Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath: two spiritual lions

Dramatis personae

SECOND DISCIPLE

MATSYENDRANATH

THIRD DISCIPLE

FOURTH DISCIPLE

FIFTH DISCIPLE

GORAKSHANATH

LORD SHIVA

PARVATI

ASURA

Act I, Scene 1

FIRST DISCIPLE: Our teacher is such a great spiritual Master. Although he has tremendous spiritual and occult powers, he never misuses them. He always uses his power for God, only to fulfil God in humanity in accordance with God’s express Will.

SECOND DISCIPLE: See how he is diving deep within! Let us meditate with him.

(All meditate for a while.)

MATSYENDRANATH (coming out of trance): My dear spiritual children, you are my most intimate disciples. Did you hear any conversation just now?

THIRD DISCIPLE: No Master, we didn’t hear anything. There was nobody here, so how could we hear anything? We were all meditating with you in deep silence.

MATSYENDRANATH: Did you see a glow around my face or an aura behind my head?

FOURTH DISCIPLE: I did, I did!

FIFTH DISCIPLE: I saw something like a glow around your face, Master.

FIRST DISCIPLE: And behind your head, an aura! I know that you have many auras, but I must have been seeing your most beautiful aura!

SECOND DISCIPLE: What delight to have this kind of experience!

MATSYENDRANATH: It was all due to the presence of Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared before my inner vision to give me a special message. He told me that my best disciple, my absolutely best disciple, will be coming to me today for initiation.

(The disciples are inwardly shocked and displeased, but outwardly each one gives the Master a broad smile.)

MATSYENDRANATH: Hypocrisy and spirituality don’t go together. Be sincere. I know you are all sad that my best disciple is going to come to me today, and you will definitely be jealous of him. Now tell me why you are sad inwardly, although outwardly you are showing me happy faces? Why are you already jealous of him?

THIRD DISCIPLE: Master, you know it is not easy to conquer jealousy. We have been trying very hard for many years, but still it is extremely difficult for us to conquer jealousy.

MATSYENDRANATH: Just try to remember that we are all in a battlefield. You are my soldiers; I am your commander. But we are not strong enough to fight against our enemies, the brooding forces of night, alone. We need someone really strong to come and take our side. Naturally, if he also adds to our strength, we are bound to win.

FOURTH DISCIPLE: O Master, now we are extremely happy! The happiness in our hearts shows in our happy faces.

MATSYENDRANATH: You are lying to me! Inwardly you are not happy at all. You are extremely jealous. You are jealous of him because you feel that it is his power that will enable us to win the victory, not yours. When he appears on the scene, when he takes our side, only then will it be possible for us to win. If he does not come, we cannot win. So you are jealous because while you do not have the inner power to bring about the victory, he does. It is useless for you to tell me lies, because I can easily read your thoughts. If anybody wishes to challenge my inner vision, that person should stand up.

(Nobody stands.)

FIFTH DISCIPLE: Master, it is useless to try to deceive you, but we know that our deception is no match for your compassion. Your compassion is infinitely more powerful than our deception. That is why we stay with you.

MATSYENDRANATH: You are jealous that my most devoted disciple is going to come because he will be my favourite. You are jealous that he will be the one who can win the victory for us. But instead of being jealous, why don’t you consider the arrival of this brother of yours as the result of your many years of prayer and meditation with me? You have prayed for peace, light, bliss and power in boundless measure. Now why can’t you take his arrival as the answer to your prayers? Do not think of him as an individual with personality. Think of him as the bringer of peace, light and bliss. This peace, light and bliss is coming to you because of your sincere prayers. Your meditation for divine victory has borne fruit. You prayed to God in me for the fulfilment and transformation of your nature. Now God is granting you this boon by sending you this unparalleled brother who will be my best disciple. Take him as the fruit of your aspiration, not as a rival who is endowed with much more capacity than you have. If you can do this, then you can cherish no jealousy towards him.

(Enter Gorakshanath with the traditional gifts of fruit for the Master.)

GORAKSHANATH: Master, last night I had a vision. In the vision Lord Shiva appeared before me and told me that you are my Guru. So today I have come to you. Please initiate me.

FIRST DISCIPLE: This time, in all sincerity, I feel that all of us are inspired by our Master’s advice.

THIRD DISCIPLE: We are actually feeling in this new brother our own living presence.

FOURTH DISCIPLE: We see and feel that his arrival is the result of our own aspiration.

FIFTH DISCIPLE: Master, we are most sincerely happy, delighted and proud to see this youth. We see in him our own achievement.

MATSYENDRANATH: My dearest and best disciple, if I have ever had divine pride in my life, then all my divine pride I offer to you. I know who you are and what you are. You are of me and you are for me. You have come to help me shoulder my responsibilities, and for that I shall be eternally grateful to you.

GORAKSHANATH: You will be grateful to me? It is I who have to be grateful to you! You will initiate me and give me light in abundant measure. From you I will receive my realisation and liberation.

MATSYENDRANATH: You are grateful to me because I will give you my realisation, but I am grateful to you because you will be able to receive my realisation. I have been here now for many years, but I have not found anybody really receptive to whom I can offer my entire realisation. You are able to receive and I am able to give. It will take you a very short time to realise me. It is a matter of a few months. In these few months I shall be working most powerfully inside you to give you realisation and liberation. Once you receive my realisation, you will be able to manifest the Supreme in me. Now let me bless you and initiate you in the traditional way.

(Matsyendranath blesses Gorakshanath and gives him a string of beads.)

MATSYENDRANATH: I am giving you these japa beads. I have sanctified them, and they are only for you to use. This is a very special mala. Let me tell you a story about it.

Act I, Scene 2

MATSYENDRANATH: Once Lord Shiva and his consort, Parvati, were roaming in the forest of Manapuri. When they wanted to go back home, they discovered that they had lost their way. Lord Shiva was extremely hungry, so he asked his consort to make him some food.

SHIVA: Parvati, you prepare a meal for me, and in the meantime let me go and look for a road so that we can come out of this forest. I will try to find a road that leads to the city. I am sure there is one.

(Lord Shiva begins to leave. Suddenly he has a vision.)

SHIVA: Parvati, I have just had a vision. I saw that as soon as I leave you a hostile force will come to attack you.

PARVATI: Please, please, if you have seen this then don’t leave me here alone!

SHIVA: Don’t worry. You can stay here in perfect safety. I am drawing a circle on the ground. You stay inside it. Do not go out of the circle. Now, I am leaving my trident with you. As soon as this asura comes, you just throw it at him, and he will be killed. I must go now.

(Parvati begins to prepare the meal. Enter a giant asura.)

PARVATI: O God! This asura is a giant! What a ferocious looking creature! I shall throw the weapon of Lord Shiva at him and pierce his heart.

(She throws and hits him. He falls.)

PARVATI: Oh! This awful asura is bleeding profusely. Look! His blood has fallen on my meal. The impure blood of the giant has poisoned Shiva’s food!

(Enter Shiva.)

SHIVA: Parvati, are you all right? What a tremendous asura! A giant!

ASURA: Shiva, your consort has struck me with your weapon. Since my life has been brought to an end by you two, I am all gratitude. All my life I have done undivine things. I have become the champion devotee of ignorance. Now your divine weapon and your consort, who is the divine Mother, have taken my life away. Please grant me one boon, only one boon: that I may not recover. Do not use your power to revive me. Just let me die here. But first, please allow me to touch your feet and be blessed by you.

(He touches Shiva’s feet.)

SHIVA: O giant, you will now be liberated. On the physical plane you will die, but on the inner plane you will be immortal because of your most sincere prayer for liberation.

PARVATI: My Lord, the impure blood of this hostile force has fallen on your food and polluted it.

SHIVA: I am concentrating on it, and with my compassion-power I am purifying it.

(He concentrates.)

SHIVA: Now that I have conquered this undivine force with my spiritual power, I shall taste a portion of this food. The world is full of ignorance. When ignorance is transformed it is a divine miracle. I am offering this portion of food to the giant, and I am using my spiritual power to transform the food that is left into mala beads. Whoever uses these beads for japa will get realisation without fail.

Act I, Scene 3

MATSYENDRANATH: My child, you are destined to get realisation very soon in this incarnation; therefore, I am offering you these beads. My children, let me look at you to see whether you have again become jealous. No, you are not jealous at all. I see you have the firm conviction that it is the result of your aspiration that has been manifested in the arrival of your new spiritual brother.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, Master, here I am seeing five faces just like my own! Five bodies, five hearts, five souls just like my own! Am I right, Master, or is this just a hallucination?

MATSYENDRANATH: You are absolutely right, my son. These are not your mere spiritual brothers and sisters, but they are part and parcel of your very existence. In you they have found their divine pride, and in them you have found your divine duty. It is you who will help them to realise the Highest, and it is they who have brought you here with their most sincere aspiration.

Act II

SECOND CITIZEN

GORAKSHANATH

CUSTOMER (THIEF)

CUSTOMERS FROM OTHER SHOPS

POLICEMEN

MINISTER

KING

PALACE GUARDS

QUEEN

STRONG MEN

Act II, Scene 1

FIRST CITIZEN: Unbearable, unbearable! The King is unbearable.

SECOND CITIZEN: Unpardonable, unpardonable! The King is unpardonable.

FIRST CITIZEN: He has gone crazy!

SECOND CITIZEN: He has become insane!

FIRST CITIZEN: Look at that fool! He wants his kingdom to surpass Heaven in prosperity, beauty and divinity.

SECOND CITIZEN: Look at his audacity! You say stupidity; I say stupidity plus audacity! How can his kingdom surpass Heaven?

FIRST CITIZEN: Impossible!

SECOND CITIZEN: Impossible!

FIRST CITIZEN: He has created absolute chaos in the whole kingdom. He says that everybody has to be equal, and he feels that the only way to bring this about is for everything in the market to be sold at the same price!

SECOND CITIZEN: Unthinkable! Unthinkable! How can gold and rice be sold at the same price? A seer of gold and a seer of rice! Ha! Ha! What a stupid king we have! There are things on earth which are extremely rare and there are things on earth which are extremely common. How can they be given the same price? Look at the stupidity of this king! He feels that this will make his kingdom most prosperous, and that all will become friends. Ha! Just wait and see what unimaginable things will soon happen.

FIRST CITIZEN: Well, when one loses one’s brains, one does all sorts of things. The King thinks we will lead a perfectly happy life if the price of everything is equal. He is a fool, a real fool. What is worse, he is adamant in his command and we are helpless.

SECOND CITIZEN: We are helpless, true, but I abominate him — his utterance, his decree, everything he does.

FIRST CITIZEN: My friend, you hate him, and I wish to say that his very name has become anathema to me. He is despised and he will ever be despised by his entire kingdom. I am a jeweller. From now on I have to sell all my most expensive jewellery at the price of eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes.

SECOND CITIZEN: No matter, friend, how many aspersions you cast on him, you cannot change his mind. This is our fate.

FIRST CITIZEN: Fate? I don’t believe in fate. I shall abrogate my fate! You will see. A day will come when Harabhanga will realise his folly and this kingdom of ours, this beautiful country, will again have real life — a life of love, a life of harmony. Once more only the right will deserve the fair. A man of knowledge will have prestige; a man of ignorance will have to work for knowledge and only then will he get prestige. People will work hard in order to achieve something and only those who deserve it will get appreciation. Two different things cannot be of the same value. A man of ignorance and a man of knowledge cannot be put on the same footing. A man of sincerity and a man of insincerity, a thief and a saint, cannot be considered equal. Just by having all eat the same food, just by selling everything at the same price, this stupid Harabhanga cannot equalise all his subjects. Impossible! His brain has reached the zenith of stupidity.

SECOND CITIZEN: And I tell you, the lion in me will not eat grass like the sheep who are the King’s ministers. The King’s ministers have no voice of their own. It is they who have agreed to the King’s proposal. I am a lion; I shall devour the King and his sheep!

Act II, Scene 2

MATSYENDRANATH: My son, are you still here? Don’t you know what King Harabhanga is doing to his subjects? He has said that everything has to be sold at the same price. Gold and eggplants will be sold at the same price.

GORAKSHANATH: I know, Master. I have heard and I have read the newspaper. But I am a little amused. I am curious to see what will happen.

MATSYENDRANATH: Curious, my son! Curiosity even at this stage? You have realised God. Now why do you allow curiosity to enter into you? I know your curiosity is innocent. You are pure; your heart is all purity, all luminosity, my son. But curiosity is still a dangerous thing. Very soon this whole kingdom will be ruined. A catastrophe will take place, and I am afraid something will happen to you. I am concerned for you, and not for this kingdom. I cannot help the innocent subjects. I can only sympathise with them.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, do you know what the King said? He says his kingdom has to surpass Heaven in beauty, prosperity and divinity.

MATSYENDRANATH (laughing): You know how he will make his kingdom superior to Heaven! He is an old man now. He has become senile.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, forgive me, I wish to see the end of this fun. If you allow me to stay here and see the end, I will be so grateful to you.

MATSYENDRANATH: I shall allow you to stay, but I tell you that your suffering is my suffering. If something serious happens to you, it is I who will have to help you or save you.

GORAKSHANATH: O Master, then I shall go away. I don’t want you to suffer because of me.

MATSYENDRANATH: No, no, stay here, Gorakshanath. I want you to enjoy this. I want to feed your innocent curiosity. Don’t worry about me. I will be able to protect myself and I will be able to help you out, too.

GORAKSHANATH: Then with your permission, Master, I shall stay.

MATSYENDRANATH: Yes, you stay, with my permission. Let us see what happens.

(Exit Matsyendranath.)

Act II, Scene 3

CUSTOMER: How much does this ring cost?

FIRST CITIZEN: One hundred rupees.

CUSTOMER: One hundred rupees? Why, this could not weigh much more than a few cloves of garlic! Let me go next door to the grocery store and see the price of garlic.

(Exit customer. First citizen is beside himself with rage and despair. Customer returns.)

CUSTOMER: The price of garlic is one anna. Your ring certainly does not weigh as much as a whole bulb of garlic, but I will give you one anna for it. And I won’t make a report to the King against you for telling me the price was one hundred rupees. Here is one anna. Good bye.

(Customer snatches the ring and starts to leave. Jeweller begins shouting.)

CUSTOMER: If you shout I will stab you. You know it is the King’s order that everything be sold at the same price.

JEWELLER: I know it is the King’s order, but I refuse to sell a gold ring for one anna. It’s extremely valuable!

(Customer stabs the jeweller and runs. Jeweller starts shouting.)

JEWELLER: Help, help! Somebody save me! Thief! Thief! Arrest that man!

(Immediately from other shops people come in. The customer is caught and brought back in by the police.)

JEWELLER: That’s the man. He has stabbed me.

Act II, Scene 4

MINISTER: Your Majesty, the man who stabbed the jeweller was put in jail yesterday, but today he has escaped.

KING: How?

MINISTER: He was a strong man. It seems he was able to break some of the bars of the prison window, and somehow he escaped.

KING: What is to be done?

MINISTER: That is up to you. Please tell me, I am at your command.

KING: Well, if you can’t find him, look for any strong young man of his size, and bring him to me.

MINISTER: Only one person?

KING: No, bring everyone. Bring all the men of his size, and I will make a selection. I will have the strongest person hanged. It is an insult to me that a prisoner can break out of my prison and escape. So the strongest man will be put to death.

Act II, Scene 5

MATSYENDRANATH: My son, now see, the worst calamity is about to take place. Has your curiosity been fed? Are you satisfied now? I am sure you have heard that all the strong young men in the kingdom are to be brought before the King. The King will select the strongest and have him hanged. He feels that the man who has escaped from his prison has insulted him, and he cannot brook that kind of insult. You are a very strong man. I do not know what may happen to you. Let us try to escape.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, I am at your feet. You are also strong. They may catch you as well. Although you are mature you are not yet old. I am afraid you are also in danger. Since I made the mistake, if the King sentences me to death, I am prepared. But if something happens to you, Master, I shall never forgive myself.

(Enter four guards and arrest Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath.)

Act II, Scene 6

FIRST MAN: No, your Majesty, I didn’t do it. I wasn’t even there.

SECOND MAN: I was out of town.

(In this way many men are brought before the King.)

KING: Now all of you stand in a line. Instead of having you come up to me, I will go down the line. Let me see who is the strongest.

(The King goes down the line. He picks out Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath.)

KING: Undoubtedly one of you will be hanged today, but it may take me a few minutes to decide who is actually the stronger.

MATSYENDRANATH: O King, look at my health, examine my physique. I tell you, if you want to kill the stronger of us two, then it is undoubtedly I who should be killed. Look at me. Look at my arms, look at my chest, look at my feet, look at my forehead, look at any part of my body. I am far stronger than this man.

GORAKSHANATH: Do not believe him, your Majesty. Look at me, look at my body. I am obviously stronger than this man. And besides, I am younger. You wanted to have a young man, and I have young blood. He is an old man. It is clear to see. Why, he was my teacher. He may be stronger than me in some things — in knowledge or wisdom — but if you want physical strength, I am the man for you.

KING: Yes, I want someone who is physically strong and not strong mentally or otherwise.

GORAKSHANATH: So, King, it is I who should be killed.

MATSYENDRANATH: King, believe me, I am stronger than this young man. Since you want a really strong man, it is I who should be hanged. You are such a great, compassionate king. I have never seen such a compassionate king on earth. You want to make everything in your kingdom equal to surpass Heaven in every way. I wish to say that, since I am older than he, I will not be of use to you much longer. Let the young man stay here in your kingdom to serve you. He is much younger than I, and he can serve you for many more years. Let me go to Heaven.

GORAKSHANATH: King, compassion is one thing and justice is another. This man is showing his compassion. I was his student. We are like father and son. When there is danger, the father wants to embrace the danger and let his son remain safe. But there is something called a promise. King, you are most honest. Now what did you say? You said the strongest man in your kingdom would be hanged. Your Majesty, how did you become great? You became great by keeping your promises. You should continue to keep your promises, so it is I who should be killed.

KING: I really can’t understand it. For the first time I am seeing two men simply dying to please me. Here all are shedding bitter tears because they may have to die. If I selected them, they would be the most miserable people on earth. But here I am seeing two men fighting over the opportunity to embrace death. I have never seen anything like it.

What is the matter with you two? I want to know why you are eager to die. Is there some special reason?

MATSYENDRANATH (pretending to be hesitant): Well, there is a special cause. You think that we are very kind, nice and generous. But, O King, we are not so kind, we are not so nice, we are not so generous; our hearts are not so big. Both of us are very clever.

KING: Clever? What kind of plot do you have?

MATSYENDRANATH: No plot. It is only that both of us know a little bit of astrology. I am an astrologer and I taught him how to cast a horoscope. That is why he was telling you that I was his teacher.

We also meditate a little. This morning we had a vision and heard an inner voice. But King, perhaps you do not believe in visions.

KING: Visions? Certainly I believe in visions. I believe in God. God has created Heaven so beautiful. It is my prayer to God that my kingdom should surpass Heaven. Now tell me, what kind of vision did you have? What did the voice tell you?

MATSYENDRANATH: Both of us had the vision at the same time, and we heard the voice say that whoever dies today at four p.m. will go to the highest Heaven. That is why we are fighting for death. Otherwise, do you think that we would be so foolish?

GORAKSHANATH: So, King Harabhanga, now the secret is out. It is for that purpose that I wanted to die. I wanted to go to the highest Heaven. It was not actually that I have such love for my Master. I wanted to die so that I could go to the highest Heaven.

MATSYENDRANATH: It is the same with me. It was not my affection and love for my student that made me fight for the opportunity to die. I knew that I could go to the highest Heaven immediately if I could manage to die at four p.m. in some way.

KING: You think I am a fool. All the time I have been crying for Heaven, for the highest joy. Here I have pleasure, but I am not satisfied. I want something more. I know that Heaven is full of Joy and Delight. Do you think I am such a fool that I will allow one of you to go to Heaven while I remain here on this corrupt and imperfect earth? In my kingdom everybody is quarrelling and fighting all the time. That is why I wanted my kingdom to be like Heaven — even to surpass Heaven. I am so grateful that you two astrologers have told me this secret. (Addressing his minister.) Get ready. Invite all my subjects and all the royal family. This is my order. I am going to be hanged. I want to go immediately to Heaven. This world is corrupt. I don’t see any hope for it. I wanted to bring happiness to my kingdom, but I see this will never be. It is only when I have something myself that I can give it to others. Now I am distressed, but in Heaven I shall be most happy. And from there, I will be able to send happiness down to my kingdom.

(Exit Minister.)

MATSYENDRANATH: Your Majesty, I wish to say that your happiness is our happiness. If you feel that by going to Heaven immediately you will be the happiest man, then go. We shall miss you, the kingdom will miss you, but we want to be happy in your happiness.

GORAKSHANATH: It is you who wanted to have the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Now you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. And once you enter there, I am sure you will be able to bring down the Kingdom of Heaven into this world. In your happiness is our happiness. We wanted to go to Heaven at four p.m., but we would rather make you happy.

(The Queen starts crying bitterly.)

KING (to Queen): I thought that you loved me. Now that I am going to be happy, why do you weep?

QUEEN: I want you to be happy, but how can I live here alone without you?

KING: Don’t worry. Once I am in Heaven I will bring you there to join me. It is only a matter of time. Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to get you. When I am in the highest Heaven I will have everything, and from there I will be able to send a messenger to take you.

(The Queen smiles.)

Act II, Scene 7

CROWD: The King is dead.

(Wild shouts and cheers.)

Act II, Scene 8

GORAKSHANATH: O Master, I went along with you, but please tell me, why have you done this? Have we done the right thing? Oh, I know whatever you do is right, but please explain to me what we did. I want to know more from you.

MATSYENDRANATH: My son, do you feel sorry for it?

GORAKSHANATH: I do feel sorry…

MATSYENDRANATH: Why? Why do you feel sorry? You should be wise. This king was ruining the whole kingdom with his stupid laws. How can everything be of the same value? How can everybody have the same status? Is it possible? God has given some men more capacity than others. God has made some things more valuable than others. On this hand two fingers cannot be the same. They are all different. If one person prays and meditates, and another does not, naturally the former will realise God sooner than the latter. You have prayed, you have meditated and you have realised God. Equality does not come without equal merit. King Harabhanga thought that just by making the price of everything the same, all people would become equal. But that is impossible. Everything has its own value. You cannot put a lion and a sheep together, feed them the same food and expect them to become the same. The sheep will remain a sheep, and the lion will remain a lion. Spiritual people will be spiritual, and ordinary people will be ordinary. God’s Kingdom is vast and everybody has his own place. One cannot mix with those who are of a different standard and expect them to become equal. Now once again this kingdom will have a sane life. A new king will take Harabhanga’s place — perhaps his own son — and you will see that, like other kingdoms, this kingdom will have prosperity. It will have judgement, peace and divine glory, for everything will have its proper value according to its capacity and according to its merit. My son, you and I have done a great service for the Supreme.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, I have understood your philosophy. I am always at your feet and at your command. To please you, to be unconditionally yours, is the sole object of my life.

(Gorakshanath sings.)

Taba sri charan mama aradhan
taba darashan mama harashan
taba parashan mama naba man
taba alodhan mama niketan

(My supreme adoration is Your Feet.
Your very sight is my delight.
Your very touch is my new mind, and Your Light of infinite Wealth is my true home.)

Act III

YOGI

GATEKEEPER

DANCING GIRLS

MATSYENDRANATH

DISCIPLES

Act III, Scene 1

YOGI: What an ugly, undivine, unbearable place! I have never been to an ashram that was so unspiritual. What kind of cow-dung Master you must have!

GORAKSHANATH: Don’t you dare speak about my Master that way! I have tremendous occult power.

YOGI: Show me your occult power!

GORAKSHANATH (grabbing a knife): Here is a knife. If you strike me anywhere on my body you will not be able to injure me at all. That is my power!

(Yogi begins stabbing Gorakshanath.)

YOGI: All right. When I struck you, you were not hurt, but my blows always created a sound. But if you strike me with the same knife, not only will you not be able to injure me, but also you will not be able to produce any sound.

(Gorakshanath stabs the Yogi several times.)

GORAKSHANATH: You are right! Not a sound! How is it possible?

YOGI: If one identifies with the Infinite, then no sound will be produced by a blow. This proves that I am superior to you in occult power.

(Exit Yogi.)

GORAKSHANATH (to himself): O Master, where are you now? I must speak to you about this. I will concentrate on you and see where you are and what you are doing.

(Gorakshanath sits down and begins to concentrate.)

Act III, Scene 2

GORAKSHANATH: How can this be? My Master is of the highest order. Perhaps my vision is wrong. Let me concentrate again.

(Gorakshanath concentrates.)

GORAKSHANATH: My Master has fallen! He is surrounded by so many beautiful girls, all singing and dancing. He is enjoying all kinds of vital life. I must save him! I will transport myself to this spot occultly.

(Gorakshanath approaches the group but is stopped by the gatekeeper.)

GORAKSHANATH: I wish to speak with that man. He is my Guru. He is Matsyendranath of Kaul. I must see him.

GATEKEEPER: Matsyendranath, Your Guru? Is that the renowned Matsyendranath of Kaul? He has fallen! What he was and what he has become now! He has fallen to such an extent that I cannot believe my ears when you tell me that this is Matsyendranath.

GORAKSHANATH: I must rescue him immediately!

GATEKEEPER: If you can rescue him from this place, you will be extremely lucky. This is Mayapuri, the Illusion-City. Once a person enters here it is most difficult for him to leave again.

(Gorakshanath tries to approach Matsyendranath, but the dancing girls will not let him near.)

GORAKSHANATH: It seems I shall have to use my occult power to make myself into a beautiful girl, or I will never get near my Master.

(Exit Gorakshanath and re-enter as a beautiful girl. Matsyendranath does not recognise him.)

GORAKSHANATH: Master, what are you doing here? What kind of life are you leading? You are a God-realised soul. What are you doing here enjoying vital life?

MATSYENDRANATH: Oh! I am fallen, I am fallen! I am fallen to such an extent! Now save me!

GORAKSHANATH: I shall use my occult power and take you away from here.

Act III, Scene 3

GORAKSHANATH (addressing one of the disciples in amazement): Has Master been away for a few weeks?

DISCIPLE: No. For the last few weeks Master has been here, and we have all been with him.

GORAKSHANATH: How can this be? Master, please explain this experience I have just gone through. I cannot fathom the mystery of what has actually happened.

MATSYENDRANATH: I had to do all this just for you, for your perfection. You have all kinds of occult power, but your pride was too great. I sent that Yogi to smash your pride, to prove to you that you are not the world’s greatest occultist. There are many with far more occult power than you have. Also, you were very austere and rigid in your spiritual life. You looked down on women. I told you repeatedly that by looking down on women you would not be able to transform and perfect your life, but you did not care for women’s liberation from ignorance. You are my best disciple. I gave you all kinds of occult power, but you were defeated by that Yogi only because of your pride. Now that you have been humiliated, now that your pride has been smashed, I wish to tell you something. Although you are my student, and although you lost to that Yogi, before long you will surpass both him and me. Because today you conquered your pride and saw the Truth in a divine way, and because by becoming a woman in order to approach me you learnt not to shun or despise women, your tremendous potentiality will now be able to come to the fore. You are bound to surpass us. There is nothing else that I can teach you. All that I have, I have given to you.

Act IV

GORAKSHANATH

FIRST DISCIPLE

SECOND DISCIPLE

THIRD DISCIPLE

STARVING WOMAN

STARVING MAN

KING’S ATTENDANTS

KING

Act IV, Scene 1

MATSYENDRANATH: My son, you have now equalled me in spirituality. You have inner peace, light and bliss in boundless measure. I want you to leave my ashram and open one of your own.

GORAKSHANATH (bursting into tears): Master, Master, this can never be! I can never leave you, and I shall never leave you. You are my life.

MATSYENDRANATH: Son, two lions cannot live in the same den. We should not stay together now. You should now roam somewhere else. You have the capacity to guide world-souls as I am guiding them. Now you must use it. You are not getting the opportunity to flourish here.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, who wants to flourish? Not me! Not in the least! I came into the world to serve you, not to equal you. It was your mistake that enabled me to equal you.

MATSYENDRANATH: Whether it was my mistake or your tremendous capacity that has enabled you to equal me is not the question. You have equalled me, and now it is God’s Will that you should serve Him by inspiring and guiding other souls. The world badly needs a Master of your calibre. Now go, my son. This is my soulful demand and command. If you really love me then you will obey my command. After six years you may come back and pay me a visit.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, I shall obey you although my heart is crying and bleeding within me. Please bless me once more before I depart.

(Matsyendranath blesses Gorakshanath.)

GORAKSHANATH: Although I shall not see you outwardly, please do not forget me. I shall come back in six years.

(Exit Gorakshanath.)

Act IV, Scene 2

GORAKSHANATH: Where is my Master? Where is Matsyendranath? I wish to see him.

FIRST DISCIPLE: We can’t tell you where Master is.

GORAKSHANATH: Please tell me. I have not seen him for six years. I was his dearest disciple.

SECOND DISCIPLE: You were his dearest disciple? Then how is it that you have not been near him for six years? When a disciple leaves his Master for such a long period of time he loses all his position and all his prestige. You are no longer the Master’s dearest disciple, if you ever were, which I doubt.

THIRD DISCIPLE: You are just trying to make yourself important, but if you were really the Master’s dearest disciple then you would immediately listen to his command. He told us that nobody should be allowed to know where he is.

GORAKSHANATH: What! Will nobody tell me where my Master is, when I have waited six years to see him and travelled from one end of India to the other?

FIRST DISCIPLE: An order is an order. Master said nobody was to know where he is.

GORAKSHANATH (furious): I shall curse you if you don’t tell me instantly where my Master is! For twelve years you will have no rain at all in this land. That means no crops, no food, no drinking water. All of you will die of starvation if you stay here. Only on condition that you bring my Master back here will this curse be lifted before the end of twelve years.

Act IV, Scene 3

FIRST PEASANT: O great Yogi, will you not lift this curse from our countryside? We are starving; our children are starving; all around us everything has become a barren desert where once before there was beauty and plenty.

SECOND PEASANT: Why do you punish an entire country for the fault of your Guru or of his disciples? Is it fair? Is it right? Do lift your curse, O great Yogi, and free us from this terrible scourge.

(No response from Gorakshanath. Exeunt peasants, dejected. Sound of trumpets and noise approaching. Enter attendants, followed by King.)

KING: (taking the dust of Gorakshanath’s feet): Gorakshanath, do lift this curse from our unfortunate country. What have we done to deserve such a fate? You are ruining us, destroying us, and because of your great occult powers we cannot prevent you. Gorakshanath, have pity. All my subjects are either dying or leaving the country, and my treasures are being exhausted only to buy food and water.

(The King pauses. No response from Gorakshanath.)

KING: Gorakshanath! (Pause.) Gorakshanath, you rogue, you are destroying my kingdom! How I wish I could destroy you in return!

(Exit King, followed by his attendants. Gorakshanath continues meditating. Enter Matsyendranath.)

MATSYENDRANATH: My son, I am so happy to see you again.

GORAKSHANATH (prostrating at Matsyendranath’s feet): Forgive me, Master. I am ashamed of what I have done to these people, to this entire country.

MATSYENDRANATH: You have not done anything wrong. These people were all corrupt. They deserved this kind of punishment. It will help them to lead a better life.

GORAKSHANATH: But I did not know that. I did not do it to help them. I was angry, and I merely wanted to punish them. My action was bad because my motive was bad.

MATSYENDRANATH: My son, you are wrong. Your soul knew that they deserved punishment, otherwise it would not have allowed you to become unreasonably angry. What you have done is right.

Act V

QUEEN

PRINCESS

GORAKSHANATH

MATSYENDRANATH

Act V, Scene 1

KING: The great spiritual Master Gorakshanath is all love and compassion. Everybody is full of appreciation, admiration and adoration for him. Not only his own disciples, but also those of other Masters have tremendous devotion for him. Even people who care nothing for the spiritual life have tremendous admiration for him. You know that I, too, have become a very great admirer of his.

QUEEN: Had you been an ordinary king, you would have been extremely jealous of Gorakshanath, and perhaps would have banished him from your kingdom. But instead, you are not at all jealous of his name and fame or of his great influence. For a long time I have also been his admirer, but how can we ourselves go to this spiritual man? Perhaps it is my pride, but after all, we are the King and Queen.

KING: Yes, and at the same time, I feel it is not right to send a messenger to such a great spiritual man asking him to come to me. This predicament has been bothering me for a long time, but now I have come to realise that since we are hungry for peace, light and bliss, we should go to this Master. Although I have wealth and worldly power, although my subjects appreciate me, admire me and flatter me, I have no peace of mind. I am always worrying about my enemies who may attack my kingdom. And no matter how much material wealth I amass, I do not get any satisfaction from it. I have no inner joy and no inner peace. My beloved Queen, I think we must go to Gorakshanath. He will be the answer.

QUEEN: If you think so, my dearest King, I shall go with you. Daughter, sweet daughter, would you like to come with us?

PRINCESS: No, Mother. I think this Gorakshanath must be a crazy man. I don’t want to go to a crazy man. You can go; I won’t go with you.

QUEEN: No, he is not crazy; he is very great. He has many, many spiritual disciples, and he is extremely good and kind. He has realised God, and he can take others to God.

PRINCESS: I don’t believe in God. I don’t need God. If you and Father believe in God and realise God, that will be more than enough for me. You share with me everything that you have. Now you are supplying me with material wealth, with love, with whatever I want. You give me everything I need. So if you gain spiritual wealth, I know you will be kind enough to share that with me too, as you are now sharing your other wealth. If you get anything, I know you will give me all I want and need.

QUEEN: All right, dearest child. We will not force you to come with us. You may stay here.

KING: Come, let us prepare to leave now. Her mind is made up.

PRINCESS: Wait! I want to come with you after all.

KING: Why this sudden change of mind, my daughter? Well, whatever the reason, you have made both of us very happy.

(Exeunt omnes.)

Act V, Scene 2

PRINCESS (aside): My parents are bowing down and touching the feet of the Master with utmost devotion, but I am doing it with utmost fear. I am sure this spiritual Master has read my mind and knows what I said at the palace. Now I will be exposed and perhaps insulted by the Master.

(Gorakshanath gives the Princess a compassionate smile.)

KING: Master, we have come here for initiation. Please accept us as your disciples. Although I am the King of this country, I know you are the real King. He who has peace, light and bliss in abundant measure is the King of many worlds, whereas I am a constant victim to worries and anxieties, not to speak of temptation and other undivine things.

GORAKSHANATH: I am very sorry that I shall not be able to initiate you right now, O King. Nor shall I be able to initiate your Queen. You two are not quite ready to accept the spiritual life whole-heartedly. You may feel that you are extremely spiritual and that you can be very devoted, but I see clearly that your hour has not yet struck. You should be happy and proud, though, that the hour of your daughter has struck. I shall initiate her today, and in a few years she will realise God.

KING: We can’t believe our ears!

QUEEN: Master, just before we came here, she said that you were a crazy man and that she did not believe in God. She wanted just to share our spiritual wealth if we got any, as she now shares our material wealth. This is the consciousness she has; this is her spiritual development, and you say that she is very spiritual, she will be very devoted and she is the one who can be initiated. Master, please explain this to us. We don’t understand.

GORAKSHANATH: This is not your first or last life. What did you do in your previous incarnation? You wanted to be a queen. And you, O King, wanted to be a king. But this girl wanted to realise God in her last incarnation. God is now listening to all your prayers. You two have become King and Queen. And God is fulfilling your daughter’s prayers for realisation through me in this incarnation.

QUEEN: Master, if she is going to realise God in this incarnation, why is it that just a few hours ago she didn’t even want to come here? She said she had no need for God. And we have never seen anything spiritual in her. She is nice, she is obedient, but nothing striking. She has never even prayed. She is sixteen years old, but she has never, never prayed even once. She has never even gone to the temple. Obviously she does not care for God. So how can we believe you when you say that she is ready to accept the spiritual life wholeheartedly?

GORAKSHANATH: You do not understand world-ignorance. World-ignorance is such that it can obscure everything. No matter how spiritual, how devoted, how divine you are, world-ignorance can cover everything. Your daughter is not yet sixteen years old. What you have seen in her so far is only a cover. I know what is inside. There is a choice hour for everyone — God’s Hour — and I know that for your daughter, God’s Hour has struck. I am just removing the veil, and you will see what she becomes in a few years. She was preparing herself in her previous incarnation for God-realisation, but God-realisation did not take place. In this incarnation she is bound to realise God; that is what God has decided. Each time we take human incarnation, in most cases ignorance comes right from the beginning and envelops our inner wisdom and inner light earned in our previous incarnations. But spiritual Masters help those aspirants who are striving to become Masters and who are destined to be their successors. Here on earth I, too, lived in ignorance for many years, but I was initiated by my own Master when the time came, and I realised God because God’s Hour had struck for me. My Master claimed me as his most devoted and dearest disciple, and I am claiming your daughter as my most devoted, my dearest and my most favourite disciple. As I am working for my Master now that I am realised, even so your daughter will work for me. And it is from her that you will get realisation, O Queen. I shall initiate you both in a few months, but I shall not live on earth to grant you realisation. Your realisation will take place in some other incarnation, and in that incarnation your daughter will be the one to grant you realisation. Of course, at that time you will not know her as your daughter; you will know her as your own spiritual Mother.

QUEEN: What you have said has deeply moved me. If you say this will happen, we shall believe you.

GORAKSHANATH: Whether you believe me or not, this is the reality.

QUEEN: Until now we thought that she was just a silly girl who did not care for God. Now she is going to be a God-realised soul.

GORAKSHANATH: She said I was a crazy man, so a crazy man will give the Princess realisation, and a silly girl will give the Queen realisation.

KING: I have not said a word against my daughter. I am all fondness for her. Now what will be my fate? Who will liberate me? Your Guru has liberated you, Master; you are liberating my daughter, and my daughter is going to liberate my wife. Who is going to liberate me?

GORAKSHANATH: The one who is going to liberate you will soon bless you. Let us meditate for a few minutes.

(While everyone is meditating, Matsyendranath appears in a divine effulgence behind Gorakshanath and blesses him.)

MATSYENDRANATH: I am here to bless my disciple. I am all love for him; I am all admiration for him; I am all adoration for him. He has surpassed me.

GORAKSHANATH (blessing the Princess): I am blessing you with all my love, with all my appreciation, and with all my divine pride. Dearest child, you will be my best disciple. You will definitely realise me.

PRINCESS (blessing the Queen): I am so happy, so proud and so delighted that once upon a time I was able to be your daughter on the physical plane. Now I am his daughter, but one day I shall be your spiritual Mother. At that time I will liberate you.

(Matsyendranath signals the Queen to bless the King.)

QUEEN: My dearest husband, it seems that I am the one who is going to liberate you. Now I am blessing you with all my love and joy. I am truly happy — not out of human pride, but out of divine joy — that I have been chosen as an instrument of God to liberate you. You have done everything to make me happy on the earthly plane. Someday I shall do everything to make you happy on the spiritual plane. One day I shall liberate you from all suffering; therefore, I am truly happy.

MATSYENDRANATH: Only a disciple who has constant, unconditional love, devotion and surrender for the Supreme in his Master can be liberated. All of us should be proud that we will have that kind of disciple, and all of us should be proud that we once were or someday will be that kind of disciple. My dearest son, I am eternally and unconditionally proud of you.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, it is you and you alone who have made me all that I am. Your grace and compassion have lifted me to the highest, and for that my eternal gratitude is at your divine feet.