As the stone
remained balanced in some unknown manner, the draped form of
a young and surpassingly lovely woman was levitated from the cave
high into the air. Surrounded by a soft halo, she slowly descended
in front of me and stood motionless, steeped in an inner state of
ecstasy. She finally stirred, and spoke gently.
"'I am Mataji, {FN33-4} the sister of Babaji. I have asked him and
also Lahiri Mahasaya to come to my cave tonight to discuss a matter
of great importance.'
"A nebulous light was rapidly floating over the Ganges; the strange
luminescence was reflected in the opaque waters. It approached
nearer and nearer until, with a blinding flash, it appeared by the
side of Mataji and condensed itself instantly into the human form
of Lahiri Mahasaya. He bowed humbly at the feet of the woman saint.
"Before I had recovered from my bewilderment, I was further
wonderstruck to behold a circling mass of mystical light traveling
in the sky. Descending swiftly, the flaming whirlpool neared our
group and materialized itself into the body of a beautiful youth who,
I understood at once, was Babaji. He looked like Lahiri Mahasaya,
the only difference being that Babaji appeared much younger, and
had long, bright hair.
"Lahiri Mahasaya, Mataji, and myself knelt at the guru's feet. An
ethereal sensation of beatific glory thrilled every fiber of my
being as I touched his divine flesh.
"'Blessed sister,' Babaji said, 'I am intending to shed my form
and plunge into the Infinite Current.
Pages:
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410