Part 55 (1/2)
”'I refer to the telegram that summoned you to these isolated parts
It was I who silently suggested to the mind of your superior officer that you be transferred to Ranikhet When one feels his unity with h which he can work at will' He added gently, 'Lahiri, surely this cave seems familiar to you?'
”As I maintained a bewildered silence, the saint approached and struck netic touch, a wondrous current swept throughthe sweet seed-memories of my previous life
”'I remember!' My voice was half-choked with joyous sobs 'You are ed to me always! Scenes of the past arise vividly in my mind; here in this cave I spent many years of my last incarnation!' As ineffable recollections overwhelmed me, I tearfully embraced my master's feet
”'For more than three decades I have waited for you here-waited for you to return towith celestial love
'You slipped away and vanished into the tuic wand of your karht of ht of you! I pursued you over the lulooht I followed you, like aAs you lived out your hued a babe, my eye was ever on you When you covered your tiny form in the lotus posture under the Nadia sands in your childhood, I was invisibly present!
Patiently, month afterfor this perfect day Now you are with me! Lo, here is your cave, loved of yore! I have kept it ever clean and ready for you Here is your hallowed ASANA-blanket, where you daily sat to fill your expanding heart with God! Behold there your bowl, from which you often drank the nectar prepared by htly polished, that you ain therefrouru, what can I say?' I murmured brokenly 'Where has one ever heard of such deathless love?' I gazed long and ecstatically on uru in life and death
”'Lahiri, you need purification Drink the oil in this bowl and lie down by the river' Babaji's practical wisdom, I reflected with a quick, reminiscent smile, was ever to the fore
”I obeyed his directions Though the icy Hi waran to pulsate in every cell of my body I marveled Was the unknown oil endued with a cosmical heat?
”Bitter winds whipped around e The chill wavelets of the Gogash River lapped now and then over ers howled near-by, but enerated within me conveyed an assurance of unassailable protection
Several hours passed swiftly; faded memories of another life wove themselves into the present brilliant pattern of reunion with s were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps In the darkness, a ave
”'Come, brother,' my companion said 'The h the forest The soht was suddenly lit by a steady luminosity in the distance
”'Can that be the sunrise?' I inquired 'Surely the whole night has not passed?'
”'The hour is low of a golden palace, ht by the peerless Babaji In the dim past, you once expressed a desire to enjoy the beauties of a palace Ouryou fronificent palace will be the scene of your initiation tonight into KRIYA YOGA All your brothers here join in a paean of welco exile Behold!'
”A vast palace of dazzling gold stood before us Studded with countless jewels, and set aardens, it presented a spectacle of unparalleled grandeur Saints of angelic countenance were stationed by resplendent gates, half-reddened by the glitter of rubies Diareat size and luster were imbedded in the decorative arches
”I followed my companion into a spacious reception hall The odor of incense and of roses wafted through the air; diroups of devotees, some fair, some dark-skinned, chanted musically, or sat in the meditative posture, immersed in an inner peace A vibrant joy pervaded the atmosphere
”'Feast your eyes; enjoy the artistic splendors of this palace, for it has been brought into being solely in your honor' My guide smiled sympathetically as I uttered a few ejaculations of wonderment
”'Brother,' I said, 'the beauty of this structure surpasses the bounds of huin'
”'I will gladly enlighten you' My companion's dark eyes sparkled isdo inexplicable about this ht of the Creator This heavy, earthly clod, floating in space, is a dreas out of His consciousness, even as man in his dream consciousness reproduces and vivifies a creation with its creatures
”'God first created the earth as an idea Then He quickened it; energy ato He coordinated the atoether by the will of God When He withdraws His will, the earth again will disintegrate into energy Energy will dissolve into consciousness; the earth-idea will disappear from objectivity
”'The substance of a dreaht of the dreaht is withdrawn in wakefulness, the dream and its elements dissolve
A man closes his eyes and erects a drea, he effortlessly dematerializes He follows the divine archetypal pattern Similarly, when he awakens in cosmic consciousness, he will effortlessly de one with the infinite all-acco Will, Babaji can summon the elemental atoolden palace, instantaneously created, is real, even as this earth is real Babaji created this palatial ether by the power of his will, even as God created this earth and isit intact'
He added, 'When this structure has served its purpose, Babaji will deuidepalace, superbly embellished with jewels, has not been built by huee to man {FN34-5} Whoever realizes himself as a son of God, even as Babaji has done, can reach any goal by the infinite powers hidden within him A common stone locks within itself the secret of stupendous atoy; {FN34-6} even so, a e picked up fro with dia myriads of free cosmic rays,' he went on 'Touch this vase and its diamonds; they will satisfy all the tests of sensory experience'