place and sing bhajans. For accompaniment, they would bring empty tins and beat them like drums. Their voices would fill the entire neighborhood. While singing the bhajans, they would also dance with joy. During times of trouble, they would especially pray to God for protection.

Shyam had memorized many devotional verses for such occasions. He would recite these verses during the bhajans. The devotion of those days was pure and intense. At that age, the very thought of what was true or false had not yet arisen. On the contrary, all the stories he read in the Puranas seemed absolutely real to him. Today, these tales seem like childish fantasies. Shyam says, “It is difficult to say whether the innocent faith of childhood is better, or the doubts that arise in the mind with maturity.”

It was the season of Chaturmas. During these months, the Purana was recited daily in the Ganpati temple of Shyam’s village. The elders of the village, as well as the women, would come to listen to the Purana. Usually, only about fifteen or twenty people would remain till the end. This continued for four months. The Ganpati temple was right next to Shyam’s maternal home. From the house, the sound of the Purana recitation could be heard clearly.

That day was a holiday. There was a Purana recital going on in the temple. Shyam’s mother and father, along with the children, were staying at their maternal home. Shyam’s mother had gone to the temple. After meeting God and sitting there quietly for a while, she returned home. All the children were at home. They began to bang empty tins together. Chanting “Shri Ram Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram,” the children danced. The clatter of those tins did not bother them at all. On the contrary, they were so absorbed in their play that, while loudly chanting God’s name, they kept dancing with joy.

But this noise began to disturb the Purana recital at the temple. It became difficult to listen to the Purana in peace. In the temple, people began to express their displeasure, each one mentioning Shyam by name. “What a racket these children are making! This is all the doing of that mischievous Shyam! But I wonder how the people at home tolerate this? Children nowadays are really quite unruly!” Such words, first whispered, now started to be spoken aloud. Shyam’s mother was still in the temple at that time. Hearing these words, she felt deeply hurt. She got up and left