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“Siddha” means the one with “siddhis,”
or yogic powers. Bhagavan Nityananda
was one such great Siddha.
Although I’ve never met him in
person, I had the good fortune
of meeting his equally great disciple
Baba Muktananda in America and
it’s 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 I’m
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 it’s 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
Bhagavan’s 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 Master’s “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.
Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative
Copywriter, Editor, an experienced
and award-winning Technical Communicator
specializing in fundraising packages,
direct sales copy, web content,
press releases, movie reviews
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has worked as a Technical Writer
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In addition to being an Ezine
Articles Expert Author, he is
also a Senior Member of the Society
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and a Member of American Writers
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You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com
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