The incessant war for her life which I had waged by prayer had exhausted me. I went to Serampore to ask Sri Yukteswar’s help. His eyes expressed deep sympathy as I told him of Nalini’s plight. “Your sister’s legs will be normal at the end of one month.” He added, “Let her wear, next to her skin, a band with an unperforated two-carat pearl, held on by a clasp.” I prostrated myself at his feet with joyful relief. “Sir, you are a master; your word of her recovery is enough. But if you insist I shall immediately get her a pearl.” My guru nodded. “Yes, do that.” He went on to correctly describe the physical and mental characteristics of Nalini, whom he had never seen. “Sir,” I inquired, “is this an astrological analysis? You do not know her birth day or hour.” Sri Yukteswar smiled. “There is a deeper astrology, not dependent on the testimony of calendars and clocks. Each man is a part of the Creator, or Cosmic Man; he has a heavenly body as well as one of earth. The human eye sees the physical form, but the inward eye penetrates more profoundly, even to the universal pattern of which each man is an integral and individual part.” I returned to Calcutta and purchased a pearl for Nalini. A month later, her paralyzed legs were completely healed. Sister asked me to convey her heartfelt gratitude to my guru. He listened to her message in silence. But as I was taking my leave, he made a pregnant comment. “Your sister has been told by many doctors that she can never bear children. Assure her that in a few years she will give birth to two daughters.” Some years later, to Nalini’s joy, she bore a girl, followed in a few years by another daughter. “Your master has blessed our home, our entire family,” my sister said. “The presence of such a man is a sanctification on the whole of India. Dear brother, please tell Sri Yukteswarji that, through you, I humbly count myself as one of his KRIYA YOGA disciples.” {FN25-1} The gracefully draped dress of Indian women. {FN25-2} Because most persons in India are thin, reasonable plumpness is considered very desirable. {FN25-3} The Hindu scriptures declare that those who habitually speak the truth will develop the power of materializing their words. What commands they utter from the heart will come true in life. CHAPTER: 26 THE SCIENCE OF KRIYA YOGA The science of KRIYA YOGA, mentioned so often in these pages, became widely known in modern India through the instrumentality of Lahiri Mahasaya, my guru’s guru. The Sanskrit root of KRIYA is KRI, to do, to act and react; the same root is found in the word KARMA, the natural principle of cause and effect. KRIYA YOGA is thus “union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or rite.” A yogi who faithfully follows its technique is gradually freed from karma or the universal chain of causation.