Scene 4
(The banks of the Ganges the following morning. All the seekers have left the place where they were meditating the day before and are meditating in another place. The thief, in his ochre cloth, is praying and meditating all alone in the same spot as on the previous day. Enter Prime Minister with Princess and retinue.)PRIME MINISTER: Look, I have brought the Princess here.
THIEF: O Prime Minister, I have changed my mind. I know she is beautiful. I know she is rich. I know she has everything that the world longs for. But I am not really a religious person; I am a thief. I overheard a conversation between the King and the Queen. They said they wanted their daughter to marry a religious person, and I thought that if I could marry the Princess I would be the happiest and the richest person on earth. Therefore I put on this ochre cloth and started meditating with the saints and seekers. Yesterday you saw, Prime Minister, how much they hate me. I fought with them, I insulted them, saying that they were all insincere people. But today a new light has dawned on me. Today I see that if I can get the boundless wealth of the world and this paragon of beauty by being false, just by telling lies, then if I tell the truth, if I meditate on the Truth, I will naturally get something far more satisfying than the wealth of the King and the beauty of the Princess. The Princess has beauty; this I don’t deny. Her father has wealth; that I don’t deny. But my sincere cry for God, who is all-Beauty, who is all-Wealth, will give me real joy, real satisfaction. There are many, many kings, many queens, many princesses on earth, but they do not have happiness. I need happiness. I used to steal people’s money; I used to tell lies and accomplish quite a few things, but there was no happiness for me. Today I am determined never again to swerve from the path of Truth. I shall only follow the path of Truth, and grow into the Highest, Eternal Truth.
(An angel appears and blesses the thief.)
ANGEL: I am most pleased with you, my son. Take the inner wealth I give to you: boundless Peace, Love and Bliss. I want you to marry this girl. You will not fall from the Truth. I have given you the wealth of the Spirit; now with this spiritual wealth I wish you to enter into material wealth, to control and guide the material wealth. I wish you to manifest the divinity of your inner wealth on earth through your outer wealth. I am blessing you. Your life’s inner cry has reached its highest height. Now, manifest that highest height here on earth. Your acceptance of this Princess, your acceptance of this material wealth, will please me. Use this material wealth to serve the inner wealth which you already have. Here I unite you (addressing the thief), the spirit of the inner world, and you (addressing the Princess), the matter of the outer world. Now I make you one.
(To the Princess.)
It is here on earth, in you and with you, that your husband will manifest God. It is with your help, your conscious help, that your husband will manifest God on earth. Without your help he cannot do it. And it is with him, with his help, that you will realise God, the Highest Absolute. Your realisation depends on him; his manifestation depends on you. I make both of you one to please the Supreme with your realisation and manifestation. By realising the Supreme and by manifesting the Supreme you will fulfil the Supreme.
(The thief and the Princess bow down to the angel.)
