Yogananda, Paramahansa, 1893-1952; Yogis -- India -- Biography
Soon we entered a university hall where a lecture was in progress.
It proved abysmally dull, though varied occasionally by lantern
slide illustrations, equally uninteresting.
“So this is the kind of bioscope the master wanted me to see!” My
thought was impatient, yet I would not hurt the saint by revealing
boredom in my face. But he leaned toward me confidentially.
“I see, little sir, that you don’t like this bioscope. I have
mentioned it to Divine Mother; She is in full sympathy with us
both. She tells me that the electric lights will now go out, and
won’t be relit until we have a chance to leave the room.”
As his whisper ended, the hall was plunged into darkness. The
professor’s strident voice was stilled in astonishment, then remarked,
“The electrical system of this hall appears to be defective.” By
this time, Master Mahasaya and I were safely across the threshold.
Glancing back from the corridor, I saw that the scene of our
martyrdom had again become illuminated.
“Little sir, you were disappointed in that bioscope, {FN9-2} but I
think you will like a different one.” The saint and I were standing
on the sidewalk in front of the university building. He gently
slapped my chest over the heart.
A transforming silence ensued. Just as the modern “talkies” become
inaudible motion pictures when the sound apparatus goes out of
order, so the Divine Hand, by some strange miracle, stifled the
earthly bustle. The pedestrians as well as the passing trolley cars,
automobiles, bullock carts, and iron-wheeled hackney carriages were
all in noiseless transit. As though possessing an omnipresent eye,
I beheld the scenes which were behind me, and to each side, as
easily as those in front. The whole spectacle of activity in that
small section of Calcutta passed before me without a sound. Like
a glow of fire dimly seen beneath a thin coat of ashes, a mellow
luminescence permeated the panoramic view.
My own body seemed nothing more than one of the many shadows,
though it was motionless, while the others flitted mutely to and
fro. Several boys, friends of mine, approached and passed on; though
they had looked directly at me, it was without recognition.
The unique pantomime brought me an inexpressible ecstasy. I drank
deep from some blissful fount. Suddenly my chest received another
soft blow from Master Mahasaya. The pandemonium of the world burst
upon my unwilling ears. I staggered, as though harshly awakened
from a gossamer dream. The transcendental wine removed beyond my
reach.
“Little sir, I see you found the second bioscope to your liking.”
The saint was smiling; I started to drop in gratitude on the ground
before him. “You can’t do that to me now; you know God is in your
temple also! I won’t let Divine Mother touch my feet through your
hands!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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