Swami was sitting alone in the Virupaksha cave. Ramaswamy Iyer gives an account of his meeting with Swami, in his diary: ‘My soul was stirred; and I appealed to him ‘Sir, Jesus and other great souls came into the world to redeem sinners. Is there no hope for me?’ The Swami said (in English):-‘THERE IS HOPE, YES. THERE IS HOPE’