On one occasion, a Zoroastrian devotee asked, "Narayan, you call me your son. Then why don't you give me some of the jewels you wear, so that I may appear as regal as you?"
Suddenly, Narayan's mood was upset and he looked with scorn and disgust upon the man, saying, "Never desire such things. These rings and jewels are filth!"
He who once lived in caves now lived in a stunning palace. Although he dressed like a rich maharaja himself, having his clothes stitched by the best tailors in Bombay and even buying a new automobile every year, he was spiritually Perfect — a king who oversaw the three worlds — Triloka — the mental, subtle and gross spheres.
Narayan's spiritual route was that of raja yoga, and his close disciples believed that his spiritual lineage was connected to Dnyaneshwar — the youngest of Sadgurus who centuries before lived in Alandi, a village outside Poona in the same district of Maharashtra.1 In his residence, Narayan had displayed a large painting of the youth Dnyaneshwar meeting the great elderly yogi Chang Deva, a mahayogi of the fourth plane, who rode a tiger and used a cobra around his neck as a whip.
Narayan Maharaj's fame spread further due to a newspaper article that appeared written by Professor E. A. Wodehouse of Deccan College, Poona.2 Professor Wodehouse had been hunting boar in the arid region of Kedgaon and was suffering thirst from the extreme heat. Along the road, he encountered Narayan, who miraculously produced a spring near his feet, from which Wodehouse quenched his thirst. Afterward, Wodehouse had several meetings with Narayan to discuss Indian spirituality and mysticism (Vedanta). Professor Wodehouse's intellectual and educational influence brought more recognition of Narayan to the general public.
People heard that Narayan had performed several miracles in Kedgaon, and they were drawn to seek his touch. But the miracles were his play. Narayan Maharaj was the owner of the Tavern, and through the medium of these miracles, people came from far and wide for his darshan. The miracles were the shadows of Narayan's real work — to allow people the opportunity to taste the Wine of his divine love. There is no real prasad other than this. And Narayan distributed it to all who longed only for God's love. The purpose of life is to imbibe this wine. After drinking it — when life ceases to be — Eternal Existence is born.
Footnotes
- 1.Raja yoga is the practice of asceticism and penance. Dnyaneshwar was in his teens when he became perfect and lived to about nineteen. (Dnyaneshwar's sister and two brothers became Perfect Masters also.) This great yogi once challenged the young Master but his occult powers failed; afterward Chang Deva became a disciple of Dnyaneshwar's sister, Muktabai, who was also a Sadguru. Dnyaneshwar's brothers, Nivrutti and Sopan, also became Perfect Masters.
- 2.E. A. Wodehouse was a Theosophist and the elder brother of the author P. G. Wodehouse, whose comedic novels were read out to Meher Baba.