Cutest swami

This is a photograph of Trailanga Swami from Banaras - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailanga

The moment I looked at it I was so captivated by the photograph, I just want to hug this guy, he looks like the cutest most adorable round person...so full of innocence joy and wisdom.

Below are few snippets from his wikipedia page.

Trailanga Swami (also Tailang Swami, Telang Swami) (reportedly^{[nb 1]} 1607^[2]–1887^[2][3]) was a Hindu yogi and mystic famed for his spiritual powers who lived in Varanasi, India.^[2] He is a legendary figure in Bengal, with stories told of his yogic powers and longevity. According to some accounts, Trailanga Swami lived to be 280 years old,^[2][4] residing at Varanasi between 1737 and 1887.^[3] He is regarded by devotees as an incarnation of Shiva. Sri Ramakrishna referred to him as "The walking Shiva of Varanasi"

Fun and Miraculous facts

• He was the reincarnation of his own Grandfather.
• He was often found roaming the streets or the ghats of Banaras, naked and "carefree as a child".
• He was reportedly seen swimming or floating on the river Ganges for hours.
• He was reputed to have lived to be around 300 years, and was a larger-than-life figure, reportedly weighing over 300 pounds (140 kg), though he seldom ate. One account said that he could "read people’s minds like books."
• According to another story, he often walked around without any clothes, much like the nanga (or "sky-clad", naked ) sadhus. The Varanasi police were scandalised by his behaviour, and had him locked in a jail cell. He was soon seen on the prison roof, in all his "sky-clad" glory. The police put him back into his locked cell, only to see him appear again on the jail roof. They soon gave up, and let him again walk the streets of Varanasi.
• Thousands of people reportedly saw him levitating in a sitting position on the surface of the river Ganges for days at a time. He would also apparently disappear under the waves for long periods, and reappear unharmed.

Kali Sadhana

Upon the initiation of a Kali mantra from his mother, Sivarama carried out Kali sadhana in the nearby Kali temple and Punya Kshetras, but was never far away from his mother. In 1669 his mother died. After her death, he saved her ashes (chita bhasma). He would wear her ashes and continue his Kali sadhana day and night (teevra sadhana). During that time, Sivarama lived the life of a recluse in a cottage, built by his half-brother, near a cremation ground. After 20 years of spiritual practice (sadhana), he met his preceptor swami, Bhagirathananda Saraswati, in 1679 from the Punjab. Bhagirathananda initiated Shivaram into monastic vows (sannyasa) and named him Swami Ganapati Saraswati in 1685. Ganapati reportedly led a life of severe austerities and went on a pilgrimage, reaching Prayag in 1733, before finally settling in Varanasi in 1737.

Ramakrishna's comment

After seeing Trailanga, Ramakrishna said, "I saw that the universal Lord Himself was using his body as a vehicle for manifestation. He was in an exalted state of knowledge. There was no body-consciousness in him. Sand there became so hot in the sun that no one could set foot on it. But he lay comfortably on it."

Sivananda's comment

Sivananda attributed some of his miracles to the siddhi or yogic power Bhutajaya — conquest over the five elements, "Fire will not burn such a Yogi. Water will not drown him."

Teachings

His teachings are still extant and available in a biography by Umacharan Mukhopadhyay, one of his disciples. He described bondage as "attachment to the world" and liberation as "renunciation of the world and absorption in God."^[18] He further said that after attaining the state of desirelessness, "this world is transformed into heaven" and one can be liberated from samsara (the Hindu belief that life is a cycle of birth and death) through "spiritual knowledge". He remarks that attachment to the "evanescent" world is "our chronic disease" and the medicine is "detachment".^[18]

He described man's senses as his enemy and his controlled senses as his friend. His description of a poor person as one who is "very greedy" and regarded one who always remains content as rich.^[18] He said that the greatest place of pilgrimage is "Our own pure mind" and instructs to follow the "Vedantic truth from the Guru." He described a sadhu as one who is free from attachment and delusion.^[18] One who has transcended the egoself.