The guru refused his permission. One chela, the royal physician
to the Lord of Benares, started an organized effort to spread the
master's name as "Kashi Baba" (Exalted One of Benares). {FN35-16}
Again the guru forbade it.
"Let the fragrance of the KRIYA flower be wafted naturally, without
any display," he said. "Its seeds will take root in the soil of
spiritually fertile hearts."
Although the great master did not adopt the system of preaching
through the modern medium of an organization, or through the
printing press, he knew that the power of his message would rise
like a resistless flood, inundating by its own force the banks of
human minds. The changed and purified lives of devotees were the
simple guarantees of the deathless vitality of KRIYA.
In 1886, twenty-five years after his Ranikhet initiation, Lahiri
Mahasaya was retired on a pension. {FN35-17} With his availability
in the daytime, disciples sought him out in ever-increasing numbers.
The great guru now sat in silence most of the time, locked in the
tranquil lotus posture. He seldom left his little parlor, even
for a walk or to visit other parts of the house. A quiet stream of
chelas arrived, almost ceaselessly, for a DARSHAN (holy sight) of
the guru.
To the awe of all beholders, Lahiri Mahasaya's habitual physiological
state exhibited the superhuman features of breathlessness, sleeplessness,
cessation of pulse and heartbeat, calm eyes unblinking for hours,
and a profound aura of peace.
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