I gave him an enthusiastic smile. "Perhaps I can guess his name. Was it Bhaduri Mahasaya, of Upper Circular Road?"
Upendra nodded, a little crestfallen2 not to be a news-bearer. My inquisitiveness3 about saints was well-known among my friends; they delighted in setting me on a fresh track.
"The yogi lives so close to my home that I often visit him." My words brought keen interest to Upendra's face, and I made a further confidence.
"I have seen him in remarkable4 feats5. He has expertly mastered the various pranayamas 7-1 of the ancient eightfold yoga outlined by Patanjali. 7-2 Once Bhaduri Mahasaya performed the Bhastrika Pranayama before me with such amazing force that it seemed an actual storm had arisen in the room! Then he extinguished the thundering breath and remained motionless in a high state of superconsciousness. 7-3 The aura of peace after the storm was vivid beyond forgetting."
"I heard that the saint never leaves his home." Upendra's tone was a trifle incredulous.
"Indeed it is true! He has lived indoors for the past twenty years. He slightly relaxes his self-imposed rule at the times of our holy festivals, when he goes as far as his front sidewalk! The beggars gather there, because Saint Bhaduri is known for his tender heart."
"How does he remain in the air, defying the law of gravitation?"
"A yogi's body loses its grossness after use of certain pranayamas. Then it will levitate6 or hop7 about like a leaping frog. Even saints who do not practice a formal yoga 7-4 have been known to levitate during a state of intense devotion to God."
"I would like to know more of this sage8. Do you attend his evening meetings?" Upendra's eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
"Yes, I go often. I am vastly entertained by the wit in his wisdom. Occasionally my prolonged laughter mars the solemnity of his gatherings9. The saint is not displeased10, but his disciples11 look daggers13!"
On my way home from school that afternoon, I passed Bhaduri Mahasaya's cloister14 and decided15 on a visit. The yogi was inaccessible16 to the general public. A lone17 disciple12, occupying the ground floor, guarded his master's privacy. The student was something of a martinet18; he now inquired formally if I had an "engagement." His guru put in an appearance just in time to save me from summary ejection.
"Let Mukunda come when he will." The sage's eyes twinkled. "My rule of seclusion19 is not for my own comfort, but for that of others. Worldly people do not like the candor20 which shatters their delusions21. Saints are not only rare but disconcerting. Even in scripture22, they are often found embarrassing!"
I followed Bhaduri Mahasaya to his austere23 quarters on the top floor, from which he seldom stirred. Masters often ignore the panorama24 of the world's ado, out of focus till centered in the ages. The contemporaries of a sage are not alone those of the narrow present.
"Maharishi, 7-5 you are the first yogi I have known who always stays indoors."
"God plants his saints sometimes in unexpected soil, lest we think we may reduce Him to a rule!"
The sage locked his vibrant26 body in the lotus posture27. In his seventies, he displayed no unpleasing signs of age or sedentary life. Stalwart and straight, he was ideal in every respect. His face was that of a rishi, as described in the ancient texts. Noble-headed, abundantly bearded, he always sat firmly upright, his quiet eyes fixed28 on Omnipresence.
The saint and I entered the meditative29 state. After an hour, his gentle voice roused me.
"You go often into the silence, but have you developed anubhava?" 7-6 He was reminding me to love God more than meditation30. "Do not mistake the technique for the Goal."
He offered me some mangoes. With that good-humored wit that I found so delightful31 in his grave nature, he remarked, "People in general are more fond of Jala Yoga (union with food) than of Dhyana Yoga (union with God)."
"What a laugh you have!" An affectionate gleam came into his gaze. His own face was always serious, yet touched with an ecstatic smile. His large, lotus eyes held a hidden divine laughter.
"Those letters come from far-off America." The sage indicated several thick envelopes on a table. "I correspond with a few societies there whose members are interested in yoga. They are discovering India anew, with a better sense of direction than Columbus! I am glad to help them. The knowledge of yoga is free to all who will receive, like the ungarnishable daylight.
"What rishis perceived as essential for human salvation33 need not be diluted34 for the West. Alike in soul though diverse in outer experience, neither West nor East will flourish if some form of disciplinary yoga be not practiced."
The saint held me with his tranquil35 eyes. I did not realize that his speech was a veiled prophetic guidance. It is only now, as I write these words, that I understand the full meaning in the casual intimations he often gave me that someday I would carry India's teachings to America.
badhuri
BHADURI MAHASAYA
"The Levitating36 Saint"
"Sir," I inquired, "why do you not write a book on yoga for the benefit of the world?"
"I am training disciples," He replied. "They and their students will be living volumes, proof against the natural disintegrations of time and the unnatural37 interpretations38 of the critics."
"Maharishi, I wish you would write a book on yoga for the benefit of the world."
"I am training disciples. They and their students will be living volumes, proof against the natural disintegrations of time and the unnatural interpretations of the critics." Bhaduri's wit put me into another gale39 of laughter.
I remained alone with the yogi until his disciples arrived in the evening. Bhaduri Mahasaya entered one of his inimitable discourses40. Like a peaceful flood, he swept away the mental debris41 of his listeners, floating them Godward. His striking parables42 were expressed in a flawless Bengali.
This evening Bhaduri expounded43 various philosophical44 points connected with the life of Mirabai, a medieval Rajputani princess who abandoned her court life to seek the company of sadhus. One great-sannyasi refused to receive her because she was a woman; her reply brought him humbly45 to her feet.
"Tell the master," she had said, "that I did not know there was any Male in the universe save God; are we all not females before Him?" (A scriptural conception of the Lord as the only Positive Creative Principle, His creation being naught46 but a passive maya.)
Mirabai composed many ecstatic songs which are still treasured in India; I translate one of them here:
"If by bathing daily God could be realized
Sooner would I be a whale in the deep;
If by eating roots and fruits He could be known
Gladly would I choose the form of a goat;
If the counting of rosaries uncovered Him
If bowing before stone images unveiled Him
A flinty mountain I would humbly worship;
If abandoning one's wife would summon God
Would not thousands be eunuchs?
Mirabai knows that to find the Divine One
The only indispensable is Love."
Several students put rupees in Bhaduri's slippers51 which lay by his side as he sat in yoga posture. This respectful offering, customary in India, indicates that the disciple places his material goods at the guru's feet. Grateful friends are only the Lord in disguise, looking after His own.
"Master, you are wonderful!" A student, taking his leave, gazed ardently52 at the patriarchal sage. "You have renounced53 riches and comforts to seek God and teach us wisdom!" It was well-known that Bhaduri Mahasaya had forsaken54 great family wealth in his early childhood, when single-mindedly he entered the yogic path.
"You are reversing the case!" The saint's face held a mild rebuke55. "I have left a few paltry56 rupees, a few petty pleasures, for a cosmic empire of endless bliss57. How then have I denied myself anything? I know the joy of sharing the treasure. Is that a sacrifice? The shortsighted worldly folk are verily the real renunciates! They relinquish58 an unparalleled divine possession for a poor handful of earthly toys!"
I chuckled59 over this paradoxical view of renunciation-one which puts the cap of Croesus on any saintly beggar, whilst transforming all proud millionaires into unconscious martyrs60.
"The divine order arranges our future more wisely than any insurance company." The master's concluding words were the realized creed61 of his faith. "The world is full of uneasy believers in an outward security. Their bitter thoughts are like scars on their foreheads. The One who gave us air and milk from our first breath knows how to provide day by day for His devotees."
I continued my after-school pilgrimages to the saint's door. With silent zeal62 he aided me to attain63 anubhava. One day he moved to Ram25 Mohan Roy Road, away from the neighborhood of my Gurpar Road home. His loving disciples had built him a new hermitage, known as "Nagendra Math." 7-7
Although it throws me ahead of my story by a number of years, I will recount here the last words given to me by Bhaduri Mahasaya. Shortly before I embarked64 for the West, I sought him out and humbly knelt for his farewell blessing65:
"Son, go to America. Take the dignity of hoary66 India for your shield. Victory is written on your brow; the noble distant people will well receive you."
7-1: Methods of controlling life-force through regulation of breath.
7-3: French professors were the first in the West to be willing to scientifically investigate the possibilities of the superconscious mind. Professor Jules-Bois, member of the L'Ecole de Psychologie of the Sorbonne, lectured in America in 1928; he told his audiences that French scientists have accorded recognition to the superconsciousness, "which is the exact opposite of Freud's subconscious68 mind and is the faculty69 which makes man really man and not just a super-animal." M. Jules-Bois explained that the awakening70 of the higher consciousness "was not to be confused with Coueism or hypnotism. The existence of a superconscious mind has long been recognized philosophically71, being in reality the Oversoul spoken of by Emerson, but only recently has it been recognized scientifically." The French scientist pointed72 out that from the superconsciousness come inspiration, genius, moral values. "Belief in this is not mysticism though it recognized and valued the qualities which mystics preached."
7-4: St. Theresa of Avila and other Christian73 saints were often observed in a state of levitation74.
7-5: "Great sage."
7-6: Actual perception of God.
7-7: The saint's full name was Nagendranath Bhaduri. Math means hermitage or ashram.
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1
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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inquisitiveness
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| 好奇，求知欲 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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levitate
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| v.升在空中 | |
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hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
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gatherings
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| 聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集 | |
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displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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daggers
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| 匕首，短剑( dagger的名词复数 ) | |
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cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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inaccessible
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| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
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lone
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| adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的 | |
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martinet
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| n.要求严格服从纪律的人 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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candor
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| n.坦白，率真 | |
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delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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23
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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panorama
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| n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置] | |
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ram
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| (random access memory)随机存取存储器 | |
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vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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meditative
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| adj.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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31
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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diluted
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| 无力的，冲淡的 | |
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tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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36
levitating
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| v.（使）升空，（使）漂浮( levitate的现在分词 ) | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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interpretations
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| n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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41
debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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42
parables
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| n.（圣经中的）寓言故事( parable的名词复数 ) | |
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43
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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45
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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46
naught
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| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
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mammoth
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| n.长毛象；adj.长毛象似的，巨大的 | |
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48
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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49
imbibed
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| v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 )；喝；吸取；吸气 | |
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50
calves
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| n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解 | |
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51
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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52
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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53
renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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54
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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55
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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56
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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57
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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58
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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59
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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61
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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62
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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63
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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64
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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65
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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66
hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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67
exponent
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| n.倡导者，拥护者；代表人物；指数，幂 | |
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68
subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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69
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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70
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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71
philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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72
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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74
levitation
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| n.升空，漂浮；浮起 | |
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