GOD STORIES

BY JAY M AZO
 GOD STORIES BY JAY MAZO
THE HIGHER TEACHINGS

The disciple approached a master to find out about the eternal light of God. The
master meditated within, and the following wisdom was revealed. The eternal light is
God’s first manifestation by which this universe is created and sustained. God’s
highest essence is light. Hence by inwardly seeing the divine light in meditation, the
soul shines as God’s awakened son. The eternal light throughout history has
incarnated as God radiant souls to teach mankind the wisdom that man’s soul exists in
oneness as part of the Universal Spirit. God’s light which in an impersonal way
created this universe, can take a personal form such as a spiritual awakening in man’s
soul by the practice of meditation. We must have a clear steady vision to see the light.
Our consciousness should be one pointed, and our mind must be empty of obstructing
thoughts. In purity, silence, and aspiration the light of God will manifest during
meditation.
The disciple wanted to know how God could be seen. The master entered a
state of silence and received a clear answer. God can be seen by our inner eyes, but
not in this changing outer world of finite matter. When man sees God’s highest
spiritual form of light, he becomes a spiritual teacher with the divine work of bringing
all truth seeking souls into the light. He teaches that during meditation focusing on the
third eye, we are to keep our mind empty of all disturbing worldly thoughts and
desires. The ultimate aim of all meditation is to realize within our true spiritual
identity as separate from the movements of nature’s activities. Thus if we practice this
inner silence regularly everyday, peace of mind and an awareness in the soul of God’s
blissful presence will radiantly manifest. Then the door to God’s eternal kingdom will
open within the truth seeker’s soul.
The disciple asked how freedom in God could be found. The master
remembered what his own teacher had taught long ago. Freedom in God is the theme
of the divine drama of existence. God is free because there are no limits to His
expression in creation. At all times God has absolute knowledge and will to
accomplish His vision. In God’s cosmic play the seed of freedom has been planted to
grow in man’s soul. Man must light the flame of freedom by discovering his divine
identity. Freedom comes when the chains of ignorance, limitation, and ego are broken
by the sword of wisdom. Liberation causes man to live in total awareness of his soul’s
oneness with the Supreme Being. Divine grace flows into the spiritual seeker who has
lit the heavenly burning flame of constant aspiration. All pursuits of pleasure and
happiness are in reality a reflection of the soul’s striving to find the one eternal light
which brings fulfillment to life. Lasting freedom comes as an internal mystic
experience to the aspirant who has dedicated his whole life as an offering to the
Divine. The liberated soul is in direct contact with God’s presence, will, and
knowledge. His vision spans the galaxies throughout the eternal cosmic cycles. The
little ego is dead and has been replaced by the active divine witness who now guides
and commands the life of the emancipated sage. The wall of separation between the
soul and the Supreme Being has disappeared, and only the bliss of divine oneness and
love eternally remain.
The disciple wanted to know how such freedom could be lived daily. The
master waited for divine inspiration to express itself in these words. Freedom has to
be lived in God everyday of the year throughout one’s life. Each day of the year
must present a new opportunity to discover and experience God’s reality. By aspiring
to live the spiritual adventure, a divine transformation will take place in our life.
God’s freedom is always here. All we have to do to realize this is to remove the
obstacles of desire, ego, and ignorance in order to let the divine sun shine through the
soul. The true aim of man’s existence is to pursue and discover oneness with God
through meditation and devotion. By centering the consciousness on the divine ideal,
the aspirant at last realizes and becomes one with the Supreme Being. True freedom is
found only in the heart filled with God. Where there is eternal love, infinite wisdom,
and creative power there is freedom in God.
The disciple wanted to find the way to realize truth. The master, from his many
years of experience, gave the solution. To realize truth one must inquire Who Am I.
Realization is the goal that is reached when the seeker knows his identity. To realize
the highest goal, the seeker must practice such spiritual disciplines as prayer,
renunciation, self inquiry, and meditation. Truth is the target which all of man’s
strivings try to reach. Truth is eternal because it is a quality that is the essence of both
God and man’s immortal soul. When the mystic discovers that his real nature is being
a part of God’s oneness that is the final truth. When the devotee finds that a divine
power pervades the universe that is the living truth. When the saint understands that a
Cosmic Mind exercises its will to direct all of creation that is the eternal truth. Truth is
man’s destination because all souls are growing toward the light of God’s sun. The
search for truth must become the guiding principle in man’s whole existence.
The disciple asked how to find the truth since man’s mind is unsteady. The
master smiled and gave this advice. Each moment of the day man must ask where is
God to be found. Truth can be realized only in a mind that is at peace. The seeker
must learn by practice how to reduce his thoughts to zero so that he can become the
silent witness observer. This is the way to find the truth by experiencing the divine
presence which manifests in the void of man’s expanded silent consciousness. To
realize the truth you must hear within the divine call to wake up, search for, and
finally discover the truth of God’s reality in this very lifetime. There is no time to
waste for the soul that understands that a higher reality waits to be discovered which
alone can give man lasting peace and happiness. Meditation is the spiritual beacon
that guides and inspires aspirants along the journey leading to self realization.
 The disciple was puzzled about where is the point when God and man meet.
The master searched deep within his consciousness to present these spiritual
teachings. The God point is the supreme moment in the life of the mystic when he
reaches union with the Divine. This spiritual state happens when the arrow of man’s
soul flies straight into the divine target. God is at the center of existence. But the
normal consciousness is obstructed from seeing truth by the veil of nature’s world of
matter. The problem to be solved by man is how to return to his original state of pure
existence. To be aware of a problem is the first step in approaching its solution. First
man must believe that reaching God is the true meaning of his brief life on earth.
Hence man must make God the target of his aspiration. The arrow which man shoots
toward the God target is his practice of
spiritual discipline. The most powerful arrow to shoot at the God target comes from
meditation’s bow. Man must concentrate his mind on hitting the divine center of
existence. The speed and accuracy of man’s spiritual arrow depend upon his soul’s
aspiration and devotion. Aspiration gives the soul’s arrow power, but devotion is the
magnet that attracts it to hitting the God target. The God point is when the arrow of
man’s soul merges with the target of divine consciousness. When the God point
occurs the mystic experiences union with God’s light, bliss, power, peace, and
wisdom. Then the soul becomes a realized point of divine sunlight.
The disciple wanted an explanation about what is the divine target. The master
saw the answer by intuition and presented the teachings in this clear form. The divine
target is like a wheel having spokes radiating from the hub’s center. The spiritual
disciplines of meditation, devotion, discrimination, and dedicated action are like
spokes that all lead back into the wheel’s hub. Life is like a wheel spinning with 365
spokes through space each year. Be it through meditation, devotion, discrimination, or
dedicated action the soul’s arrow when accurately aimed will pierce the divine target.
When the God point is reached, the soul arrow and the divine target become of one
essence. The aspirant must lift the bow of meditation, shoot the soul arrow, and merge
with the God point. When the God point is known, then the soul experiences infinite
peace, power, divine bliss, light, and wisdom. The supreme goal is reached when the
awakened soul flies straight into the God point’s divine target. The disciple
theoretically understood the master’s teachings but needed some practical examples in
life to make the abstract more concrete. The master decided to make his teachings
easier by presenting them in the form of God stories in which ordinary people were
confronted by the challenges of life and managed to realize the divine presence.

THE YOGI AND THE TWO QUEENS

Thousands of years ago there lived in Rajasthan a yogi called Sivapremaraja,

who was the chosen disciple of Sankartapasmuni. One day two queens visited the
yogi. Queen Ayesha of Persia thought only of the yogi’s material comforts and gave
him much money. Queen Ratna of Nepal wanted to learn the yogi’s spiritual
knowledge, and so she stayed with him day and night. The yogi asked both queens
who they thought he was. Queen Ayesha said that he was a poor holy man and that
with her support, some ashrams could be built. The yogi agreed, but asked Queen
Ayesha to think where God’s temple is. On the other hand, Queen Ratna said that only
through meditation in the yogi’s presence would his identity be revealed. The yogi
looked at each equally. He knew that he was only a humble devotee of
Sankartapasmuni, whose spiritual powers flowed through him. Suddenly, to test the
faith of both queens, the yogi took on all their karma at once and appeared to have
died. Queen Ayesha lost her faith in her guru at once and had his body cremated.
Queen Ratna loved her guru beyond the body and sent word to Sankartapasmuni
about his disciple’s death. The old yogi replied that no disciple of his would ever fall
to death prematurely and that the power of tapas would bring Sivapremaraja back to
life. Queen Ayesha returned to Persia having learnt nothing. Queen Ratna sat silently
chanting her guru mantra over his burnt ashes. Two months passed and nothing
happened. Just then, in a dark cave, Sankartapasmuni started chanting Aum Namah
Sivaya. By the power of his tapas, the old yogi called on the god to release his
beloved devotee Sivapremaraja. Suddenly, in front of the meditating Queen Ratna, an
explosion thundered, a trisula rose from the earth, and then a stone linga emerged. The
linga split in two and by the grace of his old guru and the faith of his disciple Queen
Ratna, there appeared the resurrected body of Sivapremaraja. Then Sivapremaraja told
his disciple Queen Ratna that the real yogi lives by God’s power and is free from body
and money attachments.
Queen Ayesha returned to Persia and found her kingdom suffering from a
famine and a plague. She wondered why her people were being punished so cruelly.
Then a blind beggar told her that for the sin of burning the Hindu holy man while in
communion with God, her kingdom would have to perish. Queen Ayesha got angry
and ordered the blind beggar to be jailed, but he immediately vanished from her sight.
At the same time, the blind beggar came in a dream to the mountain bandit chieftain
named Pelgaz Kasim. In his dream the blind man told Pelgaz Kasim that because of
Queen Ayesha’s sin toward the Hindu holy man, her kingdom would collapse as soon
as he attacked it. So at midnight, Pelgaz Kasim led his mountain tribes in the invasion
of Queen Ayesha’s kingdom. Although heavily outnumbered, fate made Pelgaz Kasim
victorious. With her army annihilated, Queen Ayesha was taken prisoner. Pelgaz
Kasim told her that her crime was very great, and that she would have to choose
between death or total exile from Persia. Queen Ayesha chose exile. Wherever she
wandered the people cursed her and said she was the evil murderer of a holy man.
After months of lonely wandering in the desert, her clothes were in rags and her
beauty had vanished. Yet fate was blindly leading her to cross the Indian border into
Rajasthan. Queen Ayesha was in mental agony, but she now knew that all her
sufferings stemmed from her premature cremation of Sivapremaraja. The desert sun
was too much for her. She collapsed totally unconscious. Then she had a dream that a
flame stood burning in midair and a voice thundered saying: “I am the flame and
guide of your soul and can never die.” While she was still unconscious, a lady on a
horse rode toward her. It was Sivapremaraja’s devotee, Queen Ratna. Queen Ayesha
was put on the horse and swiftly taken to Sivapremaraja’s ashram. Her bad karma
caused by ignorance was soon to end.
Queen Ayesha awoke and looked into the eyes of the blind beggar that came to
her court at Persia. Suddenly the blind beggar changed his body into that of
Sivapremaraja. Queen Ayesha started crying. “Oh Guru Maharaj, you have taught me
a bitter lesson by taking everything away from me so that at last you would possess
only my soul to direct,” she moaned. The guru replied: “Ayesha, once you realize that
only your soul is real, then you can know God. The guru’s love is undying in spite of
the disciple’s unfaithfulness. I forgive you, but in order for your karma to be purified,
you must die tomorrow.” She answered: “now I have complete faith in you and will
prepare to meet death.” As expected, Queen Ayesha died early next morning of a
heart attack. Sivapremaraja ordered that there should be no cremation of her dead
body. The guru was in control of this little game of maya. He then left his body and
went into samadhi. In the realm of death, Queen Ayesha passed through many fires
where people had to suffer to wipe out their evil karma. Yet she did not suffer because
she now had faith in her guru’s protection. Suddenly she came face to face with Lord
Siva. The god told her that by her newly acquired faith in her guru, she would be
transported to experience the soul’s liberation on the heavenly plane. Queen Ayesha
now experienced herself as a body made up of luminous points of light. She saw a
pink lotus descend on top of a mountain. The petals unfolded and there sat her guru,
Sivapremaraja. The guru said: “now I will show you the secret of divine existence.”
Flames shot out of his eyes and Queen Ayesha felt an electric explosion within her
being. Now she was everywhere at once. Her eyes saw the world pervaded by light,
her heart felt an unending warm bliss, and her mind experienced thoughtless peace.
She looked at her guru Sivapremaraja and saw unending galaxies revolving in his
body. “This is enough for now,” said her guru as he touched her forehead. Queen
Ayesha awoke back to life and remembered all that had happened. She had lost her
worldly kingdom, but by her faith in her guru, she had attained entrance into the
kingdom of God.

REALIZATION IN THE FOREST

Long before men had formed countries with their gods, there lived a strong
woodcutter named Kabinda. Each morning he would leave his village and go into the
forest to chop wood. In those bygone days, the earth had many forests and few men.
On this particular day, while cutting wood, Kabinda heard the sky explode with
thunder and lightning. Torrents of endless raindrops attacked the tall green trees.
Kabinda was afraid of the violent sky and ran deeper into the forest seeking shelter.
After running for half an hour during the blinding rainstorm, Kabinda ran into a long
dark cave. Near the cave there were skeletons of human corpses. Kabinda stopped
running and sat down in the dark cave to catch his breath. Exhausted from running he
fell asleep for the rest of the day. When he woke up refreshed, he was about to meet a
new challenge that would change his life.
Kabinda explored the dark cave. Suddenly he saw two flashing eyes and a huge
mouth roaring screams that meant death. Kabinda did not want to find the answer
behind this terror. He instinctively ran out of the dangerous cave. Slowly the roaring
sound died down as Kabinda reached the light of the cave’s entrance. A man with
golden skin was seen at the foot of a huge forest tree. Kabinda asked the forest hermit
his name. The golden man, with a serene smile, told Kabinda that his name was
Mugesin. Kabinda wanted to know how Mugesin came to live in this deep
uninhabited forest. Then the forest hermit told his tale.
Many years ago, Mugesin was a rich merchant in another village. He had
wealth but not real happiness. Mugesin wanted to know what is the power that gives
meaning to life. Mugesin then left his village and asked this question to everyone he
met. A woman at a well told Mugesin that he would have to find the answer alone in
the deep forest. So Mugesin walked with courage deeper and deeper into the forest. At
last he reached a tall tree which became his abode to seek truth. Many wild fruits grew
on this tree and a quiet stream flowed nearby. While sitting under this tree in his quest
for truth, Mugesin heard a loud terrible roar coming closer and closer to devour him.
But Mugesin, unlike Kabinda, decided to face this deadly terror straight on and not
run for his life. In the face of Mugesin’s determination to continue his search under
the tree, the roaring terror realized that it had met its match and slowly went away
leaving Mugesin’s life. After many seasons of living in the forest Mugesin gained
illumination, and his body began to shine with a golden bronze color. Mugesin had
realized the inner peace that pervades this universe.
Mugesin told Kabinda to be courageous, return to the cave, and seek for the
light instead of merely shelter from the rainstorm. Kabinda made the cave his home
and only left it once each evening to eat fruits and drink cool water from the nearby
stream. Kabinda heard the same loud roar of death in the cave, but this time he
became iron willed and remained seated in his search for truth. Kabinda thought that
if Mugesin could defeat the terror of life, he could also conquer it. Slowly, after many
months, the terrible roar was no more heard in the dark cave. In fact, a strange
glowing light was illuminating his cave day and night. The light shone from within
Kabinda. The roar of death now became mystic ringing music in Kabinda’s ear. His
eyes shone with radiant ecstasy. The truth that an infinite Spirit of light and peace
pervaded this universe dawned within Kabinda’s awakened consciousness.
 The next morning, after Kabinda left the cave as a liberated forest sage, several
former village friends met him. They now saw a different, radiant, and wise Kabinda
who no longer was a simple woodcutter. Kabinda told them the truth he discovered in
the cave and his meeting with Mugesin under the tree. But none of Kabinda’s village
friends could ever see Mugesin. Mugesin now had attained a level of spiritual
existence beyond this material world and, only in rare moments of grace, would he
appear again on earth to help a single brave truth seeker such as Kabinda. Kabinda
spent the rest of his earthly life in the forest cave instructing now and then the few
seekers that came to receive his guidance.

THE DEAD LIVE TWICE

Few in life are given a second chance to achieve the goal they failed at. This is
a story about a mystic named Chadru who gave up his spiritual practices, got married,
and became a king temporarily. Our tale begins late one afternoon with King
Somanath and his daughter Kamalika riding through the forest in search of wild game
to hunt. Suddenly the roar of an angry tiger echoed through the forest. King Somanath
instantly shot a poisoned arrow at the great beast’s head. The wounded animal felt the
death drug speeding through his blood and ran blindly through the forest with
Somanath and Kamalika shooting their winged shafts continuously. The hunted and
the hunters raced through the forest in their struggle lost in the wheel of life. The tiger
acted as he was born to be, but King Somanath, through his exercise of royal power,
had let his ego grow to be no better than that of an animal. His daughter Kamalika was
also very self willed and had vowed that she would only marry the man she chose.
The afternoon slowly glided into night with the hunting drama of the king and his
daughter still chasing the wounded tiger deeper into the dark jungle.
Chadru was also a strong willed hero, but one who since his earliest childhood
had sought to realize God instead of exercising power over other men. Chadru liked
the peace of the jungle where no ordinary man ventured to tread. His place for
meditation was a most unusual abode. He had dug a pit measuring six feet deep where
no being could disturb his spiritual pursuits. Years of meditation passed by for
Chadru, and he felt with each moment that he was getting closer to his divine goal.
But the goal cannot be won without passing the test given by the Supreme Maker.
God sent the wounded tiger to test the strength of Chadru’s penance. The tiger was
losing much blood as the poisoned arrow brought death closer. In his last moment of
revenge upon mankind the wounded tiger lunged into the pit where Chadru was
contemplating God. God came to Chadru in the wild blazing eyes of a savage ten foot
tiger. With one final blow, the tiger struck out in all his fury at the sitting Chadru and
died with human blood in his mouth.
With the moon shedding light in the jungle, King Somanath and his daughter
Kamalika saw the ghastly sight of a dead tiger and a bleeding ascetic lying in a pit.
King Somanath got off his horse and climbed down into the pit to find out how the
mauled ascetic was. Somanath slowly brought the unconscious ascetic out of the pit.
Then when dawn came, Somanath and Kamalika slowly brought the unconscious
Chadru back to the royal capital. Kamalika had learnt medicine from her family priest,
and within a week Chadru opened his eyes and saw the king’s daughter. Kamalika felt
that it was her destiny to marry the man she had nursed back from the shadow of
death. Her father agreed and ordered Chadru to accept the hand of his daughter and to
become crown prince. Chadru, by the fierce final blow of the tiger on his head, had
forgotten his own identity. He was very grateful to Kamalika for saving his life.
Before the marriage took place, Somanath spent ten days teaching Chadru on royal
duties and policy since he would eventually become king. Satisfied that Chadru had
learnt his lessons on kingly statecraft well, Somanath caused the marriage festival to
be celebrated by everyone in the kingdom.
During the marriage celebration, all the priests and sages gave their blessings to
Kamalika and Chadru. Suddenly a tall saint with reddish hair startled everyone with
his declaration that as soon as Chadru would see his son, he would remember his
identity and renounce the kingdom. Six months after the marriage, King Somanath
died during a hunting expedition when his horse stumbled on a rock and threw him
off. So now Chadru, the man with no identity, became the king. After some time
Chadru got used to exercising his functions as king and accepted that identity of
himself. One night Kamalika told her husband Chadru that she was pregnant. Chadru
was delighted and hoped a son would be born to carry on the royal line in the
kingdom. Everybody by then had forgotten the prediction of the red haired saint at the
marriage. The moon gave forth its silver light to this happy kingdom as Kamalika
gave birth to a healthy son. Chadru looked intently into the eyes of his newborn child
and was shocked with the vision that unfolded. Through the reflection in his son’s
eyes he gazed into his own past. He had been the greatest yogi in this kingdom who
had renounced power and sex in his quest for God realization. Then his memory saw
the awful test sent to him by God in the form of the deadly tiger. He saw himself
knocked out by the tiger and losing all his spiritual consciousness. Now Chadru knew
his real identity. He prayed with tears of a child to God for a second chance in this
lifetime to achieve God realization. Then Chadru saw the tall red haired saint with
ashes on his body command him to go immediately into the forest to find God if he
was sincere.
Kamalika’s son grew up to be king under his loving mother’s guidance. King
Sivapriya was happy in all matters of life except that he wanted to meet his father.
Kamalika told her son Sivapriya that nobody in the kingdom knew where Chadru had
gone after his birth. Word was sent throughout all the kingdoms that the beautiful
princess Aditi was holding a contest of strength and skill among all the kings to select
her husband. So King Sivapriya, with the blessings of his mother Kamalika, rode off
to seek a wife. His horse grew tired after miles of rapid riding and stopped during the
evening to drink some water from a stream. A strange light glowed from a distance.
The forest was all dark except this radiance. After the horse had satisfied its thirst and
was rested, the king decided to ride toward the origin of this light. After a while, the
king came to a clearing in the jungle and saw an old man sitting under a tree with
beams of light radiating from his body. Sivapriya saw that this man bore some close
physical resemblance to himself. Sivapriya looked into the blissful eyes of the saint
who had found God. The son knew that he had found his father.

SALVATION

He was the most notorious and feared outlaw of the kingdom. Nobody was safe
when his bandit gang would begin their raids of plunder. Once his father had refused
to pay taxes to the king. So the king killed his father and confiscated his land.
Thereafter Ganataka had sworn savage revenge against King Dharmavira. From his
vast mountain hideout, Ganataka’s outlaw riders would attack and rob travelers and
trade caravans with no fear of being caught. Ganataka had many scars on his chest and
face to prove his bravery in battle. On his black stallion, with his sword and arrows,
he had no equal match in the kingdom. But his heart was always full of the dark fires
of revenge for his father’s unjust murder. Ganataka was invincible as a fighter, but
inwardly he had no peace of mind from all the robberies and murders that he had
committed. He was a hunted man for whose capture or death the king had offered a
huge reward. There was a price on his head and bitterness in his heart. In his mountain
hideout, with his outlaw gang, he was free from the law, but inside himself he was a
slave to the beast of his violent passions.
King Dharmavira decided that alone he was not strong enough to defeat
Ganataka’s bandit gang. So the king wanted an alliance to make himself more
powerful. He gave his daughter in a marriage alliance to a neighboring kingdom after
long days of careful negotiations. After celebrating the marriage, the armies of both
kingdoms united to plan a punishing blow to Ganataka. The armies of both kingdoms
approached Ganataka’s mountain hideout late in the night. Then they began their cruel
plan of extermination. They poured oil all around the mountain hideout. At the signal
of a thunderous drum they set fire to everything around the mountain hideout.
Ganataka and his men awoke to see awesome walls of fire swiftly approaching them
on every side. There was no hope except to make a suicidal dash for freedom. But on
every side the united armies of the two kingdoms sat on their horses waiting to
annihilate Ganataka’s men. Ganataka’s men fought savagely to break out of the
deadly trap, but the arrows of the two united armies began to take their fierce toll. All
around Ganataka his men were being murdered. Ganataka’s black stallion made one
final charge. Three arrows caught the brave fighter as he slumped down in the saddle
with his arm in a tight grip around his horse's neck. A cry of victory went up from the
two armies, as they were confident that they had finally wiped out Ganataka’s fierce
gang. Now there was peace in Dharmavira’s kingdom with the annihilation of
Ganataka’s outlaw gang.
A black stallion thundered across the plains with a bleeding rider slumped on
its back. Mile after mile the horse galloped with some unfulfilled mission yet to be
accomplished. At the day’s end, it entered the forest and its speed grew slower and
slower. The weight on the horse’s back seemed to grow heavier for the thirsty animal.
It approached a stream of running water. There was a man bathing in the water. He
was the forest rishi named Sivalaya. He led the life of a peaceful hermit who spent all
his time in the worship of Lord Siva. As the black stallion stopped to drink the fresh
water, Ganataka’s still body fell to the ground. Sivalaya ran to the fallen body and
carried the once great outlaw bandit to his thatched hut. The rishi prayed to God to
spare his life. The life as an outlaw for Ganataka had come to an
end. Lord Siva reviewed the karma of the outlaw’s past and present lifetimes. The
great god who annuls fate looked into the future. There was a great need for a saint to
enlighten the people instead of choosing to remain hidden in the forest like Sivalaya.
Ganataka’s soul hovered over the region of death. He saw awful picture images
of all the innocent people he had robbed and murdered. He saw the grim fearsome
image of the god of death approaching him with a noose to punish him for his sins.
Suddenly a small light expanded and vibrated a message of hope. “Turn to Me with all
your soul, and I will be in your heart for eternity. I protect all those who surrender to
Me. The choice is always for you to make. I am willing to embrace you now.” The
point of light now became a huge divine person with three eyes, ashes all over his
milky body, and a golden trident. Ganataka gazed into the eyes of Lord Siva, and his
heart surrendered to the divine will. “Oh Lord I am always yours,” cried Ganataka’s
now radiant awakened soul. The still body of Ganataka now began to show slight
signs of breathing. Sivalaya smiled and knew that the crisis to Ganataka’s life had
now passed. The proud former outlaw chief slowly opened his eyes and whispered: “I
will give my life for God’s service.”
Many weeks later Ganataka’s body had fully healed from its wounds. Now he
was ready to leave Sivalaya’s safe forest retreat and enter Dharmavira’s kingdom to
give his life for God’s service. Ganataka was a changed man. He began to sing songs
in praise of Lord Siva everywhere he went. Ganataka vividly felt Siva’s presence in
his heart. Meanwhile Ganataka was all but forgotten in Dharmavira’s peaceful
kingdom. After giving birth to a royal son, Dharmavira’s daughter Suseela had
become very sick. Both kings offered a reward to anyone who could cure Suseela. All
the doctors who had visited her failed. Only the grace of God could save Suseela. So
as divine fate would have it, Ganataka found himself singing songs imploring Siva to
grant Suseela a new lease on life as was previously done for himself. The music of his
soul enthralling hymns seemed to soar up to heaven itself. Lord Siva remembered his
devotee Ganataka and willed it for Suseela to fully recover. Dharmavira was also at
Suseela’s bedside. He recognized Ganataka by his scars of battle. But upon his
daughter’s recovery Dharmavira was so overjoyed that he tightly embraced his once
bitter enemy Ganataka. With tears of gratefulness, Dharmavira shouted with joy:
“great are the ways of God.”

TRANSMISSION

He knew that he was about to die soon. So the Mohant of the monastery
gathered his eight chief disciples and told them to prepare for seven tests that would
determine his successor. For seventy years the Mohant had led this monastery built on
a mountain. He was loved and worshipped by the people of the surrounding villages.
By his supernatural yogic powers he could heal the sick, bless the farmers with good
crops, and grant babies to childless couples. His reputation had spread well beyond
the mountain monastery. But he refused invitations to foreign kingdoms saying that
God placed holy men all over the world to suit the different tastes of the people. The
one hundred and twenty year old Mohant was known for his desireless humility
besides his supernatural yogic powers. In the old days, the local people said, he had
lived for eighteen years on top of a huge tree meditating on the sun. After attaining
realization of God as the cosmic infinite light, the Mohant had the ability to reflect
this through his big blazing eyes. But with kindness and patience he tried to teach his
eight chief disciples the secrets of Hatha Yoga, the Upanishads, and meditation.
The mountain monastery was built in such a way that one would have to pass
through seven rooms in order to enter the holy meditation shrine of the Mohant. The
eight chief disciples that were to participate in the seven tests determining the
Mohant’s successor were Kumar, Chandra, Dilip, Ravindra, Jagdish, Mukunda,
Shankar, and Gopal. So the Mohant sat in front of them in the first room and told
them to begin practicing the yogic heat breathing exercises. The eight disciples began
to take deep rhythmic inhalations followed by rapid forceful expulsions. After fifteen
minutes seven of the disciples had made their bodies hot with drops of perspiration
running down their forehead. But Ravindra had failed in this first test, and so he was
eliminated for consideration. Then the seven successful disciples entered the second
room and were ordered to meditate oblivious to all distractions that they would
encounter. After the disciples had closed their eyes the Mohant projected a phantom
roaring tiger to test their firmness. Six of the disciples succeeded in entering a deep
meditation state. But Chandra became frightened by the tiger’s roars and opened his
eyes. Hence he was eliminated for consideration. The first two tests determined yogic
powers of endurance and the next three tests were to determine conquest of desire.
The six successful disciples were led into the third room and told to wait.
Suddenly a beautiful young lady with smiling eyes entered carrying a tray of sweets
that she distributed to each. Five of the disciples did not raise their gaze above her
feet. Jagdish looked at her beautiful body and was eliminated from the competition
when the Mohant entered the room. Next the five successful disciples were led into
the fourth room and presented with a piece of gold by the Mohant as a reward for their
successful endeavors. Four of the disciples immediately showed detachment by
returning the piece of gold to the Mohant. But Gopal would not part with his gold
piece and was automatically eliminated from the competition. Then the four
successful disciples entered the fifth room. The Mohant walked in and pretended to
collapse dead before their feet. While the previous two tests were designed to measure
sex and money temptations, this test was created to reveal the lust for power. Three of
the disciples were extremely shocked and began to lament
over the Mohant’s apparently lifeless body. But Shankar argued that he should be the
next Mohant since he was living in the mountain monastery longer than the other
disciples. This was not to be since the Mohant opened his eyes, and an embarrassed
Shankar was eliminated from the competition. So two final tests remained for the
three surviving candidates.
The three successful disciples entered the sixth room and prepared to discuss
spiritual philosophy before the realized Mohant. “What is the most important thing on
the spiritual path?” asked the Mohant. “Charity to help others, rooted in a realization
that one is part of a universal Godhead” replied Dilip. “To surrender to the spiritual
master and follow his teachings wholeheartedly” said Kumar. “To be detached from
the world and pursue one’s own liberation” replied Mukunda. The Mohant evaluated
the three answers. The first two answers he considered to be rooted in the foundation
of desireless action transcending the individual ego. But the third answer was too self
centered, and with such an attitude one would be unfit to serve others. Hence
Mukunda was eliminated from the competition. Finally the last test was to begin.
Kumar and Dilip entered the seventh room and saw a cup of milk in front of them.
“The disciple who first takes this cup of milk will be disqualified,” said the Mohant.
So Kumar and Dilip sat without food in the seventh room for three days. Kumar began
to feel very weak and dizzy. But he would rather die than touch the cup of milk. Dilip
felt more compassion for Kumar. Having his friend alive was more important than
becoming the head of a monastery. So Dilip touched the cup of milk first and poured
it into Kumar’s dry lips. The Mohant read the thoughts of each and decided that Dilip
would be the successor because of his kindness and self sacrifice.
The Mohant walked with Dilip into his holy meditation shrine. He sat before
Dilip and entered into deep meditation. Dilip saw that the Mohant’s body became
brighter and brighter until it merged in God’s descending pure white light. Only a
handful of ashes remained of the Mohant’s body. With tender love Dilip put these
ashes in his hands and contemplated the meaning of this experience. Suddenly the
ashes became transformed into a sparkling golden lotus. Dilip became identified
inwardly with the lotus. He closed his eyes and felt his soul climbing up a stalk within
his spinal column until he reached the head summit of a thousand lotus petals. Now he
was expanding world after world into God’s infinite light. He was in tune with the
Creator’s cosmic mind. Throughout his expanded being he became identified with the
eternal mystic Aum sound. Eternal wisdom descended into his previous human brain.
His body began to undergo a strange transformation until it took a shape nearly
identical with the old Mohant when he was a young disciple. Hence, by his guru’s
mysterious grace, the process of transmission had been accomplished. Dilip was now
the Mohant of the mountain monastery.

THE FISHERMAN’S DISCOVERY

Closer and closer the boat sailed toward the shore of a small fishing village.
Among the party of men that landed there was a golden Brahmin youth.
Shankaracharya was on one of his many travels throughout India to establish the
supremacy of Vedanta. Before entering this sleepy little fishing village,
Shankaracharya prayed to the goddess of knowledge, Sarasvati, to make these humble
fishermen receptive to the truth of Vedanta. Besides holding scholarly debates in vast
royal courts throughout India he also, with less fanfare, went to the common people
living in villages. The sanyasi saint wanted all mankind to be receptive to the truth
that this life was pervaded by a divine reality of which each soul was an integral part.
All the people gathered at the little temple to hear the message of the golden Brahmin
youth. After an hour of quoting the Vedas, chanting hymns to the divine powers of
God, and answering questions from the people it looked like his short visit to this
fishing village was a success. Suddenly a young fisherman rushed up through the little
gathering and spat in Shankaracharya’s face. “I spit upon your Vedanta” cried Apu.
“Nature is the only truth, and it is the vast ocean which supports our life with food.
Where is your God that I can see it?” Shankaracharya looked Apu in the eyes and
declared that Apu himself would reveal the truth of Vedanta to the fishing village.
Only the great master Shankaracharya had the vision to see the past lives of Apu.
Seven years later Apu was on his small fishing boat, when suddenly a great
cyclone appeared. He knew that he was lost. Apu thought that not even God, if there
was one, could save him. The waves violently smashed his small boat. Suddenly some
heavy weight started pulling at his fishing net. All Apu wanted to do was to escape
with his life from this fierce storm. Then he collapsed unconscious in his battered
boat. But a miracle happened, and a huge gust of wind blew Apu’s boat and the heavy
object caught in the fishing net safely ashore. The next afternoon Apu woke up and
stared at the golden figure caught in his fishing net. Was this a dream or was he
actually awake? All Apu could be certain was that he was thankful for escaping with
his life from that terrible storm at sea. The shining image continued to remain before
his eyes until at last he accepted its reality. It resembled the great goddess that
Shankaracharya had often worshipped at Kanchipuram. Apu was fascinated with this
gift from the ocean. So he built a little thatched hut and installed the goddess. Apu sat
down and thought what mystery does the ocean hold.
 Now Apu was no longer a fisherman. Each day that he sat down in
contemplation hastened his spiritual growth. At first he meditated on the vast ocean
and its seawave roar. Finally he merged in the ocean and went beyond his mind’s
ideas into an infinite state of consciousness. He saw little bubbles floating in a cosmic
ocean. Thousands of these bubbles radiated picture images showing a vast panorama
of Apu’s past lives. He was a merchant, a soldier, a priest, a farmer, a hunter, a
criminal, and played numerous other roles in life. The outer circumstances were
always different, but one luminous spark remained eternally the same. Apu witnessed
his unchanging soul occupying so many different bodies throughout numerous
lifetimes. In each life the central character always played his role and never looked
beyond the passing show of events for a greater constant reality and reason for living.
Now Apu saw that all these life bubbles floated in a luminous conscious ocean which
was a mind of light without any limits. Apu became that conscious ocean and
expanded beyond the range of mortal vision. He saw all life parading in the great
cycles repeating themselves throughout eternity. All of creation was proceeding from
the idea of an infinite Cosmic Mind.
Suddenly Apu reviewed the events of his present life. He saw himself insulting
a great saint who had come to enlighten his village. But in past lifetimes Apu saw that
he was always a humble disciple learning spiritual wisdom from this great master. The
mystic vision ended. The golden Brahmin youth was now again visiting the village.
Apu opened up his eyes and began to preach his guru’s Vedanta truth to the quiet
fishing village.

THE JEWEL ISLAND

It was a lovely marriage. Sundar, the son of a cloth merchant, had just wed
Usha, the daughter of a jewel merchant. Both families and the whole town were
overjoyed at the marriage celebration. The two most powerful business families of the
town had concluded an alliance. But for the just married couple the facts of money
meant nothing when compared to the joys of youthful romance. For them it was a
marriage of love, not money. When the priest recited the prayers they looked into each
other’s eyes and knew they had found a treasure that was beyond the value of money.
One month after the marriage it was decided by Usha’s father Prachar that Sundar
would be his partner in the jewel trade. Sundar agreed because there was a great
challenge in traveling to far off places to seek the best values in jewel trading. The
profits were great but the risk of life was greater. Usha loved to be with Sundar, but
she agreed with her father that a good husband must prove himself to be a hero that
could conquer all the challenges involved in jewel trading voyages.
Sundar also wanted to prove to his wife Usha that he had the courage to
succeed in his own right. Unlike Prachar, he was not greedy for business profits. The
only thing about the forthcoming jewel trading voyage that made Sundar sad was that
he would have to be temporarily separated from his loving wife Usha. One early
morning Prachar and Usha waved goodbye to Sundar and twenty five other men as
they set sail to seek their profits in a jewel trading voyage. The days grew into weeks,
and Usha was tearfully missing her young husband. Prachar told his daughter Usha
that he had confidence that Sundar would return with a rich treasure of precious
jewels. All was tranquil at sea until suddenly a dark cloud appeared overhead. Then
there was wind and rain. The sea went wild with its huge waves attacking the ship.
The sail was blown down, and water began going over the deck of the ship. There was
no hope for survival. The ship went down. All the crew perished except Sundar.
Sundar hung on to a big chunk of wood and swam until it seemed like he was living in
a sea of eternity. Time had stopped for him. He was swimming for his dear life, not
knowing where it would all end.
Twelve hours later, in a semiconscious state, he reached a tranquil shore.
Sundar thanked God that he was still alive and prayed that he might eventually rejoin
his wife Usha. Meanwhile Sundar’s immediate concern was to explore the island that
he had reached. He was hungry and began to search for food. It seemed strange to
Sundar that this island was so quiet. Although there was no animal life, there was
fresh spring water descending from a mountain. After drinking that reviving water,
Sundar decided to explore the mountain. The next day he began climbing the
mountain. It was too good to be true. Many small caves on the mountain had gold and
diamonds. But precious jewels in themselves are worthless when one is lost on a far
off island. Sundar would trade all these expensive treasures just to be once again with
his wife Usha. Sundar again prayed to God that he would live to leave this jewel
island and rejoin Usha. He decided to continue his search on the mountain. At last he
found one cave that did not have gems, which could be traded on the jewel market. A
glowing crystal image of a goddess with a red cobra coiled around it suddenly startled
Sundar’s vision.
In Sundar’s presence the crystal image seemed to vibrate with light. When one
calls for God’s help there is always an answer. Now the red cobra swiftly glided off
the crystal goddess and entered Sundar’s body. The young treasure hunter felt a
massive explosion racing up his spinal column. The red cobra was now a dot of
energy shooting up Sundar’s central nervous system. Then it reached the summit of
his head. Now there was a new consciousness awake in Sundar’s mind. The crystal
goddess in the cave became alive in his being. “I am the Chintamani jewel residing on
the island of delight inside your soul. Most men seek the jewels of this world hoping
that they will yield all the objects desired. But I know you are different. In past
lifetimes, in another age, you worshipped me constantly in this cave with your sincere
prayer ‘Mother of the universe reveal thy love.’ This jewel island is of another purer
age, and soon it will disappear. But before my crystal image vanishes take its third eye
and wear it as a locket. Whenever you or your wife gaze at this crystal locket with the
prayer ‘Mother of the universe reveal thy love’, I will appear within your
consciousness and bless you. I protect my devotees throughout eternity.” The words
and vision of the crystal goddess had faded in Sundar’s awakened consciousness. But
he took the third eye of the crystal goddess for a locket and again prayed to leave the
jewel island and soon be with his wife Usha.
Prachar had a dream. He told Usha that a lady whose body was made of crystal
jewels came to him telling the location of the jewel island where Sundar was stranded.
Usha asked Prachar what he wanted most, the jewels or Sundar. Prachar was honest
and told his daughter that he wanted both the jewels and Sundar to return. So Prachar
built a bigger ship and sailed toward the jewel island. But all was not so tranquil on
the jewel island. Deep rumbling noises were exploding inside the earth. Finally,
Prachar and his crew reached the island. Sundar embraced his father in law and
showed him where all the jewels were. Then Prachar told Sundar about his dream of
the crystal goddess, and Sundar told Prachar about his experiences in the cave. Just as
they had boarded the big ship and set sail for home, the jewel island exploded in one
gigantic volcanic eruption and disappeared into the sea without a trace. Sundar and
Prachar returned safely home. With all the jewels Prachar was rich beyond his wildest
expectations. Suddenly he remembered the crystal goddess of his dream, and all
worldly greed left him. Prachar built a magnificent temple to the crystal goddess, and
every year distributed large sums in charity to all those who were in need. Sundar,
with the rediscovered knowledge that he had been a devotee of the crystal goddess in
past lifetimes, began teaching his wife Usha the secret of the crystal locket. By
meditation and prayer they discovered within God’s spiritual wishfulfilling
Chintamani jewel that put them in the divine presence.

THE BIGGEST MIRACLE

“Make way, make way for Shandu the magician.” A ten foot tall grey elephant
with a dark man wearing a turban slowly approached the royal palace of King
Bhadrayu. The day was sunny, and the kingdom was at peace. On such days the king
took great delight in being entertained. The king had seen many illusions performed
by magicians, but there was one trick that he longed to witness. That feat of magic
was the ancient Indian rope trick. Many had heard of it being done in the past, but
none had ever seen it performed in their lifetime. King Bhadrayu offered the most
precious prize to anyone in his kingdom who could do this trick. He knew that he was
growing old and had failed to have a son, and so he offered his daughter Chandrika to
the clever man who could perform this feat of magic. The possessor of such skill
would alone be fit to rule his kingdom. Many had answered his invitation, but all had
failed. The only reward for their effort was a royal execution. So on this bright
summer day the magician Shandu decided to leave the jungle and accept King
Bhadrayu’s challenge. Once Shandu was a prince in another kingdom but by the
decree of dark fate, he was driven into the jungle after being defeated in war.
 For many years Shandu had lived in the jungle practicing Tantric yoga to gain
supernatural powers in the hope of regaining his kingdom. He worshipped the
fearsome Naga serpents and could command them to do his bidding by his awesome
mantra power. He contemplated the clouds and by his mystic rites to Indra had power
over the weather. He concentrated on the lord of death, Yama and learnt the science of
reviving the deceased. He prayed to the spirits of the ether and could cause objects to
be transported from their world to this world. Shandu had gradually acquired the
power to fly through the air with the grace of the wind god Vayu. He came to King
Bhadrayu’s palace armed with every Tantric power, except one. Shandu had not
conquered desire. He falsely saw reality in the changing illusions that were created by
the power of his mind’s concentration. He lived trapped by the wild desires of his own
mind. He was a stranger to the realm of the cosmic truth of God’s existence. For
Shandu the only god was his mind’s lust for power. This mental god he had cultivated
well by exercising it in the visualization of ideas to such an extent until the ideas
became materialized into the shapes of earthly reality.
“Show me what magic you possess,” came the stern voice of King Bhadrayu.
Shandu cast a blazing glance at his elephant and whispered some secret words into the
ethers. Suddenly the huge beast collapsed dead at his feet. Feeling an air of
confidence, Shandu calmly commanded “arise oh servant of the master.” In an instant
the elephant arose perfectly normal like nothing had happened. Shandu cast his
glowing eyes at the sunny sky, and quickly clouds appeared over the royal palace, and
the rains began. Chandrika cried out “father tell him to restore this sunny day.” So
Shandu quickly invoked Indra, and the sun shone peacefully again. Shandu looked at
Chandrika and desired to marry her. He prayed to the spirits of the ether, and
instantaneously a diamond necklace appeared which he put around the trembling
Chandrika. Chandrika admired Shandu’s magic powers but thought that he was very
arrogant. At last King Bhadrayu said “oh Shandu, you have impressed my kingdom
with the powers of your magic illusions, but still you have not shown us the Indian
rope trick.”
Shandu sat still for ten minutes concentrating on a cobra that he kept in a
basket. Shandu opened his eyes and took a flute out of his pocket. He tenderly put the
flute to his lips and played a melody that put everybody in trance. King Bhadrayu and
his people all felt that they were leaving their body and flying toward heaven. Slowly
the cobra unwound itself and slid out of the basket. It began expanding and extended
its body all the way up to a cloud that appeared one thousand feet above King
Bhadrayu’s palace. The giant magic cobra had now become a rope that Shandu was
climbing in front of his entranced audience. Higher and higher Shandu went until he
finally disappeared into the cloud. He had courage and ambition, but he was not
prepared for the mystery that awaited him in the glowing cloud. “Shandu, we have
been awaiting you” came two voices deep inside the cloud. Shandu, the master of
illusion, could not believe what his own eyes were now seeing. The divine holy
couple and origin of all Tantric yoga, Siva and Parvati, met him face to face. “Your
feats of magic are mere child’s play compared with the divine creative power that
sustains all the worlds,” said Parvati. The Divine Mother, at the command of Lord
Siva, raised her hand and streams of luminous cosmic bubbles flowed out which
became endless universes pervaded everywhere by the divine holy couple. Parvati
showed Shandu visions of all his lives, always striving for power but never satisfied.
She showed him how he was trapped by his mind’s desires since he was blind to
searching for God’s reality. Then the Divine Mother touched Shandu’s heart. He felt
the ecstatic bliss of being a soul that was expanding into infinity, while yet being in
one place at the same time. Shandu realized that beyond life and death the bliss of
God was the only reality. Shandu bowed touching the feet of the divine holy couple
and prayed for forgiveness for his mind’s ignorance.
Slowly Shandu descended from the cloud and reached the royal palace. By now
the cloud had disappeared. King Bhadrayu and his people were amazed by Shandu’s
magic. King Bhadrayu offered Shandu his daughter Chandrika and his kingdom. But
then Shandu did the biggest miracle of his life. He renounced his craving for power.
Shandu told the people his vision of Siva and Parvati in the cloud. The people looked
up, and all saw the holy couple blessing the kingdom with beams of light descending
from their hands. Shandu had now experienced something greater than all the illusions
of magic. By the grace of the divine holy couple Shandu the magician had become
transformed into a saint who saw beyond this fleeting transient world. Shandu’s whole
being now experienced God’s reality everywhere. All the people witnessed the radiant
light coming out of his bliss filled body, and they also felt the reality of the divine
presence pervading their soul.

THE BATTLE FOR FREEDOM

It was so dark and still that one could feel an invisible presence overlooking the
coming battle. Two kingdoms were preparing to destroy themselves for land and
glory. Inside a blue tent housing the king, a conference was going on between the king
and Lomar, his general. The king’s strategy was for Lomar to attack the enemy center
with a third of the army and then the rest of the king’s army would strike from the
rear. But the distance between hopeful plans and reality is sometimes as wide as the
space between two mountain cliffs.
The sun arose waking up thousands of warriors on both sides. The bright
glistening sky overhead and the vast plain of the sandy earth below became a huge
arena waiting to witness the explosion of the coming war. Both sides were armed and
all tense for the grand killing to begin. Suddenly Lomar’s band of cavalry rode
headlong toward the enemy’s center with arrows and shouting filling the sky. The
enemy king’s response was to form his troops into a half moon semicircle to trap the
attacking thrust of Lomar’s cavalry. Something went wrong with the plan of Lomar’s
king to attack from the rear. They delayed too long, and Lomar was forced to turn
around and ride in swift retreat. The enemy army sped on in hot pursuit. Suddenly a
frightening scene appeared to Lomar’s outnumbered retreating cavalry. The battlefield
ended as they rode toward a mountain cliff whose bottom seemed to have no end. Ten
feet separated the mountain cliff from another large stretch of land that appeared as an
impossible hope for freedom. The horses were racing too fast to be stopped.
Suddenly Lomar awoke all alone. The sun had set. The brave warrior felt
ashamed of his retreat. He was a stranger in a new unexplored land. A gentle wave of
string music was coming closer. A luminous misty cloudlike form was manifesting
before his startled eyes. A golden robed woman touched his hand. Lomar felt her hand
and knew that this touch was not that of an earthly woman. Amela told Lomar that she
was his guide. Lomar asked her where he was to go. Amela told Lomar when he was a
boy he always dreamed of what lay beyond the perilous mountain cliff. Amela taught
Lomar that there is a universal king who made his devoted subjects live in eternal
freedom. Lomar said he was ready to see the king of freedom. Amela made Lomar
promise never to let go of her hand in their journey, no matter what happened.
While holding Amela’s golden hand, a giant eagle with wings of fire waited to
help their journey to the king of freedom. They both sat on the bird of heaven, and the
journey beyond earthly reality began. This Garuda bird was a celestial eagle that the
gods rode upon in heaven. Higher and higher they went as the earth and the stars
began to recede into nothingness. There was only an endless wall of light stretching
everywhere. Suddenly a ringing music with bells and a flute came nearer and nearer.
An infinite tree was seen growing from a vast garden. A little child was lying asleep
on a lotus leaf. Amela told Lomar to prepare himself to meet the king of freedom. The
divine child opened his blue eyes, and the tree and garden disappeared. Lomar
suddenly felt that his guide Amela had also vanished. Only the divine child existed.
He played on his flute and became all the worlds and, at his will, became again just a
sleeping boy. Lomar knew within his heart that he had met the king of freedom who
no earthly mind could comprehend.
The smiling divine child told Lomar that in many lives he struggled hard
to realize God’s presence. Lomar asked the blue boy how he knew about past lives.
The divine child told Lomar that as the eternal king of freedom he lives beyond time
and body limitations in a playful way that no human mind could comprehend. The
divine child promised to teach Lomar more about the realization of God in his next
lifetime. After spending vast ages in the celestial kingdom of the golden lotus, Lomar
was again reborn on earth.
It was so dark and still that one could feel an invisible presence overlooking the
coming battle. Two kingdoms were preparing to destroy themselves for land and
glory. The sun arose waking up thousands of warriors on both sides. So Arjuna woke
up that day finding Krishna by his side.
 THE LOST CALF

One afternoon a group of cowherd boys were relaxing in the bright green
meadow. The cows were slowly wandering through the pasture nibbling bits of grass.
Next to some of the cows their frisky calves were jumping with the joy of youthful
spring. Just as the cowherd boys knew who their parents were, each calf knew with
the instinct of love who was their mother. This link of affection was happily shared by
the cows moving through the pasture. Suddenly one tan cow let out with an awful cry.
The cow ran this way and that way. The cowherd boys woke up from their afternoon
sleep. All the other cows were tranquil except this one agitated cow. This cow knew
with the instinct of a mother that her lovely little calf was missing from the meadow.
The cowherd boys counted the cows in the fields and found that one calf was indeed
missing from the herd. So they decided to bring the cows back to the village and let
one cowherd boy remain to search for the missing calf. When something is lost in this
world, one must carefully search for it until it is found. Surya was young and alert and
had much courage for this task.
Surya knew that his mission would be made more difficult with the darkness of
evening approaching. Still he moved quickly through the grass searching for clues that
would reveal the trail of the innocent calf. He searched for areas growing food and
near water. His ears listened carefully for the sound that a frightened calf would make.
The sun set and the moon arose, but still Surya would not give up in his quest. By now
Surya had long since left the green meadow and was passing through a forest. He
heard many strange sounds but was not afraid. The one who had set out in search of a
lost calf found that he himself was lost in the night. He approached a riverbank and
found the hollow of a huge tree to sleep in. An old spider web on the entrance showed
that the tree hollow was empty inside. Surya, with youthful imagination, began to
marvel at the beauty of the spider’s web. From out of the center he gazed at soft
strands projecting an expanding circular masterpiece of beauty. Surya’s eyes grew
heavy with weariness, and soon he was asleep within the empty tree hollow. That
night he had a dream that changed his whole life. He dreamed he existed as a mind
floating in infinite space. A point of light appeared in the cosmic void. Suddenly many
forms started projecting themselves out of this central sun. But at the center there was
a divine being that Surya felt was simultaneously radiating from his heart center.
Surya saw that all existence was a living part of the mysterious cosmic whole. God
was the cosmic spider of light and from his mind’s manifested web of thought there
flowed outward all of creation. The divine being of light was always hidden in the
center of existence. But since all of creation was projected outward, God remained
unknown. Surya realized his soul as a living part of that hidden divine creator. The
imagery of the spider’s web had worked to awaken his spiritual consciousness during
the dream. Suddenly the sound of a vibrating flute woke him up from his dream. The
music of the flute was coming from the riverbank. Surya got up and left the tree
hollow to see where this entrancing music was coming from. The silver beams of the
moon above aided him in reaching the scene of the music’s origin.
What Surya saw was even more fantastic than the dream he had in the empty
tree hollow. There was dancing and music that was out of this world. He saw a circle
of dancers holding hands, and in the center was a huge being dancing alone playing a
flute. All the dancers were each holding the hand of that same mysterious person
whose huge form in the center was directing this dance of joy. The entrancing music
of the flute liberated the souls of the dancers from their body consciousness. They all
felt united with the blue boy in the center of the dance. Their souls had answered the
divine call, and now they all merged in the flute player. Suddenly there was no dance,
only the flute player remained. Because all the individual dancers were only a
projection of Krishna’s cosmic play. Surya stood entranced with ecstasy gazing into
the eyes of Sri Krishna. “You came searching for a lost calf, but it was your soul that
was lost from its creator. Now by your good karma in many lifetimes you have found
the divine person. I am always with you in your heart, but now you are aware of my
presence.” Just as Sri Krishna had finished speaking these words, his huge shape of
blue light became smaller and smaller and melted into Surya’s opened heart.

INNOCENCE

“One, two, three...one hundred. Where are the rest of the gold coins in the royal
treasury?” demanded King Vishnupriya. After the king had finished his annual
treasury audit, it was found that nearly all the royal wealth had mysteriously
disappeared from the treasury. The king questioned his prime minister Rajan but got
no answer. The king next talked with his army commander general Ugrapati about the
theft. Now that the kingdom was financially broke there was a real danger that it
would be an easy prey for any invading army. Both the prime minister Rajan and the
army commander Ugrapati were considered to be the two most powerful men in the
kingdom. King Vishnupriya suspected that one of these two ministers was behind the
treasury theft in a plot to seize control of the kingdom. The prime minister Rajan had
proven himself to be the most clever astute politician of his time, and the defense
minister Ugrapati had proven himself to be the most successful military commander
with a string of many battle conquests to his credit. The pressing question facing King
Vishnupriya was how to determine which one of his two powerful ministers had
secretly looted the royal treasury.
The king decided to search the houses of the two ministers. Ugrapati’s mansion
was found to be full of detailed maps of all the neighboring kingdoms. But no unusual
amount of royal coins was discovered there. After three hours of searching Rajan’s
house, there was found a freshly covered hole in the back wall. The king’s servants
broke through the wall and found over five hundred gold coins. Still the bulk of the
missing royal treasury was not found. But all the evidence pointed to Rajan as the
treasury thief. Rajan protested his innocence to the king. Nobody would believe his
innocence. There were now two choices left open to Rajan. First he could meekly let
himself be wrongly punished for a crime that he did not commit, or his second choice
could be to escape with his life immediately from the kingdom. Rajan looked at the
hostile faces of King Vishnupriya and defense minister Ugrapati. Rajan saw that just
in front of the royal palace was his trusted white horse. So Rajan surprised the king’s
guards by bursting out of the palace window with one terrific jump. Now Rajan was
on his white stallion riding for his dear life with hundreds of royal troops chasing him
in hot pursuit.
While Rajan’s white horse gained speed, he kept thinking to himself about
where was there justice in this world when might apparently seemed to make right. By
nightfall the mighty white stallion had raced through plain and forest in its quest to
escape the royal cavalry that was pursuing Rajan. Under the cover of darkness Rajan
reached the shore of a vast river. He was afraid that now with the deep river in front of
him and the royal cavalry somewhere behind him in the darkness, his liberty would
soon end. “Are you coming my way?” called a boy steering a small wooden boat.
Rajan had no choice but to put his life in the hands of this young unknown boatman.
“Where do you come from?” asked Rajan. “I come from the other side of the shore.
Please step onto my boat. I have taken many others before to the safe side of the far
off shore” answered the mysterious boatman. So Rajan abandoned his loyal white
stallion and got onto the little boat to seek a life of freedom safe from the clutches of a
hostile world. “I know the way that can lead you to safety. Please put all your trust in
me, and you shall be free of all worldly fear” said the confident master of the boat
carrying Rajan to freedom.
Rajan reached the other shore and in terror saw himself between two huge
armies composed of endless hordes of roaring warriors. “Have no fear. I protect all
those who surrender their lives to me,” said the child who had previously assumed the
disguise of the boatman. Rajan saw a huge hand lifting him above the two battling
armies. A gigantic cosmic being whose body was composed of all the universes was
tenderly holding Rajan. Rajan saw himself as a little speck existing within the
enormous endless body of the unbelievable deity that he was now witnessing. Then
Rajan saw his soul as a point of light that now began expanding beyond the stars and
galaxies. He saw the past, present, and future. Rajan discovered that he too was in
reality this Universal Godhead. It did not make sense to his mind that he could be a
tiny soul and yet exist simultaneously as the Divine. The Divine Being that Rajan was
now experiencing inwardly and outwardly slowly began to speak. “I too was accused
of theft long ago. They said I stole the Shyamantaka jewel from King Satrajit. You
Rajan have lived a pure life inwardly, and I will prove your innocence when you
return to the kingdom.”
Suddenly the sun arose and Rajan found himself returned back to the shore
where his trusty white stallion was waiting for him. Rajan returned to the kingdom
with faith that God was always protecting him since he realized his soul as part of the
Cosmic Godhead. King Vishnupriya looked into Rajan’s eyes and saw the courage of
an innocent man. Still the evidence pointed to Rajan as the treasury thief, and it was
the duty of the king to have him executed. If Rajan would die, Ugrapati would also
become the prime minister. King Vishnupriya decided to secretly search the powerful
Ugrapati’s house again. There were dozens of military maps of neighboring kingdoms
and also one map of a deserted Vishnu temple on the outskirts of the royal capital.
Rajan stood the next morning before the royal executioner with serenity in his heart.
Since Rajan’s experience of cosmic consciousness on the other shore, he felt Krishna
protecting his life. As the executioner raised his sword over Rajan’s neck, a sudden
burst of wind blew the sword to the ground. Then a thunderous explosion came from
the deserted Vishnu temple. The doors opened and a bright light glowed inside from
the ancient image of the Lord. The discus in one of his four arms began revolving and
throwing out sparks of fire. A whirling circle shot out of the temple doors into the
royal palace and severed the head of Ugrapati’s thick neck. Divine justice had
triumphed. Shortly afterwards King Vishnupriya, using Ugrapati’s temple map, found
the stolen treasure money hidden beneath the old temple’s floor. Rajan never became
prime minister again. Instead he became the priest of the newly rebuilt Vishnu temple
which attracted devotees to come for worship even beyond the kingdom. And so the
people had discovered a treasure beyond the value of worldly gold.

THE FIRST CUSTOMER

It was market day, and the doctor strode down the hot dusty road. To everyone
in the city he was known as the angel of mercy. Five years before there was a war
whose aftermath spread a plague that killed hundreds. Among those lost in the plague
was the doctor’s wife. Ever since that tragic loss, he dedicated himself to healing and
comforting the sick. The doctor’s perception of life had grown beyond that of the
average man. He regarded all men as part of his family. Whenever he visited the ruler
of the kingdom, he would talk about the futility of war. War was a disease of the
nation’s consciousness whose deadly poison eventually manifested as an unknown
plague killing more people than all the battles combined. But unfortunately the
majority of the people were not receptive to the doctor’s ideas of universal
brotherhood. Still the doctor was a dedicated crusader who would not stop in
spreading his message of peace and hope to all those suffering people in need. His
ideas of mental hygiene were well ahead of his time. But the people greeted the good
doctor with respect everywhere he went since they were grateful for all the many
loved ones that were restored to good health.
The doctor continued walking through the market place. Each road presented
the different products offered by the merchants. Some sold food, others sold clothing,
many games of chance took place, every form of entertainment was offered, and yet
the variety of goods and services seemed endless on market day. The roads were full
of continuously moving customers. Everyone looked, bargained, and then selected.
The slow jingle of exchanged coins was continuous throughout that day. It seemed
that everything had a price and that all one’s desires could be satisfied by money. This
was the day that drew all the people together for a great interchange of mutual needs
and services. Yes, everyone in the kingdom was bound together by the great wheel of
commerce. They all were part of this living ocean. Everywhere the doctor went he
saw that one sold and another bought. He too had basic needs to be supplied on
market day. The sun began to set and at last the good doctor had made all his basic
purchases and chatted with his many friends. Now it was time to return home. He
thought that he had visited every shop in the market place until he discovered a little
shop at the end of the road.
From behind a half opened door came a voice saying: “what do you want?”
This was a most fascinating voice because the doctor felt like the question had come
from within his own heart. “I do not know” replied the doctor. “Then open the door
fully” came the voice from inside. So the doctor entered the strange shop not knowing
what to expect. Inside the shop he saw beautiful carpets on the floor, smelled perfume
pervading the air and felt vibrantly refreshed. In the corner sat a mysterious
proprietor. “You are the first customer in a long time because most of the people do
not have the time or patience to look for my shop” said the orange robed proprietor.
“But what do you sell?” asked the puzzled doctor. “I do not sell anything. I can only
give what you are willing to receive” replied the peacefully sitting merchant. “I wish I
could find a way to end all suffering. Please show me some magic formula if you can”
said the doctor. “I am not a miracle man my good doctor. All I can show you is that
the lasting answer to all of life’s problems comes from within” replied the patient
merchant. Then the merchant took the doctor by the hand, and they both left the shop.
“Look throughout this whole market place and tell me what you see” asked the
mysterious merchant. The doctor carefully surveyed the entire market place and found
it to be empty. All the shops had closed. All the customers had returned home. Only
the mysterious merchant and his own self remained in the market place. “You know
life is like this market place. It flows constantly with activity and rest, but behind all
the transactions there is a higher reason of being. Today you opened the door to your
soul. But beyond the house of the body there is an immortal king. If only people could
rise above the daily routine of life’s market place and search for this eternal treasure,
then there would be no more sickness of broken lives in this world.” After hearing
these teachings of the mysterious merchant, the doctor tried to penetrate beyond the
twin diamond fires of the wise merchant’s eyes. Suddenly there was no merchant, no
market place, and no doctor. All dissolved in one huge blazing light pervading the
universe. Everything revealed itself as part of one gigantic heart of love. In the
consciousness of the Divine Healer there was no sickness, no health, no patient, no
doctor, because all flowed in harmony with God’s light.
 The next day the doctor’s mind returned to the market place. But he felt like a
new man. He glowed with inner light and wisdom. All the people knew that their
beloved doctor had become a saint by tasting the nectar of divine love. The
mysterious merchant had always existed, but until yesterday he was hidden deep in
the heart of the doctor. Every man has this soul of divine nectar waiting for the first
customer to taste the ecstasy of union with God.

IMMORTAL LOVE

In the early days of creation there lived a divine couple in love. The woman
was radiantly beautiful and brought joy wherever she moved. The man was serious
and brought peace wherever he resided. It was a strange union of opposites between
life’s creativity and Spirit’s withdrawal. Each needed and lived for the other. The
whole universe was their palace of love. Everywhere they went life reflected their
bliss and serenity. But on the dark side of the universe there were the masters of
materialism. These wizards of the lower powers planned to turn creation in a path
entirely opposite that seen by the divine couple. The masters of materialism wanted a
world to develop that was governed only by ego, strife, and short lived sensual
pleasures. So all the lords of the lower powers decided to perform a sacrifice whose
success would determine the future course of life’s evolution in this world. Everyone
was invited to attend this pompous grand sacrifice except the divine couple. With the
ingredients of wealth, desire, and violence being magically poured into the sacrificial
flame the ceremony of the masters of materialism moved ever closer to completion.
Only one force could stop this sacrifice of the wizards of the lower powers.
The divine woman of bliss and beauty decided to end this dark sacrifice by
throwing her life into the flames. So while her divine husband was lost in the Spirit’s
contemplation, she separated from him and went toward the place where the sacrifice
was being held. She was an uninvited guest, and her appearance startled all the
masters of materialism. It was an absolute contrast of characteristics. On one side
were all the darkness and limits of ego’s growth in matter, while on the divine
woman’s side were all the hope and possibilities of the Spirit’s growth in creation. To
make the world’s evolution into Spirit safe, she jumped into the flames of the evil
sacrifice. Her body was burnt to ashes, but she vowed never to separate from her
ascetic husband. She would return and join with the divine ascetic in a love that would
never die for the welfare of all of creation.
The divine ascetic awoke from his meditation with a shock of anger. He saw in
his yogic vision his wife’s supreme sacrifice to end the scheme of the lords of the
lower powers to conquer and control the future evolution of life in the universe. From
out of the divine ascetic’s third eye materialized a fiery ghost of vengeance armed
with a trident and a sinister grin. The ancient yogi commanded the ghost of vengeance
to march toward where the sacrifice was being held and to annihilate it from the face
of the earth. So bowing low to the lord of yoga, the ghost of vengeance set off to
destroy the evil sacrifice being armed with his thunderbolt trident. Soon the ghost of
vengeance reached the spot where the pompous sacrifice of the masters of materialism
was being held. Without showing any trace of mercy the ghost of vengeance began to
immediately destroy, with his punishing trident, every article and utensil used in the
sacrifice. The area of the sacrifice swiftly became one chaotic shambles. Next the
ghost of vengeance, with supernatural speed, appeared to be everywhere at once
engaged in the cruel task of slaughtering all the evil wizards of the lower powers.
There was no escape for anyone responsible for the death of the ascetic’s wife. Finally
with his mission of destruction completed, the ghost of vengeance returned to his lord
of yoga and became absorbed into his third eye.
Now all existence seemed full of loneliness and sorrow for the once great
ascetic. Every place he wandered, he was haunted by the lovely face of his departed
wife. There was no peace of mind for the divine ascetic. He tried to lose himself in
meditation, but instead only tears of loneliness ran down his eyes. His love for his
wife remained although the ages slowly passed on. The divine ascetic’s only
meditation was a hope beyond hope to be again reunited with his departed wife. Then
a new age arose. In this cosmic cycle divine love would triumph over death and
materialism. The goddess reentered this world by being born on the same icy high
Himalayan Mountain that Siva was meditating on. Siva suddenly felt love’s warm
embrace expanding in his heart. The great yogi opened his eyes and saw Parvati
worshipping her husband.

THE DAY OF THE LORD

An age was going to end. There was no turning back now. A tall man surveyed
the scene that appeared before his eyes. While another sat back quite unaffected by all
that was going to take place. What a contrast this was between these key actors in the
play of life. The soldier had lost all his courage, while the statesman was detached
from the outcome. Everywhere around them all hell was ready to break loose. The
warlords had won the day against those who spoke about justice and harmony. But the
forces who stood for love and compassion would yet win the outcome. The tall
general viewed the field of decision and broke down in uncontrollable tears. This was
the day that he had long feared would happen. The statesman lived in a world beyond
the clouds of human selfishness. He had tried for so long to bring a just peace, and yet
this was all he got for his efforts. But unlike his friend the soldier, he stood unmoved
before the clouds of war that were gathering. These two friends had gone through so
many of life’s challenges together. Now was the final test of friendship. The tall
warrior was paralyzed within and collapsed on the wide open field of destiny. The
statesman had a heart full of compassion and knew what had to be done to solve life’s
problems. The man of peace lifted up the fallen warrior and began to comfort his
friend. The soldier slowly opened his eyes and regained his composure. He looked
into the eyes of the compassionate statesman and suddenly a new world opened up to
his soul. The world filled with all its contentions began to dissolve in his mind.
The statesman now became for the soldier his only savior in the trials of life.
He opened his mouth, and streams of liberating words flowed out one after another.
From the mouth of the savior came all the answers to life’s many problems. The
music of his heavenly words stirred the heart of the soldier to ecstasy. There was no
more death facing him. Only the growing presence of an eternal life in the Spirit
flooded his awakened consciousness. The soldier had lost his fear of death with the
compassionate savior in front of him. The savior made the soldier realize that he was
greater than his mortal body. The words of wisdom told of a goal that all of mankind
would reach. All souls were sparks from a central sun, and freedom was the destiny of
those that followed the light. A strange music flooded the being of the soldier. All the
hairs of his body stood on end and profuse tears began to be shed. He was no more a
struggler involved in the net of life’s desires. He was free from desire and only longed
to feel the bliss that radiated inside his heart.
This was not the first person in need that the savior had rescued. It was merely
his proclaimed duty to free all those who came to him from the bondage of suffering.
This was the mission that would set men free. He saw beyond the cloudy day into the
golden future. But he needed an instrument to accomplish his play in this world. He
told the soldier that long after the battle had ended, all of mankind would remember
their talk that day. Time had stood still and by the power of the savior’s will, both
men had become invisible to all those mortals trapped on the battlefield of life. This
was the day when the realm of eternity fused with the world of mortality. Such was
the power of the words that the savior spoke. His words never died. They grew
throughout the ages. Even today they are heard by those who seek the way to become
liberated from life’s net of desires. The words of the savior are immortal because they
embody his consciousness.
The soldier felt heaven while still on earth. He realized the source of his
freedom. He knew what he would have to do this day. He was prepared to sacrifice his
ego so that the Universal Will could prevail. He looked into the eyes of the savior and
saw countless worlds expanding into infinity. He saw the past, present, and future in
the cosmic body of the savior. There was no difference between friend and enemy
because the spark of divinity flowed through their soul. This was the day that the
warrior had never dared to dream, and yet it came to pass by the grace of the loving
savior. Everything now fit into its proper place. The soldier embraced the savior and
bowed to him. Then they both walked back to their positions in the battlefield. Their
conversation seemed to last for an eternity, but none of the other people could
comprehend what they said. For a brief moment in eternity, heaven manifested upon
earth and the world stood still. But now was the time for action. Although the warrior
was the chief actor in the battle, yet it was the calm compassionate friend that guided
his every move. They were a team in the past and would so remain again this day. The
soldier had nothing to fear with his savior by his side. Thus they advanced together
into the battlefield of life. That day is eternal when the Supreme Lord manifests his
will on earth. That is the day when the Supreme Lord Krishna speaks the Bhagavad
Gita to the human soul in the form of Arjuna. The message of the Bhagavad Gita is
eternal because the Supreme Lord Krishna radiates in the soul of every human being
on earth that will turn toward the light.

THE KING WHO LEARNT HIS LESSON

The kingdom of Ajita was at peace. The ruler, King Indrabhuti, was a gentle
soul who allowed his citizens to go about their own business. There was prosperity in
the land because the people were free to develop in their own ways. But one day
Prime Minister Ratnakala asked for a private audience with the king. The prime
minister, by skillful arguments, slowly convinced the king to change his simple ways.
Ratnakala insisted that Ajita’s ruler should follow the custom of other kings and seek
to gain additions to the kingdom by conquest. The deluded king agreed to follow his
prime minister’s worldly advice. Soon after the rainy season was over, the army of
Ajita advanced upon its innocent neighbor. After a week the fighting ended, and King
Indrabhuti annexed his neighbor. But Prime Minister Ratnakala was not satisfied. He
demanded that the king should become an emperor by conquering the world. So the
kingdom of Ajita was engulfed in continuous warfare. Everywhere King Indrabhuti
rode his army was victorious.
Now he was the emperor of several conquered neighboring kingdoms. While
his prime minister kept urging him to annex more kingdoms, the conquered areas
began to revolt. The pressure became too great on King Indrabhuti. He thought of the
simple days in the past when he and everybody in Ajita lived at peace. One night,
without telling anybody, King Indrabhuti rode out and left his kingdom behind. He no
more wanted to be a world ruler with his subjects in constant revolt. The life of a
detached ascetic appeared at that moment to be the only solution. He decided the next
day to wander on foot and throw away his royal attire to be free. Soon he found a cave
in the jungle over which he could become the ruler in a new life of solitude. That
night he had a dream in the cave. He saw a little child who crawled out of a house and
became lost. The child started crying. Suddenly the mother appeared and brought the
child home. The dream slowly vanished and the former king awoke to see a thin beam
of light shining down through an opening in the cave.
The sun shone brightly and a new life was about to start. Indrabhuti was
amazed at how the sunlight could penetrate the cave. Then his attentive mind began to
hear what appeared to be a voice communicating from the expanding light. “Who are
you?” asked the voice from within the cave. Indrabhuti replied that he was a king who
felt very unhappy because of attachments, responsibilities, and false glory. Again the
mysterious voice asked, “Who are you?” Now Indrabhuti felt that he really did not
know the answer. He waited for a reply in silence. “You are a divine soul sent down
on this changing earth to gain knowledge of your spiritual identity”, answered the
voice from inside the beam of light. Suddenly the body of Indrabhuti vanished. He felt
that he existed as an all pervading soul which knew no boundaries. He was aware of a
Cosmic Mind willing infinite universes into existence. He felt his soul engulfed in the
bliss of this Cosmic Mind. After a few hours of tasting a new spiritual realization,
Indrabhuti returned to his waking consciousness. He wondered how he could apply
this new knowledge to practical life.
After Indrabhuti left Ajita, Prime Minister Ratnakala assumed the position of
ruler. But the revolts of conquered kingdoms spread and soon Ratnakala was killed on
the battlefield. The people of Ajita now had to find a king or they too would be
soon conquered. So they decided to turn loose the royal elephant and crown as king
whomever the elephant would pick by his trumpet cry. As fate would have it, the
elephant wandered deeper into the jungle with a few loyal Ajita citizens following
close behind. It stopped near the cave of Indrabhuti. Suddenly an ear piercing trumpet
cry awoke the meditating Indrabhuti deep in the cave. A group of men rushed into the
cave with burning torches. “You are now our chosen ruler”, they shouted again and
again in unison. “I am just an ascetic”, replied Indrabhuti. “No, destiny has picked you
to be Ajita’s new ruler”, the people insisted. The elephant slowly marched into the
cave, picked up Indrabhuti, and put him on its back. So the former king found himself
returning to start a new life in Ajita. But first the fighting would have to stop.
The citizens of Ajita rallied around the ascetic whom they had made their new
king. Victory was on the side of Indrabhuti and within three months all the
neighboring kingdoms had their soldiers expelled from the territory of Ajita. Some
people asked Indrabhuti to continue the war and conquer his neighbors as before. But
the new king called upon all his citizens to assemble in the market place where he
would give them his decision. Indrabhuti addressed the hushed audience on the next
day. “Ajita was at peace in the past because its rulers served the people by letting
them enjoy individual freedom and avoided the desire to enslave other people. Only
by living the simple life can we see ourselves as souls put on earth by a higher divine
power. When we get too involved with interfering in other people’s affairs, we forget
who we really are. I promise that Ajita will maintain its freedom for all the people by
respecting the freedom of its neighbors.” Indrabhuti stopped speaking and listened for
what his people would say. Suddenly a loud burst of applause filled the market place.
“The king has returned, the king has returned. We shall enjoy peace under his rule.
We are truly free”, shouted every person that glorious day.
 THE LOST SOUL

The bell rang in loud and clear the new year of 1666. The people were dancing
and celebrating outside in the streets. But for Sister Maria Farino in Saint Anne’s
convent there was no joy in her heart. She had entered the convent months ago to find
the life of the spirit. But instead she found the ever-vigilant eye of the Mother
Superior of the convent. Every time Sister Maria tried to express herself in ways
which ran contrary to the Mother Superior, a swift hard stick would attack her from
behind. Maybe Sister Maria was not cut out for life in an ordered convent. But she
believed she was sincere when taking the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
With tears in her eyes, she prayed one evening in a dark corner to the blessed Mary,
mother of God. Suddenly from out of a green mist, a commanding voice spoke to her.
"Maria now is the time to leave the convent and enjoy the pleasures of the world. If
you obey me with all your soul unquestioning, you will be given the power of
invisibility so that all your desires will be fulfilled. But first you must break the cross
around your neck and offer me the blood from your cut hand. You must always carry
the broken cross with you. But remember, the moment anybody sees your broken
cross, you will immediately lose your power of invisibility. Can you promise me now
that you will give me your soul by breaking your cross?"
Sister Maria was in a very depressed mood that evening. So without thinking of
the consequences, she broke her cross by squeezing it tightly inside her right hand.
Blood flowed down her fingers. As soon as she licked the blood she became
temporarily invisible. Just as the Mother Superior came into the room, the invisible
Maria gave her one good kick and left the convent. The whole city of Rome slowly
woke up from the New Year’s celebrating as Maria began her search for happiness.
The first person she met was a young nobleman’s son named Leonardo. Maria took up
quickly with Leonardo and became his mistress. Leonardo promised Maria that he
would marry her if she helped get his father murdered. Then they would live the life
of the rich without any worries. Maria was young and trusting. So she readily agreed
to do anything that would make her lover happy. All she could think of was being
alone in his arms. So when no one was looking, Maria touched the broken cross and
became invisible. She poured a deadly poison into the wine of Leonardo’s father. That
evening while Leonardo’s father was having diner with his family, the old man gave
one loud cough and fell under the table. The family ran around crying hysterically
about the old man’s sudden death. But the son who would have his father killed,
would have a bitter lesson to teach Maria.
Leonardo refused to marry Maria. She was not from his own social class. For
him, she was no better than a common whore. So a heart broken Maria was thrown
out of Leonardo’s house onto the streets. This lesson produced a bitterness in her heart
against all young rich men of Rome. Now Maria in her blind rage decided to have her
revenge against them. She seduced many of Rome’s richer young men into bed with
her and used her power of invisibility to strangle them. After thirty-seven young men
had been strangled in their beds, the nobles of Rome decided to have a secret meeting
with the Pope in Vatican City. A committee of rich nobles promised huge donations to
the Catholic Church if the Pope could intercede with God to catch the hidden
murderer. The rich nobles believed very much in this Pope because he had led a life of
absolute purity free from any taint of wealth or sex. All of Rome believed that the
prayers of their Pope went instantly straight up to heaven and were always answered.
Such was the mentality of the people in the year 1666. Since all of Rome was talking
about the meeting of the nobles with the Pope, Maria also found out about it.
It was Sunday morning and the Pope was blessing the faithful in Saint Peter’s
Square. It was a huge and enthusiastic throng of worshippers numbering over 250,000
souls. But there was one angry unbeliever in the crowd touching a hidden broken
cross. She had a plan to humiliate the Pope in front of his crowd of believers.
Suddenly great balls of horse dung came out of the air from nowhere. The flock of
believers was astounded when the balls of horse dung hit the face of their beloved
Pope. 250,000 people became silent for a time that seemed like eternity. But this Pope
was no ordinary man. He did not show humiliation. Instead he took out his rosary and
prayed to the holy Mary Mother of Jesus to reveal the culprit in the midst. Suddenly
the sky became darker and a great wind blew violently through Saint Peter’s Square.
From out of the pocket of Maria, the broken cross fell to the ground. She became
clearly visible again with the traces of horse dung on her hands. As she was grabbed
by the crowd, she knew that her end was near. This crime against Christ’s
representative on earth could not be forgiven. All the people were convinced that
Maria was a willing agent of the great eternal deceiver named Satan the evil one. So
that afternoon Maria was burned at the stake to pay for all her wickedness. As the
flames reached higher and higher, Maria cursed the Virgin Mary as the dark evil one
who ruined her life.
For over 200 years the soul of Maria lived in a dark hell world created out of
the gloom and suffering of her own mind. Slowly in that dark astral world, she was
absorbing the lesson that sensual desires and wealth did not bring permanent
happiness to her soul. She awoke to find herself in a new body having much darker
skin than her previous body when she lived in Rome. Now the soul of Maria was
living in a body with the Bengali name of Nirmala Choudhrey. The year was 1886 and
the city was Calcutta. She was in a crowd watching the body of a man being burnt.
But the people were not sad. There were no tears. People were screaming: victory,
victory, victory, the Master has merged with the Mother. There were dozens of young
men dressed in orange robes beating drums and clanging cymbals. Nirmala asked one
young man dressed in orange about who was the Master and the Mother that the
people were talking about. The man in orange had such fierce large hypnotic eyes that
Nirmala instantly became a devotee. She listened to his thundering and yet sweet
voice. Her will became his to command. But unlike in her previous Maria incarnation,
this voice was one of absolute good not evil.
Swami Vivekananda told Nirmala in detail about the holy life of his Master Sri
Ramakrishna who by meditation and devotion had realized God as the radiant Mother
Kali. Ramakrishna had renounced the world, and that is why the spirit of God had
seized his soul. Nirmala begged Swami Vivekananda to initiate her into the spiritual
life so that she could follow in the footsteps of his Master Sri Ramakrishna. For a long
time Swami Vivekananda’s piercing diamond eyes looked deep into the soul of
Nirmala Choudhrey. Then he suddenly screamed and recoiled in horror. He saw
wicked scenes of lust and murder in her past lives. Slowly he composed himself and
spoke again to Nirmala. His Master Sri Ramakrishna had just attained Mahasamadhi,
so he did not feel that now he could give spiritual initiation to her soul. Instead he
pointed in the direction of a small room. He told her to knock on the door and follow
without reserve whatever the person who opened the door would say to her. So with
disappointment in her heart, she slowly walked past a temple of the black Goddess
Kali and past the hands of numerous beggars sitting on the way.
There straight ahead was the door that Swami Vivekananda had told her about.
So Nirmala got up all her courage and knocked twice. What lay behind this door she
thought. A young lady dressed all in white opened the door. An immense burst of
light flooded Nirmala’s heart. The world of suffering quickly disappeared for her all at
once. This was Sarada Devi, the young widow of the great master Sri Ramakrishna.
Sarada told Nirmala that she knew what Nirmala wanted and why Swami
Vivekananda sent her here. Sarada told Nirmala that she would have to have nerves of
steel and a heart filled with absolute renunciation and courage if she wanted to tread
the spiritual path. Sarada told Nirmala to open her mouth and stick out her tongue.
She took a needle and wrote a mantra on Nirmala’s tongue. Nirmala was ordered to
immediately go into the jungle and repeat the mantra: Jai Ramakrishna Ma Kali
Shakti continuously for twelve years. Then God in the hidden form of Sri
Ramakrishna would visit her in a test of her courage. The holy hand of Sarada Devi
touched Nirmala’s head and layers and layers of bad karma instantly vanished. So
with fast steps and confidence, Nirmala left the city of Calcutta and entered the dark
jungle to find God.
Years passed and still Nirmala did not give up. She was constant in her
chanting of the mantra Jai Ramakrishna Ma Kali Shakti. She constantly remembered
the life story of Master Sri Ramakrishna that Swami Vivekananda had illuminated her
soul with. She could never forget the presence and mystic touch of Sarada Devi. Ten
miles away from where she was meditating in the jungle, loud shots were heard. A
group of white skinned men wearing red uniforms were on horses during a tiger hunt.
This was the era when the British were ruling India and all the natives were treated no
better than beasts. But of such things, Nirmala had long ago been detached from in her
quest to find God. With her eyes closed and her heart chanting the mantra, the roar of
a tiger was heard coming closer and closer. Suddenly Nirmala remembered what
Sarada Devi had told her many years ago. She knew that if she broke her meditation
and opened her eyes, a tiger bringing death would appear in front of her. But she
strongly believed that if she continued her meditation, God’s radiant form would bless
her soul within and bring liberation. So Nirmala followed the second course of action.
The soul is always given the choice of which way to choose.
The tiger’s roar changed into a continuous ringing AUM sound. The lotus of
her heart opened. There was the radiant form of Master Sri Ramakrishna sitting
looking intensely into her soul. Then the Master’s form merged into that of Mother
Kali. Nirmala felt an unending joy arising in her heart. All throughout the universe
was the blissful four armed form of Mother Kali. The hand that slays became the hand
that blesses. Nirmala felt absolute oneness with Mother Kali. Nirmala realized that her
soul was eternal and free from birth and death. Her consciousness expanded into every
corner of the fourteen worlds. There was no place where her soul was not. Mother
Kali held her daughter’s hand on this tour of the universe. In Mother Kali’s embrace
there was no room for sorrow or death. All existence flowed with the infinite breath of
the Spirit. Then Mother Kali’s form transformed itself again into the blissful shape of
the Master Sri Ramakrishna. The Master gave Nirmala a holy mission to perform. He
told her to go and upraise all the fallen women sunk in the net of maya. She was to
follow always the example of Sarada Devi in bringing hope and peace to the suffering
masses. So Nirmala left the jungle and again knocked on the door of Sarada Devi.
Sarada embraced Nirmala and was glad that Sri Ramakrishna had told her the path of
realization to follow.

KALIBHAVANANDA

A small dark woman moved swiftly through the fields cutting down the rice
stalks with her sickle. Behind her there followed her six small children. The children
laughed and played, while their mother did the work. Finally in the evening, they were
joined by her husband who was a cattle herder. Their mud hut was small, but clean.
The family was very poor and survived by working for the landlord. Of the six
children, the mother loved her youngest child the most. Although Kalibhavananda
was small, he was devoted to his parents and very fearless. One evening his father
took him to the riverbank to show the deity that he worshipped. The father put a bowl
of milk next to an anthill and told Kalibhavananda to bow down. Then the father
called out to Nagaraja. Suddenly a loud hissing sound slowly emerged out of the
anthill. A giant six foot king cobra with glowing eyes appeared. He was followed by
two smaller female snakes on each side. The king cobra came closer to the bowed
down father and son. Then he stopped and slowly drank the milk. Afterwards the two
female snakes also drank the milk. Then they slowly disappeared back down into the
anthill. The father explained that this Nagaraja protected the village of Kotapuri where
they lived.
Years passed and nothing ever changed for the poor peasant family. Gradually
five of the children got married and started their own families living in poverty. One
day the mother called Kalibhavananda. She told her youngest son that she did not
want him to live a life of poverty and servitude. She made her son promise to remain a
bachelor and become a Tantric yogi who would live a life of wandering freedom. The
mother made her son sit next to her at the village cremation grounds. Kalibhavananda
held his breath while his mother whispered the Kali mahamantra into his right ear.
Krim Krim Krim Hum Hum Hum Hrim Hrim Hrim Dakshina Kalika Parameshwari
Svaha. The mother promised her son that the goddess Kali would always look after
him with love. Kalibhavananda followed his mother’s wishes and traveled to the
jungle near some old temple ruins to meditate on the Kali mahamantra until the
goddess Kali would appear and bless him. His mother also told Kalibhavananda to
meditate sitting on a fresh human corpse. Deeper and deeper Kalibhavananda moved
through the dark jungles of Assam. Suddenly he came upon a dead lady who had been
bitten by a snake twelve hours ago. With faith in his mother’s words, Kalibhavananda
sat upon the corpse and began to chant the Kali mahamantra. He had absolute
certainty that goddess Kali would come to him and bless his spiritual practices.
Years passed and meanwhile the Nagaraja who protected Kotapuri village had
died. Now misfortune began to spread in the village. First the rains ceased. Then the
famine came. Rats ran around searching for any scarce food. Then the plague began to
kill the people of Kotapuri. The plague now threatened to spread to other surrounding
villages. The raja called for a meeting of his council of ministers to solve the problem.
After two days of debate, the council of ministers recommended to the king that the
only way to prevent the plague from spreading from Kotapuri to the rest of the
kingdom was to destroy the village. The raja was not happy about this advice, but saw
it as the only way to save his kingdom from the spreading plague. The next night the
raja’s army surrounded Kotapuri. The soldiers were all armed with arrows dipped
with kerosene. Then the general ordered his soldiers to light their arrows and begin
firing at the huts inside Kotapuri. Amid screams and death, the village of Kotapuri
was wiped off Assam. There were no survivors left to tell the story of how the village
met its ghastly end. The plague had been stopped even though hundreds of innocent
peasants went to their death.
Meanwhile Kalibhavananda continued his spiritual practices year after year in
the dense jungles of Assam. Suddenly flames shot up from the ground all around
where he was meditating. A blue ball of light manifested. Out of the light emerged the
goddess Kali. Kalibhavananda opened his eyes upon the radiant form of the great
goddess. Kali told him that after years of hard penance she was now blessing his
efforts with psychic powers. Kali called upon two ancient spirits to come out of the
earth. Two giant spirits appeared with long white hair. Their names were Anima
Asura and Vishwa Asura. Kali told Anima Asura to give Kalibhavananda the power to
become small as an atom and travel invisibly under the earth. The great goddess told
Vishwa Asura to give Kalibhavananda the power to come back up from the earth and
assume any size he wanted. Kalibhavanananda promised to always love and serve the
goddess Kali. Then Kali and her two spirits vanished just as quickly as they had
appeared. Kalibhavananda now decided to return home to his native village. He
invoked the Kali mahamantra to become as small as an atom and quickly travel
underground. Then he used the mantra to come up out of the earth and assume his
normal size. But to his amazement there were only burnt empty spaces where the
village of Kotapuri had once been. With rage in his heart, he decided to find out the
cause of this catastrophe.
After many weeks of searching and questioning, he found out that the raja had
ordered Kotapuri to be destroyed. No more would Kalibhavananda see his beloved
mother and father. Now he decided that the raja would pay for his crime. The first
man to pay was the raja’s general who ordered his soldiers to burn the village.
Kalibhavananda strode unannounced into the king’s palace. He pointed at the army
minister and invoked the Kali mantra. Blood came out of the army minister who
collapsed dead on the floor. Then one by one, Kalibhavananda invoked the Kali
mantra to kill all the remaining council of ministers who advised the raja to burn
down Kotapuri village. Only the raja remained alive in the palace of corpses. But
Kalibhavananda thought his revenge was finished and decided not to kill the raja. That
was his big mistake. A wounded tiger must never be underestimated for treachery.
Forgetting about the humiliated raja, Kalibhavananda decided to go on pilgrimage to
Kamaroop where there was a very powerful temple of the great goddess. So he joined
hundreds of other happy pilgrims in walking through the jungle while chanting hymns
to the goddess Kali. All Kalibhavananda could think of was reaching the temple and
securing blessings from his beloved mother Kali. But the surviving raja could not
forget how a peasant turned Tantric yogi had successfully challenged his authority.
There was only one hope left for the defeated raja. He remembered that twenty
years ago when his kingdom was about to be overrun by an invading enemy army, the
royal priest had used his psychic powers to advise the king where to attack the enemy
at its weakest points. So removing his crown as a gesture of humility, the raja
approached his old priest named Artharva Brahmana. The king told his priest how a
peasant turned Tantric had used his powers to kill all his ministers. The old priest
quietly listened and promised to protect the kingdom just as he had done for the raja’s
father. But Artharva Brahmana made the raja swear to follow all his orders for a great
sacrifice that would guarantee the death of the king’s enemy, Kalibhavananda. One
week later, the raja brought in 108 buffalos and tied them to individual stakes in a
newly constructed sacrificial hall. As soon as Artharva Brahmana raised his right
hand, the king’s servants swung their swords down upon the necks of every buffalo.
Their blood was immediately collected and poured into the sacrificial fire altar
maintained by Artharva Brahmana. A strange noise was heard from within the fire pit.
A huge ghostlike tiger appeared and disappeared and finally walked towards the old
royal priest. The ghost astral tiger looked into the eyes of the priest and breathed on
his face. But a light shot out of Artharva Brahmana’s eyes which commanded the
huge monster to obey his will. The old priest pointed in the direction of Kamaroop
and ordered the tiger of death to kill Kalibhavananda.
The giant beast leaped into action and disappeared into the sky. Suddenly the
pilgrims going to Kamaroop felt the presence of a sinister agent of death coming
closer out of nowhere. They all began to run off in all directions. Kalibhavananda
looked up into the sky and realized that the king’s priest had sent this creature to kill
him. He cursed the old priest and tried to use the Kali mahamantra to protect himself.
But he was mentally paralyzed and the mantra was forgotten. It was all over in an
instant. All that remained of Kalibhavananda was some drops of blood on the ground.
A week later, some of the pilgrims told the raja that a mysterious tiger came out of the
sky and killed his enemy Kalibhavananda. The raja was so happy that he sent his
soldiers into every village to distribute sweets and coins to celebrate his victory of
revenge over the upstart former peasant. The next day the king ordered that upon pain
of death, nobody was ever again to mention the name of Kalibhavananda or Kotapuri
village. Then the raja visited his old priest to boast about their victory. But the raja got
an unexpected reply from Artharva Brahmana. The priest told the raja that their
victory was only temporary. He foresaw that in the future a new India would arise
where the common man would rule and the rajas and priests would have no more
power. Artharva Brahmana also told the raja that Kalibhavananda would be reborn far
away and would come back to India seeking Devi darshan, but would return married
to a Shiva devotee. The priest told the raja that it was now time for him to retire to the
Himalayas and seek his soul’s ultimate release. The raja was shocked to learn that his
priest was actually over 1700 years old and had served all the past kings of Assam.
So the raja had to accept the day when his trusted old priest left the kingdom
and walked towards the Himalayas. The land changed from that of jungle to plains.
The altitude began to slowly increase. The snows began to daily fall. Finally after
months of wandering, Artharva Brahmana had reached his final destination high upon
the Himalayas. The old priest sat down in the lotus posture. Memories of all the past
kings of Assam passed and disappeared within his memory. On the cosmic level all
this was a passing illusion. Artharva Brahmana focused his consciousness upon the
top of his head. A flame of light rose from his heart to the top of his head. He felt his
human consciousness expanding into a cosmic infinity. His soul merged into the
unending light. Everywhere the world was pervaded by an effulgent light. The light
then manifested as bliss. God was everywhere. His individuality ceased. The old
Brahmana was liberated. He merged in God. His body was no more needed. His
chains of karma had been broken. The next spring some shepherds found the dead
Brahmana. They cremated his mortal remains. But a continuous rose scent manifested.
So the local people decided to make a small shrine over the old Brahamana’s ashes.
Gradually many people came to that shrine high in the Himalayas to have their wishes
granted.

INDRA’S DREAM

The sky was bright and the flowers were beautiful. All was peaceful while the
gods were enjoying drinking nectar and watching the celestial dancers move in
harmony with the astral music. They thought it would go on forever like this. But the
Great God who rules time determined that a new cosmic cycle was about to begin in
which the enemies of the gods would rule heaven. Suddenly the arrogant gods noticed
that their necklace garlands were beginning to fade and that their size was starting to
get smaller. Loud crashing noises came closer and closer to the gates of heaven as the
demons began their attack. Wave upon wave of giant grey demons began their assault
upon heaven with weapons of fire and thunder. After a time the gods began to panic.
Their minds began to accept defeat and cowardice. Their leader Indra tried again and
again to make the gods regain their confidence as the true rulers of heaven. But it was
futile and too late to rally them. They began to flee and the battle was lost. Thus the
gods left heaven and were humiliated by the victorious demons to wander the earth as
mere mortals. The demon hordes thus entered through the gates of heaven as the new
conquerors to begin a cycle of cruelty and oppression. Palaces and gardens were
burned. The celestial dancers became slaves of the conquering demon hordes. Heaven
now became a gloom abode of darkness and fear. From heaven the triumphant
demons expanded to conquer earth and all the worlds. Their rule of tyranny lasted for
ages because nobody had the strength or will to oppose them. The demons sent out
armies to track down all the gods who had fled to the earth where the weak mortals
lived a hard life of survival.
Indra still thought of himself as the leader of the gods and the rightful ruler of
heaven. He kept alive within his mind the dream of regaining heaven. So Indra led the
defeated gods deeper and deeper into the jungle since roving bands of demon scouts
still continued to search for them. Indra had a plan of how to eventually lead the gods
back to heaven in victory. Just as the gods were fleeing the demon troops, many
ascetics had also fled into the forests to continue their spiritual practices. So Indra
determined to find these holy ascetics and make an alliance with them against the
cruel rule of the demons. Using his mystic powers Indra searched day and night to
find these holy ascetics. At last, after ten years of searching and wandering Indra and
the gods met the ascetics. They held a long secret meeting in a deep cave. Since they
both were tormented by the same enemy, it was only natural that they formed an
alliance to fight back against the tyranny of the cruel demons. But their struggle for
freedom was not going to be easy since the demons now ruled all the worlds and had a
huge army with powerful weapons. The ascetic sages told Indra and the gods that
what was needed to alter their fate was to perform one hundred fire sacrifices and then
begin the conquest of heaven. So together the ascetic sages and the gods concentrated
to create a field of invisibility where no demon scout could discover their performance
of fire sacrifices. Together the gods and the holy ascetics chanted prayers upon
prayers to invoke the awakening of all the divine powers and the presence of the great
God. After one hundred sacrifices were completed, a great oval of light arose from the
altar. From out of that light a sweet voice gave the assurance of victory. Each god saw
a divine weapon suddenly materialize in their hands. The gods were ready for war.
But before the gods marched into battle, Indra had to instill confidence into the
minds of the gods. Indra told them to realize that their real identity was that of
invincible gods who had an eternal right to rule over heaven as their natural home.
The demon hordes defeated them before because their actions made the gods forget
their real identity and yield to fear and defeat. Still the battle was not going to be easy
because the demons after long years of ruling heaven thought that they had the
strength and right to rule over all the worlds. So the real battle was going to be a
struggle of the mind. Under Indra’s persuasion and the gods’ thirst for revenge and
glory, the long bloody battle began. At first all the attacks of the gods against the
fortified gates of heaven failed. Meanwhile on earth the holy ascetics went into deep
concentration to pray for the victory of the gods and the rule of righteousness. Each
day the position of the gods became stronger. The demons slowly began to lose
confidence in their ability to defeat the gods. But the giant demons were not going to
give up without a struggle. They too possessed mystic powers that invoked dark
spirits of hellish worlds to do their bidding. Swarms of evil spirits began attacking the
gods using all sorts of illusion and magic to break their will and confidence. But Indra
saw through their web of deception and rallied the gods to resist their onslaught of
illusions. Indra urged the gods to concentrate on the light and gradually all the evil
spirits disappeared. Now it was the turn of the gods to launch the final attack.
Suddenly the demons began to flee before the gods who had regained their original
identity as the rulers of heaven. Thus the demons fled back to the hellish worlds and
the gods entered heaven again.
But heaven was not what it used to be. The long rule of the demons had made
heaven into a virtual hell. Fires burned everywhere. All the palaces were reduced to
ashes and rubble. Not a single building was left standing. Not a single garden was
spared the flames of destruction. The gods lost heart and began to become very
dejected. But Indra was not like all the other weak gods. Indra had earned the position
of being the ruler of the gods through long years of sacrifice and dynamic will power.
Indra never gave up for he knew that he was the Indra and the natural ruler of heaven.
So Indra told the gods that heaven is what one makes of it. Thus Indra organized a one
hundred year building plan among the gods. Year in and year out the gods worked
continuously to rebuild the palaces and the gardens of heaven. It was a gigantic task
since heaven was so much larger than the little world of mortal earth. Finally after one
hundred years of effort heaven was rebuilt to a state that was even greater than its past
glory. So the gods began to rest and enjoy the beauty that they had created. Nectar
began to flow again. The celestial maidens came back in all their ethereal glory. Every
day became an entertainment of continuous music and feasting. The gods became
arrogant again. They forgot that some time ago they were thrown out of heaven by the
demon hordes and forced to roam the earth of mortal man. Even Indra thought that his
power and glory over heaven would last forever. But residence in heaven does not last
for eternity. Everything in the universe is subject to change. Slowly the seeds of the
good karma of the gods began to evaporate. But because they were so much immersed
in pleasure, they did not notice that their time was coming to an end.
One bright day a yogi wearing a tiger skin appeared at the royal court of Indra.
The tall yogi asked Indra for a little piece of land. Indra laughed and said that he could
grant the yogi thousands of miles of land anywhere in heaven. But the yogi said that
he only needed a little space of land because he would not live for very long. This
comment startled Indra. He asked the yogi how long he expected to live. The yogi
removed the tiger skin around his chest. He told Indra that each time he tore a hair
from his chest a Brahma creator god would die. The yogi tore a hair from his chest
and let it fall upon the ground. Indra became scared to see a dead Brahma lying at his
feet. The yogi continued to tear hairs off his chest. The palace grounds became filled
with thousands and thousands of dead Brahmas. A terrified Indra asked the tall yogi
who he was. No ordinary mortal could tear thousands of Brahmas from his chest. The
amused yogi asked Indra why he did not see the fleeting reality of time which showed
that all creation was only temporary. At last Indra realized that he was standing in
front of the Lord of Time. Indra fell upon his knees and begged for forgiveness of his
arrogance. But it was too late. As Siva in the disguise of a yogi began to tear the last
hair off his chest, heaven began to violently shake. Huge explosions sounded. The
lights went out. Indra and all the gods began to vanish. Suddenly the awful third eye
of Siva opened and all the worlds were consumed in a blazing flash. The universe
vanished and only a huge burning oval of light remained. The oval of light was living
and vibrating. It was all that ever was and ever will be. It was sleeping and dreaming
the story of existence. After untold ages countless worlds began to rapidly emerge
from the radiant oval. Thus the mystery of the Great God’s creation started anew.
Then Indra awoke again from his dream and knew that God is the only reality.

THE ROSE GARDEN

Once there was a king who loved flowers. In the center of the capital he built a
magnificent garden. There were rows upon rows of different colorful flowers planted
there. Each month he sent out representatives to find different kinds of rare flowers
all over the world. Then he had these rare flowers planted in his royal garden. Thus
the king gained a reputation of being mad over collecting beautiful rare flowers. All
the other surrounding kings thought that he was crazy. But they also viewed this king
as no threat to their kingdom. But the king was not crazy. Actually he devised a very
clever foreign policy. Each month he invited a neighboring king to send one hundred
soldiers of their army to spend a day enjoying the sights and smells of his royal
garden. Many of these soldiers spent money in the king’s capital and sometimes came
back with wives. Thus none of his surrounding neighbors had any hostile design upon
his kingdom. Since he had no enemies, he spent his treasury on beautifying his
capital and employed many expert gardeners. Their specialty was in growing roses of
every color. These roses when they bloomed produced a scent that made people think
that they were in paradise. These gardeners also cut the green shrubs in the royal
garden to look like various animals.
Now it was the king’s birthday. To celebrate this event, he invited the common
citizens after prayer to visit his royal garden. His royal officers also distributed gold
coins and sweets to the multitude on this joyous occasion. Among the people flocking
on this day to the king’s garden was a poor famer. The farmer lived ten miles away
and was visiting the capital to purchase needed farm supplies. He was a very simple
man who had lived all his life in poverty. He was very happy to receive the king’s
gold coin this day. Slowly following the crowd, he entered the royal garden. Its size
was immense. He saw a dazzling display of so many colors that he would not believe
what he was seeing to be true He had never seen so many different colorful roses and
other flowers in his life. He doubted that his wife would believe his story when he
returned home. He truly believed that he had now entered paradise. If only this
experience would last forever he thought. Instead he knew that at he end of the day he
would have to return to his small farm and begin again the dull routine of struggling to
earn a meager livelihood to support his wife and himself. But he had sense enough to
realize that everybody could not be born a king. So he accepted his role in life with
no complaints.
By late evening he returned home. His wife as always was happy that he
returned safely to their poor home. That evening all he could talk about to his wife
was on the unbelievable beauty of the king’s royal garden. He was talking on and on
like a man intoxicated who was living in a different world. His wife listened in
silence for a long time. Suddenly his wife interrupted him. She told him to stop
praising somebody else like that person was a god. Instead his wife suggested that
with effort he too could on a minor scale copy some of the royal garden’s beauty by
making a small one on his farm. Immediately the farmer laughed and thought that this
was an impossible dream of a mad woman. But his wife persisted in her arguments.
She believed that together with time they too could produce a small garden on their
farm. So the next week they both visited the capital’s central market to buy seeds and
gardening tools and equipment. Then they returned home to carry out the wife’s
dream. Day after day both husband and wife plowed the soil, planted seeds and
watered the earth from sun up to sun down. At first their neighbors were very curious
about what new things they were doing. Upon learning that the farmer and his wife
wanted to grow a garden that was a copy of the king’s royal garden, their reaction was
one of scorn and laughter.
But they who work hard get the last laugh in life. So after long months of
working very hard together the farmer and his wife succeeded in growing a very
beautiful garden that looked like a miniature copy of the king’s royal garden.
However there were some people who were jealous of what the poor farmer and his
wife had accomplished. So they secretly visited the king’s court. They complained
that this farmer and his wife were insulting the king by making a copy of his royal
garden. They did not think that any person in a lowly station in society had a right to
achieve better things in life. The king listened to their complaints and then privately
discussed the matter with his council of ministers. They arrived at a decision after
man hours. The next day the king and his palace guards made a surprise visit to the
farmer’s village. The king took one look at the farmer’s beautiful little garden and
then got off his horse. He quickly walked towards the farmer with his hand close to
his sword. The farmer thought that at any moment the king would cut off his head.
But the king surprised everybody. He embraced the farmer and said that he was like a
little brother to him. The king admired so much the farmer’s little beautiful garden
that he appointed him to be his royal gardener and live with his wife in the palace.
This story of the rose garden is an allegory. The king represents the Divine.
The farmer symbolized the individual. The wife teaches that with hard effort the
human can better himself and strive to reflect the Divine on earth. The garden is the
fruit of our idealistic actions to make this a better world and copy heaven on earth.