Immersed
one day in SAMADHI on the bank of the Kaveri River, Sadasiva was
seen to be carried away by a sudden flood. Weeks later he was found
buried deep beneath a mound of earth. As the villagers' shovels
struck his body, the saint rose and walked briskly away.
Sadasiva never spoke a word or wore a cloth. One morning the nude
yogi unceremoniously entered the tent of a Mohammedan chieftain. His
ladies screamed in alarm; the warrior dealt a savage sword thrust
at Sadasiva, whose arm was severed. The master departed unconcernedly.
Overcome by remorse, the Mohammedan picked up the arm from the floor
and followed Sadasiva. The yogi quietly inserted his arm into the
bleeding stump. When the warrior humbly asked for some spiritual
instruction, Sadasiva wrote with his finger on the sands:
"Do not do what you want, and then you may do what you like."
The Mohammedan was uplifted to an exalted state of mind, and
understood the saint's paradoxical advice to be a guide to soul
freedom through mastery of the ego.
The village children once expressed a desire in Sadasiva's presence
to see the Madura religious festival, 150 miles away. The yogi
indicated to the little ones that they should touch his body. Lo!
instantly the whole group was transported to Madura. The children
wandered happily among the thousands of pilgrims. In a few hours
the yogi brought his small charges home by his simple mode of
transportation.
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