Light of Nonviolence

Author(s): Sushilmuni
Publisher: Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh Delhi
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/006579/1

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The Light of Nonviolence Tales of Guruji AS TOLD BY H. H. ACHARYA SUSHIL KUMARJI MAHARAJ TO COURTNEY SCHLOSSER 5 Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh New Delhi, India and Ahimsa Research Institute Basse, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

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The Light of Nonviolence. Copyright by Courtney Schlosser All rights reserved First published in the United States of America by Worcester State College, 1988 First Indian Edition, 1997 Publisher: Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh Ahimsa Bhawan, Acharya Sushil Ashram Shanker Road New Delhi 110060 INDIA Printer : Narendar Jain Mahavir G. Works 2684, East Sadar Thana Road, Delhi 110006 INDIA Computer Type Setting: Arhat Jain Times Ahimsa Bhawan Shanker Road, Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi (india) Price: 5 Doller in U.S.A. Rs. 175/- in India * Permission to reproduce any part of this book for financial or commercial gain is prohibited. Other correspondence may be directed to Courtney Schlosser, Philosophy Department/Worcester State College/486 Chandler Street/Worcester MA/01602/U.S.A.. E-mail: cschlosser@worc.mass.edu or Ahimsa Research Institute/Farrington Road/Barre, MA 01005, U.S.A.

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This book is dedicated to H. H. Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj whose vision of nonviolence is an inspiration for a just, loving and peaceful world

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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........ PART 1 - GURUJI'S LIFE AND TEACHINGS: STORIES, PARABLES, FABLES .... ..... 18 ......... CHAPTER 1 HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS. ................ Reason and Faith Kundalini Energy......... Victory Over Maya ...... The Possibilities of Higher Consciousness ....... 33 Soap and Water .... CHAPTER 2 THE REAL WORLD The Divine Spirit The Cow Protection Movement .. The Astrologer of India. The Homeopathic Doctor .. CHAPTER 3 ANIMAL BEINGS The Cobra Snake Red and Black Monkeys Greed and Ingratitude Bombay Zoo The Owl Wild Boars CHAPTER 4 HEALING ENERGY ........ Faith Healing Mother and Child. The Tree Meditation The Alkhad Tree CHAPTER 5 ASTRAL BEINGS .. Disappearing Yogis.

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...... 100 103 .. U The Ghost Lady CHAPTER 6 EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNICATIONS AND EVENTS. ....... Three Days in Calcutta ............ Message from Allah Trip to Kashmir ..... ...... 107 River Crossing ........ 111 Ramu, the Psychic ......... 114 CHAPTER 7 DEATH AND BEYOND ..................... .. 119 The Death of a Yogi ... 120 Dada Guru ......... ..................... PART II LORD MAHAVIRA AND OTHER ENLIGHTENED BEINGS: THE WISDOM OF EXPERIENCE ........ ......... 128 ....... 143 CHAPTER 8 A FULLY ENLIGHTENED BEING: LORD MAHAVIRA. .... 130 The Conversion of the Snake. 131 The Prince and the Elephant 134 Gautam's Enlightenment ... 138 An Infected Ear CHAPTER 9 .... SECRET KNOWLEDGE ... ... 145 The Judge's Gun ..... ... 146 Secret Knowledge ....... .. 149 The Power of Sound The Prince and the Lion ....... .......... 157 CHAPTER 10 MISCELLANEOUS GEMS ....... 160 The Chinese Emperor ......... Lion's Milk ........... The Angry King .. Jesus Christ in India ...... .. 170 ...... 153 451 ..... 164 167 EPILOGUE : Invitation to the Reader ..... ...... 1 3

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INTRODUCTION The Light of Nonviolence reflects the central teaching of the Jain religion of India: ahimsa or nonviolence. It is a collection of stories told by the late H. H. Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj. This is the book's second edition. H. H. Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj (hereafter referred to as "Guruji") was a great Jain teacher. Guruji was born into a Brahmin family in the small village of Shikopur in northern India on June 15, 1926. The childhood name of Guruji was Sardar Singh. At seven, Sarder Singh met two of the greatest yogis of India, Shri Kundanlaji Maharaj and Shri Chotelalji Maharaj. The meeting made such a strong impression upon the young Guruji that he wanted to leave his family and village and go live and study at their ashrams. Initially, Sarder Singh's desire caused great unhappiness and discord in his family. There was no precedent for a son becoming a monk especially a Jain monk. Furthermore, most of his relatives were farmers and soldiers. Sardar Singh persisted in his wishes and at seven, he started intensive yogic training. Some of these early experiences are recorded in the stories especially "Faith Healing," "Wild Boars," "Victory Over Maya," "Disappearing Yogis," and "Ghost Lady." At fifteen years of 1

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age, in 1942, Guruji was ordained into monkhood before an audience of many thousands of people. By 1957, Guruji had already made a name for himself when he founded The World Fellowship of Religions, an ecumenical institution dedicated to the search for world peace, universal love, and the freedom from poverty, suffering, and ignorance. As founder and first President of the organization, he brought together leaders of the major world religions, in a rare fellowship of good will and mutual understanding. In 1980, Guruji was promoted to the theological rank of Acharya which means Great Teacher or Leader of the People. His role as peace maker to conflicting religious groups was growing. In 1992, Guruji became a power broker in a dispute between the Hindus and Sikhs in the Punjab region of India, preventing major bloodshed. He was able to mediate for other groups in many places and times through his reputation as an open-minded, wise, and peace-loving man. The Jain religion can be traced to the 8th century B.C.E. although legend holds that it is much older. Lord Mahavira lived during the 5th century B.C.E. He was a contemporary of the Buddha, Confucius, and Socrates. He is known as the 24th crossing-maker or tirthankara in the Jain religion. A crossing-maker or tirthankara is portrayed as a super-heroic person who becomes fully

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enlightened or Self-realized and shows the path or way of freedom to others. Lord Parsva preceded Mahavira in the 8th century as the 23rd crossing-maker. In Jain religious history, there are 22 other tirthankaras or Selfrealized, crossing-makers of freedom. The philosophy of Jainism is founded upon profoundly true ideas about reality. The doctrine of anekantavada is based upon the assumption that all knowledge is relative to subjectivity, nature, culture, and the conditional universe. There are at least 253 differing viewpoints or nayas of reality. This means that a single absolute truth cannot exist apart from human knowledge, material change, and the relative world. In this respect, Jainism like Buddhism rejects the absolute monism of Vedic philosopy since both philosophies are non-dualistic, relativistic, and atheistic. Jainism has a uniquely postmodern theory of knowledge, quite consistent with an atomic or quantum theory of space, time, and materiality. At the same time, it affirms the eternity of jiva or an utterly unique soul for each individual, and of our possible Self-realization in this lifetime and in this physical body. Non-absolutism is an important feature of Jainism. It assumes that an absolute exists, i.e. jiva, soul, or Self, but in relation to the material, constantly changing world. In this context, non-absolutism is the basis for nonviolence or the core ethics of Jainism. 3

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The values of everyday life are to be understood in the non-dualistic relation of the soul to the body, mind, and world. Hence, the Jainist theory of knowledge is relativistic or nonabsolutist. However, Jainism is not merely a philosophy of relativism since it assumes that something absolute really does exists, only we cannot know it scientifically or empirically. These are subtle but important initial distinctions. The purpose or goal of existence is to achieve knowledge of jiva or the soul in relation to ajiva or material being. The soul or what is absolute is assumed to be eternal, perfect, uncreated and fully conscious while ajiva stands in opposition to it. Human beings are a compound of both jiva and ajiva elements or mental and physical, individual and social, karmic and worldly dimensions. Consciousness or mind is the essence of the soul inseparably connected to ethical and material being. The main problem for human beings and our awakening to reality is that opposites attract and we get easily attached to practically everything. Thus we cannot be completely free from the violence of our natural and social being and the suffering that it gives rise to, in existence, since we are creatures of desire which leads to illusions, ignorance, and suffering. However, there is hope since we can realize these existential dilemmas or natural propensities and affirm our personal freedom as the essence of jiva and live with courage, love, and fear 4

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lessness, like a crossing-maker or hero. At least this is the ideal although few ever claimed that it would be easy to achieve. Jainism like Buddhism and some other world religions claim that everyone is capable of becoming enlightened or liberated from suffering. In Jainism, it is our internal response to the jiva-ajiva struggles of the world that condemns us to conflict. This condition, in turn, gives rise to further violence, suffering, and unconscious projection. Thus we are caught in a vicious circle of our own making. The obvious way out is to awaken to the perfection of jiva and choose it over ajiva. But we are unable to fully do this completely or totally owing to the prior conditions and complexities of existence. Nonhuman animals do not have the luxury of Selfconsciousness. They do not realize that they are really free beings. All that they experience is contingent circumstances, physical things, and the momentary play of sensation, emotion, and instinct. In a word, nonhuman animals are not as intelligent, free or conscious as human beings and thus we have a moral responsibility to protect them from injury, pain, and suffering. The same ethical principle applies to trees, plants, and the whole Earth. In the human world, our first responsibility is towards each other. We must not think ill of other human beings and love others as we love ourselves. Again, this is easier said than done given the dynamics of existence. 5

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The moral precept of love towards all human others exists in other world religions as well. In Jainism, each of us is free to decide what to do in life. We are not condemned to live a certain way because of some bad karma, material condition, or social reality. The fact of freedom contradicts determinism and gives hope, meaning, and purpose to life. We can really live like gods and realize our beautiful and perfect jiva-nature or live like the lower animals and be controlled by negative emotions, instincts, and unconscious conditioning. The choice is ours alone to make in spite of the force of karma on individual, social, and existential levels. Jainism is a blend of idealism and realism since it affirms human freedom, imagination, and reason over the conditions of nature, society, and the cosmos. On political, economic, and social levels, it is ethical and activist since it affirms our responsibility if not obligation to help others who may not be as fortunate or privileged. Ethically speaking, if we learn to love everyone, and not act aggressively against others, then an improved world is possible. Jainism is melioristic in believing that we really can solve human problems and improve the world, both for ourselves and all other beings. Moral progress is not an illusion since it is intimately connected to the qualitative dimension of experience. If we

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see the interconnections in caring for ourselves and all other beings, nonviolence would not be just an ideal. Its full realization would create a world reflective of the perfected jiva-nature within each of us. Due to the certainty of physical and existential death, and the suffering, poverty, and ignorance of so many persons on Earth, we must and can live a heroic life. Life is dangerous but the perfected ones, the arihantas of Jain history, have shown us that we can make it safely to the other side. With perfect faith, we can act freely and responsibly; with a perfect mind, we can understand what must be done; and with perfect action, we can bring our compassionate heart into harmony with our jiva nature. In actual experience, humans rarely if ever realize these perfections as absolutes but only relatively, qualitatively, and contextually. In Jain religious philosophy, these perfections or potentialities of our nature are known as the three jewels of Self-realization: perfect understanding, perfect action, and perfect faith. They are the path and the goal, the essence and the existence, of who we each uniquely are, in our jiva-ajiva experiences of becoming. In sum, Jainism implies the ontological freedom to choose a life of meaning, love, and goodness. But it does not promise a rose garden due to the weight of previous incarnations and karmas. When we realize who we are, in our jiva-nature, however, then the possibilities are lim

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itless. If we have the faith of the arihantas or the absolutely free beings, then we too can achieve a sense of Self-realization. This is the first condition: faith in the possibility of freedom from violence and suffering. This is an entirely subjective experience having profoundly objective consequences. The second entails a need to understand the real conditions of existence: birth, I..>>, death, rebirth, and the unending circle of suffering and conflict. Seeing, intellectually speaking, how we are situated in relation to nature, society, and other human beings, is a necessary analytic step in gaining an intuitive vision of the whole. In short, we have a mind and we must learn to use its many capacities to the fullest extent, to realize our humanity. This is why education, in a universal sense of the world, is so important to civilization and Self-realization. Finally, the third condition of Self-realization in Jainism is linked to action: we must be willing to live in the real world and commit ourselves to helping others. There is no higher life than a life of service or giving to others. We become who we are most fully in giving: from our heart, mind, soul, and material being. This is the supreme principle of every ethical theory based upon human caring.

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2 I would like to end my brief discussion of Jain philosophy on a more subjective note. In this world, contrary to popular belief, we own nothing ultimately. Illusion and change are the real ultimates. We are here one moment and gone the next and so are our dearest attachments. Life is an episode between infinities. Time, the events of the world, and a sense of impermanence, are crazily interrelated with our ego and mental states. In Jainism, the vision of nonviolence is a basis for thinking that the impossible is possible. We may not live forever, life may have no absolute meaning, and this world may be completely mad, but-and this is a big butif we have perfect faith, understanding, and are willing to act, then we too can become a Self-realized being like the arihantas of Jain legends. An impossible dream? An illusion? Perhaps. But not to those fortunate few who have experienced real freedom, if only momentarily, in this lifetime and world. The Jain vision of nonviolence and its possibilities for humankind, has remained undiminished over the centuries, in spite of the resolve of some to reduce it to a simplistic absolutism. Nothing in Jainism is really simple-minded or simplistic since it offers to the intelligent person a realistic view of humanity. Still others have characterized Jain philosophy as having a pessimistic view of life. But I think that this is a seriously distorting

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interpretation of Jainist philosophy. This view, I believe, has gained some currency only because Jainist philosophy is not afraid of admitting to a genuine ignorance before the eternal silence of things and the great questions. Also, Jain philosophy, in terms of its ethics, ontology, and logic, is nonabsolutist, materialistic, and pragmatic. Indeed, these are the signs of a mature philosophy of life rather than one of simple pessimism or optimism. The Jain ideals for human, moral, and social development, I believe, are among the best in world philosophy, East or West. This is what I think attracted so many people including myself to Guruji: a vision, an energy, and a faith that things not only should but really can be different. Guruji, more than any other person I have met, embodied the ideals of the arihantas, the perfected, nonviolent, free beings, in his life, thought, and action. 3 Guruji was a charismatic, warm, and heroic man. He stood six feet tall although he seemed much taller. He was strongly built and he spoke inspirationally and truthfully about human nature, the meaning of life, and enlightenment. He believed deeply in the nobler, higher purposes of human existence and he could be infinitely patient with those who did not. Wherever Guruji journeyed around the world, he was sought after for his insightful intelligence, his loving soul, and his wisdom.

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He possessed an extremely high level of self-realization. I was very fortunate to have met him when he first came to America in 1975. I was asked by a student to sponsor him for a special public lecture at Worcester State College where I teach philosophy. It was a turning point in my life. I had known many great teachers before Guruji but never had I met anyone as spiritually deep. Guruji was also a strong-willed, passionate, and articulate person. Most importantly, Guruji's words matched his actions, and his faith in what could be done, was awesome. I never knew him to shrink from a struggle or challenge because it seemed too great. In fact, the larger the stakes, the more Guruji was emboldened. In this respect, if for none other, he was a great moral leader who could inspire tolerance, peace, and love. 4 In 1982, about seven years after I first met Guruji, and after many valuable experiences with him, I received sixteen painstakingly transcribed tapes of his talks from a group of his American disciples. The material was heavily spiced by Guruji's native Hindi, Sanskrit, and Gujarati languages. As I studied the transcripts it became evident that the essential meanings were expressed in narrative or story form. Throughout the spring and summer of 1982, I gathered the stories together from the transcripts, conversing with Guruji continually and collecting new stories from our conversations in the pro

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cess. By 1985, I had completed most of the writing for the first edition and I nad gone over every story very carefully with Guruji. Still, due to personal reasons, the manuscript collected dust for another two years or so when the college who I each philosophy published it for my use in classes. whai was in 1988. Each of the stories of The Light of Nonviolence reflects a different aspect of Guruji's vision of life, truth, and the human condition. Light, in the book's title, denotes the light of the soul reflected in human consciousness and the world. Guruji embodied the light and energy of nonviolence both mystically and pragmatically. In spite of his occasional doubts-Guruji was a human being after all-he had faith that everyone can make a difference and create a better world. Guruji acted with that faith constantly; and he strove to understand with his whole being how it could be most perfectly realized. He never despaired of his failures or took pride in his successes for very long. Guruji knew, perhaps more than most, that a meaningful life requires faith, thought, effort, and action. He lived his life as he appeared to die, with a focused Self-realization of few if any illusions about existence. This, in turn, was connected to an inspired faith that everything is interconnected and that our states of consciousness make a profound difference. Most people who met Guruji saw the magnetic

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energy of his being even if they did not understand it. He glowed like a comet in the night sky for a while and we remember how he lit up everything. You, the reader, must decide to what degree the stories are credible, truthful, or at least entertaining. Certainly a few are not really stories at all, but insights and conclusions from a series of Guruji's experiences. A few are autobiographical sketches with moral lessons. A few read like parables which are only real for the imagination. A few are fables making analogies to human nature, which was Guruji's favorite subject. And the remaining stories, mostly in chapters nine and ten, are ones told to Guruji by persons whom he had met in his journey. Anyway I hope that you enjoy reading these stories as much as I did writing them. The Light of Nonviolence is Guruji's inspiration both in title and content. I only caught the light from his consciousness for a while but I was transformed by the experience. The subjective, unwritten record of those rare interactions with Guruji as a person is an invaluable one for me. What you see on paper in the stories are the surface traces of a great soul leaving his sounds and meanings for us to understand and live by. It may be enough to say that I loved Guruji. Thousands perhaps millions of others also loved him as their guru. Guruji wanted our memory of him and his teachings to be an inspiration for our own journeys, not an ob 13

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stacle to further growth and learning. We must learn to live without attachment, which was one of Guruji's biggest teachings. After reading this book, share it with a friend. Guruji wanted The Light of Nonviolence to shine in the heart of everyone. May it shine in yours. Om Shanti Om Courtney Schlosser New Delhi 1997 14

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There have been no essential changes for the second edition except a new "Introduction" and "Acknowledgements." A few changes were made to the stories for stylistic reasons. For the first edition, thanks must continue to go to Guru Shakti and Jaya Appilipo for transcribing the original audio tapes of Guruji's talks. Also my gratitude goes to Shirley Hardy, an American disciple of Guruji, who introduced me to Guruji and encouraged me to work with him. At the same time a special place must be given to Jeanne Weber for her friendship while I was writing the original versions of the stories with Guruji, in 19823. I want to thank my wife, partner, and travelling companion, Susan Coles, who has accompanied me to India in 1997 and helped me to edit and proof read the final drafts of the book, for both editions. I would also like to thank those persons who helped me publish the first edition of the book at Worcester State College where I teach philosophy especially the printing department personnel and Michael Duncan Merle who did the art work. Hundreds of American students learned about Guruji and the Jainist philosophy of nonviolence through the first edition of the book. For this second edition I would like to express spe 15

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cial gratitude to Yuvacharya Amrendra Muniji, Guruji's worthy successor. He gave his blessing to this special edition in English for the third anniversary of Guruji's life, death, and teachings. Another edition in Hindi is soon to follow. Amrendra Muniji is continuing the good work of Guruji, visiting the United States each year and staying at Siddhachalam ashram in Blairstown, New Jersey, headquarters for Jains in North America. Amrendra Muniji is loved by thousands of Americans. He travels the same routes of Guruji teaching at ashrams around the world. He teaches through his presence the values of Jainism: nonviolence, equality, and the reverence towards life. We are all fortunate to have him as Guruji's successor. I hope to be working with him on other writing projects. The Jain community, in both America and India, have been most supportive my efforts. In particular, I must thank Mr. P.C. Jain President of The International Mahavira Jain Mission, in New Delhi, for his generosity to Ahimsa Bahwan. Also while living at Ahimsa Bhawan in New Delhi and working on this edition of the book, my gratitude goes to Mr. M.R. Jain, President of Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh; the General Secretary Mr. Gautam Oswal, particularly for his caring that certain Indian names were correctly spelled as well as giving pertinent facts about Guruji's life; and the kindness of Mr. Shanti L. Kothari, Treasurer. Their material, moral and financial support was crucial. Also, many 16

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thanks to the people at Ahimsa Bhawan who made Sue and I feel part of their community. There was Mishra, Vinod, Kishor, Ashok, Vachispati, Mr. Bir; and the monks and nuns, especially Kastur Muniji, Vivak Muni, Siddhaswara Muni, Sadhvi Deepti, and Lakshita. They all made us feel at home away from home. Special thanks must go to the technical work done in the printing and computer type setting offices of Narendar Jain and Capital Photostat. First, Narendar Jain oversaw and helped to problem-solve the project from start to finish. Also, Rahul, for his English language skills, Manoj, for his labors, and Hira Lal Gupta, for his computer expertise, were invaluable in the all-important typesetting stages. Vachispati of Ahimsa Bhawan accompanied me and Sue on many wild and wooly auto-rickshaw rides through heavy Delhi traffic, especially to the busy printing offices in charming Old Delhi. Finally, I would like to thank the sun, the moon, and the stars in the cosmos for their abiding presence. It is symbolic that the Hale-Bopp comet appeared most brightly while the book was being prepared, in FebruaryApril, 1997. Perhaps Guruji is not quite gone after all. Courtney Schlosser 1997 17

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PART I GURUJI'S LIFE AND TEACHINGS: STORIES, PARABLES AND FABLES The life and teachings of Guruji are rich material for a biography. Contained within the stories that Guruji tells are the essential meanings of his life and teachings. Although life is more than can be expressed in words, these stories of Guruji's come from the heart. As the French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, there are truths of the heart that human reason will never comprehend. The majority of these stories reflect "truths of the heart" rather than those of reason. These stories show Guruji as a healer, a seer, and leader. Part I is divided into seven chapters. Each chapter is focused upon a different theme or type of story. Each story gives a different view of the universe in which Guruji lived. Together they not only contribute to a greater understanding and appreciation of Guruji's life and teachings, but also to the development of the same consciousness that guided him. Have a good journey. 18

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CHAPTER 1 HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS Higher or cosmic consciousness is a state of awareness that connects the spiritual. Self of the individual with the vastness and infinity of the universe. There are many ways that the experience of higher or universal awareness can be awakened. The following group of stories express and describe the energy of higher consciousness in interrelated ways to everyday life. It is important to remember that consciousness is not an ordinary object in the world. In fact, it is no-thing at all or as some Buddhists say, it is a pure nothingness. Yet in these stories, Guruji experiences the changes in his consciousness as quite real. And this is the crucial difference: when consciousness is experienced as higher, lower, or altered, there is always the subjective knower connected to it, making it quite other than a mere nothingness. In philosophical circles, there has been a little known debate raging for years over whether consciousness can be said to exist at all. For Guruji, there was never any question about the reality of consciousness and its power to move the world and get things done. Keep this in mind when reading about some of Guruji's first experiences and experiments with consciousness. It is a metaphor, like an apple tree, that can bear real fruit. 19

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REASON AND FAITH An intellectual distinction is commonly made between those who live their lives through faith as opposed to those who merely think or reason about faith. In this story, Guruji relates how he survived poisoning by a fanatic from a rival religious group. The story takes place during a solar eclipse in India and it was only due to the faith, knowledge and practice. f Guruji that he was able to overcome the full effect of the poison. W hen the solar eclipse occurs in India, it is a very special event for which everyone prepares. Just before a recent solar eclipse, I was paid a surprise visit by two people from another religious group. Although I was aware that there were some conflicts between my group and the other factions in the Jain religion, I never thought that they were very serious. Also, it is not my habit to think ill of anyone since we are all part of the same divine Self. On the day of the solar eclipse, everyone was very excited. It is not an uncommon practice among psychics, in India, to take vach, a ginger root medicine that has psychedelic effects, to induce clairvoyant experiences. Although I had never taken the drug since I believe that mind-altering drugs are harmful to final liberation, I 20

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decided to experiment this one time, to celebrate the solar eclipse. What I did not know was that the substance the two men brought was not vach but yatsnabh which is a highly poisonous, psychedelic medicine and which looks exactly like vach, in powder form. The man who brought me the drug shook out a full dose into the palm of my hand, but I decided to take only one-half of the amount. I swallowed what I thought was vach, drank some water and waited for the effect in a meditative state. Meanwhile, the men who brought the medicine left and I was alone with Subhag Muni, my younger Jain brother, an ayurvedic doctor who was my disciple and friend. Within minutes, I began to feel dizzy, faint and sick to my stomach. Outside, the solar eclipse had begun and I tried to overcome the feeling of nausea that the drug had induced. I went into a deep meditation and concentrated my consciousness upon the throat chakra where clairvoyant and psychic powers are centered. My field of vision instantly expanded and I could see with my Big Mind or cosmic consciousness for many miles around. It felt like a great sun had appeared in me giving light to the Earth. I could see people outside watching the eclipse and I had the experience of travelling through my astral body for many miles around. However, the poisonous substance of the medicine also made me feel increas 21

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ingly sick and I decided to induce vomiting to get rid of it. I was able to do this through my yogic training although I felt very weakened afterward. Meanwhile, my medical friend suspected that something was wrong with the medicine I had taken and he tested it. "Guruji," he said, "This medicine is not vach, it is yatsnabh!" If I had not been able to vomit as I had, I would have died. And although my clairvoyant experiences were good, they were not complete because my physical body had been poisoned. My experience reminded me of the difference between Socrates, the great western philosopher of reason and knowledge, and Mira, a devotee of Lord Krishna, the Indian God of love and faith. Whereas Socrates drank the poison juices from the hemlock tree, and died, Mira drank a poisoned drink given to her by her spiteful father-in-law for worshipping Lord Krishna more than her husband, and did not die. Mira changed the poison into a nectar of love through her complete devotion to and faith in Lord Krishna. Just as Mira overcame the effect of a poison so did I through my faith in the power of universal love and consciousness. The only difference was the object of our love and devotion. Everyone has this same potentiality or power. 22

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KUNDALINI ENERGY In Indian Philosophy, the cosmic energy of consciousness is known as kundalini energy. Kundalini literally means serpent power or energy since it takes the mythological form of a snake coiled at the tip of the spine, sleeping in the subtle or spiritual body until it is awakened by special yogic means. In this story, Guruji tells us about his first important experience in the awakening of kundalini energy. The setting for the story is on a beach of the sacred Ganges River of India. There Guruji was buried in sand, daily, over a six week period. W hen I was a child, I was experiencing the light and energy of my kundalini consciousness before I knew what it was. A core of golden fire, ringed by red flames, would go up and down my spine. I could feel the electric energy of the cosmic Life-force working through my whole physical body. Although I was very exhilarated and inspired by these early, innocent experiences, I did not have enough knowledge to control them. By the time I became a monk at the age of fifteen, I became adept at experiencing the energy flow from my big toe to the top of my head and I could open the sushumna or main energy channel that follows the backbone of kundalini consciousness. At that time, I was 23

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repeating the mantra of the Goddess of Wisdom and I was awakening numerous potentials of my intellectual system, such as memory, perception and cognition. I could, for example, read a 500 page book of philosophy and remember everything. My perception became like an ocean and I gained a great sense of personal power from my meditations, especially during nights of the full moon. During this time, I also learned the yogic system of Patanjali and I developed a deep philosophical understanding from its clear principles in the context of my awakened kundalini consciousness. But my most important, controlled experience of kundalini energy came on a beach of the Ganges River. I had studied most of the books about kundalini energy, yoga philosophy, meditation and mantra, but I wanted to experience enlightenment, totally and completely. I decided that I would not follow any books or scriptures. I only wanted to practice fully and purely with my intuition, feelings and understandings. So in 1958, I went to Nava Dvip Dhamma, which means "New Island," in Bengal, and I stayed in the very large temple of Lord Krishna, on the beautiful banks of the Ganges River. Dassani dug a hole in the wet sand of the beach and then buried me in the lotus position. He than placed a thin cloth over my head so that I could breathe and to prevent insects from disturbing me. For two to three hours I could not move in the sand and I was completely 24

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inert. I focused my consciousness completely and with total concentration on the lowest chakra or wheel of kundalini energy, which is called the muladhar chakra, at the tip of the spine. I allowed its heat and light to rise up my spine, amid great vibrations, colors and sounds. At the same time, I was repeating the sacred word "Ganga" (for Ganges) at various intervals, and the effect of the sound greatly intensified my experience. Day after day, for six weeks I became increasingly absorbed and concentrated on many yogic practices, such as breath control, visualization, meditation and kundalini awakening, until I lost all sense of where I was in this world. I only saw the beautiful, perfect and divine energy of the higher Self. For long periods of time, I felt beyond time, space, and normal sensations and attachments; and I only regained an ordinary sense of reality when I became conscious of Mr.Dassani digging me out of the sand at the end of each day. Before then, I felt absolutely free and centered upon my awakened Self and the kundalini energy that flowed up and down my spine and circulated beautifully and hypnotically at the seven chakra centers.* As the experience of kundalini energy unfolded, I became conscious of the creative power and freedom that is within human consciousness. In this process, I became more aware of the reality of the human will, the importance of disciplined practice and the motivating 25

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power of a goal. Although I did not get the final enlightenment experience that I had hoped for on the beach of the Ganges River, it marked a real beginning for me in attaining nirvakalpa samadhi or the highest state of consciousness. Afterwards, the energy of samadhi was awake, alive and flowing in me, and I had only to let it take full control of my physical, causal and spiritual bodies, to gain the knowledge that I was seeking. There were many other things that I realized on the beach of the Ganges. First, this world is like a gross dream but the world of inner consciousness and its energy constitutes a much deeper, more subtle and higher sense of reality. Second, in the state of samadhi, you experience everything in this world just as it is, but you also have the sense of being beyond the physical, mental and emotional world of ordinary experience. It is like being in two worlds at the same time -- the human world and a kind of superhuman world, where everything is perfect, divine and complete. In the superhuman world, you experience yourself as a God or absolute being, who exists as a perfectly free, all-knowing, allpowerful Self. Samadhi is unlike most everyday experiences. But once you have the experience of feeling like a God-which comes from the awakening of kundalini energy-you are never the same person again. You feel that you know what everything means and you no longer have 26

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troubling life questions. When you awaken your higher spiritual energy and you start analyzing and perceiving the everyday world again, you experience your mind as a powerhouse of energy, light, and reason. Also, your passions, your caring, and your ability to love, are greater from the experience of divine energy and consciousness. Therefore, I can only recommend to every individual that he tries to experience his or her divine centers of energy since the knowledge that is derived from the encounter within your consciousness will benefit all of humankind and the Earth. In nirvakalpa samadhi, which I have experienced, the yogi leaves the bondage of the karmic or physical body and gets total liberation or moksa. The goal of moksa is meaningless without the experience of nirvakalpa samadhi, the very highest state of consciousness which actually exists beyond the power of descriptive language. Once you experience nirvakalpa samadhi, you know intuitively who you are and it cannot be forgotten like many other things. Furthermore, you become a more complete and perfect person, at all levels, and it is a permanent state that nothing changes. * [See footnote following "The Possibilities of Higher Consciousness" on the seven chakras. Ed.] 27

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VICTORY OVER MAYA Maya, in Indian philosophy, is a Sanskrit word that refers to the essentially creative structure of the universe. Maya is hidden from ordinary consciousness yet it creates all the forms, perceptions and experiences of this world. Seeing through the illusions of maya constitutes an essential breakthrough in the consciousness of the evolving yogi or anyone. In this story, Guruji tells us about a highly important communication that he had, at fifteen, with the spirit of Roop Chandji Maharaj (hereafter referred to as Babaji) a great yogi who had died over 100 years before. The story informs us about the maturing of Guruji as a young man and ends with his initiation into monkhood. W hen I was fifteen years old, I was staying at the merging place of Satluj and Bias Rivers, which is called Hari Ke Paten. There, on the beautiful, green banks of these rivers, my guru received many people and performed miracles and healings. At that time, he gave me a mantra to call upon the divine spirit of Babaji, a god of knowledge and spiritual perfection. One morning, as I was meditating at dawn, when the cosmic energy is highest, I suddenly felt the full effect of my mantra and I heard a 28

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voice speak to me. It simply asked "What is your goal of life?" As I listened to the voice and heard it deeply in my consciousness, I became aware of a black-skinned, radiant body of average height. It was the spiritual body of Babaji and I felt speechless and ecstatic from the experience of actually seeing this great being. Finally, I answered the god and I told him that I wanted to find the Para Pati or Black Stone that I had read about in the story of Raja. In the story, Raja, the King of Ranjeet Singh, had been given a sacred black stone by a monk who changed it into gold. I thought that if I could find the black stone I could construct a big temple, become rich and remove all poverty from the world. At that time in my life, I was not thinking about high spiritual things since I still had the mind and desires of a spoiled child. Still, I mostly wanted to help people if only I could get the stone. The great guru Babaji, read all of my feelings and thoughts at once, and he told me that he could help me get the stone. He said that if I went to the memorial place of his death, I would find the stone there. I became very excited and happy and I did not tell anyone about my meeting with Babaji or about my desire for the Para Pati. It was my secret desire. During the next eight days, I had no success in locating the memorial place of Babaji. On the ninth day, 29

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I decided that I could not keep my desire a secret anymore, and I asked a friend where I could find the memorial place. I also told him all about my experience with Babaji. My friend agreed to take me to Jagraon City, where he thought the memorial was to be found, but when we reached Jagraon, we could not find it. Nearby, we saw some farmers who were irrigating their land and we asked one of them if he knew where the memorial was. The farmer said that he did and that he would take us there. Along the way, I became very involved in a discussion with the farmer about idol worship. By the time we reached the memorial place of Babaji, my thoughts, speech and feelings were so concentrated upon the conversation with the farmer, that I completely forgot why I had journeyed there in the first place! At two o'clock in the morning, I suddenly awoke and remembered why I had come to Jagraon and realized that I had actually seen the stone earlier in the day! My feelings of pain, sadness and stupidity were almost more than I could bear. I could not sleep from thinking that I had actually seen the stone and yet failed to recognize it. In my memory of the previous day, the black stone was unmistakably present at the memorial-just as Babaji had told me it would be. I remembered when I went to bow my head in reverence to the feet marks of Babaji on the memorial, a black stone was lying between the feet 30

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marks, giving off a great magnetic power, and it prevented my head from touching them. My consciousness had only been focused on the discussion with the farmer and I had forgotten my real purpose for being there. At 2:30 that same morning, the great guru appeared to me in a meditation, a second time, and he asked me the same question, "What is your goal of life?" I told him that I wanted to find the black stone. He answered. "You had your chance yesterday at my memorial yet you did not see it." "Couldn't I go back?" I asked. "There is no question of your going back," he replied, "The time has gone. You cannot go back." I felt terribly depressed. Then Babaji sensed my feelings completely and he saw through the illusions of my mind, although I was still unconscious of them, just as my consciousness had blocked me from seeing the black stone the day before. Then Babaji said: "My son, you must see that you are like the sacred black stone. You have all the transforming power and energy that you need. You must become awake to your real nature. Then you will realize your desires and not be made a fool of by your mind." "You must realize that you are already perfect. You have no real need of me or any guru. If you meditate and awaken all your powers, you will get infinite power and everything that you touch will become transformed by 31

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your divine energy. For the sacred stone that you want is just a material thing. Without your divine Self, the black stone is useless, meaningless, powerless. If you realize who you are, then any stone will bring you happiness, fulfillment and perfection. And you will be able to help others accomplish the same, wonderful thing." I was absolutely stunned by the disclosure. And although the great guru told me that I could call upon his divine spirit at anytime, I have only done so four times since then. After the experience of the black stone and my communications with Babaji, I became a monk. My Grand Guru, Kundanlalji Maharaj, planned a ceremony in Jagraon where I had my first visionary experience and communicated with Babaji. My Grand Guru is a very high and powerful yogi with a mind like a television camera, since he can see for hundreds of miles around by his power of vision and clairvoyance. On April 20th, 1942, he accepted me into monkhood as a Jain. The ceremony was performed by the great Acharya Atmaramji, the world scholar of the Prakrit language, the official Jain language. It was attended by almost 15,000 people, among whom were monks, Acharyas, nuns, and other yogis who were also on the path to Self-perfection.

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THE POSSIBILITIES OF HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS To a scientific materialist, consciousness or mind is merely a by-product of physio-chemical processes and the behavioral acts that an individual happens to engage in. But to a spiritualist or religious mystic; such as Guruji, consciousness and especially higher states of consciousness constitute the most real and prior basis for things appearing as they do. In this story, which is actually a composite of three separate experiences linked by higher or supernormal states of consciousness-Guruji describes what happened when he journeyed to different places and put himself in the receptive attitude for higher consciousness. T here have been many times when I have experi 1 enced the energy and forms of higher consciousness in my life. I want to describe three times when the powers and possibilities of my consciousness became evident to me as well as other people. The first time occurred when I was giving a lecture in Ujjain, India, to a large audience of religious people. During the lecture I became conscious of Lord Parsva, one of the great teachers of our cycle of time in Jainism, and I felt a tingling sensation that remained during my 33

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talk. The audience afterwards was very enthusiastic in their clapping and it seemed like they were expressing gratitude to someone else and not to me even though I had been the only speaker. During the break, a young man came up and told me that he had seen a perfect image of Lord Parsva just above my head while I was speaking. I was very surprised. Another man who had also been in the audience, commented that my long grey hair had been standing straight up from my head as if some electric current were passing through it. A third man said that great cobra snakes were coiled around the peaceful head of Lord Parsva, just as can be seen in the sculpture and pictures of ancient times. The three young men then got into a discussion about the various saints and mystics who have been to Earth and whether or not their energy is still here and can be awakened. I told them that I thought all the great religious leaders-Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Zorothustra, Lord Mahavira, Lord Krishna, Moses, Socrates and others-have left their auras or energy fields on Earth and that they can be awakened if we use our consciousness correctly. I told them that when the image of Lord Parsva appeared to me I began to think that I was Lord Parsva over and over again and it became true! By imagination and its creative power, you can develop yourself into anyone and you can change the form of your appearing 34

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in the world. A second time my theory about the power of imagination and higher consciousness was confirmed, I was in India at a beautiful Christian chapel that had just been dedicated. I went there with a benefactress, an older, wealthy American woman. We went into the chapel before the altar and we meditated and prayed before the pictures and statues of Jesus Christ. In front of a carving of Christ on the cross, which movingly portrayed Christ's compassion, understanding and sacrifice for the human condition, I felt a beautiful calm and peace arise in my heart region that my reason could not comprehend. I continued to meditate and heard a truly divine, musical voice speak to me in soft, strong words about love and kindness, giving and sacrifice. When I opened my eyes, I looked at the Christ figure and for one moment, the carving looked completely alive to me and I heard it speaking the teachings of Christ. Afterwards, my American friend said that I was glowing with a radiance that she had never seen before. It was an important experience for me since I understood the message from Christ about the supreme values of nonviolence and love. A third time I experienced the full power of higher consciousness was when I decided to completely awaken my own kundalini energy through chanting the sound "om." I achieved such a high degree of success that I decided to go into total silence for three days in order to 35

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experience it fully without distractions from the outside world. On the fourth day, I had learned to control the fully awakened kundalini energy, when an absolutely beautiful young woman appeared to me. She was tall, dark-haired and her body radiated sexual desire. Her breasts and buttocks were perfectly shaped and her arms and legs were long and smooth-skinned. She moved in the light of a divine purity and perfect knowledge of herself. She appeared to be in a dream state; and yet her body and her energy were completely real to me, exciting and attracting me with her infinite beauty and perfection. Even though I am a yogi and I have renounced sexual desire and erotic contact with others, this divinelysouled woman caused my mind to go blank and I felt the erotic energy of the kundalini body awaken in me. But before my yogic resolve and precepts were completely weakened and I gave into the desire to touch her, I suddenly realized who she was and why she was appearing to me. Her name was Bala Tripur Sundri, the divine Goddess of Wisdom, and she was there to test my Selfcontrol and my commitment to the life of the spirit. And just as I realized her identity, her sexual attraction and my desire disappeared completely from my consciousness. My being was no longer troubled and in conflict with itself. These three experiences have confirmed that if you 36

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focus your consciousness upon the energy centres of the body, then you can achieve spiritual perfection and realize your deepest potentials.* If you concentrate upon the third eye center, you will get divine wisdom and infinite consciousness just as Lord Parsva possessed it; and if you concentrate upon the heart center, you will get the power of love, truth and nonviolence just as Christ possessed it; and if you concentrate upon the solar plexus region, you will get the perfect energy and blissful consciousness that Bala Tripur Sundri possessed. Infinite wisdom, infinite love, and infinite bliss are among the highest states of consciousness when you fully experience your divine Self. * [The energy centers are usually seven. They are located at : the tip of spine, the genital region, the solar plexus, the heart, the throat, center of the forehead, above the crown of the head. They symbolize ( from the tip of spine ) : survival, pleasure, work, compassion, creativity, understanding, freedom, in their gross and subtle forms of ordinary experience. When any one of these centers is activated through the various means of education, healing, and self-realization, a person experiences the greater freedom or learning of the Self. The chakras are ultimately connected to the Self or an extremely super-subtle dimension of reality that cannot be intellectually understood. Editor.] 37

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SOAP AND WATER The divine, eternal Self is like a mirror. If your mirror is perfectly clean, you can see everything in it. But if your mirror is dirty or covered by karmic particles, you cannot see anything. Lord Mahavira said that the Self of a person is covered by eight layers of karmic or cosmic dust, left by previous actions and lives. In this story, Guruji relates a parable about a disciple who uses the wrong technique for cleaning his "mirror," thus preventing liberation from the world and the clearsightedness of Self-Realization. A confused disciple once sought guidance from his guru, "Guruji, I have a mirror that I cannot clean. Each time that I try to clean the mirror it becomes only dirtier; and it is now so black that I am thinking of throwing it away. Could you tell me how to clean it?" The guru thought for a while and then he asked his disciple, "How have you tried to clean the mirror?" With the greatest of innocence, the disciple replied, "Oh, Guruji, I cleaned it with the most expensive and thick of cleaners available. It will clean even rust from steel but everytime I put it on my mirror, it collects something so fine and subtle that I cannot see the particles until my mirror dries. Then it is too late. 38

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"And how many times have you tried to clean your mirror?" the guru asked. "I have tried to clean it at least eight times and in a different way each time. But after each time, the mirror only gets blacker and the dust on its surface is harder than steel now and you cannot tell that there was once a mirror beneath the surface, it is so thick and black," the disciple replied. The guru thought for another moment. "Student, you cannot clean your mirror this way. Otherwise, your mirror will attract everything, like a magnet attracts iron. But if you have right faith, right knowledge and right practice, then your mirror can be kept perfectly clean." "Since your mirror is always attracting black particles of dust, you are not using the right technique for cleaning it because your knowledge is false and your faith weak. But if you are meditating for greater awareness and watching everything that you collect from your actions-all feelings, all thoughts and sensations-then you can clean your mirror with simple soap and water, perfectly, everytime. The disciple followed the guru's advice and never had difficulty again in keeping his mirror absolutely clean at all times. 29

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CHAPTER 2 : THE REAL WORLD What is reality? This is a basic question in traditional philosophy although postmodernists have all but given up this kind of quest. Here Guruji shows no such inclination and gives some uncanny possible answers. Remember that Jain philosophy is nonabsolutist in approaching this question. There is not just one timeless answer. The idea that reality is formed by the interaction of matter and spirit is basic to the mystical or Gnostic viewpoint. In this sense, the so-called real world is never entirely what it appears to be since spirit or the hidden, unseen dimension of the physical world, is constantly surprising us. Without this uncertainty factor in life, experience would be less interesting. The following stories express the surprise element in life which may or may not work in one's favor. You should "expect the unexpected" in these stories, as they say when you are travelling in India. 40

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THE DIVINE SPIRIT The divine spirit is a descriptive phrase denoting the belief in an absolute, ineffable reality within physical being, making physical being meaningful and manifest. In this story, Guruji reflects upon his philosophy of religion and provides us with a vivid example of how his powers of the divine spirit worked in his interest. h ver since childhood, I have asked myself: How U can I best serve my country and the human race? From my studies of the Jain religious tradition, the philosophy of Mahavira and the many world leaders who have been inspired by the teaching of Mahavira, it is the belief in nonviolence or ahimsa that is my guiding ideal for a sane and better world. Everywhere we look in the world today, violence is present. Without peace and nonviolence, the human race could exterminate itself and then there will be no hope since there will be no future. In the late 1950's, much was heard about the arms race between the superpowers the development of the Hbomb, and other weapons of mass destruction. I decided to organize a conference for the religious leaders of the world. At that time, I was thinking that it is not a question of the next life or world when we consider the good that religions can do, but it is this life, this world, all

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people, animals, and the Earth which should most matter to religions. For the divine spirit has no meaning if it is thought to be separate from this world and its life-forms. Besides the very practical goal of wanting to promote world peace and brotherhood through the conference, I also wanted to bring the leaders of the major world religions together, to promote harmony, cooperation and greater understanding between them. Since the World Religions Conference of 1957 was to be held in India, I invited the then Prime Minister of India, Nehru, to attend the meeting, knowing fully well that without his support and endorsement of the conference, it would not occur. At the same time, I knew that Prime Minister Nehru had little respect for religious people since he thought that they were narrow-minded, superstitious, and quarrelsome. Since I, myself, have little patience with people who argue about the proper name of God and yet cannot love one another, I was not at all threatened or bothered by Mr. Nehru's presence at the meeting as were some of my peers. In planning for the conference, I invited 16 other religious leaders who represented Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Taoists, Jews, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Jains and others, to attend along with Prime Minister Nehru. Before the first planning session I went into a deep meditation and called upon my great guru Shri Roop Chandji 42

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Maharaj, for divine guidance and knowledge. This is what he said to me: "Go and tell the people that the real meaning of religion is love. If you cannot believe in God or religion or anything else, but you can believe in the healing power and creative divinity of love, you will be saved. Love is the energy of the divine spirit. When you experience love, you have the truest source of power, meaning and fulfillment." "If you open yourself up to the power of love, all anger and bitterness, greed and suspicion, will disappear from your heart. Other people will see the love and energy of your heart and they will be inspired to follow you and be like you since there is no higher, more fulfilling way on earth than the way of divine love." I listened and I heard what my guru was telling me and I had great confidence that the conference would be successful. Besides, the 16 religious leaders and Prime Minister Nehru, I invited the first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, and Dr. Radha Krishnan, a world renowned philosopher to preside over the meeting. At the planning meeting we were all anxious and eager to make a good impression upon Prime Minister Nehru. Only one of the religious leaders betrayed us by arguing with and viciously criticizing the Prime Minister. I could see that everything was going bad for us. Without the Prime Minister's support the conference would not 43

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take place, so I asked everyone to leave the room except the Prime Minister and myself. After everyone cleared the room, I faced Prime Minister Nehru alone and called upon the divine Spirit of Dada Guru and other enlightened beings of the universe for their energy, love and wisdom. From within myself, I transmitted, in an instant, the healing energy of love, and the white color of peace, to the Prime Minister. He received it and his anger and negativity went away. He told me that he would support the conference and that his government would provide whatever help was necessary. And for the next fifteen minutes, we spoke about the details of our agreement. When I invited the others back into the room, they could not believe the change in the Prime Minister's attitude. "Guruji, you have worked a miracle for us," Dr. Krishnan said to me. But the truth was that I had done nothing except transmit the energy of the divine spirit to the Prime Minister. Three days later, each religious leader received a letter from the Prime Minister, indicating his support for our conference and organization. It was all we needed to make the conference for World Peace successful. 44

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THE COW PROTECTION MOVEMENT The cow is a sacred animal in India. However, due to the extreme shortages of food, there was a politically inspired attempt to legalize the killing, slaughter, and consumption of cows. Since this effort went against the religious teachings or values of Guruji, he became a leader in organizing a large rally before the parliament house of India, to protest the government's proposal. uring the 1950's, there was an extreme shortage the government proposed that all restrictions be removed from killing cattle for food. Since I am a Jain monk and we believe that nonviolence is religion, the government proposal went totally against what all our religious leaders believe and stand for. So I organized a large rally before the parliament house of India, to demonstrate our opposition to the government's policy and to protest violence of all kinds. Over one million people came to the rally to demonstrate our cause. However, what I did not realize was the seriousness of the government's opposition to our movement nor of the means that certain factions were willing to take to gain their ends. Thus, on the day of the rally, violence broke out among the milling crowds and I could not stop the violence, once it started. 45

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I tell you these things with benefit of hindsight. At the time, I had no knowledge nor even suspected that there might be trouble. First, shortly after the rally officially opened, and I was at the speaker's platform, a disturbance was heard and people could be seen fighting about something in the distance. I immediately took the microphone and said to everyone that this was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration against violence and we were not to fight among ourselves. Otherwise, how could we say that we were against violence and the killing of cows? But the fighting went on and it got worse; people started screaming and the whole rally was suddenly in jeopardy. Again I spoke and this time there seemed to be some effect from my words and the people became peaceful again. I said, "Do not hit anyone because you disagree with them or they disagree with you. You must try to persuade with your nonviolent actions because only through nonviolence can you become one-withGod and know the love that He experiences everywhere in the universe. You must never give into the forces of violence because you will become powerful with evil and destroy yourself. We can only save the cows from slaughter if we first save ourselves." But there were some people in the crowd who were not prepared to hear my words and who were there to destroy the rally. Fifteen minutes later, fighting broke out again and the crowd raged in anger toward the reserve bank building. 46

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Then some so-called monks attacked and killed four policemen, and in retaliation, four so-called monks were killed, "But", I asked myself, "How is this possible? No Jain monk can kill. It is totally against his religion and vows." Then one of these so-called monks came to the platform and demanded that I give him the microphone. I told him "No, this is the fault of your monks. The police are peaceful. They do not want trouble. Your people have started the riot." Shortly afterwards, the wire to the microphone was cut and three tear gas bombs were thrown onto the speaker's platform. Then complete chaos and pandemonium broke loose and I lost control over the situation. People were running everywhere to get away and some were fighting with each other. The peace rally ended in a riot and it was reported in the newspapers the next day that eight people had been killed when I knew, for a fact, that hundreds were killed. Two days after I went into seclusion and a total fast to clean myself of any wrongdoing. I felt guilt. I felt extreme sadness. I felt pain. But then I thought: I did not want any violence. How could I be responsible for what happened? In a meditation, the answer appeared to me from the divine Self: "You cannot fight fire with fire otherwise the fire will destroy you in the end." The meaning is that when 47

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I opposed the government's policy, I was only acting as a religious person. I was not using political tactics. However, when the violence occurred, the police used their guns, tear gas, and riot equipment, because they believed in those tactics and not those of the Jain monks. Later, I was told that the government and some business people who stood to make a lot of money from the slaughter of the cows had hired some evil people from the outside to dress as monks and to start the riot. I became very saddened and upset by this knowledge. But I felt that my intentions and motives in organizing the rally had been pure and innocent of any wrongdoing. 48

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THE ASTROLOGER OF INDIA Astrology is an ancient, pre-scientific system of beliefs based upon the movements of the solar system and the stars. It claims to be able to predict a person's future based upon the conjunction of certain biographical and celestial data. In this story, Guruji describes an encounter that he had with a famous astrologer of India, Pundit Kedar Nath. The story shows how the human ego or pride can blind us to the truth. Guruji concludes the story with a brief discourse upon astrology. D efore 1947, India was still under British rule and the Viceroy or ruler of India had a personal astrologer by the name of Kedar Nath. In 1951, after the Viceroy had been removed from power, I became very interested in the science and art of astrology. I remembered that the viceroy had a personal astrologer whose reputation as a learned scholar and fortune-teller was wellknown. I decided to send for the great astrologer even though I did not know him. At the time I was twenty five years old and one among many monks in any order. I was still quite naive and unworldly and I did not understand how pride can rule a man's ego and mind, causing him to be ignorant. Anyway, I sent a messenger to the famous astrologer to

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come to my ashram. Since the astrologer was such a learned and politically important man who attached great importance to both his scholarship and relations to the rulers of India, he never imagined that the request for his services would come from anyone except a very important person. Therefore when he received the messenger from the ashram, he thought that I was at least the head of my religious order. But when he came and saw that I was only a young monk with no great influence with the people, he became insulted and angry and he began to belittle me. "You called me?" he asked distainfully. "Yes, I did," I half-apologized. Indeed, beside this great, tall and venerable astrologer who had long grey hair and a noble demeanor, I felt humbled and embarrassed, at least momentarily. But after I reflected on my own high-minded journey in life and my spiritual commitment to the truth and my ideals for humanity, I ceased to feel less than the man before me, even though he did his best to stare me down. Seeing that the fierceness of his gaze upon me was not having the desired effect, he asked me, rather critically, "Where are you from?" I answered calmly that I was from the Gurgoan district of India and the village Shikopur. Then what seemed like a sudden revelation dawned upon the astrologer and his face went blank with a shocked realization of who I 50

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was, and he replied. "You and I were born in the same village and we are related through the same family. You were born as a Hindu Brahmin, you became a monk, and disgraced your family even further by becoming a Jain monk! You are the black dot upon the name of the family." Although my immediate reaction was to become defensive, I did not show any shame or guilt. Instead, I answered the astrologer with a friendly challenge. "Mr. Kedar," I began, "I have the most authoritative astrology text in India, the Brihat Parashri and it has predicted, based upon the charts, that I would become a Jain monk and have profound influence throughout India and the rest of the world. Is your astrology wrong? Since the astrologer's entire reputation and career had been based on the truth of astrology, he did not know how to answer, since he boasted that astrology could never be wrong. Seeing his dilemma and realizing that his reputation and authenticity was at stake, the astrologer changed his entire attitude toward me. "Guruji, I cannot contradict what the charts say. They always speak the truth. Destiny and the divine energy of the universe have brought you to where you are. If the astrology charts say that you were to become a monk, then it is right and inevitable that you are now one. Please accept my apology for questioning your identity and right to be a monk." 51

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Thereafter, the two of us became the best of friends. He invited me to his home and we had many philosophical discussions about astrology. Through the course of our friendship, I noticed a change in the astrologer's nature, in that he became less self-important and prideful and he became more interested in seeking the truth, along with me. Among the things that I learned and discussed with the astrologer was how each of the twelve signs of the zodiac have two important stars which have a unique color, light, and vibratory effect upon the Earth and its life. Together with the ten pranic or energy powers of the body, of which five are inner powers and five are outer powers, there are fifty basic color, heat, light and sound vibrations in the world. Also, since the moon shows us sixteen different faces each month, it contributes to the visible and invisible changes of the material world as well as changes in our moods and energy levels. Furthermore, owing to the universal fact that all things are related through color and sound vibration, the basic color of the Earth is symbolized by "3" or the sound formed by "A-U-M". Although I cannot tell all things that I learned from this great astrologer, his belief that the human condition is intimately and mysteriously affected by the casual laws of universal matter and energy, has remained with me always and influences my decisions constantly in coping with the real world. 52

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THE HOMEOPATHIC DOCTOR Homeopathic medicine is a system of medical beliefs and practices that treats the whole person through natural methods of healing and prevention, based upon a casual knowledge of the disease. In this story, Guruji. relates how he helped a doctor of homeopathic medicine overcome a spiritual problem and who later helped Guruji overcome a medical problem. It is a story that reveals the goodness of mutual relations and also Guruji's seeming ability to transcend ordinary physical causes and effects. nne time I was doing some Hatha Yoga postures and I got a back spasm so serious that I could not move from my bed. Albert Sutton, a homeopathic doctor, disciple and friend of mine was contacted to help me. I had not seen Albert Sutton for over a year. I thought about the last time I saw him and the condition in which I found him. Dr. Sutton was living alone in New York City and he had been taking some lessons from a yogi in Manhattan for awakening kundalini energy. The yogi's advertisement said that results from the kundalini meditations and practices were guaranteed, only it did not say what kind of results would occur nor 53 .

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whether or not they would be spiritually beneficial. I am not sure, but I believe that it was an American psychologist who had become a yogi under the tutelage of an American yogi and under whom Dr. Sutton had been practicing kundalini awakening. Anyway, one day Dr. Sutton called me on th telephone and he was crying uncontrollably. I asked him what was wrong. Then he told me about his kundalini practices and what he had been experiencing and that he feared he would go insane. I asked him about his yogi and he only replied that he could not talk with him anymore. When I went over to see him he was huddled in a corner, whimpering like a child and it took fifteen minutes of chanting, meditating, and projecting of the white, healing light to bring him to his senses and some selfcontrol. I asked what had happened to bring him to that psychological state. He said that he encountered some repressed memories and experiences from childhood in one of his meditations upon kundalini energy and the effect was so great he lost all self-control. I asked him about his American yogi, but he merely mumbled that he had been unable to reach him. For several weeks I took Dr. Sutton into my keeping at the ashram and under guidance he got much better and he reached the degree of self-control that he wanted and needed. Afterwards, I lost contact with him until I in 54

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jured my back doing postures and I called him to help me to heal my back. I had been diagnosed by a regular medical doctor as having high-blood pressure and a minor kidney problem but the doctor did not prescribe any effective means of combating these problems. Shortly after I saw the medical doctor, he became seriously ill and died from unknown causes. When Dr. Albert Sutton came into my room, he fell on his knees at my bedside and wept joyfully, he was so glad to see me. "Oh, Guruji, I am so much better now, thanks to you. But what has happened to you?" I told him and I asked if he had a medicine to cure me of this problem. He told me that the real cause of my back injury was not Hatha Yoga practices but my poor circulatory system and that not enough blood was getting to my muscle tissue. He said that the medicine he had from the roots of some Indian plants would cure me but that the side effects were known to cause weeping, headaches, incontinence, and bleeding of the stool. I told him that I was not worried and that I would be able to control these undesirable side-effects through my knowledge of causal and subtle bodies. "But, Guruji," he protested. "A drug is a drug and no one can change what it will do to your physical body. These things happened beyond the control of your will 55

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and the effects of consciousness." I told him that I did not believe that because I had confirmed, several times, how physical properties and systems can be modified and transformed by the influence of the will and higher consciousness. I assured him that I could take care of myself and no harm would come to me and to give me the medicine. I would assume responsibility for myself. Dr. Sutton gave me the medicine reluctantly since he did not want to cause the undesirable side-effects that he was sure would follow from taking the medicine. I took the capsule in my hand, closed my eyes and with the full force of my mind, I said "Medicine, don't give me any headaches, bleeding, weeping or craziness." I swallowed it just like that! Since the medicine took a while to work, I was not up and about until the next day. But I did not have any of the undesirable side effects and Dr. Sutton was amazed, but no less amazed than by the recovery that I had helped him through in his own crisis. The only difference between me and my friend, Dr. Sutton, is that his knowledge is only about physical, chemical and causal systems. I know about the subtle body, the spiritual body, and the energy system that is responsible for the entire Life - force, including consciousness. If you know the colors, sounds, and techniques of inner consciousness, you can heal yourself, 56

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prevent illness, and remain ideally healthy. For our divine, spiritual self knows everything; it is only that we are still very ignorant and we cannot get complete control of our mind and physical body. The day after I took Dr. Sutton's homeopathic medicine, I had to give a lecture but I experienced no impairment of my faculties in doing so. In fact, I am happy to report that my blood-pressure is back to normal and I have not been bothered by any backaches. 57

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CHAPTER 3 ANIMAL BEINGS Owning to the physical and karmic structure of nonhuman animals, their ways of expressing the consciousness of spiritual energy differ in many respects from human beings. However, owing to the sameness of Life-force or universal consciousness, these differences are often a matter of degree and not of kind. The following stories narrate how the consciousness of animals can resemble and even surpass humans at times. Are human beings superior to other animals? What determines superiority in a species? And what determines superior moral devel opment? Are humans superior to nonhuman animals? If yes, in what ways are we? If no, why not? This is a crucially important area of inquiry for Guruji since the relationships that we have or do not have with animal beings tell us a lot about our own world. There is no doubt where Guruji's moral sentiments lie. The wonder is how we could ever think of ourselves as being so different. Do you accept and celebrate your animality? In India, the cow and the buffalo are considered sacred animals. Are we sacred as both animals and persons? 58

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THE COBRA SNAKE A cobra snake is like a yogi. It has a great selfcontrol in breathing, moving and concentration. Such snakes are common in India and yogis sometimes use them to test their own powers and attainments. Here, Guruji tells of his decision to encounter a king cobra. This story should be seen in relation to "The Conversion of the Snake," a story in which Lord Mahavira encounters a poisonous snake and from which Guruji drew inspiration for his own practices in seeking enlightenment. ne year I was staying in an ashram located in the of Lunaval, between Bombay and Pune. The ashram was on a hilltop and I was climbing from the valley at evening time. I had seen cobras everyday for months, near the ashram, and I had not been particularly interested in testing myself with one until then. During this period of my life, I should add, I had taken an oath that was three-fold: I, to fear nothing (the oath of fearlessness); 2. to experiment with the power of love; 3. to know that premature death is impossible. The path that I was walking on was very narrow and difficult, for on one side, it dropped off sharply as a rocky cliff while on the other, it was bordered by dense 59

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jungle and thorny bushes. Suddenly, I saw a giant black cobra lying in the center of the path. He was coiled and standing off the ground a few feet, hissing and spreading his hood as I approached. I felt the forest vibrating from his intense energy and fiery nature; but I was not afraid. I only looked into his eyes with love and smiled at him as I would a friend. After a few minutes, he dropped down and stopped hissing and threatening to strike me and started to slide down the cliff, to let me pass. But I took my stick and touched him on the tail, to tease him back. And he came back, striking and hissing at me with a terrific noise and opening his mouth and showing his fangs, preparing to bite me. I felt some fear but I did not show him any for I only smiled at him and called him my friend. But I did not think that the snake completely understood my love and my lack of fear toward him; and when he went to leave the path, a second time, I touched him on the body again with my stick. This time, the cobra came back with an awful rush at my body and I thought that he would wrap around me and bite me many times, he was so angry. But as he came, I only looked steadily into his eyes without any fear and with only love and admiration for him, for he was like a great yogi. The snake rose up to a height above my head and just inches from me and he swayed terrifically from side to side, hissing and causing the forest to vibrate from his energy. I kept telling 60

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him that I was his friend, that I loved him and worshipped him and that there was no difference between us. For cobras have almost total control over their pranic bodies, and they can move their energy and their breath, with great concentration, and hold themselves in one position for long periods of time, their willpower is so great. Since the cobra did not see any fear or violence or hate in my eyes, he finally stopped his hissing and movements to kill me. Slowly, the snake started to fall from his height and he coiled his long black body on the path and just continued to watch me in my eyes, to see if there was any change in my expression; for if I had shown fear or negativity towards him, he would have poisoned me in an instant. But since I showed no negative or violent emotion, the cobra snake left the path and I passed safely onto the ashram. Since then, I have realized what a big experience this had been for me. There had never been any question about the capacity of the cobra to kill me. But since I did not show any violence or hate towards him, his poison could not threaten me. If I had shown the slightest weakness to him, I would not be here to tell this story. But I have learned that through fearlessness and good feelings, you can change someone who could harm you and protect yourself from their violence. For love is all-powerful and there is no higher energy in the world and it can protect you even from the deadly bite of the cobra snake. 61

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RED AND BLACK MONKEYS In mystical philosophies, the monkey symbolizes both the wildly chaotic tendency of human consciousness as well as a divine attunement. Guruji has many stories about monkeys and here he sums up what he has learned from observing monkeys and the implication of this knowledge for human behavior. I have been observing monkeys for many years, in the forests, villages, near cities and at the ruins of old temples, and there are several conclusions that I have formed from my observations. First, the biggest difference between red and black monkeys is that the black, male monkey may have many female monkeys, in a harem, while red monkeys live together in couples. When black, male monkeys are born, they are apt to fight and kill one another for control over the females. Therefore, many male monkeys must leave their families in order to survive. But among the red monkeys, this is not a problem, since their life-style and their family life is so different. Second, since the black monkey is a pure vegetarian, he is the strongest monkey in the world. Black monkeys can jump up to 100 feet and I have seen them alter the direction of a jump while in midair--they have such perfect control over their pranic system. I have 62

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known many hunters who have reported on the tremendous feats and abilities of the black monkey and I have great regard for their physical and pranic powers. Third, I have realized in watching monkeys that watchfulness itself is the true way to rise above the boundaries, bondages, and limits of the Self. But monkeys are very much attached to their territories; and like humans, they have strong feelings of possession unless they are liberated from physical and emotional attachments, which is not easy for a monkey. Four, like humans, monkeys have homes and they care for their children in very loving and protective ways. I have seen female monkeys grinding flour, herbs and stone for special foods. In fact, the black monkey have a secret medicine which is called shilajeet: it is given to the female monkey after childbirth. Five, there is a myth of eternal life about black monkeys since one rarely sees the dead body of a black monkey. Like the elephant, the snake, or the turtle, monkeys know how to live a long time and their youthfulness in old age is a secret kind of knowledge. However, we can live a long life too if we purify our bodies and contact the Self for everyday living. Six, monkeys are very sensitive creatures and they pick up vibrations from everything very easily. They can know what you are thinking and especially what you are feeling. If they sense fear or violence, they will attack you in an instant. You must be very careful with monkeys because they are controlled by their feelings and they do not know the deeper, loving Self, all the time, when they are around you. 63.

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GREED AND INGRATITUDE This is a story that Guruji tells about an experience he had with a particular black monkey. Since it was not an isolated or exceptional incident, he generalizes from the experience, making statements about the social world and the human condition in the process. Do you agree or disagree with his conclusions? Why or why not? O ne time I was staying in Nav Dvip Dham, a city near holy Bengal. During those days I was in the habit of going to the forest and observing monkeys. One day I brought a piece of bread to a large, black monkey in the hope of making friends with him. But the monkey took the bread and he went off with it. For ten days I brought bread to the same place and give it to the same black monkey. Each day the monkey took the bread and ran off with it to the forest without so much as a "thank you." On the eleventh day I decided that I would go to the forest with bread and feed it to the other monkeys. When I did this and the black monkey appeared, I waved him off to tell him that I had no more bread. The black monkey became very angry and upset. He yelled and screamed at me. He threatened to attack by charging toward me. He jumped and he screamed and he showed 64

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his teeth angrily. But when I smiled at him and showed no fear, anger, or violence, he became calm and he went off into the woods quietly. Although I went back to the same place with bread a few more times, the black monkey did not reappear. And I began to think about the experience. I asked myself: Why was the black monkey so thankless and ungrateful for the food that I gave him for ten days? Was it merely his nature to take and not see beyond his own selfish desires? Yes, this was one conclusion that I could make. Also, when the black monkey did not get his way, he became very upset. He was close to war. He could only feel his greed and attachment to the bread. He could not tolerate being disappointed. And he had no caring about the hunger and appetites of the other monkeys. I have thought often about this experience and others that I have had with monkeys. I cannot help but think of parallels that I sometimes see in the behavior of human beings. We must learn to rise above our greed and ingratitude if we are not to act like monkeys. There are many people in the world who are very hungry and sick and we should give them food, clothing, medicine, and other necessities. But if we act as the black monkey does, we will not find peace, and the world will become more dangerous, selfish, and violent. The black monkey's way is not the way of nonviolence yet it teaches us what we must 65

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overcome. For humans are too much like the black monkey. Love, gratitude, caring and sharing are the truest acts of our divine centers. We all have a responsibility to help others. If we learn to act in caring ways, the world will eventually become a more peaceful and perfect place. This is the faith that has guided all of my actions. 66

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BOMBAY ZOO As Guruji implies in this story, the greatest difference between animals and humans is that while animals can feel a oneness, an affection and love toward all living beings, humans can know that oneness and learn to control it against contrary tendencies. Such knowledge is the basis for ethics. The setting for this story is a private zoo near Bombay. ne time I set a goal for myself to achieve a oneness with all the animals of the Earth; and I achieved my goal in about 18 months. I had been staying with a Jain family, near Bombay, India, and one of the sons of the family told me about a royal family who kept animals of all kinds on their land. In fact, most of them roamed freely in and out of their house. I decided that I had to go see this highly unusual zoo since the experience would be good for my practices. When we arrived, we were greeted by the owner of the zoo and I was given a special tour of the zoo. In the main house, I was astonished to find snakes, monkeys, tigers, and small elephants wandering around and coexisting with their human keepers. Everyone was amazingly peaceful and there was no fighting or tension between the animals and the people or between the animals 67

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or even between the people. And I said to myself, "This is like Utopia. This is how it should be all the time." While I was walking through the great mansion where the animals and the people lived together, as in a garden of Eden, a lion suddenly roared at me. As soon as the lion roared, a small child, about five years old, went up to the lion, pulled his ears and said, "Stop! This is an honorable guest. Be kind to him." The lion stopped roaring and he walked meekly up to me and licked me on the hand very affectionately. I noticed that the owner was watching the lion the whole time, which made me feel a little easier. At one point in our walk, we encountered a giant python snake which weighed many hundreds of pounds and was capable of swallowing large animals. The zoo keeper went over to the snake, opened its mouth with his hands and placed his head in its mouth, just to show how friendly it was. The snake did nothing except to gently wrap its coils around the owner's legs. Then the young boy, took a string and tied it around the body of the snake and led it off like a plaything. I could hardly believe my eyes; but all of this actually happened just as I am telling you. At another time, we came upon a red-mouthed, African monkey who is very possessive, protective and defensive. The zoo-keeper said to me, "Guruji, grab me 68

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by the arm and pretend that you are going to beat me. I want to show you something." When I took the zoo-keeper by the arm and pretended to hurt him, the monkey became very upset, yelling and screaming, and threatening to attack me. But all the owner did was to say, "Stop!" and the monkey became silent and he did not show anymore anger. The meaning was that the monkey could not tell the difference between real intention and pretense. He only knows what he sees with his eyes. Then I thought; when I read a tragic story in a book or see actors on a stage, I have great feeling for all the characters. I lose my mind and my feelings take over just like the monkey. It is very important that we have sympathy for the troubles of other people, but we must be able to distinguish illusion from reality; otherwise, we will only act as the monkey does. If you feel a oneness and love for animals, they will love you in return. The only problem is that an animal's love is not as universal as ours. Animals will have an affection for those who feed them but not as much for other people, usually. But we can know about our nature and how we are conditioned by the physical laws of nature, and our capacity for caring and loving is greater than that of nonhuman animals. At the same time, we must remember that humans also have a greater capacity for cruelty and violence, as 69

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in warfare. That is why we have a greater responsibility in the world than other animals. I should add that through this experience, the zooowner and I became very close friends and he became my disciple. His philosophy is very close to mine in that he feels a universal love for all living beings and especially for the animals he kept and cared for. 70

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THE OWL The owl is fabled for its wisdom in both the East and the West. It should be emphasized that most of this story takes place in a dream, occurring over three nights. There is a wonderful and miraculous kinship between animals and humans. However, there are important differences, since animals do not have the same physical, intellectual and spiritual capacities for higher states of consciousness that humans do. Also, while the energy in humans is goings upwards, toward the higher centers of consciousness, thus making enlightenment or Selfrealization possible, in animals it is going downwards, making it almost impossible. But these are subjects for another time and only indirectly related to my story. One time I was staying in a village where an owl lived. The first night that I heard the owl, I had a dream about him. The owl was in a high tree and I was nearby on the ground and he did not see me at first. He started his hooting and calling, and in my dream, I heard him taking all the parts of a gang of men who were going to steal something at the village. First, one man was going to hold the bag, another was going to get something valuable to put in the bag, while another man was watching 71

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to see if anyone noticed. The owl went through the whole experience and got away with a fortune in jewellery, money and even furniture. Then, the owl began to laugh and threw all the stolen goods away in the woods since he had no use for them. I thought that the owl knows something that many that many humans never learn. The second night, I dreamed that I went back to the same place in the woods and waited for the owl. He came and started to talk about a different subject. He said that you cannot expect to find happiness if you put desire and the objects of worldly desire before the life-force. Without the reality of life-force, there is no possibility of desire. Some people like Romeo and Juliett, have desired sexual love so much that when they could not have it, they killed themselves. This is foolish and very bad for your karmic body. I have a great faith for animals of all kinds and they are very similar to humans at a natural level of being. Some animals have great physical skills while others appear to actually know more than we do about certain things. Yet I was still amazed that the owl in my dream knew so much about human beings and their relationships. Was this merely my subconsciousness mind at work or what? On the third night I got an answer of sorts to my question. I did not hear the owl as I went to sleep but I still dreamed about him. The owl himself went into a deep trance state and his clairvoyant system of consciousness saw everything around him. In fact, since I had already communicated with 72:

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the owl, I was his friend by the third night, and I was able to have a normal conversation with him. It felt like we both had respect for each other. And the dream was as vivid as the waking state of everyday consciousness. In my dream I asked, "owl, do you know about the human world? Can you see into the future?" And he replied, "yes, I know all about the human world and it is in big trouble if the way of thinking does not change. Humans have become so strong that they will destroy the Earth and themselves unless they can accept the ways of nonviolence, love, and caring towards all people, animals, plants, and living beings. Humans must learn to love the Earth, care for and communicate with all its life-forms, and the god within. This is the only way that humans can survive and not destroy themselves." I woke up after that dream and knew that the owl was right. There are so many problems in the real world like population, poverty, inequalities, armies, governments, and social injustice in general, that I wondered if we would ever perfectly realize the goals of nonviolence. But I also realized that as long as we listened to the deep voices within us, as when they come in dreams, and act toward our goals, there is hope for humanity. After that, I went back to the village although my friend, the owl, was still in a trance. In the village, I met a priest and he asked me if I had heard about a gang of thieves who had broken into several houses the night before and had stolen jewellery, money and even some furniture. I replied, "No, I have only been listening to an owl." 73

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WILD BOARS The wild boar is an especially fierce and pugnacious creature that inhabits certain forest regions of India. Any chance meeting with the wild boar is considered dangerous and to be avoided since boars will often attack for no apparent reason and may inflict serious injury from their sharp teeth and claws. Also, the boar's mouth, lips, and jaw are very powerful and can easily break human bones. In this story, Guruji describes an encounter that he had with a pair of wild boars and the lessons that he drew from the experience. W hen I was about eleven years old--four years VV before I became a monk--I was travelling alone in the Jammu-Kashmir district near the northern Indian border which is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I remember standing on a hilltop over the lovely Tavi River which winds its clear waters through thick forests of tall trees and rolling green hills. Across the valley which I stood before, a large, fast-flowing, cascading stream could be seen on the hillside, letting into the valley until it found its way to the Tavi River. Being a young, curious boy who had little understanding or fear of the dangers of the forest, I started down the hillside and into the dense forest, having complete trust in my ability to cope with any danger - 74

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that might present itself. On my way to the stream, I thought that I saw something moving furtively on the hillside. A few minutes later I reached the stream and I stopped near the waterfall where I began to meditate and to repeat the Namokar Mantra. This Mantra has the power to protect you from all dangers. I became so absorbed in my meditation and mantra that I became unconscious to my surroundings for several minutes. Then I remembered that I had earlier seen something moving in the vicinity where I sat. When I opened my eyes, I saw two large, ferociouslooking boars, standing on the opposite side of the stream, watching me and threatening to attack. I looked around and there was absolutely no place to hide for safety. Since I had complete faith in the power of the mantra, I began repeating it while I projected the color of white in my consciousness. The color white is a divine, protective energy coming from the inner Self. I also thought about God and how he would protect me from the wild boars. All the time--which seemed to drag by, second by second--the boars continued looking at me and they made snorting sounds as if they were trying to decide whether or not to attack me. As I looked at their fat and ugly bodies with thick, bristly hair like wire, I remembered what the arihantas or gods of my faith have taught, namely that we are all from the same divine center or Life-force and that 75

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I am really no different from the wild boars. So I began to look upon the boars without any fear, for fear invites attack from another being. I began to feel a divine kinship with the two boars as if they were two relatives whom I had forgotten from a past life and had just now recognized. The desire to kill or to do violence to a fellow creature of the Earth is a result of spiritual ignorance and alienation from life. In just thinking about my experience with the wild boar, I sometimes go into the highest state of consciousness, which Christ, the Buddha, Mahavira, Mohammed and so many other people, have known. Through this consciousness, one learns the most profound and deep truths about human nature, as well as the purpose and meaning of life. When I returned from the forest on the day that I saw the wild boars, I told the people of the village about meeting the boars and how I repeated the Namokar Mantra and how the boars eventually turned away from me without attacking, They could not believe me. "No one has ever seen the boar like this without suffering injury from their violent nature," they said. But I told them I did not feel any fear or violence or alienation from the boars and that the boars could receive my good feelings toward them and they felt the same Life-force that I did even though they did not understand it. The experience of the wild boars was one of my most precious sources of knowledge from my childhood days, for what it taught me about selfcontrol and divine love. 76

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CHAPTER 4 HEALING ENERGY Consciousness has been defined in disciplines from theoretical physics to metaphysics as energy and light. When energy or waking consciousness is directed by the will, it can produce seemingly miraculous changes and transformations. The following stories demonstrate how, when the energy of consciousness is directed by any variety of means, especially chanting, meditating, and believing, medical healings or cures can occur. This chapter should be seen in relation to Chapter 1, "Higher Consciousness" since some of the same ideas and kinds of experiences can be seen there. For anyone acquainted with ayurvedic medicine. yoga practices, or holistic health philosophy, these stories dramatize nothing really new. However the unique contexts of experience that Guruji describes gives us a concrete sense of the miraculous healing effects of an awakened consciousness.

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FAITH HEALING The power of faith or simple belief alone has been a salient factor in the healing process, at all levels. To promote the healing process, many means have been used, some of which are scientifically confirmed through modern medicine while other means are more metaphysically or spiritually meaningful. In Jainism, the belief in the healing power of mantra or sound vibration through repetition is very strong and frequently practiced. The assumption is that through certain sounds atomic, chemical, emotional, and spiritual vibrations are created and have a protective effect. In this story, Guruji tells about his first experience in using the Namokar Mantra and the effects that it had. When I went to my Guru at the age of seven, I started to do yoga practices and I repeated sacred mantra everyday. Also, my practices demanded that I wear white cotton clothing and eat only once a day a meal consisting of rice and sweet milk. Among the mantra practices, repetition of the Namokar Mantra was the most important and it was my favorite yogic practice.* *(See "River Crossing" for this mantra. The Namokar Mantra is the most important mantra in the Jain Religion. Editor.) 78

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One day at the ashram, a boyfriend of mine, Sohan Lal Oswal, and I decided to repeat the Namokar Mantra 125,000 times, with the blessing of my guru. It took 49 days to complete the mantra and we could do nothing else during this time. To avoid breaking our concentration, our meals were served to us by a young girl who was like my own sister. We were warned by our guru not to feel any desire during our practices otherwise the effect of the mantra would be destroyed. After eight days of the mantra practice, the young girl appeared and she was crying and trembling with fear and she told me that she had been bitten by a poisonous scorpion spider. Many people came to the ashram and did mantra for the suffering girl; but their offerings did not really help her. I began to ask myself: can mantra really heal? I decided, then and there, to test my question even though my guru did not know about my intention to help the girl through mantra practice. When I went to the girl I repeated the Namokar Mantra for a long time until I was in a deep and concentrated state of mind. Then, when I saw the kundalini energy start to flow in the form of heat and light in my consciousness, I touched the girl on the thigh where the swelling from the scorpion's bite was most evident. As I repeated the mantra, I tied a handkerchief around her thigh and moved it slowly down her leg. Amazingly, the deep blue, swelled area disappeared beneath the turnicut as I repeated the mantra and passed my energy 79

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to the girl. She stopped crying and became relaxed. My guru suddenly entered the room and asked me rather angrily, "What are you doing?" Of course he could see what I was doing, but I told him anyway and he said "No, without proper knowledge, you cannot heal and it is dangerous to try." I, or course, did not argue with my guru even though my effort had already been successful. A day later after my guru had cooled off and forgotten about the incident, I went back to the girl to check on her condition. Although she was still in pain, particularly on her foot where the scorpion had bitten her, the blueness was still gone from the part of her leg that I had touched while repeating the mantra. To finish my cure, I put myself in the same concentrated state of mind with which I had begun the healing treatment, and repeated the mantra anew. When I put my hand on her foot, the blueness and pain completely cleared from it. It was like a miracle that I was able to heal the girl. Those who were present were very impressed. Yet I had only let the cosmic energy of consciousness flow through me like it naturally does at the vibratory level of sound. I, at an ego level, had done nothing to heal the girl. With that early experience at healing-I was just nine years old at the time-I began convinced, beyond doubt, that one can heal another human being through the energy of consciousness and the sacred vibrations of sound. Even though there may not be sufficient scientific evidence to 80

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convince modern medical doctors and other skeptics about the healing power of sound and the energy of consciousness, I have been doing faith healing work for many years and I cannot doubt the potential medical effects of such practices. For I believe that faith healing can work miraculous cures. 81

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MOTHER AND CHILD Karma is a universal energy and structure that links all things together in a cause and effect relationship. The theory of karma claims that we have all lived before this life, many times, and we are who we are, most significantly, because of our previous acts, thoughts and feelings. In this story, the law of karma appears dramatically in the relation of a mother to her son; and Guruji gives advice that helped the mother in her relationship to her son. n ne day a lady came to me who was married to a U disciple of mine, an Indian doctor. I had known the doctor for over five years and I knew that he and his wife were very much in love and they recently had a beautiful son. But I had never really met or talked with his wife. When I first saw her, it was evident that she was under great stress about something. After a while, she told me about her problem. "Guruji, I love and cherish my son more than anyone else in the world and I want only to protect and to care for him in my every waking moment. But, when I go to sleep and I am sinking deeper and deeper into darkness and oblivion, I am suddenly terrified by the thought that I must kill my son. It comes repeatedly as a 82

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voice, "Kill your son! Finish him! Finish him!" All the time I was watching her and seeing how karma was working in her being. Then I told her: "In a previous life, your son did some good and bad things. But since you are his mother and you love him so much you cannot think that there is any evil in his nature. Yet because in a previous life you knew your son as another person who did great evil, you desired to kill him. This desire was stored in the causal body which is unconscious to you and only appears in your sleep. But in this life, you are his mother and you could not imagine killing your son. You are not mad. But you must clean yourself of this karmic effect; otherwise it will destroy you and your son." I then told her to meditate upon the color of white and to repeat the name of Arihanta, the god of healing and divine seeing. I told her that the color of white would protect her with the power of love and positive energy and that the black karma-in the form of her disturbing dream-would disappear from her sleep. Then, together, we meditated upon the color of white and chanted and in less than thirty minutes she was completely healed and her murderous dreams went entirely away.

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THE TREE MEDITATION The reforming of society for the better has been a concern among some social scientists and community minded persons. Meditation or a method of focusing the energy of consciousness has seldom been thought of as a way to reform society. In this story Guruji describes an experience that he had while attending a seminar for reforming society. Years ago I was invited to attend a seminar in India for reforming society. The day was very hot and during a break in the rather long and boring speeches, I wandered out of the hall alone to get a breath of fresh air. Nearby there was a great tree that offered shade and coolness in the heat. I went to the tree and I sat under its branches which I noticed were dry and dead-looking in places. Since I had a headache, I decided to do a special tree meditation in which one draws energy from a tree for healing. After five or ten minutes my headache was cured by the tree. Then I thought it was only right that I return the energy to the tree. I began to focus my consciousness upon the diseased-looking branches and leaves. 84

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I am adept in meditation practices. I can enter into higher states of awareness easily and quickly. I did not waste any time in sending my energy to the sick tree. I remember the experience quite well since the energy moved so strongly from my body to the tree that I was weakened by the experience. A few months later, I happened to be travelling in the area and I decided to see the tree. The branches and leaves of the tree were green and healthy looking. Formerly they were dying and I was told that fruit appeared for the first time in seven years. This experience taught me that trees are living things with which you can communicate. Compared to a tree, human beings merely occupy nature and live off its elements and vegetation. We are mostly alienated from nature. But a tree is rooted in the Earth and it is not a passive thing as we imagine. If you are centered on the divine energy of consciousness, you can heal trees, other people, animals, and society as a whole. If you meditate daily, think good and caring thoughts, and act with kindness towards others, then the whole world would become more peaceful and spiritual. In this way, human beings can begin to feel at one with nature the way that trees do. 85

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THE ALKHAD TREE " The alkhad tree is a little known, much feared, highly poisonous tree in India. Contact with the oily leaves of the alkhad tree is said to result in turmorous sores and cancer of the skin. When the wind blows over its leaves, the poisonous su tance of the tree can be carried hundreds of yards around it to unsuspecting travelers. Since there is no known remedy to treat the poison of the alkhad tree, exposure to its chemistry can result in death. In this story, Guruji tells about his encounter with an alkhad tree and how he protected himself from its poison. On ne time I was travelling in Kashmir which is a beautiful country with high mountains and deep forests where I heard about the alkhad tree and its deadly poison. How can it be, I asked myself, that this tree is so poisonous that it can kill you just by the wind touching your skin after it touches the leaves? If you feel oneness with the tree and love toward nature, then no harm can come to you from a poisonous tree. So I decided to experiment with the tree. First, I went to a forest ranger who had authority over the forest; then I contacted a business man who was a contractor for cutting trees in the forest. They had both 86

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heard about the trees but they did not know where to find them. So we went to a village near the forest and a man who had great knowledge of herbs and plants and trees, told us that he could take us to where the alkhad tree grew. "But, first," he said, "You must put coconut oil on your skin, since the oil will protect you from the poison." I did not use the oil although the forest ranger and the businessman did. When the villager took us to the forest where the alkhad trees grew, he stopped and pointed in the direction of the trees and told us that he would go no further. The business man then offered the villager 500 rupees to take us all the way to the trees. But the villager replied, quite fearfully, "I would not take you for 5,000 rupees! For if I go, I will become very sick and may even die." Before we went into the forest, the business man, the forest ranger and I meditated for several minutes in order to get the clear feeling of oneness with nature and the alkhad tree. Together, we walked to the alkhad trees while the villagers watched us from a safe distance. When we reached the trees, I could see the milky poison on the leaves but there was no wind to carry it anywhere. And I said, in my mind, "Tree, I love you and you are from the same Self and Life-force that I am. We are like one being. We are 87

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from the same nature." The three of us sat under the alkhad tree for about 15 minutes. We meditated. We repeated the Arihanta Mantra for protection. And we expressed our loving feelings to the tree. No wind came. No poison fell on us. We did not get any harm. And everybody in the village was very surprised. "How is this possible," they asked. "The alkhad tree will kill you. It is your enemy. You must fear it." But my experience showed them that through universal love, the repeating of the Arihanta Mantra for protection and the feeling of oneness, the most deadly substances can become harmless. For everything in nature is good and comes from the same Life-force and divine energy. There is nothing to fear. 88

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CHAPTER 5 ASTRAL BEINGS Astral beings are ghosts or beings who have no physical bodies. However, for different reasons and to some people, they can appear on the physical plane of existence. The following two stories "Disappearing Yogis" and "The Ghost Lady" describe the experiences that Guruji had with certain ghosts in his youth and later life. These stories may raise more questions about ghosts than they answer. 89

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DISAPPEARING YOGIS Yogis are sometimes known for their incredible attainments or efforts to control their mind and body. In this story Guruji tells about his encounters with the spirits of yogis and of one in particular. The story throws light on the experiences of his early years. It ends many years after he became a monk. I was born in the small town of Sikohpur which had about 400 houses, many goats and poor people. Although I was born of a Brahmin family, most of whom were military and farming people, I never developed any special feeling for what my relatives did for a living. As a young boy I had three close boyfriends. I remember one day when I was about six, of walking with them to a hilltop where there was a great mansion. The people who lived there were not very friendly. Owing to the extreme heat of the day, my friends and I became very thirsty. But we would not ask for water at the mansion and the wells in the area had gone dry from a drought. So we decided to get milk from a goat; but we knew that if a shepherd caught us, he would become angry. Our search for a goat in a place where no shepherd 90

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would see us ended on a nearby mountain. By that time we were exhausted and after we took milk from the goat, my companions went to sleep in a cave and the goat ran, out of sudden fear. I was alone on the mountain until a monk appeared in an open area where the rocks and boulders were jumbled together. The monk was dressed in white cotton clothing. He wore sandals and he wore a cloth hat to protect his head against the sun's heat. In his hand, he carried a small, wooden bucket with a rope handle. Since the monk had his back to me, I could not see his face. When I hurried to catch up to him, he disappeared before my very eyes! I looked everywhere for the monk, but he was nowhere to be found. I went back to the cave, awoke my companions and told them about the monk I had seen. We went back to our village none the wiser. Later, I asked my grandfather, who was a great astrologer and who knew a lot about psychic things, if he knew who the monk could have been. He said that he was a yogi who lived long ago and he appeared whenever anyone disturbed the place where his spirit or astral body still remained. I did not think too much about the episode until I moved from Sikohpur to Raisina, another village, where I saw a yogi appear and disappear several times. Finally, I went to my grandfather again and asked him to explain what I was seeing. My grandfather said that a businessman had become a monk several years ago. The business 91

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man and a Fakir or Moslem monk had done some special yogic practices together. Before long, the businessmanturned-monk began to leave his body. Although I was still very young and I could not reason much about such matters, I became intrigued by the idea of anyone being able to leave his body. I made it the goal of my early life to learn how to leave my body, without really knowing why. At the same time, though I knew no guru or yogi to help me to achieve my goal, I was a very innocent child who was prepared to believe anything that someone told him. Near my new village of Raisina was a pond or watering hole for the animals and birds of the forest. I would go there often to sit and watch lions, tigers, panthers, and peacocks. Near the pond was a very small cave where yogis had been practicing years ago. For two years, when I went to the watering hole near the cave, I felt the presence of spirits on astral beings-perhaps 50 or 60 times. But I kept the whole thing a secret and on vacations from school or on the slightest excuse I would go to look at the animals and to experience the yogis. In those days, I was simply experiencing things and I could not reason about what I saw and felt. But I had many talks of philosophical depth with my grandfather about psychic and astrological phenomena. His loving interest and nurturing of my boyhood curiosity kept me very interested in the disappearing yogis and the experi 92

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ences that I had with them. I remember even in those early days of going into deep meditation and trancelike states, like a rock, when I watched the animals at the pond and waited for the yogis to appear and then disappear. It was all very exciting although I did not really understand what I was doing or experiencing. But the feelings from those talks with my grandfather, who was so loving and kind toward me, and watching and meditating near the waterhole, remained clear and fresh in my memory. Many years later when I was 34 years old, I happened to be in the vicinity where I saw the monk who was carrying the small wooden bucket and who had mysteriously disappeared; and I decided to go to the same place again. I walked to the mountain where I and my three boyhood friends drank milk from the goat, in the hope that I would get some insight into who the monk was and why he appeared to me in the first place. On the mountain, I found the cave where my friends went to sleep and then I walked to a clearing where I first saw the monk and just as before, a man dressed in white cotton clothing, wearing sandals and a cloth hat appeared, carrying a small wooden bucket. I called to him but he did not answer. And as I hurried to catch up to him, he walked faster with his back to me. When I reached a large boulder behind which he had disappeared seconds before me, he was nowhere to be found. The 93

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whole episode happened almost exactly as I had remembered it from childhood except that the goat and my three friends were not there. Since my first and even second encounter with the monk who carried the small wooden bucket and who disappeared mysteriously, I have learned much more about yogic practices and abilities. It is not exceptional for an adept yogi to appear and to disappear, at will. If you know how to awaken your kundalini energy and channel it through your astral body, you too can dematerialize wherever you desire. Also, I am more certain about why the monk with the small wooden bucket appeared to me and avoided further communication. It is because his powers of materialization were not strong enough to withstand the human encounter. However, I am still uncertain about the significance of the small wooden bucket. 94

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THE GHOST LADY Ghosts, in the literature of parapsychology and mysticism, are human beings who have died and yet continue to inhabit the Earth in their astral bodies long after they lose their physical bodies. In this story, Guruji tells about a ghost who appeared to him first in a dream and then later in the light of day. As in many ghost stories "The Ghost Lady" can exist on different levels of reality yet she cannot achieve liberation from this plane of reality. The story concludes with Guruji's reflection on the relation of yogis to ghosts. W hen I was a young monk and I was studying and doing my yogic practices faithfully under my guru, I had the Indian system of going to the toilet outside. In India, the kikkar tree grows very large and produces red leaves and beetlenuts which some people eat. Near my guru's ashram, a kikkar tree was located in a private and dry place where I went to the toilet in a pit, at twelve o'clock everyday. One night, while I was sleeping, an old fearfullooking woman appeared to me in a dream. She was sitting beside a road chewing beetlenuts and her mouth was red and nasty-looking from the beetlenut juices. In my dream, I asked her, "Why are you here?" But instead of speaking, she only shook her head violently and her 95

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long, stringy hair that looked like tangled wire, gave an electric vibration that worked very negatively upon me. In fact, when I awoke from the dream, I felt so lifeless and weak that I could only move with a great effort. Later that day I went to my guru and I told him my dream about the old woman. I asked him what the dream meant. My guru said that I had done something that displeased the old woman and that she wanted to destroy me. He said that if I repeated my mantra or protective sounds and remained centered on my kundalini energy system, then there would be nothing that the old woman could do to harm me. The next night, I had another dream in which another old woman appeared. She warned me not to use the pit near the kikkar tree for my toilet. I asked her, "Why not?" "The tree is our place," she said. "We cannot allow you to violate our home with your practices." "O.K.," I replied, "I will respect your rights and find a toilet place somewhere else; but how can I believe that you are a real ghost. Do you have a family or relatives?" "In my family," she said, "there are over 900,000 ghosts. We have much pride and self-respect." "How do I know that you are telling the truth. If you are a true ghost, with some powers, then you will be able to appear to me in my waking and not just my dream-consciousness," I said. Then she seemed to a little 96

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indignant and she said, "If you come to the city wall tomorrow, at noon, I will appear to you and prove that I am a true ghost. The next day, I arose as usual and did my practices. I left the ashram in time to reach the city wall which was some distance away. But by the time I reached the wall, I had thought about many other things and seen so many new sights along the way, that I forgot about the ghost woman and why I was going there, in the first place. In a field near the city's wall, many people were drawing their water from a well and I stopped and talked with an old man. There was nothing unusual about him except that I noticed his mouth was stained from beetlenut juice as were all the other people at the well. Then an old woman who wore dirty-looking cotton clothing and who had a humped back and long, stringy hair, caught my eye. She was walking away from me, carrying a small wooden bucket of water and she did not turn around to face me when I called out to her to stop. Also, even though the sun was bright, her body did not cast any shadow. Only an astral being or ghost does not have a shadow. When I followed her up the road, she disappeared around a curve; and as I rounded the curve, only seconds later, the old woman had completely disappeared as only ghosts can. Upon my return to the ashram, as I passed the well again, I noticed that no one was at the well or on the road or anywhere in sight even though there had 97

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been many women, men and children in the vicinity only minutes before. And as far as I knew, these people were from the same family of the ghost woman and they had appeared momentarily in the physical world, for my benefit. The meaning of my experience with the ghost woman and other astral beings whom I have encountered is that they can exist in the physical world and they will draw energy from you, weaken you and even try to destroy you if you are not strong. When I invaded the territory of the ghost family in my toilet practices, and the old woman appeared to me, I became very weakened. But because I have knowledge of my energy body and I used a powerful mantra, I became strong again. Since ghosts have no physical form, they must draw energy from our own physical body to appear. If the ghost is a woman, then the pull and threat to my being is greater. But if you have knowledge of the higher, middle and lower energy centers of the body, then you can control the flow of energy through consciousness, restoring and regenerating yourself just as the yogi does. Although ghosts exist at the astral or middle level of consciousness, we, who are still human beings, have a physical body and we can experience the highest states of consciousness, become enlightened and achieve the knowledge that is necessary for total liberation. Ghosts cannot. 98

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CHAPTER 6 EXTRAORDINARY COMMUNICATIONS AND EVENTS Mystical and psychic literature is replete with stories about extraordinary or supernormal communications and events. An extraordinary event may be said to occur when common sense or even scientific intelligence can: explain something. The following stories depict, in 2 way or another, events that seem to defy or contrasict ordinary laws of space, time and matter and qualify as extraordinary

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THREE DAYS IN CALCUTTA This story is concerned with a variety of subjects: the meaning of religion, karma, precognition, and spiritual communication. Like many of Guruji's stories, it is autobiographical and it goes beyond the viewpoint of common sense materialism, to the psychic and metaphysical dimensions of reality. n nce I was staying in Calcutta, India and I wanted U to leave Calcutta because of the extreme heat. I submitted my request to the secretary of the Jain society, Jai Suphal Bhai. Although Jai Suphal Bhai was a very popular, intelligent and well-educated young man, he was strict to the point of fanaticism about the meaning of religion. His rather dogmatic interpretation of the purpose of Jainism caused some problems between us. Anyway, when I submitted my request to leave Calcutta, he denied my request on the ground that I had to remain in Calcutta for three more days. When I asked him, "Why three more days?" he merely replied that there were some people who had come to see me. And indeed there were; so I had no choice but to remain in Calcutta, since my first commitment is to serve humanity. The same day of my conversation with the secretary about leaving Calcutta, the secretary walked home along 100

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his usual route, crossed a street and he was struck down by a car. His injury was serious and he was taken to the hospital. At the hospital, he asked to call his wife and while he was speaking with her on the telephone, it became obvious that he had suffered a severe head injury. His wife rushed to the hospital and by the time she got there, her husband was struggling to stay alive. The doctors told her to wait and not to give up hope; but after a few hours, the secretary died. Because the secretary and his wife were very devoted to each other, and they shared the same ideas about religion and karma, there was to be no weeping or expression of emotions at his funeral. For they believed that when someone dies, it is the law of karma that determines the death and we must accept death with balance and peacefulness. We are physical beings with many connections to nature and culture, but we are essentially a divine soul that is not affected by the law of karma. So the meaning of death is the ending of our worldly personhood and physical being. When I went to see the body of the secretary, thousands of other people were there weeping and expressing their grief. But the wife of the secretary was not crying or grieving and we spoke very peacefully and rationally about her husband. During our conversation she asked me if I could contact the Spirit of her husband and convey any messages or requests to her that he might have. I told her that 101

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I would try. After two days I succeeded in contacting the Spirit of the secretary. He spoke to me with a new awareness about religion. He said: "Guruji, you are right. The real meaning of religion is not traditional; it is in the living experiences of individuals. Also, religion should look to the future and cause people to think about the problems of humankind. Religion must be open to life and respect everyone and love everything because the universe is divine." Then the secretary told me about the debts that he had and how much money to pay to whom, down to the last rupee, and that the rest of the money should go to his wife and children. When I told the secretary's wife all this, she was very relieved and surprised by the accuracy of my information. Thereupon, she paid off all the debts and took the remaining money and property for her children. She expressed much gratitude to me for helping her. Three days after I had wanted to leave Calcutta, I left the city among streams of mourners who had journeyed there for the secretary's cremation. I left just when the secretary had allowed me to leave. 102

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MESSAGE FROM ALLAH Most mystics and religious seers, like Guruji, claim that revelation is a form of knowledge that is inspired or given by a god. In this story, Guruji describes a revelation that he had from Allah, the name of God in the Islamic religious tradition. The setting and other historical details of the experience may astonish even the religious believer. rn 1965, there was a terrible war between India and 1 Pakistan. The leader of the Pakistan Army was a Sikh or a Hindu Moslem and he came from an ancient tradition of violence. Since my faith is founded upon ahimsa or the doctrine of nonviolence, I felt badly about the war between the peoples of my homeland. At the height of the war, I was staying at a friend's palace in Kashmir. One night, I could not sleep, thinking about the war and being troubled by its outcome. So I went outside and walked in the beautiful, walled-in gardens of the palace where many flowers and vines grew. Nearby, in the hills, I could hear shots and at one point, someone came from the palace and told me that it was not safe to walk outside. When I went inside to my room I meditated, hoping to find peace from my troubled mind and the world around me. . 103

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In my meditation, I asked Allah for divine insight and inspiration about the situation that everyone was facing. Since the Absolute is the same in all religions, no matter what name we have for It, I had no reservation in thinking the word Allah. Also, Allah is the God whom the Pakistan people worship and I felt that Allah would be the best source for my searching. In less than one minute, I heard Allah's divine voice speaking to me. Allah expressed disappointment and profound unhappiness with Pakistan for starting the war with India. The feeling I received was so strong that I opened my eyes immediately and I began to consider what I had learned. The message was that Pakistan would be defeated. I had an absolutely clairvoyant feeling that the Pakistan Army had placed a large artillery gun on Mount Hari, which is less than 12 miles from major cities in India; and that they had intended to use the gun against the Indian Army and civilians as soon as it was ready to fire. I did not think anymore about this clairvoyant experience until later that day when I went to the minister's house to bless his family. At the minister's house, I met his wife, Mrs. Krishna Mehta, who was a member of the Indian Parliament and at one point in our conversation, she happened to ask me: "What will happen in the war and who will win?" Then I remembered my experience from the night before 104

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and I told her what I had learned from my meditation. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was present and when he overheard what I told Mrs. Mehta, he became very upset. And he asked me, "Who told you this about the gun? Do you have informers working for you?" And when I explained to him further details about my experience, he only became more agitated and worried. And almost against his better judgement--since the Chief Justice was a skeptical person--he said that he would conduct an immediate investigation about the gun. When the Chief Justice told the Inspector General of Police, the Home Minister and others about my experience, they only laughed and did not believe him. "How is it possible," they asked, "that the Pakistan Army has such a large gun. They have only a primitive army and no industrial plants for constructing large artillery systems." So nothing was done to determine whether or not my story was true. A few days later, the head of the Pakistan artillery forces appeared in Kashmir and he wanted to surrender and to tell the Indian Army what he knew. The officer had been a Hindu and he could not bear the thought of another one of his people being killed. So he told the Indian Army officials that the Pakistan Army was planning to attack and destroy with a very large artillery at 8.00 o'clock that very evening. This time, no one doubted that the Pakistan Army 105

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had the artillery and the Pakistan officer who had defected, told the Indian Army exactly where the cannon could be found. An armed Indian force was dispatched to Mount Hari and while the Pakistan artillery brigade was taking tea, at 4:00 o'clock, they were quickly overwhelmed and arrested and the cannon and its ammunition was seized before it could be used. This time, too, an investigation was launched and factories were discovered for the manufacture of the gun and others where it was thought that there were none. Meanwhile, I was contacted by Mrs. Krishna Mehta and told that the Foreign Minister and the Chief Justice wanted to talk with me. They thought that if I could know one thing so accurately, then what else might I know? But I told Mrs. Mehta that I was not an astrologer nor was I interested in being used for making predictions and giving psychic knowledge for warfare against anyone. For I love all people and I believe that war is always wrong and it cannot help people to become liberated from suffering because they collect bad karma from its violence. 106

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TRIP TO KASHMIR Levitation is the act of overcoming the force of gravity by energetic and magical means. In the literature of parapsychology and spirituality, there is reference to flying, jumping and walking beyond the force-fields of gravity. In this story, Guruji tells what happened to him on his first trip to Kashmir. After my initiation into monkhood, I became more A conscious of how divine powers are working in my life. I had a very graphic demonstration of this when I went, for the first time, to Kashmir. At the time, I was travelling with two Jain monks, a sannyasi or Hindu monk, two boys and other monks. We had stopped one night and visited with Chandan Vaidji, a close friend and disciple, who talked about Kashmir. Since I had never been to Kashmir, I was especially interested in what he was saying, and I decided, that night, to go to Kashmir the next day. Being a spontaneous trip, none of us was very well prepared for the cold and snow of Kashmir, since we were only wearing thin cotton clothing. Furthermore, we did not yet have a place to stay overnight after we left Chandan Vaidji's house. We travelled all day to reach Kashmir, climbing 107

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across beautiful, green rolling countryside. About evening, we reached Pahalgam, Kashmir, which means first city of the hills, over 7,000 feet high. In Pahalgam, we stayed in a religious center, and at night, it became very cold and the stars had a mystical clearness in a totally black sky. By morning, we were all nearly frozen to death since our building was not heated and we had so little warm clothing. When I arose, I was told that it had snowed and since I had never seen snow, it looked very strange to see roads, fields, houses and the hills all looking the same, with no boundaries anywhere. I felt like a child must feel when he first sees snow. Later that morning, the mailman came for a delivery and we asked him directions to get to our destination, Sheshnag, Kashmir. While we were walking along the road, I became aware of the unusual herbs growing everywhere. In fact, I became so absorbed in my studying the herbs that I became separated from the others in my party. I wondered what kind of herbs would grow in such a harsh habitat--almost two miles above sea level and what purpose they would serve. So I tasted a few things to see what effect they would have. Suddenly, the two boys in my group appeared and they were very upset. They said, "Guruji, you must come at once and tell us what to do. There is a snowbridge ahead and it is melting. If you try to cross it you may fall 108

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many thousands of feet into the valley." A snowbridge was something new in my experience and I did not know about its characteristics. But as I approached the place they spoke of, I saw two mountains that were connected by a huge bridge of snow and ice; and through the bridge, large holes had been made by the sun melting through the snow. Since I had two long walking sticks with me, my first thought was to use them to make a trail for the others. I did not feel that there would be a problem because I had confidence that I could cross the snowbridge safely. First, I meditated upon my pranic energy--between the throat region and the top of my head--and I circulated this energy throughout my entire body. I did this until I obtained a distinctly lifting sensation from the tips of my toes. Then I took the walking sticks firmly in my hands and imagined that I was like a deer who could jump great distances, barely touching the ground. As I ran across the snow bridge I never looked down as the others had done, since fear is a negative, heavy force and it would not have helped me. After about 50 yards, I became conscious of barely touching the snow and ice with my sticks and my feet felt light, like they were flying Then I saw great globs of light and energy floating 109

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through my mind and time seemed to stand still as I moved in a dreamlike sense of space. I became so fascinated in the bubbles of light passing through my mind that I merely followed them to the other side of the snow bridge and to safety. On the other side, I waited while my companions walked the snow bridge, following the marks that my sticks had made in the snow. They took about 30 to 40 minutes to reach where I stood whereas I had only taken about 3 or 4 minutes to cover the same distance. "Guruji, how did you do that?" "You looked like you were flying." "Are you a bird?" were some of their comments and questions. I only remarked that it must have been some of the herbs that I had previously eaten and let it go at that. Actually, I have had even bigger experiences at flying and jumping since then, but my experience on the snow bridge in Kashmir was the first time that I had ever levitated. The experience showed me that it is possible to levitate if you are in perfect balance with the energy of your higher Self. If you learn how to control the flow of energy from your pranic body, you can overcome the effects of gravity and fly whenever and wherever you want to. For consciousness and its power of imagination is the purest and most efficient basis for flying and other acts that take place on the psychic plane of existence. 110

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RIVER CROSSING The Jains believe that if one repeats the Namokar Mantra, a divine litany, no harm can come to you. There are many stories about people encountering lions, tigers and other violent beasts and finding protection through this prayer. In this story, Guruji tells how he crossed a river and used the prayer and the cosmic protection which it provides, to avoid drownings. There are, of course, possible rational explanations for the event but the evidence is not available. ne time was travelling to Ludhiana, a in Punjab, India, and there are two roads for reaching the city. One road went across a river called the Satluj which means seven streams and it is spoken of in the Vedas or sacred writings of the ancient sages; and the other road to Ludhiana went around the river. The road across the river was 12 miles to Ludhiana and the other road was twice that distance. Since the river was very wide and deep, the only time that the traveller could ford the river was when the gates of a dam up the river were closed. Then, the water in the river flowed into an irrigation canal for the surrounding territories. On this particular day, as I approached the river, I saw over 100 people crossing the river when its waters 111

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suddenly started to rise. The people who were crossing the river then turned around and started heading back. But I decided that I had travelled too far to turn back and it is not my habit to turn back but always to go ahead, so I picked up my dhoti or uniform above my knees, and put my books on my head and started crossing the river. As I walked in the rising waters, I repeated the Namokar Mantra and thought only of its divine sound and the cosmic electric forces to which it is connected: Namo Arihantanam (I bow to the arihantas, the perfected human beings.) Namo Siddhanam (I bow to the siddhas, the liberated and bodiless souls who are no longer in this world.) Namo Aryariyanam (I bow to the acharyas, the leaders of people and heads of the orders.) Namo Uvajjhayanam (I bow to the upandhyayas or spiritual teachers.) Namo Loe Savva Sahunam (I bow to the sadhus or spiritual practitioners in the universe.) Eso Panca Namokaro (This fivefold mantra of devotion) Savva Pavapanasno (destroys all sins and obstacles.) Mangalanamca Savvesim (Of auspicious mantras) Padhamam Havai Mangalam(it is first and foremost.) 112

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Meanwhile, the 13 people in my party followed me. Immediately, the waters of the river started to fall as soon as my feet touched its currents. By the time I and my party reached the other bank of the river, the other 100 people had started to follow us. When everyone reached the other side of the river, the waters of the river immediately started to rise again, making it impossible for anyone to safely cross its currents. Everyone stood in amazement at the coincidence of events. They threw themselves upon their knees and profusely thanked me, and then we went safely toward our destination. The meaning of this story is that your individual will is communicating at all times, in all places, with the cosmic will and energy of the universe. If you repeat the Namokar Mantra which connects you with cosmic energy, then you can get almost any effect in the material world that you desire. 113

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RAMU, THE PSYCHIC Mental telepathy is a parapsychological phenomenon that occurs when a person is able to communicate with another person through extrasensory or psychic abilities. In telepathic communication, it is assumed that the emotional and mental attitude of both the sender and the receiver of messages is crucial for a successful communication. In this story, Guruji relates how he was asked to participate in a telepathic experiment involving Swami Krishnananda, a famous psychic of India, and Ramu, a disciple of the Swami. The story is essentially a record of the results. Guruji then comments upon the meaning of the experience for the development of your own psychic ability and its relation to final liberation. In 1953, I was visiting Bhilwara, a city in India, when a famous psychic, Swami Krishnananda came to see me. Although many hundreds of my disciples were also there to see me, the Swami and I took the time to meet in a special room of the place where I stayed, since he wanted to perform an experiment in psychic communication. In the room where we met, there were 13 householders, 20 monks, some of whom came with the Swami, as well as myself, the Swami and his disciple, Ramu. Ramu himself was a short young Indian who had 114

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unusually dark eyes that seemed to see into your soul. Instead of speaking, Ramu would only look at you and he seemed to know without words, what thoughts and feelings were present. And since the Swami himself was an accomplished psychic, Ramu was an ideal receiver for the Swami's transmissions or messages. Anyway, everyone in the room was very excited about the experiment and I had no doubt that it would yield some stunning results. First, the Swami placed a blindfold upon Ramu and seated himself at the opposite side of the room from his disciple. Then I was asked to open a very large book containing almost a thousand pages of closely printed words and to point at different places in the book. Since I was in a different corner of the room from both the Swami and Ramu, there was no question of the Swami or the blindfolded Ramu being able to see where I pointed to in the book. The Swami then asked Ramu, in a sharp voice, "Ramu, what is the number of the page that Guruji is opened to?" There was a pregnant silence in the room during which everyone greatly anticipated Ramu's response and it was created as much by apprehension that the psychic would be incorrect as anything. But, Ramu responded, true to form, that the page was numbered "28". I, however, did not register any surprise, but only nodded to Ramu's correct intuition. 115

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Then I pointed to a passage on the same page and the Swami asked Ramu to repeat the words which my finger was pointing toward. Again, there was another significant pause and silence in the room during which Ramu seemed to be experiencing some difficulty. But then just as the doubts and skepticism of some in the room appeared to be confirmed regarding the authenticity of the psychic, Ramu started speaking as if he were reading from a ponderous textbook. And as I heard his words and followed the printed words before my hand, there was perfect agreement and matching of thoughts, word for word. And since someone could raise the question that Ramu had only memorized the book, owing to an eidetic or picturegraphic memory, I turned to a different page, at random, and the Swami and I decided to test his powers of receiving messages without Ramu's knowing which of the 1,000 pages my hand rested upon. Hardly to the surprise of neither Swami nor myself, Ramu repeated the words as they appeared written on the open book as if, in fact, the man had the book before his very eyes and were simply reading it to us. Before the experiment was concluded, we did several other trials, in different sequences, to try to confuse Ramu in the event that he was receiving communications through ordinary channels from the Swami or myself in ways that we had not intended. But throughout a better part of the afternoon, Ramu answered almost unerringly and always after a significant silence and lapse of time as 116

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though his psychic senses required a period of time to translate the transmissions from one level of reality to another. Of all the trials, Ramu missed or incorrectly received only two of my transmissions to him. Whether it was due to the considerable talk and discussion around him that would follow his correct responses or to some other environmental interference, there was no way of telling. Anyway, everyone went home, in their separate directions, duly impressed by the results of the experiment. The event was written about by one of those attending the afternoon's proceedings, and the story was carried by the city's newspapers. But since mental telepathy or telepathic communications are widely accepted in India, it was not a major story except that I and the famous psychic, Swami Krishnananda, were principal subjects of the experiment. The meaning of this experiment is that thoughts are like bullets and if you know how to aim your consciousness, then you can shoot them and hit your target everytime. Also, the receiver must be in a very receptive, open attitude with nothing interfering on the conscious level so that the subconscious or psychic level can register what is being sent. You must learn to breathe very deeply and synchronize your breath or pranic energy with the movement of your conscious thought processes to send or to receive telepathic messages. If you can awaken your Life-force through breathing and being conscious, 117

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then psychic or telepathic powers are no big thing and they are merely the result of the much more important powers of the Spirit. If you desire to develop your psychic powers for sending and receiving, then you must work on controlling your subtle breath or meditative consciousness. This can be done by refining awareness of your gross or physical breath and directing it toward a single end. Even though it is amazing what you can achieve, telepathically, it is insignificant compared to your spiritual potential for final liberation from this world. 118

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CHAPTER 7 DEATH AND BEYOND Death is an important event in every person's life. Is death complete or is it merely a transitional experience? Who can know for sure? In these stories, it is assumed that death is at least transitional and for some persons, problematic, since they are caught between this world and other dimensions of reality. Guruji taught that if you are attached to the things and experiences of this world, then life, death, and whatever is beyond, will be problematic. Of course, it is unlikely that any form of existence or consciousness in a bodily form, can be completely problem free except for the enlightened ones. Death is alluded to in many of Guruji's stories. In the two that follow, ghostly yogis and others appear to be stuck in places against their own will. Since Jainism teaches the possibility of final liberation or moksa, from this world of suffering, ghosts do not appear in a favorable light here. What do you think is the truth about ghosts, death, and the possibility of moksa? Are these fictions or real experiences that humans can have? Guruji himself never completely separated fiction from experience. 119

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THE DEATH OF A YOGI This is a story about the death of Guruji's Grand Guru, Shri Kundanlalji Maharaj. The great teacher's death was noteworthy for the unusual meteorological events that occurred when he left his body and later when his body was cremated. Through these events, Guruji tells about his relation to his guru and of the psychological and spiritual effects that the death of his guru had upon him. In particular, Guruji reflects upon the emotions and how he learned to control them through watchfulness. M N y Grand Guru, Shri Kundanlalji Maharaj, was everything to me. He was like a father, a teacher and he was a great yogi. I loved him very much and he showed love to me and to everyone else. 1. Before he died - he had so much control over his pranic body and the Life-force flowing through it- he told when he would die. For about one and half years I served my Guru faithfully, bringing him the yogurt with milk and sugar that he loved. He would never drink more than a half-a-cup of the milk at a time; and I never attached much importance to the ritual until one day, he said to me, "Son, it is time for me to leave my body and this world. Please bring me 120

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my drink." And I brought my guru his drink as I had done. When I gave him the drink, he drank it in one gulp, like someone who was in a hurry. Then rested his head back on the couch, caught his breath and moved his energy very visibly from his right leg, very slowly, until it turned completely blue and lifeless. Then he did the same thing to his left leg. Gradually, he moved his energy, through his breathing and consciousness, and both of his arms turned blue and lifeless. Everyone was watching him like a movie where illusion is everything, and we wondered if he had already left his body since his eyes were closed and his heart muscles were not moving. But it took more time, and then, in a few seconds, his body went completely still and cold and we knew that he was gone. In my consciousness, I felt many things from the experiences that I had with him over the years. But I did not cry, get upset or sad. At the moment when my Guru left his body a very large, heavy black cloud formed over the temple and rain fell on the building and its grounds and nowhere else. And through the opened window where my guru's body lay, three or four rain drops fell on his skin, like nectar from heaven. And we counted it a blessing for his soul. Afterwards, according to the Jain system, we bathed his body, changed his clothes and gave the old ones to members of society, for their keeping. Whenever every 121

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one was informed about my Guru's death, many telegrams and calls were received and the people put on black clothing to signify their grief for the cremation. At the cremation, another large black and heavy cloud formed over the temple and nowhere else and everyone stood in amazement. Again, the nectar from heaven in the form of rain fell upon the temple; and where my guru's body lay, 3 or 4 drops of rain splashed through an opened window upon his body; and the water seemed to turn a bright crimson color on his skin. He was twice blessed by the rain. That night, everyone at the temple was feeling many things very strongly and I was searching to understand my own feelings and to clean my heart of its heaviness. So I went alone to a room and for the first time, I saw many tears coming from my eyes and I was thinking that it is necessary to clean my heaviness. After a while, I came back to my normal senses and I felt much better. That was the first and only time that I have cried. I have done and seen many things in my life but at no time have I allowed the emotions of fear, anger, sadness, depression, and the like, overwhelm me and cause me to lose control. I am teaching that if you learn watchfulness, then no emotion can dominate your mind or your Self. If a feeling or an emotion comes, then you must go deeply within your Self and watch it as if you are standing on a 122

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mountain top. That way, you can experience the emotion or feeling, know it as it truly is, but you are at the same time detached and distanced from it, so that it does not rule your reason, logic or divine Self. If you learn this simple technique then nothing or no one can ever control you, threaten you, or make you unfree. I obtained this insight with a new clarity after the death of my guru. In Jainism, the system of watchfulness is called prakti-karma, which means to reflect upon what you are feeling and ask why you are feeling that way and watch for the effects of the feeling. In my life, I have done some things I regretted or considered to be wrong. But I now ask: "How can I clean myself of these thoughts, feelings, and deeds?" And if I am truly strong in my practice of watchfulness, I can overcome my regrets and clean myself of ill-effects. 123

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DADA GURU The question is sometimes raised about how and why Guruji left India and came to the West. In India, Guruji was one of the most loved and respected of religious leaders. Leaders from all religious traditions were his friends and they trusted him as a leader. In fact, Guruji was the president and founder of the World Fellowship of Religions which had six world conferences. The first one had over a half million people in attendance. In the West, Guruji was comparatively unknown by the mass of people and most religious leaders. Some questions about Guruji's journey to the West may be answered by the following narrative. M any people have asked me, Guruji, why W did you leave India where you are needed and sought after by endless streams of disciples who are waiting to see you, to talk with you and to be healed by you? But in the United States and the West, I am not well known and it is difficult for me because of the language and customs. Yet there are over 30,000 Jains in the Americas who know who I am and who need me. There is a simple reason why I choose to go to America, and I will try to explain it. It is my habit to visit holy temples and shrines when 124

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I travel. One time, I decided to go to Dadabari, the Mehrauli Jain temple. I had heard about Dada Guru, a great yogi who lived over 800 years ago and his spirit could still be contacted at the temple. But I did not believe this too much. One night I was meditating in the temple, and I called out "Dada, where are you? I have been here all day, meditating, chanting and thinking about your good, loving work for the Jain community and how you healed, protected and purified the souls of so many people, But I have no faith that you are angle and can still do holy work. Dada, show yourself!" Finally, Dada appeared about 3 A.M. in his astral body amid smoke and fiery colors. I was, at first, impressed, but he was not clearly visible and he disappeared in the smoke soon afterwards. Then I said, "Dada this is not good enough. I want to really see you and talk with you. I want to find out who you really are." Somewhat to my surprise, Dada Guru spoke to me and told me to go to a very old Muslim tomb, near the Jain temple. There I will show myself completely and we will talk, he said. So I went to the tomb but it was very dangerous to walk there since there were so many poisonous snakes and scorpions. I stayed in the tomb all night meditating and chanting amid the poisonous snakes and spiders, but Dada Guru did not appear. Disappointed, I went back to the Jain temple hoping that he would 125

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appear there again. I was sitting alone, meditating, and Dada Guru came and touched me on the thigh where psychic energy is very intense. My body instantly vibrated, trembled and tingled to the roots of my hair. My consciousness filled with most wonderful light and energy. I began to see into the future and into the past. Then, dada Guru began to speak to me, in a great voice from the darkness of the temple. "My son, I have selected you to do many good things for Jainism and all the people of the world. You must go abroad, to the West, and America. I will give you help." When Dada told me this, I thought of other people, more qualified than I. But Dada replied, " No," he said, "they are too sectarian. Your spirit is broad and open to many viewpoints. You are the only one. You must go. You must establish centers for spiritual and moral development there. No other person can succeed. This is your duty to the arihantas, the gods of the past. Go and I will always be with you." I accepted completely. My kundalini energy was awakened anew. My whole being was filled with a great cosmic energy and sense of purpose. I became very happy and joyful. My central purpose became that of speaking the truth, at all times. I wanted to show that only through 126

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love can we find the peace and oneness for which we search. If you love other people, animals, plants, and the whole universe, then you will find God and the perfection of your soul. And this has been my central massage in the West and elsewhere since my meeting with Dada Guru. 127

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PART II LORD MAHAVIRA AND OTHER ENLIGHTENED BEINGS: THE WISDOM OF EXPERIENCE Lord Mahavira is the 24th crossing-maker of the Jain religion. A crossing-maker is one who builds a bridge, metaphorically speaking, from this world to a liberated state of being on the other side. Mahavira's teachings resemble those of other founders of world religions, such as the Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohammed, Confucius, and Moses. Guruji's own viewpoint is perennialist in this respect. He believed that there is no essential difference between the major world religions since they are all based upon the viewpoint that reality is a divine unity or oneness. This was the basis for Guruji's religious open- mindedness and tolerance and it is logically related to the nonabsolutist viewpoint of Jainism. The late Aldous Huxley stated that there are four doctrines of perennialism : 1. reality is divine unity or oneness ; 2. human nature is a compound of an empirical ego 128

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3. (body and mind) and a transcendental Self; intuitive insight is superior to analytical reason in knowing the truth; 4. the purpose of life is to awaken to the divine or transcendental Self within. 129

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CHAPTER 8 A FULLY ENLIGHTENED BEING: LORD MAHAVIRA Mahavira is the 24th heroic crossing-maker from this world to the next, in Jainism. He lived during the axial age of history, the 5th century B.C., where so much turned upon the visions of a few remarkable seers, saints, and philosophers, East and West. Mahavira is one of these axial thinkers who saw the great truths of existence. He is partly historical, mythical, and cosmic in his importance as a subject of civilization. These are many stories about Mahavira in Jain literature. Guruji enjoyed telling some of them. What follows are a few that depict him as a saint, healer, and a god. They also show Mahavira as a person with karmic debts to pay in this life. If Lord Mahavira had a karmic debt to work through, in this lifetime, why should we think that we are any different? This is one of the many questions and possibilities that Guruji left us, in relating these few stories to me and you. Remember that we are quite alone in this world in working on our own karma. For the gods are too remote in time and space to directly help us. 130

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THE CONVERSION OF THE SNAKE Snakes are objects of fear the world over. Few people, however, consider that snakes have their own karmic debt to pay. But in this story, Guruji relates how Lord Mahavira-the 24th totally enlightened Being of Jainism-caused a radical change in the karma of a chandra vooshik snake, the biggest and most poisonous snake in India. ne time before Lord Mahavira was totally enlight U ened, he was practicing near Bengal, India. Thousands of people and animals came to hear him speak and to be with him. At the same time, a chandra snake was in the area and he was very proud and he felt very powerful. He sensed that Lord Mahavira was nearby, and when he saw how every person and animal went to see Lord Mahavira, he became very angry. In fact, his anger rose to such a pitch that the heat from his breathing burned the jungle trees around him; and, of course, no one would go near the snake. Hearing about the angry snake, Lord Mahavira became fascinated. "How is it possible that a snake could become so angry and that no one would go near him? Is fear really so powerful and nonviolence so weak?" These thoughts and others came to Lord Mahavira and he went 131

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to see the snake and to encounter his anger. When the Chandra snake saw the Lord approaching, it rushed at him and bit him several times. After each bite from the snake, Lord Mahavira only smiled and looked lovingly upon the snake as if he were his friend. Where the snake had bitten the Lord, the red blood did not come from his body where the wounds were made. Instead, owing to the divine purity and radiant healing energy of the Lord, white corpuscles and the poison poured onto the ground causing a magical mist to appear that seemed to transform everything and everyone that it touched as it spread through the jungle. Everyone looked in wonder and amazement at the magical mist that enveloped the snake and the Lord alike. Then the Lord was heard to say, "Boujahar" which meant "remember your Self" to the Snake. In an instant, the snake became peaceful. All anger and poison went from his body. Since the snake had touched the Lord and the Lord had spoken divinely to him, the snake underwent a profound change in his inner consciousness. The snake remembered many past lives when he was not a snake. Futhermore, he realized why had become the biggest and most deadly snake. Immediately, he stopped attacking and biting people completely and he became like a yogi, living in peace and reflecting upon his own hidden Self. Eventually, many people, animals and other reptiles 132

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came to see the snake that had bitten Lord Mahavira. And they gazed upon him not from fear but from wonder and amazement that he had been transformed by the Lord through nonviolence and love. 133

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THE PRINCE AND THE ELEPHANT The subject of reincarnation comes up often in the stories and philosophy of mysticism. Reincarnation is based upon the premise of a divine Self or soul, which, owing to the kinds of acts committed, incarnates in different life-forms and states of consciousness. In this story, Guruji tells about a prince who became intrigued by yogic powers and why he was involved in illusion-seeking. Hearing about Lord Mahavira, the prince left his palace and sought the company of this great yogi. There is a story about a prince whose father was a 1 great king and although the prince's faith was very strong, it was not effective enough to gain the self-knowledge that he sought. Thus, one day the prince, whose name was Megh Kumar, decided to go to the forest where Lord Mahavira lived, in the hope of gaining the knowledge that he wanted through the practices of the Jain monk. When the prince entered the monastery, his mind and his heart were open to this new experience, but since he had only been a prince in this life, he was not used to the simple and austere life of the monk. The first day he spent in the forest, he did not have anyone serve him his food or bring him a change of clothes after his bath or ask him if there were anything that he desired. And at night, instead 134

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of the soft, feathered bed that he had been used to, he was given only a hard board and a wool blanket for sleeping. By morning, the prince spent such a sleepless and uneasy night that he had decided to give up the whole idea of becoming a monk and to return to the life of a prince. Furthermore, he began to wonder why he had ever decided to leave his palace for the forest in the first place. In the morning, the monks were in the habit of seeing, worshipping and listening to Lord Mahavira and the prince was persuaded to go with them before he left. As the prince approached and bowed to Lord Mahavira, Lord Mahavira saw what the prince was feeling and thinking and he said "Megh, you have been thinking that you miss the respect, service and luxurious things of the palace life too much to become a monk. Is that true?" And the prince bowed his head in some shame to the Lord, saying, "Yes, that is true." Then Lord Mahavira spoke: "But do you know who you are and who you have been in past lives?" "No, my Lord, I do not know and that is why I came to you," the prince replied. Then, through the magnificent perceptual powers of Lord Mahavira, a past life of the prince suddenly came to Mahavira's consciousness and he said to the prince. "Very well, I will tell you. In a past life, you were the leader of an elephant family and there were over 400 elephants in your family. One day a terrible forest fire 135

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started and you took your family to the only safe ground in the forest and all the other animals of the forest were there too. Since it was a very critical time, no animals were fighting but they were only thinking about their survival. And the animals became so numerous and the space so limited no one could hardly move without stepping on someone else." Meanwhile the effect of Lord Mahavira's words went through the prince like an electric shock since he realized the truth of what was being said and he had never been in the presence of one who spoke from a consciousness totally awakened by kundalini or cosmic energy. Mahavira continued, saying, "When you went to scratch your belly with your foot, a rabbit came and sat where your foot had been. You hesitated and you did not put your giant foot back on the ground for fear of crushing the rabbit. For three entire days and nights you kept your foot raised from the ground where the rabbit was sitting and this was extremely difficult and painful for you because of your huge weight. When the fire ended and the animals left the safe ground, you tried to put your foot back to the ground but because it was so stiff and lifeless from holding it in the air for three days, you fell down from exhaustion and died." The prince felt absolutely dumbfounded. And yet he realized the incredible truth in what Lord Mahavira was 136

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telling him. "And do you know what happened, Megh, because you sacrificed your life for the life of another living being?," Lord Mahavira asked him. "No, I do not," the prince replied. "You were reincarnated at once as the prince who you now are." The effect of the story upon the prince was enormous. The prince saw before his eyes everything that he had sought to know about himself. He saw the energy of his causal and most subtle and miraculous body. He felt a change come over him that was so profound even Lord Mahavira was held in awe. The prince decided at once to stay in the forest with Lord Mahavira and the other monks to live the hard life. Later, the prince returned to his palace and he ruled as one who had a vision of the truth and the perfect goodness of an awakened soul. 137

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GAUTAM'S ENLIGHTENMENT Kevali gyana is defined as total enlightenment. In total enlightenment, an individual possesses all knowledge of the universe and there is perfect control over the bodymind complex and its physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions. Since the true guru or teacher embodies kevali gyana in every thought and action, it is the guru's responsibility to show the disciple the way to enlightenment. Here Guruji tells about the guru-disciple relationship in the story of Lord Mahavira and Gautam's final struggles before total enlightenment. The The Great Lord, Mahavira, had a disciple by the name of Gautam. One day he said to Gautam: "Go to the forest and you will find 1,503 meditators who are waiting for you." Gautam never questioned Lord Mahavira's commands, and he went to the forest and found the 1,503 meditators who were waiting for him. Even though Gautam had great psychic and pranic powers, and he possessed great control over the subtle and gross elements of his Self, he lacked total enlightenment or kevali gyana. Still, with great confidence, he asked the meditators "What can I do for you?" At that time, the meditators were ending a long fast 138

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and they were waiting for someone to bring them milk. So they asked Gautam if he would provide them with the milk. For Gautam, this was no problem and he touched his thumb with the transforming power of the Self and out flowed milk for 1,003 of the meditators. The meditators were amazed and with no further difficulty, Gautam gave milk to the rest of them. "Who are you?" they asked. "How can you perform such miracles? Where do you come from?" Gautam replied that what he did was really not much, for he was the disciple of Lord Mahavira, the highest of the Gurus in his faith. Immediately, the meditators wanted to go to see Lord Mahavira and Gautam agreed to take them. And they began to follow Gautam as their leader, step for step. But, on the way, Gautam began to think, when I get to Mahavira's throne, they will want to sit in the front row which is reserved for 700 disciples who have already obtained kevali gyana. I cannot allow this to happen. So he said: "Brothers and sisters, you are going to see Lord Mahavira and he already has thousands of monks and nuns who are far more advanced than you are on the Path; and I must ask you to respect their standing with Lord Mahavira. So please sit in the fourth category. And they appeared to agree. But when Gautam and the 1,503 meditators arrived at Mahavira's throne, the meditators took places in the front row where the kevala 139

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gyani sat. Gautam became very upset and he began to think: "These people are nothing but ignorant village and forest dwellers who have no culture and no knowledge of a spiritual system. They are not worthy of these seats." When Lord Mahavira arrived he saw what Gautam was thinking and he said to him, "Gautam, this is not right. You do not understand our system correctly. The meditators do not have to understand anything about Jainism or of the Arihantas, to get enlightenment. For their faith, their knowledge and their conduct are so perfect that they have already become enlightened." Gautam was so demoralized that he could not think about what Lord Mahavira said. All he could think, was, "How is it possible that these people have become enlightened? I have been doing service for Lord Mahavira for these many years and in one instant, they become totally enlightened. It is not just!" Again, Lord Mahavira saw Gautam's thoughts and he said, "Gautam, you must put your attachments aside if you are to become enlightened. You must see that you are a result of your karma, your nine past lives. You cannot think that Lord Mahavira is superior to the tradition of the Arihantas. For the Arihantas accepted everyone and everyone has the potential for total enlightenment, in one instant, if their faith, their knowledge, their actions, are perfect. Gautam, you must go deep inside your Self and see this truth." 140

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Many years passed and Gautam practiced what Mahavira told him faithfully, albeit he grew in doubt. Mahavira sensed that Gautam still had work to do to gain final enlightenment even after so many years by his side. Mahavira decided to put Gautam to one final, crucial test before he left his body. So he said to Gautamwho was unaware of this crucial time in Mahavira's life: "Gautam, in Nirvada, 16 miles from here, there is a Brahmin, by the name of Diva HARMA. He is a great scholar and a friend of yours from childhood. He is waiting for you and he can gain enlightenment from you. Go to him". Without hesitating, Gautam left the side of Lord Mahavira, never suspecting that it would be the last time he would see Mahavira in his body. And just as Mahavira had said, when Gautam found his childhood friend, the energy from their meeting gave the scholar instant enlightenment. Later, Gautam heard that Lord Mahavira had left his body and this world while he was away and he became very upset: "How could he do this to me? How could he tell me to leave his side at such a crucial time? Didn't Lord Mahavira know how much I loved him and wanted to become enlightened by him?" And just as Gautam was sinking into an abysmal ocean of despair, he began to see how attached he had been to Lord Mahavira's every word, gesture, and breath. 141

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And he thought: "How is it possible that I could have been so stupid? You cannot realize the arhat or enlightened state of liberation if you are attached to someone, even someone as great as Lord Mahavira." At that instant, Gautam, saw why Lord Mahavira had sent him away, first for the meditators and then at the time of his death, and he then fully realized the supreme Self of total enlightenment. 142

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AN INFECTED EAR The law of karma works in many ways upon everyone alike, including gods, yogis and lesser beings. In this story, Guruji tells about Lord Mahavira's karma and how it caused his ear to become infected. ne time Lord Mahavira had a person place a U needle of wood through his earlobe, as was the custom in those days. Since the ear is a highly sensitive and controlling part of the circulation system, a large effect upon the pranic body is achieved from stimulation of the earlobes. After some days, the ear of Lord Mahavira became badly infected and swollen around the wooden needle. Since Lord Mahavira could control the sensations of this physical body perfectly, he did not suffer any pain or emotional problems from the infection. His theory is that by merely watching something happen, you can detach your feelings from it. Thus pain and suffering will not disturb the divine Self or Pure Consciousness which is always watching and witnessing the world. Lord Mahavira went into a meditation in order to understand the cause of this infected ear, since in the karmic theory of the universe, nothing happens by chance. Lord Mahavira saw that in a past life he was a 143

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king who had given an order to stop the playing of music whenever he want to sleep. But the head musician was so involved in his playing that he forgot about the king's order and continued playing until the king awoke from his sleep. Then, the king asked, "what is the meaning of this. You have not followed my order and continued playing while I slept." At that, the king ordered his servants to seize the musician and pour molten lead into his ear. When this was done, the musician died. Mahavira then thought : "From this act, I collected many bad karmic particles. They have remained in my causal body until this time. I must tolerate the consequences of my past acts very peacefully." Afterwards, Lord Mahavira watched how a great infection and pain seized his physical body. But, in time, it went as inevitably and peacefully away. 144

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CHAPTER 9 SECRET KNOWLEDGE One of the ways that a person or group of persons gains power and influence is through knowledge. When knowledge is not shared or communicated to others, knowledge acquires a mysterious and esoteric quality. The following stories fall into the category of secret or esoteric knowledge. Certain events in these stories may strain credibility since we are often not given reasons or explanations. Yet Guruji assures us that , in fact, things happened as they are described. 145

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THE JUDGE'S GUN A gun is a symbol for destruction as well as a principle means of violence. In Jainism, killing and any other form of violence is prohibited. In this story, Guruji tells about an encounter that he had with an experienced hunter. O ne time I was travelling near Bombay and Pune, by foot, and it was evening time. It was a very beautiful place where the water in the lake reflected the blue sky, the trees and clouds perfectly. So we stopped on a small hill, under one of the trees and watched some birds circling around the sky. Just then the moon was coming up and we chanted and meditated for a while. Since it was getting late, I decided to take a shortcut through the property of a district judge. Although I had not met the judge, we suddenly came upon him and others, with guns, nearby. The judge had raised his gun, preparing to shoot the birds, and instinctively, since it is against my religious vows to kill anything, I walked over and touched the judge's gun, spoiling his aim and preventing him from shooting the birds. "Why did you do that?" he asked me rather angrily, and I told him why. Then he asked me what right did I have to come on 146

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his property and prevent him from shooting the birds. And I asked him what right did he have to shoot the birds or any other creature, for that matter. Thereafter, our questions started an intense philosophical debate about his right or non-right to kill a living being. Since we talked the whole time in Sanskrithe was also a scholar in that venerable language-the discussion made quite an impact upon everyone there, it became so passionate and analytical. The outcome was that the judge could find no rational or religious justification for taking the life of a living, self-conscious being and he knew it. But in order to get rid of me, the judge lied to me, saying, "All right, Guruji, I will not kill any birds or lions or anything, if you will leave my land now." Satisfied, I left since it is not my habit to doubt what others tell me or to question their honesty. But when I left the property of the judge and he tried to use his gun, the gun would not fire. Afterwards, the judge took his gun, a practically new rifle, to a gun expert and the expert said that there was nothing mechanically wrong with it. No one could understand why the gun would not work. Then the judge remembered how I had touched the gun with my hand, what we had talked about and that the gun would not work afterwards. So the judge sent one of his servants to find me, 147

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thinking that I could fix the gun. When the judge came to my ashram, he told me the whole truth, saying that he had lied to me and now his gun would not work. "Could you fix it for me, Guruji ?" the judge asked. "But, Mr. Dinkar, I know nothing about guns. How can I fix it ?" "Just come to my house and touch it again. I promise that I will not use it to kill birds or anything with it," he said. When I went to his house, I only touched the rifle as I had done before and it was fixed! In India, there is a belief that if someone comes and does a sacred mantra and then touches a gun, the gun will not work or kill anything again. This had apparently happened when I first touched the judge's gun. And because my faith is so great in the mantra system, I could fix his gun easily and quickly. After that the judge became my devotee and he told me many wonderful stories about his travels, three of which I have called "The Prince and the Lion," "The Power of Sound" and "Secret Knowledge." The Judge was basically a very good, honest and intelligent man and he had a very deep relationship with me for several months. And because of that relationship, he does not kill anything with his guns anymore. 148

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SECRET KNOWLEDGE The use of herbs in the curing of illness and prevention of disease has a long history in primitive medicine and mystical practices. Although the power of herbs is in question to scientific medicine, there is no question about the mythological, psychological and spiritual significance of certain herbs and plants. In this story, Guruji relates one of the three stories related to him by the judge in "Fixing the Gun." The story suggests that what is known about herbs and their healing effects is "Secret Knowledge." There is a tribe of people in India known as the Bhils I who work in the city but live in the forest where they still retain their own culture. One time the Bhils were involved in a dispute with another tribe and someone was killed. The punishment for murder was hanging and the accused had been apprehended by officials in the city and he was awaiting trial. During that time, the father of the judge in the trial, Mr. Dinkar, had fallen gravely ill and due to his advanced age, there was a question about his surviving the illness which medical doctors could not identify and treat. It happened that the father of the accused murderer was the tribe's herbal doctor. When he heard about the 149

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illness of the judge's father, he thought about curing the man of his illness, thinking if he were successful the judge would go easier on his son. Since the judge and the medical doctors were worried about the old man surviving the illness, especially if it went undiagnosed and untreated, the judge was ready to try anything and so he readily accepted the offer of the herbal doctor to cure his father. The tribal doctor brought only three green leaves with him for the treatment. After the leaves were given to the patient for his oral consumption the patient slipped into a deep coma which lasted for several hours. When he awoke, hot milk was given to him under directions of the Bhil medicine man. Again the old man went into a deep coma and when he awoke a second time after several hours, he seemed to be released from the deathly grip of the illness. During the next several weeks, however, some very distressing changes began to take place in the appearance of the old man. For one thing, all of the remaining teeth in his mouth became loose and fell out, and for another, the top layer of his skin, over his entire body, simply peeled away as if he were a molting snake. In addition to these rather mortifying changes, the old man lost all of his grey thinning hair. Meanwhile, the old man felt younger and livelier in his step with each passing day in spite of the dramatic changes that his body was undergoing. When about three months had passed after the initial treatment with the . : 150

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mysterious green leaves, the judge's father began to grow a thick crop of black, healthy hair on his head, new shiny skin appeared where the old skin had fallen dreadfully away, and he got a new set of white, strong teeth! Needless to say, everyone was mystified by the physical transformation of the patient, and no one could explain how the old, dying man was changed into a vital, healthy-looking man of forty, by three green leaves and hot milk, least of all the medical doctors. Meanwhile the judge, who was a very honest, humanitarian man, and who witnessed the miraculous changes that occurred to his father, wanted to get the formula or knowledge of this herbal medicine so that he could make it available to others. In fact, the judge had such strong feelings about the potential value of the herbal medicine to humanity, that he was willing to compromise his professional ethics and release the son of the herbal doctor at once, in exchange for the man's herbal knowledge. But, the herbal doctor was a man who was sworn to tribal secrecy about the practices and knowledge of herbal medicine and he would not betray his cultural heritage even if it meant that his beloved son would face the full penally of law for his alleged crime. In the end, even though the boy was found guilty of the of murder, he was not hanged and he received instead a much lighter sentence, owing largely to the gratitude that the judge felt toward the herbal doctor for having saved 151

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his father's life. However, even though the judge had shown mercy in his court, he never learned the secret formula for the herbal medicine that had cured and transformed his father. The meaning of this story is that old age and sickness can be changed by the right medicine. Through our work, our thinking, our food, and our desire, we invite old age to come into our bodies and minds and to control us. We may not possess the knowledge of certain herbs but we do know the sounds that can remove sadness and give happiness and health to a person. Greed, possessiveness and attachment to the things of life, can only make us sick, anxious and unfree in our thoughts and actions. You must learn to give up what makes you sick and unhappy if you are to remain young and healthy in your mind and body. If you do mantra or speak divine sounds and think only good thoughts, then you will become completely full of the divine nectar of happiness. 152

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THE POWER OF SOUND Sound, at a physical level, is the vibratory rate at which air molecules pass through space. Sound, at a mystical level, is the awakening of energy that can transform phenomena, create meaning and work miracles. In this story, which was told to Guruji by the judge in "The Judge's Gun," sound transforms three women into animals. Although the story may stretch one's sense of reality beyond credibility, the events, according to the judge, actually took place. W h en the English government still ruled India un der its colonial power, before 1947, there was an English deputy commissioner who was mystic, by virtue of knowledge and faith. The commissioner was well known for his interest and knowledge in mystical experiences, in the country of his jurisdiction. One day the judge and he were talking about the spiritual and psychic practices of local forest people. As far as we know the culture of the forest people has not changed from the days before the Aryan invasion of India, around 2000 B.C. The judge and the commissioner had both heard about the theory of physical and psychic transformation through sound, called Roop Parivartan and they had heard that the forest people had put this theory into practice. Also, they 153

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knew how to control the passage of animal bodies into the human body, a practice that is called Parakays Pravesh. Since the two men were curious and inquiring, by habit, they decided to see for themselves whether or not there was any truth to the stories about the forest people. After some asking about, the commissioner got a commitment from one of the forest people to take him and the judge to see a transformation by sound or sacred mantra. At a prearranged place, the two men met the forest dweller. Nearby, three women were singing and their beautifully musical voices were carried by the light wind through the sunlight to the three men. Without a word, the commissioner and the judge dismounted from their horses and the forest dweller then asked them to give him their guns. Obeying their guide, the two men were then told to walk to the field where the three women were cutting hay. As they walked from the side of the forest dweller, an eerie, high pitched sound carried over their heads in the directions of the three women, communicating nothing the two men could understand. The sound, which had been made by the forest dweller, then became deeper and stronger, like that of a leopard or a tiger, and it sent chills up and down the spines of the two men. The sound then ended abruptly like a knife edge that had cut through a great knot, holding secret knowledge. The men hesitated in their path, looking back toward 154

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the forest dweller, who was now nowhere in sight, and then toward the three women, but the women were not there in the hay field either, instead there were only three snarling full-grown black panthers, watching the two men threateningly. It had all happened so quickly that the two men had no time to think or to realize what had happened. Slowly, the two defenseless men began to retreat from the field where the black panthers menaced them. When they reached the place where they had left their horses, they saw the guide holding the reins of their horses and smiling at them. "Did you see anything unusual," the forest dweller asked, pretending to be ignorant. "Unusual," they exclaimed. "We were almost clawed to death by three black panthers in the field where you told us to go!" "Panthers ? I don't believe it. Show me where," he said playfully. This time, the two men got their guns from their guide, shouldered them and believed full well that they would have to use them. But, as it happened, when they reached the field where the three panthers had been seen, they only saw the three women, singing and swaying in the beautiful sunlight of the day, as they cut the tall grass before them. "But they were only here a minute ago," the commissioner said to the guide, "where are they now?" 155

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The forest dweller did not reply directly or pay any attention to the questions of the two men. He only said that in the world of his people, no one asks questions that requires mental or rational answers anymore, They had long ago learned that if you want to do something, you practice what you desire to accomplish until the action becomes a habit and then a power in you mind and your body; then you whole being becomes a vehicle for change and self-realization. But before the two men could say anything else to their forest guide, he was gone, taking the three women with him in his stride. The commissioner and the judge left the scene but they did not understand completely what they had seen nor how the women and the leopards had been changed into each other. The meaning of this story is that the soul and the body are separate and by the right attitude, knowledge, and practice, you can change your body but you cannot change your soul since the soul is eternal and it controls the body. The moral lesson is do not be attached to your body, ego questions, or any aspect of your mind. They only lead to endless problems in your experiencing and circles in your reasoning. Do no violence to yourself or to others; learn to keep your body clean of wrong acts and intentions; and keep the precept of non-attachment in all situations. Then, no harm can come to you and you will achieve perfection in your intentions. 156

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THE PRINCE AND THE LION Ghost stories are based upon a dualistic metaphysics of spirit and matter, body and soul, the astral body and the physical body. Ghost stories are as commonplace in India as perhaps anywhere else. In this story, Guruji repeats the third of the stories told to him by his friend, the judge. The story concerns an experience that the judge had while lion-hunting and the meaning of that experience. In one of the villages, a lion was attacking and killing I livestock. Since the judge was well-known as a lion-hunter, the villagers went to him and asked if he would hunt the lion and kill him. The judge agreed to the request and on the first night, the judge hid himself in the forest surrounding the village, with his gun and a torch. Lions, of course, are very superior hunters and they have very keen senses, enabling them to see, hear and to smell their prey from great distances. The judge knew that he would be detected by the lion, so he took few precautions to conceal himself. His first thought was to protect himself against a possible charge from the lion. So he positioned himself on top of the ruins of a great wall that once surrounded an old castle. From there, he could see the village and the forests as well as feel rela 157

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tively secure from the lion. The judge had been waiting for several hours atop the wall and wondering if the lion would ever appear, when suddenly, about 3 A. M., in the dead of the morning, a horn blew in the distance and then another and another. Out of the darkness, amid the playing of horn music, string instruments and bells, a procession of people appeared, carrying torches and dressed in very ancient costumes. Among them was a prince-judging from his bearing, clothing and central position in the procession - followed by many beautiful women dressed royally. For one entire hour, the judge sat in amazement, hypnotized by this throng of people who were playing music, dancing, singing and chanting. And as suddenly as the procession of people had appeared, it disappeared and the judge was none the wiser. The next day the judge asked the villagers about the ruins, hoping that they would throw some light upon his experience. One villager who was like a local historian, knew all about the castle that used to be there and how the last prince who lived in it, long ago, had 32 queens and he was also a great lion-hunter. In fact, the man told him, "I would not be surprised that the lion that we hired you to kill is not also the spirit of the dead prince reincarnated as the lion attacking our livestock." But the judge did not say anything about his experience the night before. He only continued to listen. "It is said too," the villager continued, "That every 158

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now and then the prince reappears with his royal family through the powers of a lion; and when the energy of the lion is exhausted and the lion dies, the prince is not able to sustain his own appearance in physical form. But this is only a story since no one has ever seen the prince and his 32 queens." The judge thanked the villager for his help and told him that the villagers would probably not be bothered by the lion anymore since he had seen it in the night and scared it off into the jungles with his gun. And as far as the judge knew, the lion was never seen again in the village. When the judge became my disciple, he told me about this experience although he never told anyone else for fear of being ridiculed or thought crazy. Thus, I am merely repeating to you what the judge told me in the strictest of confidence, and which I have never had any reason to doubt. 159

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CHAPTER 10 MISCELLANEOUS GEMS There are a number of Guruji's stories that do not fit neatly into some category or another. In fact, most if not all of them have this universal even transcendental quality. So this chapter contains the remaining stories for which there is no suitable classification. Each of them, however, depicts a historical person, event or situation that Guruji heard about from someone else. 160

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THE CHINESE EMPEROR The power of thought is not only a mystical doctrine but it can be seen in various forms in all major philosophies. In this narrative, Guruji tells an old story about an Indian minister who went to China and about his detention there. Basically, it is a story about how the power of thought on psychic and spiritual levels can work for or against one's interests. The here is an old story told many times about an emperor of China who reigned at the end of a dynasty that was over 400 years old. One day an Indian minister went to China to meet the emperor and to learn about the way of life there. The Indian minister had heard that the Chinese king was very wise and that he could give answers to any problem. So the minister sought out the emperor soon after arriving in China. When the Indian minister met the Chinese Emperor, there was a cordial and diplomatic politeness but beneath the surface something was disturbing the minister. Then the minister from India thought to ask : "Emperor, tell me, since you know so many things and can answer all questions why have there been so many revolutions and so much human suffering in India while your land is so peaceful?" 161

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The Emperor paused and he thought for a moment about the minister's question. Then he replied; "I cannot answer that question right now." To which the minister replied, "But I am leaving tomorrow for India and I may never return." "You cannot leave India until one condition is fulfilled. Then the time will be right," the Emperor said. "And what is that condition ?" he replied with some surprise. "In front of the house where you are staying is a very large, old oak tree. It has been there for hundreds of years. When the tree falls, then you can return to India." The minister was very taken aback by the Emperor's condition and he became very depressed by the thought of never leaving China. Then he began to think that the oak tree would fall and that he could return to India. Night and day, the thought of a falling oak tree appeared constantly in the minister's mind, and it was like a mantra with even the sound of the falling tree appearing in his ears. Then, on the 41st day, a terrific wind and rain storm came up and blew the oak tree down. The minister was greatly relieved and he thought 'now I can go." Before the minister left, the Emperor appeared and said that the felling of the oak had answered his original question about change. "If you are thinking positively." the Emperor said, 162

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"then you can have a stable government in India for hundreds of years as we have had in China. But if a doubting or negative thought appears, the system will be destroyed. As the Taoists say, if yin is great, yang is small, but if yang is great, yin will be small. So go and practice in the harmonious spirit of the Tao and all things will come to you eventually." The Indian minister was very happy about the answer that the Chinese Emperor had given to him and he returned eagerly to India, to put into practice what he had learned. Later the minister heard that many people had begun to think negatively about the power and authority of the Chinese Emperor and that the dynasty fell after more than 400 years. 163

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LION'S MILK The guru-disciple relation is sometimes fraught with tension and discord. In this story, Guruji tells how a certain guru tested his disciples to the extreme degree in order to correct a mistakened view that they had about the guru and his disciple, a king. Also, the story shows how the tests that the guru gives to his disciple may only be known to the guru. ong ago the king of Mahasthra, Shivaji, was the disciple of Sumart Swami Ram Dass. Since Shivaji was a king, his high position and power caused the guru's other disciples to become jealous of him. In fact, they began to believe, quite mistakenly, that their guru gave special favor to the king just because he was a king who had great wealth and power. And the disciples began to think that the guru only loves the king and not we who serve him night and day. Furthermore, they thought that the king does not really love our guru as we do. The guru, of course, saw these thoughts in his disciples and he decided to show them how wrong they were about his relation to the king. So one day, he said to them, "Come, we must go to the forest and meditate." And he took all of his disciples except the king into the 164

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forest and meditated with them near a lion's den. After 30 minutes, the guru started trembling and he fell down in a swoon, pretending that he had a terrible stomach pain. The disciples had never seen their guru so ill before and they started rubbing his stomach, his feet and his whole body. But nothing seemed to help or ease the pains of the guru. "Oh, Guruji, what can we do for you ?" the disciples asked. And the guru replied, "There is really nothing that you can do since my pain is my pain and it is the result of my own karma and I have to go through this myself. However, there is just one thing that you can do and that is bring me the milk of a lion, for there is no other substance that will help me." The disciples looked at one another in disbelief, saying, "But, Guruji, we cannot get the milk from a lion without being killed." And the guru told them how to get the milk of a lioness and different ones tried but no one succeeded, for they all ran off in fear of their lives before the milk pail could be filled. Meanwhile, the king, Shivaji, had gone to see the guru at the temple as was his daily habit. The king was told that the guru had gone to the forest and the king went to find him. When the king found his guru in great pain and saw how his other disciples were crying out in great distress to help him, he asked what had happened. Then one disciple 165

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who had turned against the king said that their guru had fallen ill with great pain and told them that only the milk of a lion would help him. The king immediately knew how he could get the milk since he had been a hunter of lions in a previous life. The king then gave up his sword and removed his clothing except for underwear, to show his peaceful intent, and he went to the cave of the lion, carrying a pot from which his guru ate. At the mouth of the cave, the king saw the lioness, feeding the cubs from her breasts. Then he addressed her, saying, "Mother, today I am here only to get some milk for my guru who is dying from a pain in his stomach." And since the king had removed his sword and outer clothing and spoke with the power and goodness of his guru, the lion did not feel any violent intention coming from the king. Slowly, the king crept forward with his guru's pot and placed it where the milk flowed freely and abundantly from a nipple that was unused by the cubs. When the pot was filled with milk, the king folded his hands in prayer and thanked the lioness. He returned to his guru with the milk and the other disciples were amazed that the king has been successful. "How did you ever accomplish this?" they asked. "It is a miracle." And with that, the guru rose up from the ground and announced that his stomach pains were gone and he felt well again. Thereafter, the guru's disciples never doubted the king's love and devotion to their guru, since he had risked his life for the lion's milk. 166

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THE ANGRY KING Anger is an energy which often has negative and destructive consequences. If anger is allowed to develop unchecked, it becomes destructive of persons and things alike. In this story, Guruji tells about a king whose anger become murderously destructive until his queen decided to do something about it. There is a story about a king in India who, for 1 unknown reasons, became murderously destructive toward the world, For no apparent cause, the king would fly into a rage and order that one of his subjects be executed or that a building, a statue, or even an entire village be destroyed. The queen was a very beautiful and devoted wife and she became very upset and depressed by the king's behavior. As his wife, the queen had only known him to be like an angel or divine person, but now, for the slightest of reasons, the king would become like a beast and fly into a rage, threatening even her with destruction. So the queen began to think, I must rid this demon, this terrible karma, from my husband before he destroys himself and those around him. For he is basically a good and loving person. But what can I do? Everytime I try to confront him about his anger, he only sees my love for 167

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him and he becomes like an angel again. He never sees his anger." Then she heard about a yogi who had great knowledge and wisdom in all matters and she went to see him where he meditated and did his practices. When the queen reached the cave where the yogi lived, she had to wait, for he was in one of his deep meditations. While waiting, the queen herself fell into a meditation, in which she saw her husband, the king, reflected in a golden mirror which had black dots covering it. But she did not know the meaning of her meditation. When the great yogi finished his meditation, he beckoned the queen forward and she told him about her meditation. The yogi understood at once how the king could be helped and he said, "Go to your palace and cover all the walls, including the ceilings, with mirrors." The queen was puzzled by what the yogi told her but she went back to the palace and ordered that the walls and the ceilings be covered with mirrors. And the king did not object to his queen's unusual wish because he still wanted to please her. Besides, he found a certain charm and novelty in having so many mirrors in his palace. The day came, however, when the king became terribly angry and demonic again and his face looked like that of an enraged beast. And when the king saw himself in one of the golden mirrors, he did not recognize himself. In fact, in his demented state of mind, he 168

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mistook the image in the mirror for another person, asking, "Who is this person standing in front of me? I have never seen him before. Guards ! Arrest this man at once! He is a villain, and intruder and he is threatening to destroy the entire palace!" "But my king," the queen said "That is your very own self. Now you are seeing what I and everyone else have seen but which you have been too blind to see." The king was dumbfounded. "How could this be ? How could my face, my whole being, change so much ? Have I lost all my humanity, my goodness ?" he asked. But with these questions the king saw in an instant the truth about the change in his character. And after a while, he stopped becoming angry completely and understood the reasons why he had become so destructive. Thereafter, the king showed only love and kindness towards his wife and subjects where once there had been anger. The moral of this story is that anger can destroy you. But if you see your anger, you can change it with Selfawareness. You can awaken to your potential for love and goodness and act with loving kindness towards others. 169

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JESUS CHRIST IN INDIA There is some evidence which supports the claim that Jesus Christ lived as a student for several years at Nalanda University in northern India. Guruji tells a story about how Christ came to India, what he learned, and why he left. as I have been invited to at Juolleges and universities in the United States and else where, Jesus Christ was invited to speak at Nalanda University, when he was only eighteen years old. Although we do not know the name of the Jain monk who invited him, he and Jesus became very close friends. At that time, Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira's philosophies of religion were practiced widely in India, but there were no names or institutions for them. Thus when Jesus Christ, the son of the Lord, came to India, he learned what was purely and perfectly believed in and practiced by everyone including the students at Nalanda University. The discovery of the Gnostic gospels in 1946, by a farmer in Egypt, has revealed that the earliest Christians believed in reincarnation and the knowledge of God through personal experience of the divine Self. These teachings, however, were very threatening to the political 170

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power of the early Christian church and thus church authorities branded the Gnostics as heretics and enemies of the people. Thus they were forced to go underground and they hid their writings in secret places. Of course, when Jesus came to India, his divine nature and birth were already well-known. When he arrived at Nalanda University where he learned and taught, he was named Yishu, which means the Messiah. And to this day, his name remains cut in stone among the list of persons who attended this ancient university. While in India, Jesus learned many things not practiced outside of India. Among them were the science of celibacy, the belief of reincarnation, and the knowledge of kundalini energy. But since Jesus possessed infinite knowledge and he was a divine healer, he could work miracles. In these respects, Jesus was like Lord Mahavira, Lord Buddha, and Lord Krishna, who had appeared in India before him. At the age of 24, some six years after he went to India, Jesus was urged by his friend, the Jain monk at Nalanda University, to return to the place of his birth, to teach and to heal, for the people were waiting for him. Jesus returned to Jerusalem as a Rabbi who had absorbed the spiritual knowledge of ancient India. There he started what we now call Christianity. And what did Christ teach? Jesus Christ taught mostly about the divinity and the love of the supreme Self within each person. He taught that without self control and self 171

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discipline, you cannot realize the truth. And the truth is that you are God and God is the highest state of consciousness. That is the meaning of the statement. "I am the way and the truth and the truth will make you free." Jesus also taught nonviolence and he practiced love toward all. I have learned much from his example. Jesus had two important disciples, St. Thomas and St. Peter. Although most people know a lot about St. Peter since he was a very political person and he organized the First Church of Rome, they do not know that St. Thomas was a very sensitive and holy person, like Christ himself. St. Thomas want to India and he taught, healed, and learned there. He was a true disciple of Christ and a very great prophet. There is an ancient legend about Christ that he married Mary Magdalene and that their union produced children. Although I do not know how much truth to attach to this story, it is written about in the new book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. If this is true, then Jesus Christ was like Lord Buddha, Lord Krishna, Lord Mahavira, and Socrates, who also were married and had children. The point is that many of the great teachers and self-realized beings of the world also lived ordinary lives. For we are all equal before the truths of life, death, and freedom. 172

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EPILOGUE INVITATION TO THE READER Many of you who have read these stories of Guruji's may have already heard them or similar versions. Yuvacharya Amrendra Muniji and I have been thinking about a new collection of stories that Guruji told and are not in this collection. If you know a story that Guruji told and can reproduce it in an accurate form, we would like to use it in a new collection of his stories. At the same time, if you have an interesting story to tell about Guruji, based upon your own personal contact with him, we would like to hear from you. Of course you would be given full credit for any material that is published from your resources. We would like to round out a picture of Guruji with more biographical detail and concreteness of his life. If you have had contact with Guruji, we would appreciate hearing from you in either Hindi or English. Communications in Hindi go to Amrendra Muniji and those in English go to me. The mailing addresses are as follows: In Hindi: Yuvacharya Amrendra Muniji / Vishwa Ahimsa Sangh / Ahimsa Bhawan / Shankar Road / New Delhi / 110060 India. In English Professor Courtney Schlosser/ Philoso 173

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phy Department/ Worcester State College/ 486 Chandler Street/ Worcester MA 01602/ USA. E-mail: cschlosser @worc. mass. edu Also if you have any comments to make about the stories in this book, we would appreciate hearing from you. All correspondence from you will be kept in the strictest confidence and nothing will be published without your approval. Thank you in advance. Courtney Schlosser New Delhi 174

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rights, animal rights, gender equality, environmental ethics, pacifism, vegetarianism, religious tolerance, love, and self-realization, are the main themes of Guruji's vision of nonviolence. Guruji's visionary work continues with his successor closest disciple, Yuvacharya Amrendra Muniji. Known as the Messenger of Peace, Amrendra Muniji teaches Jain meditation, yoga, nonviolence, and peaceful cooperation. Amrendra Muniji divides his time between ashrams in New Delhi, India, Blairstown, New Jersey, U.S.A. and elsewhere. Among the spiritual and political leaders Muniji and Guruji have met, are: President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senator Bill Bradley, Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, Pope John Paul, Mother Teresa, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the 14th Dalai Lama. Jain philosophy can be traced to the 8th century B.C. In modern times, its philosophy of nonviolence has inspired the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and many others. Guruji established the International Mahavira Jain Mission (IMJM) which is affiliated with the United Nations. In June, 1992, he launched the World Movement of Nonviolence for Peace and the Environment at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jainism is a dynamic ethical and spiritual viewpoint. Its philosophy of nonviolence and the mutual interdependence of all beings provides hope for a better world.

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Courtney Schlosser is a professor of philosophy at Worcester State College in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.A. He was born in 1937 and he received his doctoral degree from Boston University in 1969. He is a teacher, writer, and world traveller. He lives with his wife Susan Coles in Barre, Massachusetts. This is the second edition of The Light of Nonviolence. It celebrates the life, teachings and memory of the late H. H. Acharya Sushil Kumarji Maharaj or "Guruji." Guruji was a great Jain teacher. Jainism is a religious philosophy based upon a nonviolent way of living or ahimsa. It is practiced by millions in India and elsewhere. Guruji was born in 1926, ordained as a monk at fifteen and became an Acharya or Great Teacher in 1980. He became internationally famous as a religious leader and peace worker. He founded the World Fellowship of Religions. Before his death in 1994, he had travelled to over forty countries, met with world leaders, and established ashrams on nearly every continent. The forty stories making up The Light of Nonviolence express a unique vision of nonviolent philosophy. They describe interhuman, interspecies, international, interpsychic, and environmental relationships. Human