Correcting Erring Disciples
Excerpted from the book Advent of a Mystery
Baba employed a variety of methods to correct his wayward disciples. Some were person-specific, which meant that they were used only on one person. Despite his insistence on disciples following yama-niyama strictly, some Margis interpreted the rules of morality according to their convenience. Baba, however, would not tolerate any attempt to dilute the moral code. Every Margi had a story or two to tell about how Baba’s ever-watchful eyes had exposed their follies and how he had corrected their conduct.
Niren Banerjee, one of the earliest disciples from Jamalpur, recalled how Baba had once rectified one of his serious mistakes when his daughter was only a few months old:
Once, my young daughter, Mosami, became seriously ill and was being treated by Dr. Haldar, the most renowned specialist in Jamalpur. The doctor said that if the child’s condition did not improve, there was a great possibility that her heart would be permanently damaged, and she would be crippled for life. That night I could not sleep, worrying about her. I took her in my lap and sat before Baba’s photo. I started to weep and asked him, ‘What wrong have I done for which you are giving me this punishment?’
Suddenly, I felt as if Baba was telling me about some pieces of iron rod that I had wrongly taken from the Railway Workshop a few months earlier. I thought that taking a few iron rods from the workshop would make no difference to the department, but would be a great help to me. Baba said, “Was it not a violation of yama-niyama? Promise to rectify your mistake and your worry will be over.”
There and then, I vowed to return the stolen property to the workshop and to never do such a thing again. Immediately I felt a powerful vibration fill the room. The entire room was filled with a sweet fragrance, indicating Baba’s spiritual presence. From then on my daughter started to improve. By the next morning, she had completely recovered and there was no need for any further treatment.
I took the iron rods back to the workshop early that morning. The person in charge of the stock section tried to dissuade me from returning them and advised me to keep them, saying that no one would notice they were missing. But having learned my lesson, I replied that I would not keep them even if they were made of gold.”