Siddha means the one with siddhis, or yogic powers. Bhagavan Nityananda was one such great Siddha. Although Ive never met him in person, I had the good fortune of meeting his equally great disciple Baba Muktananda in America and its through Baba that I got to know this truly fascinating mystic and master yogi. There are three stories about the taciturn Nityananda that for some reason made a deep impression on me. In the first story, Indian tax collectors approach Nityananda and start to harass him about his taxes. Although well-known for roaming the countryside non-stop with just a loincloth to his name and having no material possessions whatsoever, Nityananda was still squeezed by the tax collectors for hiding his wealth. Perhaps enjoying their power over this shy yogi who hid his powers from the outside world, they bothered him with insistent demands to reveal where he was hiding his treasure chest. Sick and tired of his tormentors, Nityananda at long last caved in and told the taxmen to follow him to a swap. And when they reached the crocodile infested swamp, Niyananda dived straight into the water and disappeared from their sight. And according to the legend, when the Nityananda surfaced again, he was holding in both of his fists brand new gold coins and precious jewels. Do you now understand where Im hiding my treasure at? Nityananda asked them. Throwing the gold coins and jewelry on their heads, Nityananda admonished the taxmen not to bother him again. Shocked and horrified by what they have just witnessed, the government official disappeared in a hurry and never came back. # # # Another sweet story again involves the consequences of harassing Nityananda. Bhagavan, never staying at any one spot for too long, used to travel a lot on trains crisscrossing the Indian continent. Since most of the conductors were familiar with the strange blessings that visited those who treated the famous yogi well, they did not bother him and allowed him to travel without a ticket. But one day a diligent conductor who did not know Nityananda asked him either to produce a ticket or get off the train. Nityananda obediently got off and just squatted next to the tracks. But when it came to moving the train forward, the machinist discovered that the train would not move for some strange reason. No matter what they did, the train would not budge an inch as if nailed down by an invisible force. After some time the passengers who knew Bhagavan understood what was going on and immediately recommended the conductor to invite Nityananda back onto the train. Running out of all other options and having a train load of people to deliver to the next station, the conductor gave in and invited the holly yogi back on the train. And as soon as Nityananda climbed back, the train shivered back to life and started to chug along towards its next stop on the route. # # # The third story is the most lyrical of all and its an eye-witness story. One dark night Bhagavan was drinking his cup of coffee sitting on the low wall in the back of his hut. His back was turned to the jungle. While they were watching their master in awe as most disciples do whenever they get the chance (another name for guru watching is called satsang and is supposed to bestow numerous benefits on a disciple even if nobody talks anything) they noticed a huge tiger approaching Bhagavan from the jungle. Since they were seeing the ferocious animal but Bhagavan, who was sitting with his back to the dark forest, could not, they grew very apprehensive. Some of them tried to warn the great yogi about the impending disaster but Nityananda very calmly continued to sip his coffee (his favorite drink). And when the tiger reached Nityananda, he stood up on his rear legs and placed his massive paws on the Bhagavans shoulders and just stood there, as if listening to the heart beat of the great illuminated master. After staying in that position for a while, the tiger quietly returned to the jungle. His disciples interpreted this experience as the need for the tiger to get the Masters darshan, or blessings. In India, such animals which manage to get the blessings of a great yogi like Bhagavan Nityananda are believed to be destined to reborn in their next life as a human being and that represents a great advancement on the ladder of spiritual evolution in the yogic tradition. |
