Karachi
April 30,
1940
Terrible
Order
Since you were then staying with
me in Karachi, you know quite well of two incidents that show how great were the
zest and devotion with which I obeyed the commands of my
Sat-guru.
In Karachi, I used to go out for
walks to different places. One morning I strode alone the sea shore for a long
distance. At that time my Sat-guru Maharaj asked me to go on walking into the
sea. My Sat-guru had not been physically present there, but he manifested
himself in my heart and gave me that order. It was not at all a figment of my
imagination, nor was it a lunatic caprice. I had a vivid awareness of the
presence of my Sat-guru in my heart and the consequent knowledge of its meaning.
As soon as he gave me that order, I obeyed it with love and devotion for him. On
and on, I proceeded into the sea till the water level came up right up to my
mouth. All along my walk until then, I was conscious of a very vital and
devotional prayer at the holy feet of my sat-guru. The very vibrant
consciousness that I had at that time is still graphically present in my mind.
What happened then and how it happened, I do not know at all. When I regained
outer consciousness, I found that far, far away from our bungalow in Clifton (in
Karachi) my body had been hurled out of the sea, and was lying on shore at a
safe distance from the waves. My clothes were wet, but drenched and dripping. I
inferred that my body must have remained unconscious for some appreciable time
at least. When I fully woke up from the stupor, I stood up and started to return
home. At the sight of my wet clothes, you all were very curious to know what had
happened to me.
Go Naked From
Here
This is how the second incident
happened. In pursuance of my usual practice, I observed the month of Ramzan by
fasting like a Muslim. On the holy Id day, I had a sudden very compelling urge
to go to the Idgah Maidan, where thousands of Muslim brothers had gathered to do
their namaz (Muslim prayer). Everyone in our
house dissuaded me: “Will not your typical dhoti, shirt and cap mark you as a Hindu and
excite some Muslim brothers there, who will do you harm?” But I was determined,
and getting into our car which was ready to go to town to fetch vegetables, I
went to Idgah Maidan. Thousands of Muslim brothers had gathered there for their
namaz. I closely imitated their ways
of performing namaz: bent own, stood up, and sat on
my knees, just like them. In my heart, however, I prayed in my own way. When the
namaz was over and the congregation
began to disperse, I suddenly caught sight of my Sat-guru. Right there I fell
prostrate at his feet — my heart filled with rapture. He patted me on the back,
put his hand on my head (by way of a blessing) and gave me the order: “Take of
all your clothes and walk home naked from here.”
Invaluable
Chance
My heart was
moved to its deepest depth. I felt, “ This is a God-send. If I miss this chance,
I miss the chance of a lifetime. I must obey his command with the deepest love
and devotion. In his grace God has provided me with the glorious occasion of
releasing myself from my attachment to the body, from constraints of dos and
don’ts imposed upon my mind, from complexes that fetter me.”
There was a
hitch, however. If I became naked before Bhimjibhai’s (the driver’s) eyes and
asked him to take my clothes home, he would be stunned, conclude that I had gone
mad, bodily lift me into the car, and drive straight home to Clifton.
But there
was a way out also. I thought, “I shall ask Bhimjibhai to take me to Mr.
Kalyanpur, to leave me there for a long talk with him, and to return home
without me.” (Mr. Kalyanpur was a gentleman from the Malabar Coast in Southwest
India. An occasional visitor of our house, he was interested in spiritual
matters and would probably understand my compliance with such a strange order.
“I will then entrust all my clothes to him and start for home naked from
there.”
With that
idea, I asked Bhimjibhai to take me to Mr.Kalyanpur. When we came to the house,
I told Bhimjibhai, “Tell Bapu (Mr. Parasadbhai whom we call “Bapu” or “Father”)
and all others at home that I am here and will return home at my ease. They may
all take their lunch without for me.”
My Lord’s
Order
Bhimjibhai
left me there and drove home without me. I climbed up the stairs and met Mr.
Kalyanpur who was at home. I told him, “This is a red-letter day in my life. A
behest has been given me by my Mehbub (Spiritual Guru). If I follow it, it will
quickly take me to my goal in life. This is the day when the sun of ethereal
bliss will begin to shine upon me with all its splendor.” With this preface I
told him what the command was. Even he was at first shocked and broke out, “No,
no. Not here”. But I put him at ease. I said, “You need not fear any local
comment. Let us go some distance from here. I will undress myself there and you
will take my clothes on your cycle to Clifton. Tell them all there I am simply
obeying my Guru’s order. No harm can come to me. Ask them not to be worried
about me. I am sure I will return home safe and sound — but after walking on
foot the whole distance. Only, I cannot tell them the exact time when I shall
reach home.”
Ethereal
Experience
Then I took
off all my clothes and gave them to Mr. Kalyanpur. The moment I did so, a gush
of supernatural joy pervaded every pore of my body with an intensity so great
that I felt as though I walked on air and not on solid ground. After some
moments I lost even that hazy consciousness. The material part of me — the body
— was certainly walking, but its consciousness was completely nullified by an
entirely novel supernatural consciousness that permeated my whole being. In that
state, I passed through many a broad street of Karachi without any awakening to
my body-consciousness, when a White Sergeant tried to stop me. To his
“Kya hai” (“What is the matter?”), I
shouted so fiercely that he said, “Saibaba! Id Mubarak,” (“O Saint, greeting on
the Id-day.”) and saluted me. That was the only earthly hazy consciousness that
had arisen and subsided in me all through the walk.
Guru’s
Love
When I came
near the Governor’s bungalow, my Sat-guru was standing there. The sight brought
me back to myself. He locked me in an embrace, expressed his deep love, for me
and patted me on the back. All this I remember very well. He even gave me a
five-rupee note and asked me to end my fast.
When I
proceeded, I lost my ordinary consciousness again. I do not know how I passed by
our bungalow and found myself at a place about 200 feet beyond it. From there I
shouted loudly, calling for my clothes. You yourself were at that time in the
bungalow and know all this very well. You know full well what anxiety the
members of the family felt before I came home and what their remarks were on the
matter.