The heart of a holy man

Dramatis personae

FIRST DISCIPLE

SECOND DISCIPLE

THIRD DISCIPLE

Scene 1

MASTER: Can you tell me, my children, what is the largest thing on earth?

FIRST DISCIPLE: Oh, earth itself is the largest thing, Master.

SECOND DISCIPLE: No, the sky is the largest.

THIRD DISCIPLE: No, no, the nether world is the largest.

MASTER (to the first disciple): You are right; earth is the largest thing. (To the second disciple.) You are right; the sky is the largest thing. (To the third disciple.) You are right; the nether world is the largest thing. Now, do you know the story of Lord Vishnu?

DISCIPLES: We don’t know. Please tell us.

MASTER: With one foot, Lord Vishnu covered the earth, the sky and the nether world. But the heart of a holy man is so big that it can contain both of Vishnu’s feet. If you want to have a heart as vast as the heart of a holy man, then you have to be totally pure.

FIRST DISCIPLE: Master, how can we make ourselves pure? I feel that my body and my vital are very impure.

MASTER: If you feel that your body and vital are impure, then do this. Take a shower at least twice a day to keep your body outwardly clean and pure. And to keep your vital pure, do not compete with anybody. No rivalry, no competition: feel that you will reach your Goal at God’s choice Hour. If you have that feeling, God will take you to Himself. You pray and meditate. Make your best effort, but feel that I will take you to your destination according to the Will of the Supreme, at His choice Hour. Then you will have purity in the vital.

SECOND DISCIPLE: Master, I know my mind is very impure. What can I do?

MASTER: In your case, you have to unlearn most of the things that your mind has taught you.

SECOND DISCIPLE: Master, I do not know what the things are that my mind has taught me. Please tell me.

MASTER: Your mind has taught you how to doubt, how to suspect, how to criticise. Learn to stop doubting, stop suspecting and stop criticising others. Then your mind will become pure.

THIRD DISCIPLE: Master, my heart is impure. How can I make my heart pure?

MASTER: From now on, every day try to be always ready to open your heart’s door for me. I knock at your heart’s door early every morning. Do not block the door with your desires, for then I cannot come in and pierce the veil of darkness within you. Open your heart’s door and allow me to enter into you. There I shall play with someone who is inside your heart, a most beautiful child, your soul. Watch how we play with immense joy and inner love for each other. When you watch us playing, your heart is bound to become pure. A day will come when we shall gladly invite you to take part in our game, to be one of us. Then you will feel that your heart is of us, your heart is for us: that your heart is made of aspiration, and your life is made for our manifestation.

Aruni

Dramatis personae

ARUNI (HIS DISCIPLE)

WIFE OF AYODADHOMMYA

Scene 1

AYODADHOMMYA: Aruni, my son, you are fond of me; I am proud of you. You have pleased me in every possible way, and I am proud of you at every moment.

ARUNI: Father, O Father of my heart and soul, O Father of my earthly existence, O Father of my Heavenly Delight, it is all due to your Grace that I am able to serve you.

AYODADHOMMYA (giving him a smile): My son, today I am in serious difficulty. I do not have a servant. I cannot afford a servant.

ARUNI: Father, why do you need a servant? This servant of yours will do anything for you. You know that. He may not do it according to your satisfaction, but he will do it gladly, cheerfully, wholeheartedly and unconditionally.

AYODADHOMMYA: Aruni, I know. I know you will do everything for me. To please me you came into the world. But, Aruni, this is a difficult task.

ARUNI: Please tell me. I shall do it to the best of my ability. I am at your command.

AYODADHOMMYA: If you think you can help me out, then go to my paddy-field, Aruni. You will see that the water is flowing out of the field through one levee which has given way. I tried my best to fix it but could not succeed. Water is passing through the levee. And if no water remains in the paddy-field, then we shall not have a good crop this season. A paddy-field needs much water.

ARUNI: Father, I shall fix it for you. Don’t worry.

(Exit Aruni.)

AYODADHOMMYA (to himself): I have never seen such a devoted, dedicated disciple. But, poor fellow, how will it be possible for him to stop the water from flowing out of the paddy-field? We need a servant, a strong man to fix the levee. Anyway, let me see what my dedicated spiritual son can do for me.

(Enter Ayodadhommya’s wife.)

WIFE: Is Aruni here?

AYODADHOMMYA: I have just sent him to the paddy-field to fix the levee.

WIFE: I have just come from there. I did not see him on the way.

AYODADHOMMYA: Perhaps he is going by some other route.

WIFE: Anyway, do you really think he will be able to fix it?

AYODADHOMMYA: I do hope so.

WIFE: I know he would give his life for you, for us. But if it is a task beyond his capacity, poor boy, what will he do?

AYODADHOMMYA: Let us see.

Scene 2

WIFE: Look, it is dark now, and poor Aruni is still in the fields. Let us go and see what he is doing. Poor boy, he is still working very hard. We have to do something for him. Let us go and help him. I am sure he has not been successful. That’s why he is still there.

AYODADHOMMYA: You stay home and make a meal for us. Let me go and bring him back. If he has not been successful, tomorrow we shall try to find somebody else to do the job.

(Exit Ayodadhommya.)

Scene 3

AYODADHOMMYA: Aruni, Aruni, where are you?

ARUNI: Father, I am here.

AYODADHOMMYA: Where are you? I can’t see you. What are you doing there? Come here, I can’t see you.

ARUNI: Father, please tell me which command of yours I should follow: the morning command or the evening command?

AYODADHOMMYA: What do you mean?

ARUNI: In the morning you commanded me, Father, to come and fix the levee, so that the water would not run out of the paddy-field. I tried my best in every way, but I failed. Then, as a last resort, I lay down on the levee, and thus I prevented water from flowing out of the paddy-field. I have been lying here most of the day. If I get up from this place according to your second command, then the water will flow out again.

AYODADHOMMYA: Aruni, listen to my second command. Come here. (Aruni leaves the bank and comes. He stands in front of his Master. His whole body is soaked and covered with mud. He is shivering all over.)

AYODADHOMMYA (blessing him): Aruni, you have pleased me beyond your imagination. You have pleased me beyond my expectation. I write down this deed of yours in my heart, with my joy, with my love, with my gratitude. Also, I write down in gold letters on the tablet of your heart, my joy, my pride, my gratitude. Aruni, today I give you a new name, a name which will do justice to your sacrifice for me, your love for me, your devotion to me, your service to me. Your name will be Uddalak. (Chants.) Aum. Uddalak. U-D-D-A-L-A-K. Today you were a human dike, protecting my field with your body. Tomorrow you will be Uddalak, the divine dike, protecting humanity with your unparalleled devotion and sacrifice.

Don't encourage the undeserving ones

Dramatis personae

DOG

LEOPARD

TIGER

ELEPHANT

LION

ANGEL

Scene 1

DOG: Master, save me, save me, save me! I have been attacked by a leopard, which is chasing me. It wants to kill me.

SAGE: Don’t worry, my little friend. I have occult power. I shall turn you into a leopard, so that you won’t have to be afraid of him.

(He turns the dog into a leopard. It is now very happy and secure.)

LEOPARD: Master, I am hungry. I am going out to eat but I shall come back soon.

(Exit leopard. The Sage meditates. Soon the leopard re-enters, running.)

LEOPARD: Master, a tiger! A tiger is chasing me! Save me! Save me!

SAGE: A tiger? Don’t worry. What can a tiger do to you? I shall turn you into a tiger.

(The leopard becomes a tiger.)

TIGER: Oh, now I am really powerful. I am so grateful to you, Master. Now I don’t have to be afraid of anything. I am very hungry. Let me go out and eat since there is no food here. I will soon come back to guard you.

(Exit tiger. The Sage smiles and continues meditating. Re-enter tiger running.)

TIGER: Master, an elephant! An elephant is trying to kill me! Save me, save me, O Sage!

SAGE: Don’t worry. What can an elephant do? I am here to save and protect you. Let me turn you into an elephant.

(The tiger becomes an elephant. It is now full of confidence.)

ELEPHANT: Now I am really hungry. What I have eaten since morning is not nearly enough to support this bulk. Let me go and get food from somewhere. I shall come back to you soon.

SAGE: Yes, go with my blessings.

(Exit elephant. The Sage continues meditating. Soon the elephant comes back running.)

ELEPHANT: Oh, a lion! A lion wants to kill me now! How is it that God has not made me as powerful as the lion? I have to bow down to the lion. Save me, save me! Please, Master, this time make me as powerful as the lion.

SAGE: Don’t worry. I have the power to stop the lion from killing you. I shall turn you into a lion.

(The elephant turns into a lion.)

LION: Ah! Now I am really powerful. Now I don’t have to worry about anything. I can destroy anything; I can kill everything. When I want to eat, I can eat whatever I choose. Now I am the king of the animals. Let me take a little rest. Nobody will dare to come and bother me now. You meditate.

(The Sage gives the lion a smile and starts meditating. He chants from the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Gita.)

LION: O Sage, I am hungry. There is no food here and I am hungry.

SAGE: Then go out and look for some food. I am a poor man. I have no food to give you.

LION: No, I won’t go out to look for food. Why should I? I don’t have to. I am the strongest of all. I can kill you. I can eat you. I don’t have to go out at all. What can you do about it?

(The lion comes near the Sage menacingly. The Sage immediately turns it back into a dog. The dog humbly tries to come near the Sage and sit at his feet.)

SAGE: No, I will not allow you, you ungrateful creature! Get away from me! You were a dog, and out of my infinite compassion I turned you into a lion. Then you wanted to devour me. Get away from here.

(The Sage turns the dog out into the forest and continues meditating. After a while he starts thinking aloud.)

SAGE: Have I done the right thing? The poor dog is helpless. I have turned it away in this thick forest.

(An angel appears.)

ANGEL: You have done the right thing, O Sage. In this world you have to be careful that when you give something to someone, that person deserves it and is ready to receive it. For only when a person has receptivity will you be able to bring down infinite Peace, Love and Light from above and manifest the Supreme in him. If he cannot receive your blessingful gift properly, he will misuse it. He may be so ungrateful that he will even use it against you. In the spiritual life, many spiritual Masters have taken their disciples right from the gutter, from lives of darkness and impurity. With their love, affection and concern they have given these disciples new life. Solely by their grace, they have lifted these disciples from darkest ignorance to Light and Delight. But the disciples are such ungrateful people. They feel that it is their own effort or their own merit that has brought them so high. When other disciples come later and gain favour with the Master, they feel that the Master is unjust, undivine. They criticise and insult the Master in every way and leave him.

So, Sage, in this world do not encourage the undeserving. If you help people indiscriminately, they will not appreciate the blessings of your Divinity. You will see happen to them what you have seen happen to your dog. You helped the dog in order to protect it. You transformed it into a leopard, then into a tiger, then into an elephant and finally into a lion. Then you saw what happened. When the lion became hungry, it was ready to kill you. In the spiritual life also, when people become really hungry for more name, more fame, more favour, more satisfaction, more power to lord it over others, they will stand against their Master and be ready to ruin his mission.

So be wise, O Sage. Only help those who deserve your love, affection and blessings. Only help those who are ready to be under your guidance with utmost humility all the time, from the day they accept you right up to the day they receive their illumination from you. When a disciple becomes great, divinely great, he has to feel that it is by your grace and not by his personal effort. What little effort he made was due to your grace, for it was you who inspired him to cry for a better life. Your disciples have to know and feel that from darkest inconscience your grace brought them into Light.

Light is the only wealth worth having

Dramatis personae

KING

QUEEN

PRINCESS

PRIME MINISTER

A GROUP OF SPIRITUAL SEEKERS

ROYAL RETINUE

AN ANGEL

Scene 1

KING: I think the time has come for our second daughter to get married. But this time we shall not make the same mistake that we made with our first daughter. We married her to a military man. We thought that this man, who held a high post in the military, would bring her joy. But alas, there is no joy, no peace in her life. It is all constant fighting, constant battle. This time let us not ask for name and fame. Let us look for a simple man, very simple. Let us look for a religious man for this daughter of ours, for she is also very religious and spiritual.

QUEEN: My Lord, I fully agree with you. Our daughter is extremely spiritual. She should have a saintly person as her husband. She will then be happy, and we shall be happy. You are the King. We have abundant wealth. We have name and fame. All we need now is peace and joy. This daughter of ours will have peace and joy and she will give it to us.

KING: Where can we find a saintly person?

QUEEN: Well, there are always saintly people praying and meditating on the banks of the Ganges. I see them quite often. I think it would be a nice idea if we chose one of those saintly people who meditate every morning watching the sun rise over the Ganges. They are sincere people, simple people. How I wish our daughter could marry one of them!

KING: Ah, that is a splendid idea! I, too, thought of it. Tomorrow morning let us ask our Prime Minister to go and see if there is one saint there who is really suitable for our daughter.

Scene 2

QUEEN: My child, you will be really happy and you will make us really happy if you marry a saintly, simple, religious person. You can see your elder sister’s fate, how miserable she is with her military husband. Although he holds a high post, there is no joy, no peace in their life together. If you live with a simple, innocent, aspiring person, then your life will be all joy.

PRINCESS: Mother, you are right, absolutely right. I really want to have a person like that as my partner, someone who is simple, religious and spiritual.

(Enter Prime Minister.)

KING: Prime Minister, I wish you to go and mingle with the saints and sincere seekers who are praying to God on the banks of the Ganges. I wish you to see if any of them would like to marry my daughter. Then you select a husband for her.

QUEEN: It is beneath our dignity, it is beneath our daughter’s dignity, to ask if anybody would like to marry her. Is there anybody on earth who wouldn’t marry our daughter? She is so charming, so beautiful, so loving. Is there anybody who would dare to say that he would not marry my daughter?

KING: Dearest wife, I am not sure. These religious people do not care for earthly beauty, name and fame. But if we find one, I will be so proud and happy.

PRIME MINISTER: Your Majesty, let me try at least. Let me see what I can do for our Princess. I am sure I will be successful.

PRINCESS: I feel shy. I do not wish to come with you.

PRIME MINISTER: It is not necessary at all, since this is the first time. Let me go alone and see what actually happens. You come next time.

Scene 3

PRIME MINISTER (to another seeker): Would you like to marry the Princess?

SEEKER: What do you mean? We are crying for divine Light, Peace and Power. Do you think we will be satisfied with a human being?

PRIME MINISTER: Don’t argue with me! Don’t you know that I am the Prime Minister? I can easily take you to the palace and compel you to marry the Princess. If you don’t obey me, I can put you into jail.

A SECOND SEEKER: You can put us into jail, you can even kill us, but we are not going to marry the Princess, no matter how beautiful she is, no matter how wealthy her parents are. We want only the infinite riches of God, not human wealth. Do anything you want with us, but we shall not marry the Princess.

PRIME MINISTER (turning to the thief, who has kept silent all this time): It seems to me that you would agree to my request. Are you interested in marrying the Princess?

(The thief remains silent.)

A THIRD SEEKER: Shame, shame, shame! Look at this fellow. He has cast a slur on us. We are all spiritual people crying for God’s Peace, Light and Bliss, and he meditates with us. Now he is silent because he wants to marry an earthly woman. He wants to enjoy earthly pleasure. Shame, shame! Get away from here! We don’t want you with us!

THIEF: You hypocrites! You liars! Outwardly you are acting like saints, but inwardly you are really animals. Outwardly you are saying you don’t want women, but inwardly you are crying for earthly wealth and pleasure, and inwardly you are enjoying vital pleasure. I can see clearly that you people are all impure, impure, impure! I am sincere. I want God. But at the same time I still have not transcended the pleasures of the human senses. I shall marry her. And I shall realise God much sooner than you by gradually transcending my desires instead of suppressing them as you people are doing.

PRIME MINISTER: All right, tomorrow I shall come to you with the Princess and we shall take you to the Palace.

(Exit Prime Minister.)

THIRD SEEKER (to the thief): It is beneath our dignity to sit beside you. You are an earthly man, whereas we are all crying to be Heavenly beings. We would not marry any woman. We know we would fall if we did. Marriage is frustration. Frustration is destruction. Meditation on God is Illumination, and Illumination is transcendental Delight. This is what we have come to realise.

(Exeunt all the seekers.)

Scene 4

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.)

Saraswati

Dramatis personae

VISHWAMITRA (A GREAT KING WHO BECAME A SAGE)

SARASWATI (GODDESS OF KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM)

VASHISHTHA (A GREAT SAGE)

FIRST PILGRIM

SECOND PILGRIM

THIRD PILGRIM

SHIVA

Scene 1

BRAHMA: Vishwamitra, you have been humiliated by Vashishtha.

VISHWAMITRA: Brahma, at last! At last you have come! You have listened to my prayers. I have prayed to you for so many years. Today you have come to me.

BRAHMA: Yes, I have come to fulfil your desire. I have come to give you the knowledge of Brahman. Today you equal Vashishtha.

(Vishwamitra bursts into joyous laughter.)

VISHWAMITRA: Ah! Today at last I have equalled Vashishtha. That Vashishtha, who smashed my pride, whose cow Nandini smashed my pride! Now I equal him in the knowledge of Brahman. (Touching Brahma’s feet.) Oh Lord Brahma, I am so grateful to you. You have given me the knowledge of Brahman today.

(Brahma blesses Vishwamitra. Exit Brahma.)

VISHWAMITRA: Now I have got the knowledge of Brahman. I have equalled Vashishtha. Now I am not inferior in the knowledge of God and Truth. But still, I want to take revenge on him. He humiliated me like anything. I am on this side of the river Saraswati, and he is on the other side. Let me invoke the presiding deity of Saraswati.

(He invokes Saraswati, the presiding deity. Saraswati appears.)

VISHWAMITRA: Saraswati, I want you to do me a favour. Go to the other side of the river and bring Vashishtha here. If you do not do this, I shall annihilate you.

SARASWATI: O Sage, certainly I shall do it.

Scene 2

VASHISHTHA: Can I be of any service to you?

SARASWATI: Yes, O Sage of the highest magnitude. Please come with me. Come, I shall take you to the other side of the river in a special boat, my boat. Vishwamitra needs your presence.

VASHISHTHA: Vishwamitra? What for?

SARASWATI: I do not know. But if I cannot take you to him, I am sure he will destroy me. You have more compassion than any human being on earth; your compassion is boundless. I know you will come with me. If I come to you with Vishwamitra’s message, I know this message of mine will not irritate you. You will not kill me with your occult power. You have the capacity to destroy but you are all forgiveness, you are all compassion. But if I don’t bring you, Vishwamitra will certainly destroy me.

VASHISHTHA: Saraswati, do not worry. I will come with you.

Scene 3

VISHWAMITRA: Ah, Saraswati. You have done your job well. Any boon you ask for I shall fulfil. But first I am going to get a weapon to kill Vashishtha here and now.

(Exit Vishwamitra.)

SARASWATI (grabbing Vashishtha): Come! Come! Come! Let us go!

(Exeunt Saraswati and Vashishtha.)

Scene 4

VASHISHTHA: What a divine Lila — you take me and you bring me back.

SARASWATI: If I hadn’t taken you, he would have killed me. So I took you, and then he wanted to kill you. But I don’t want him to kill you. It is better for me to be killed. You have done no harm to him. You are all forgiveness, you are all compassion. Since I won’t be able to fulfil his desire, since I won’t be able to bring…

VASHISHTHA: Why not? You can take me. You did take me.

SARASWATI: Yes, you went, and you are ready to go again. You are most kind to me. But I don’t want you to be killed by him. You are a Brahmin. He is a Kshatriya. For a Kshatriya to kill a Brahmin is very bad. I will not allow it. No, I shall not. If he invokes me, I shall go to him and say that I am ready to be killed by him.

(Vashishtha blesses Saraswati. Exit Saraswati.)

Scene 5

VISHWAMITRA: Saraswati, you have deceived me. You have deceived me! Now you deserve punishment. I shall destroy you. No. Just by destroying you I won’t get enough satisfaction. I shall degrade you. I shall dishonour you. Everybody says your water is extremely pure. Everybody drinks your water. I am going to turn your water into blood. Nobody will ever drink your water again. It will be disgusting — all red.

SARASWATI: My water, my existence, will be all red?

VISHWAMITRA: Yes, everybody will loathe you. Nobody will come near you. Nobody will dare to touch your water. Nobody will ever want to look at you.

Scene 6

FIRST PILGRIM: This Saraswati was once upon a time such a beautiful river. It had such clear, pure water.

SECOND PILGRIM: Everybody drank, everybody swam here. It gave everybody such joy, such fun, such comfort, such delight.

THIRD PILGRIM: Now the river Saraswati has become an object of fear and disgust. Let us pray for its restoration.

(They sit down and pray to Lord Shiva. Shiva descends.)

SHIVA: I have heard your prayer. I am making Saraswati once again clear and pure for you to use, for everybody to use. Long ago, Vishwamitra did not have the knowledge of Brahman. Because he didn’t have the knowledge of Brahman, Vashishtha and Vashishtha’s divine cow defeated him. Now he has got the knowledge of Brahman from Brahma. Now he has equalled Vashishtha. But nature’s transformation is a different matter. God-realisation is one thing. Vishwamitra didn’t have it before. Now he has it. But for God-manifestation, one needs the transformation of human nature. Vishwamitra lacks this transformation of nature. Vashishtha has it. Unless and until Vishwamitra has changed his nature, he will not be able to manifest God on earth. Vashishtha is all love, all compassion for mankind. He has transformed his nature and is manifesting God on earth. Vashishtha still remains unparalleled, infinitely superior to Vishwamitra.

The saint and the king

Dramatis personae

KING (A DISCIPLE OF THE SAINT)

A SERVANT OF THE KING

Scene 1

KING: O Guru of my heart and soul, please tell me how I can please you most.

SAINT: You can please me most, my son, by allowing me to sit at the foot of a mango tree in your garden. There is a particular mango tree where I wish to sit every day and meditate without interruption for hours and hours. I do not want to be in your palace. It is so full of noise, so full of clamour. I feel I will be infinitely happier alone. To tell the truth, I will only be really happy if I am left alone to meditate under that particular mango tree. And every day you may come and see me, once in the morning, and once in the evening.

(The king touches his Guru’s feet.)

KING: Yes, O Guru, I shall do it. Every day I shall come in the morning and in the evening to have your darshan. And I shall send food for you three times a day. Please call me whenever you want to. I am always at your command, O Guru.

Scene 2

Scene 3

KING: O Master, why didn’t you call me? How could this happen? How could you suffer so much? Who threw stones at you? Who could have done this kind of thing to my Master? It must have been one of my servants. Please tell me. Do you know the person? I shall kill him.

SAINT: No. I know the person, but I won’t tell you who he is.

KING: Why not? Why not?

SAINT: He threw stones at the mangoes, not at me. The mangoes are the children of the tree, but the tree has forgiven him. Look, the tree is still here: it did not fall on him. The tree has forgiven him, although he took away quite a few mangoes. If a tree has the capacity to forgive a man, since I am a religious man, a superior being, I should also have that capacity.

KING: O Guru, if you forgive this servant of mine, he will go on with his wrongdoing. Is it fair, please tell me, to allow a criminal to go without punishment?

SAINT: You call him a criminal, but I call him an ignorant fellow. And again, it is I who sat here while your servant was throwing stones at the mangoes. I could have moved away.

KING: You? Why should you? You are my Master, you are my All. I am at your feet. What kind of audacity did he have to throw stones at the mangoes while you were sitting at the foot of the tree? I shall now go back to the palace and order all my servants to come here. And the one who did this will have to make a confession. If he does not make a confession, then I shall find out by some other means who the real culprit is.

SAINT: The real culprit is your Guru. He allowed this ignorance. He allowed this man to throw stones. If I had told him to stop, he would have gone away. But he was hungry; he was tempted to have a few delicious mangoes, and I did not stop him. I could have asked him to climb up the tree and take some mangoes, or I could have moved away, but I did neither. If you want to say that it is his mistake, I wish to say, no, it is my mistake. It was I who allowed him to throw stones at the mangoes. And the result is that I am hurt. So, O King, do not blame him; it is I who am the real culprit. If you feel that I have done the right thing by forgiving him, which you should, then I wish to tell you that this quality of forgiveness I learnt from this tree. And I impart this quality of forgiveness to you, King. Forgive your servant. It is through forgiveness, mutual forgiveness, that we live on earth. There can be nothing superior to forgiveness. If it is a matter of crime, then forgiveness is the only cure. And if it is a matter of experience, then I wish to tell you that through this servant I have experienced hunger, temptation and wrong action. From this servant’s ignorance, I got one experience. And from the forgiveness of this tree, I got a divine experience. Ignorance teaches us; knowledge and forgiveness teach us. Ignorance teaches us how to destroy ourselves; knowledge and forgiveness teach us how to build ourselves, how to place ourselves within everyone, how to become one with everyone, how to become universally one.

(The king touches his Master’s feet with a new light, a new vision.)

The seeker and the thief

Dramatis personae

THIEF

Scene 1

SEEKER: A thief!

(As the thief runs away, he drops a watch and a mango. The seeker picks them up and begins to chase the thief.)

SEEKER: Oh thief! Oh thief!

(The thief stops and turns around.)

THIEF: You fool, why do you bother me? I have returned your things. I am not taking away your watch or your mango. I have dropped them. Why are you chasing me? You cannot say that I have stolen anything. I am going now. Don’t bother me.

SEEKER: I want you to take this mango. I want you to take this watch.

THIEF: Why?

SEEKER: You must need them more than I do. That’s why you were taking them away. You need this watch and this mango, but I need something else. I need amrita, the divine nectar. I want to drink amrita, and not eat mangoes. By drinking amrita I will become immortal. I do not need this watch; I need eternal time. I want to live in eternal time. The things that I need most I shall pray for. But you need this most delicious mango to eat, and you need this watch so that you will know at what time you should go out to steal and when you are supposed to come back. You need them more than I do, and I am glad that I am in a position to fulfil your needs.

THIEF: And who is going to fulfil your needs? I am grateful to you for fulfilling my needs. I need a mango, true, and I need this watch. But I certainly can’t fulfil your needs.

SEEKER: My friend, since I have fulfilled your needs, there will be someone on earth to fulfil my needs, too. The time has come for your desires to be fulfilled, and God has chosen me to fulfil them. A time will also come when my needs will be fulfilled. My aspiration will bear fruit at God’s choice Hour. At that time, He will send someone into my life whose very touch will give me my realisation, my liberation. I am waiting for that person to come into my life.

THIEF: You are great indeed, and now I will also become good. Because of your inspiration, I will lead a better life. Will you bless me? (The seeker blesses him.) From now on I shall be a good man. I shall eat this mango, and I shall sow the seed in my garden. One day the seed will germinate. It will grow into a plant, and then it will become a tree. And at the foot of that tree I shall sit and meditate. You have given me a watch, but I shall not use it to tell me when to go out stealing and when to come back. I will use it only to see the hour at which I must meditate. Early every morning I will get up and meditate at a certain time. When I have the mango tree, I will meditate at the foot of the tree. But until then I shall meditate in my room, and your watch will make me punctual.

SEEKER: Those are both excellent ideas. Use this watch to see that you get up early every morning to meditate. After five or six years, you will be able to sit at the foot of the mango tree and meditate. You will see, as the mango tree bears thousands of mangoes, your aspiration also will bear fruit. You will have Peace, Light and Bliss in boundless measure.

Gautami

Dramatis personae

HER SON

SNAKE

HUNTER

YAMARAJ (THE KING OF DEATH)

TIME

Scene 1

GAUTAMI: My son, you and I have come to the forest to meditate on God. You are dearer to me than my life. I have nobody on earth except you. Your father left us two years ago. He is now with God. One day we two will also go to God and be with your father there in Heaven. My son, in you I have everything.

SON: Mother, you are my everything. You are my everything, Mother.

GAUTAMI: My son, I wish you to sing me a most soulful song. While you are singing, I shall meditate. And when your singing is over, you also join me in meditation.

SON: Certainly I shall do so. Do you want me to sing any particular song, Mother?

GAUTAMI: I wish you to sing that song which you sing so soulfully, Nayam atma bala-hinena labhyo [This soul cannot be won by the weakling.]

SON: Yes, Mother, I shall sing that song to please you.

(The son sings the song most soulfully. Gautami meditates with her eyes closed. Suddenly a snake comes and bites the son. He screams and Gautami’s meditation is disturbed. She sees the snake. The son’s face becomes pale. He faints, then dies in front of his mother.)

GAUTAMI: O snake, you have killed my son! O God, there was no doctor here; there was nobody to save my son’s life. My son is no more. O Lord, You know what is best. Let Thy Will be done, O Lord.

(Enter a hunter.)

HUNTER: O venerable lady, is this your child?

GAUTAMI: My only son. He has been bitten by a snake.

HUNTER: Your only son has been bitten by a snake, and he is dead? Let me kill the snake. And after I have killed it, shall I destroy it by burning it or shall I cut it into pieces? Tell me how I can please you.

GAUTAMI: I do not want you to kill the snake.

HUNTER: Why not? Your only son is no more, and you don’t want me to kill the culprit? Why?

GAUTAMI: If you kill the snake, do you think that I will get my son’s life back?

HUNTER: No, you won’t get your son’s life back. But the snake deserves punishment. The snake has killed him, and I have the capacity to kill the snake.

GAUTAMI: No, I don’t want you to kill the snake. The time had come for my son to leave this body. The snake was just an instrument. It was an innocent instrument, and I really don’t want you to kill it.

(The snake lifts up its hood.)

SNAKE: Mother Gautami, I didn’t want to bite your son, but the King of Death, Yamaraj, sent me to bite him. So I have bitten him, and he is now dead. But it is not my fault.

HUNTER: Whose fault is it, then? This boy was such a young child. Now he is dead. What did he do? Why should Yamaraj want to kill an innocent, beautiful, divine boy? Yamaraj sent you. True, it was his crime; he did the wrong thing. But it was you who executed his order; it was you who killed the boy. Your crime is more serious, so it is you who deserve my punishment.

SNAKE: O hunter, you are a wise man. When you wish to perform religious sacrifices, when you wish to perform pujas, you appoint a priest, and the priest prays and meditates for you. He adores and worships God for you. Then you get the benefit, you get the merit, you get the result of the puja. The priest does everything for you, but since you are the employer, you get the benefit. The priest does not get it. I was employed by the King of Death. I have only worked for him. The consequences of my acts belong to him.

(Enter Yamaraj.)

SNAKE: Master, I listened to you. You asked me to bite the boy, and I did. Now he is dead, and they blame me. I just executed your will and they blame me. They want to kill me — at least this hunter wants to kill me.

GAUTAMI: I don’t want to kill you. I want the hunter to let you go.

HUNTER: I want to kill you. I will kill you. (To Yamaraj.) Why are you so cruel? You sent this snake to kill this young boy who was so beautiful, so divine.

YAMARAJ: Look, hunter, I am not responsible. Time, Eternal Time, ordered me to send the snake to bite this young boy. I am under the express command of Time.

(Enter Time.)

TIME: What is this all about?

YAMARAJ: O Time, I executed your order, and now they are blaming me. Is it my fault that I asked the snake to come and bite this boy? It was your order. We are all at your feet, O Time.

TIME: It is not your fault; it is not my fault. It is nobody’s fault. In his previous incarnation this boy did something wrong, and this is the result. He is paying the penalty for his action in his previous incarnation.

GAUTAMI: O hunter, go away. I knew this; I felt it. Everything here on earth is caused by God’s Will. O Yamaraj, go back to your home. O Time, go back to your abode. Please allow me to pray to my God. He will give me strength; He will console my heart; He will illumine my life. My son is with God and my husband is with God. As long as God wants me to stay on earth to work for Him, I shall stay. And when He wants me to go back to Him in Heaven, with my heart’s deepest joy I shall go back. I have no son, I have no husband. In my outer life I am alone; but in my inner life I am never alone. God is within me, guiding me, protecting me and illumining me. I need only one Person on earth and in Heaven: that is my God. In Him I see my husband, my son, my Everything. God is my All, my only One.

Kuru

Dramatis personae

MINISTER

INDRA

Scene 1

KURU: Minister, come with me. Follow me. (Minister follows him for a good distance.) This is a vast plot of land. I want this land to be cultivated, and I want a bumper crop from this land very soon.

MINISTER: That is a wonderful idea, your Majesty. I shall appoint some farmers to cultivate this land.

(Enter Indra.)

INDRA: O King, on this land hundreds of sages have meditated and prayed. Here they have performed sacrifices. Here they have performed their rituals; they have meditated on God. This is soil of sacrifice, soil of aspiration and realisation. O King, don’t destroy this hallowed land.

KURU: I don’t believe in all that spirituality — meditation and sacrifice and all that. I need this land. I don’t want it to remain uncultivated. I am a man of principle, a man of wisdom. Don’t fool with me. This is my kingdom. This is my land.

(Indra disappears, then enters in the form of a Brahmin.)

INDRA: Your Majesty, this is your kingdom, this is your property. I have no right to advise you, but I wish to say that the gods will be happy in Heaven if you leave it as it is.

KURU: Then pray to God. I will allow this land to remain uncultivated provided you pray to God that whoever dies in this place will go to God immediately. It is said that whoever dies in Kashi (Benares) goes to Heaven. I want this place also to be as sacred as Benares. No matter who he is, if he is a thief, a murderer, a man of the worst possible principles, whoever dies here must go to Heaven immediately. If this desire of mine can be fulfilled, then I shall leave this place uncultivated.

(The Brahmin immediately changes back to Indra.)

INDRA: I fulfil your desire. This will be one of the most sacred places in India. Just because the sages prayed and meditated here, just because of my presence, just because of your surrender to my will, everybody who dies here — even if he is the worst possible man — will go to Heaven. And I wish to say that here also the battle of life will take place. The Divine and the undivine will fight. The Divine will eventually conquer the undivine and manifest and fulfil God on earth. On the physical plane, the undivine will be swallowed up by the one Divine Compassion-Light. But on the inner plane, on the spiritual plane, the undivine will enter into the Divine and be transformed, perfected and fulfilled. Once conquered by the Divine, once surrendered to the Will of the Divine, the undivine will become part and parcel of the Divine and will be utilised for the Divine. It will feel boundless joy and delight. It will see the difference between pleasure, which it once had, and joy, which it now has. The undivine will be lost in the Divine and will become Divine itself, and here it will find its real fulfilment.

Udpantirtha

Dramatis personae

BEAR

COSMIC GOD

GAUTAMA

THE SUPREME GOD

Scene 1

TRITA (to his two brothers): Now that our father is not with us, we have to be very clever and wise.

EKATA: Certainly we have to. What do you think we should do?

TRITA: Let us go to our father’s disciples. Father had quite a few rich disciples. They will sympathise with us; they will give us gifts, all sorts of gifts. They will give us their cows, and we will be able to sell milk. With their gifts we shall be able to stay on earth without working.

DWITA: That is a splendid idea. Let us go and get all we can, whatever wealth his disciples give us. This is our opportunity. Right now they are mourning, they are crying for their Master. This is the time when they will be very large-hearted and sympathetic towards us.

(Exeunt omnes.)

Scene 2

EKATA (to Dwita): Dwita, this is our opportunity to go home with all the cows and the money. We shall share it only with each other.

DWITA: Trita is the cleverest and the most learned. He always manages to get the most of everything. This is the time for us to share with each other and not have him in our family any more.

(Exeunt Ekata and Dwita.)

TRITA: O God, come and save me. My two brothers are so inhuman. They have heard me crying, but they are not coming to my rescue. Save me, God, please save me.

(Enter a cosmic god.)

TRITA: Please help me out of this well.

COSMIC GOD: With my occult power, I am filling the well with water again. The water will raise you to the top of the well. Then you will be able to get out.

(Trita soon climbs out of the well.)

TRITA: Since you are so kind to me, please grant me another boon.

COSMIC GOD: What is the boon?

TRITA: That whoever touches the water of this well will be purified. No matter what kind of sin he has committed, he will be forgiven if he touches the water of this well.

COSMIC GOD: Granted.

TRITA: Now, give me a third boon.

COSMIC GOD: What is your boon?

TRITA: I will be so grateful if you grant me the boon that any desire of mine will be fulfilled.

COSMIC GOD: You will have to pray and meditate to get that boon. Stay here; pray and meditate. If you please me, that boon also I will one day grant. You pray and meditate here. When the time comes, I shall come and bless you, and your wish will be fulfilled.

TRITA: Thank you, O Lord. I shall do nothing but pray and meditate until you come back again.

Scene 3

GAUTAMA: O Lord Supreme, I have hundreds of disciples, but it is only my own sons who are quarreling and fighting. Look at this. Two sons did not come to save the third. A cosmic god went and helped him. Now he is meditating to get a boon from the cosmic god that all his desires will be fulfilled. Look at these three sons of mine! I am ashamed of them. How is it that my sons behave this way when I was so spiritual? By Your Grace I realised You. How is it that my own sons are unspiritual? How did it happen?

SUPREME GOD: Gautama, the physical sons are not your children, it is the spiritual sons who will realise you. They cry inwardly. They need spirituality, they need God, they need Love, they need Light, they need Truth. Your physical sons do not care for these things. Whoever cries for Truth, Love and Light will get them. Look at Krishna. Krishna’s own children were not spiritual at all. In your case, also, it is the same. But Krishna’s devotees, like Arjuna and Vidura, realised Me. So don’t worry. Your real sons are those who think of Me and meditate on Me. Your physical sons, from now on, are only part of My creation. Do not expect anything from them. Expect everything from your spiritual children who are thinking of you, meditating on you and praying to you and to Me. They will attain realisation. As you know, we are dealing with Infinity, and Eternity. One day your physical sons will also realise Me. But right now, I wish you to consider only those who cry for Light and Truth as your real sons.

GAUTAMA: I understand, O Lord, that my real sons are those who think of You and meditate on You, those who need Light and want to live constantly in Light and for Light.

Scene 4

COSMIC GOD: Trita, I am most pleased with your prayer and meditation. I shall grant you any boon you want.

TRITA: O god, I want the boon that all desires of mine will be fulfilled by you immediately.

COSMIC GOD: Granted.

(Trita bows to the cosmic god, who then disappears.)

Scene 5

(Enter Trita.)

TRITA: You two rogues! You unnatural brothers! You didn’t care to save me from the well.

EKATA: We didn’t know where you had gone. We looked for you.

DWITA: We thought that you had been killed by the bear.

EKATA: I shouted so loudly. I shouted myself hoarse for you. I didn’t hear any reply. I wept and cried because I thought that you had been killed.

DWITA: I searched for you everywhere, but I did not see you anywhere. I searched and searched but you were nowhere to be found. Finally I came to the conclusion that you had been killed.

EKATA: I also thought that you had been killed. That’s why I cried and wept so bitterly. We didn’t hear you calling us.

TRITA: You rogues! You people were talking loudly, both of you. You said how happy both of you were that you would be able to keep all of Father’s property and all the gifts and cows that we got from his disciples. You wanted to share only between yourselves. I heard you saying it. You didn’t hear me? You liars! I heard you talking in normal voices, while I was shouting and screaming from the well. You didn’t hear me? Oh no, certainly not!

EKATA: Believe me. I didn’t hear you.

DWITA: Believe me, I didn’t hear you either.

TRITA: All right, both of you did not hear me. But I have come out of the well anyway. A god came because he was pleased with me. Now, I have meditated, and I have occult powers. With my occult vision I see clearly that you heard me.

EKATA AND DWITA (together): We don’t deny that you have occult powers, but we didn’t hear you.

TRITA: More lies? Still? Now listen. If you really did not hear me crying for help, you will remain on earth as you are now. Both of you will enjoy Father’s property, and I will have my own life: a life of spirituality, a life of renunciation. I shall have my own followers, and I shall live without you. But if you did hear, then at this moment I curse you. Both of you will turn into bears.

(Immediately both brothers turn into bears and run away into the forest. Trita walks away from the wealth left behind by his two brothers. He wants to lead a life of renunciation.)

The discovery of shoes and umbrella

Dramatis personae

RENUKA (HIS WIFE)

SURYA (THE SUN GOD)

Scene 1

JAMADAGNI: Renuka, my dear, I am extremely eager to do something.

RENUKA: My Lord, what is it? Tell me.

JAMADAGNI: I need your help, Renuka, in this matter.

RENUKA: Lord, to please you, to fulfil you, I came into the world.

JAMADAGNI: I am so proud of you, Renuka. I want to practise archery. In my childhood and adolescence I was fond of it, and now, in my ripe old age I am growing fond of it again. Even though I am a spiritual man, a sage, and many people worship me, I am still fond of this game. I want to practise my aim at archery. I will shoot at a particular target, and you will bring the arrows back to me.

RENUKA: Nothing will give me greater joy than to do this for you.

JAMADAGNI: But I would like to spend the whole day practising. It is not a matter of a few minutes or a few hours.

RENUKA: If you want to practise all day, I have no objection. On the contrary, I will get immense joy from watching and helping you.

Scene 2

JAMADAGNI: Renuka, why are you no longer bringing the arrows back so quickly? Are you tired?

RENUKA: I am really tired. I am exhausted.

JAMADAGNI: Why? Why are you so tired?

RENUKA: Lord, you can see how bright the sun is. It is like a furnace. My head is aching and my feet are burning from this scorching heat.

JAMADAGNI: I have the power to curse the sun, to punish him. You know that I have tremendous occult power.

RENUKA: Yes, my Lord, I know it.

JAMADAGNI: Then right now I shall look at the sun and punish him.

(Enter Surya in the guise of a Brahmin.)

JAMADAGNI: What can I do for you? Do you want anything special from me?

SURYA: No, I have not come here for a favour. I saw from a distance that you were practising archery, and your wife was bringing your arrows back. I was really amused and inspired. I got tremendous joy from watching you play this game, so I came to observe it from close by.

JAMADAGNI: All right, wait and see what I am going to do. I am now going to destroy the sun with my occult power. The sun is ruining our game. Because of the heat, my wife is not able to bring the arrows back to me so quickly. There is no joy in the game if I have to wait such a long time for her to bring back the arrows. So I am now going to threaten the sun, and see what the sun says.

SURYA: May I give you some advice?

JAMADAGNI: Advice! Do I need advice from any human being after having realised God? I don’t need any advice. But anyway, tell me, what is your advice?

SURYA: If your wife could have a pair of shoes and an umbrella…

JAMADAGNI: Shoes? What are shoes? And what is an umbrella? I have never heard of these things. Brahmin, it seems you are talking nonsense.

SURYA: No, no, O Sage. (He brings out from his robe a pair of shoes and an umbrella.) This is called an umbrella and these are called shoes.

RENUKA: Shoes? What are they for?

SURYA: To protect your feet.

RENUKA: And the umbrella, what is it for?

SURYA: To protect your head, to protect your whole body.

RENUKA: But I don’t know how to use them. I have never seen them before.

SURYA: Come, I will show you. (He puts the shoes on Renuka’s feet and opens the umbrella for her.) This is how you use them. When it is very hot, when the sun is unbearably bright, your head will be protected by the umbrella’s shade, and your feet will be protected by the shoes. (Turning to Jamadagni.) O Jamadagni, O Sage, protection is needed from below and from above. When one has protection from above, one can rise, one can go up to the highest, one can realise the highest; and when one has protection from below then one can manifest the deepest. You have realised God; that is true. But in the field of realisation, there is no end. You have realised a portion of the Truth; the Transcendental Truth you have not realised. You have touched the foot of the tree — that is your realisation. But there is a realisation which is infinitely superior. That realisation you will have when you can climb up to the top of the tree, bring the fruit down to the ground and distribute it to others who do not know how to climb. This is the highest type of realisation. What you have realised within also has to be manifested without. For that you need protection. If you are not protected here on earth, you cannot manifest the Divine. Shoes and umbrella will protect your wife from the forces of the outer world, and will remind you of the protection which you need in the inner world in order to reach the highest Goal.

(The Brahmin changes into Lord Surya. With his effulgent Light, he looks at Jamadagni and Renuka. They bow at his feet.)

JAMADAGNI AND RENUKA (together): O Lord Surya, you came to us in the garb of a Brahmin, and offered us protection. Your outer protection will comfort our outer lives and your inner protection will immortalise our inner lives.

The master with his four disciples

Dramatis personae

INSINCERITY

IMPURITY

JEALOUSY

INSECURITY

Scene 1

MASTER: Insincerity, you are killing me. Impurity, you are killing me. Jealousy, you are killing me. Insecurity, you are killing me.

INSINCERITY: Master, I know that I am insincere, but please tell me how I can become sincere.

MASTER: Fast for one day. Fast today for the whole day, and tomorrow come and see me.

IMPURITY: Master, I know I am impure, but please tell me how I can be pure.

MASTER: Fast today. Don’t eat anything. Come back tomorrow.

JEALOUSY: Master, I know I am jealous. But how can I get rid of my jealousy? Please tell me.

MASTER: Fast today. Eat nothing at all. Tomorrow come and see me.

INSECURITY: Master, I know I am insecure. At every moment I am insecure. Please tell me how I can be secure, how I can have confidence in my life.

MASTER: Don’t eat anything today. Fast. Don’t have even a glass of water. Come back tomorrow and I shall tell you how you can have a life of security. All of you go home and come back to me tomorrow. I shall tell you (to the boys) how you can be sincere and pure, and how you (to the girls) can get rid of jealousy and insecurity.

Scene 2

MASTER: Insincerity, how do you feel today?

INSINCERITY: Master, I feel very, very weak. Yesterday I didn’t eat anything. That’s why I feel so weak.

MASTER: See, you have become sincere today. Yesterday you didn’t eat and that’s why you are weak. So your sincerity has spoken through you. You are no longer insincere. But now, how can you maintain your sincerity? From now on, see two persons in your life. There are two types of people: one is inferior to you and one is superior to you. When you see someone inferior then immediately say inwardly to yourself: “It is beneath my dignity to lie to this person who is inferior to me. Why should I be afraid of him? Let me speak out freely and say what I think.” And when you see someone who you feel is superior, then say to yourself, “Oh, he is my superior. Today or tomorrow he will catch my lies, and I will be punished. So why should I lie to him? Punishment and embarrassment will be my fate.” You can conquer your insincerity in this way. By telling the truth to both inferiors and superiors, you can bring Perfection into your life. (To Impurity.) Impurity, how do you feel today?

IMPURITY: Oh, I feel much purer today. I feel really pure today.

MASTER: Once a month you should fast, and drink only water and juice. Don’t eat solid food one day each month. That will help you in your purity. But in order to maintain inner purity all the time, early every morning, breathe in and out at least fifty times. Each time you breathe in, feel that you are breathing in not air, but purity. And each time you breathe out, feel that you are breathing out only impurity. And in the evening, feel that you are breathing in Light and breathing out gratitude to God. This way you will have purity every day, every hour, every second in your life. (To Jealousy.) Jealousy, how do you feel today?

JEALOUSY: I feel quite fine. I feel that I am lighter today. Yesterday I didn’t eat at all, and today I feel lighter.

MASTER: For only one day you have not eaten, and already you feel light. Now feel that the food that you did not take yesterday was ignorance. For one day you did not eat ignorance. For one day you did not allow this food to enter into you. That’s why you feel light. So feel, Jealousy, that there is a kind of food which is ignorance. If you eat it, you become heavier. If you don’t eat it, you become lighter. From now on, do not allow yourself to be tempted by this food called jealousy. When you don’t eat it, you will feel light; then you can run the fastest towards your Goal. What do you want? You want to reach your Goal, the sooner the better. So don’t eat this ignorance-food, which is jealousy. (To Insecurity.) Insecurity, how do you feel today?

INSECURITY: Master, I feel very weak today. It seems to me that my insecurity has increased today along with my physical weakness.

MASTER: It is true. Insecurity is already spiritual weakness, and when you do not eat, you become physically weak as well. When physical weakness is added to weakness in your inner life, naturally you will be even more helpless than you were before. First make yourself physically strong. You can make yourself physically strong by eating normal food every day. And you can make yourself spiritually strong, confident, by feeling that God needs you and wants to have you in His Heart, because He wants to be complete; He wants to be universal. Always feel that He whom you need, God, also needs you in order to be all-pervading. You feel that God is very great and He can easily do without you. Yes, He can do without you, but He cannot be perfect unless and until He has made you perfect. Since He is for all, He can be all-perfect only by making you perfect. So try to have confidence. This is your security. Give to God what you have: ignorance. Don’t hold it for yourself; give it gladly, cheerfully, constantly to Him. And feel that since you have played your part, then it is His Duty to give you what He has: Light. Devotedly, confidently give Him your ignorance, and receive devotedly and confidently His Light. In this way you will always remain secure and confident.

(The four disciples bow down to their Master with utmost gratitude. They sing together.)

Khama karo khama karo ei sheshbar
samarpiba jaya malya charane tomar
ami taba asimer mauna barabhay
tumi sindhu ami bindhu mor parichai

(Forgive me, forgive me, this is the last time, forgive me.
I shall offer to You at Your Feet the garland of Victory.
I am the silent compassion of Your Infinity.
You are the Ocean, I am the tiniest drop.
This is my only identification.)

Editor's introduction to the first edition

What is a human play? It is God singing, dancing and laughing through the heart of man.

In a divine play, man is the actor and God is the director.

In a human play, man’s imagination is the actor and God’s inspiration is the director.

God likes to watch human plays. He watches His children playing with His Creative Vision. God is a most appreciative audience.

Man likes to watch divine plays. He watches himself becoming the revealing Light and watches God becoming the manifested Delight. Man is a most appreciative audience.

In these twelve dramas, some original and others drawn from traditional Indian classics, we see the human play and the divine play themselves playing together. Written with a sublime purity and poetic forcefulness, these works express man’s highest artistic aspiration and realisation, and represent significant human plays. But, written as they are by a God-enlightened Soul, they also possess a divine intensity and supreme illumination that take them beyond ordinary drama to the level of divine Reality itself. These are not plays about spiritual reality, but the very substance of spiritual reality; not plays at all, but the very breath of Divinity breathing through the lips of illumined humanity.