Saturday, December 15, 2007

005 I began to move heaven and earth

Paramahamsa Yogananda believed that he can move heaven and earth with prayers. In Chapter 25 of his "Autobiography of Yogi".

His (Yogananda's) younger sister Nalini was sick with blood dysentry, when he was in Japan. After returning, he took up her treatment.

"...I began to move heaven and earth with my prayers. ..."


But Dr. Bose shook his head mournfully. "She simply has no more blood left to shed."

"She will recover," I replied stoutly. "In seven days her fever will be gone."


A week later I was thrilled to see Nalini open her eyes and gaze at me with loving recognition


Though she recouped, her legs were paralysed. Now, it is the turn of Guru Yukteswar to cure her without even seeing her. Yogananda went to Guru Yukteswar and sought his blessings.

"... 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. ..."


"... "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. ..."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am writing in response to your comment on my blog titled Big Fish.
(indiahenson.blogspot.com) When I replied to your comment, I was sent an unable-to-deliver email.

I agree there cannot be a debate between Hinduism and Christianity. Should not be, in fact. My point was to bring to awareness the difference between searching for God from outer resources and searching for God from inner resources. Christian mysticism is very welcoming of the inner search, and it is akin to Hindu practices. However, some people in my culture do not understand the inner search and think it is a practice associated with other religions like Hinduism. (The Darwin reference is just my bizarre sense of humor, which, I can see, seems a little obscure. I was trying to push the argument to absurdity. Sorry about that.)

When kids go to high school in my culture, this outer search is more likely to be taught through literature by authors such as Hawthorne and Melville. This point of view is also taught in the majority of Christian churches in my area. I think if more class time was spent on the transcendentalists (Emerson and Thoreau), or Christian mystics (St. Francis, Merton) kids would begin to understand the search for God from inner resources. Perhaps this teaching would lead to less "teenage angst." Perhaps people would grow into adults seeing themselves, their cultures as a part of a magnificent whole, welcoming others as brothers and sisters rather than competitors.

Your comment about Christian missionaries? I can totally agree with that one. I hope you do not judge all Christians by how these Christian missionaries behave. They represent that outer search for God. They couldn't be more out of contact with their inner selves, otherwise they wouldn't be doing what they are doing. I'm very sorry they do this.

I very much appreciate your comment. Thanks for writing.

India (yes, that is my real name!)