Alexander and the Yogi
Having been scorned by the elderly sage Dandamis, Alexander the Great might have been expected to wreak vengeance upon him, just as he had done to so many others who had resisted him in the past.
Yet, such was his thirst for the knowledge that Dandamis claimed to possess, that Alexander invited learned Brahmin ascetics to come to Takshila, one of the main cities in the Punjab at that time, to answer a series of questions which he himself would draw up.
A revered Yogi by the name of Kalyana took up Alexander’s challenge, and answered all of his questions with imperious ease. The final question posed by Alexander was this: “How may a man become a God?”. Kalyana answered him by saying: “By doing that which is impossible for a man to do”.
These responses so impressed Alexander, that he invited Kalyana, who was known locally as Swami Sphines, to accompany him on his return to Persia. This time Alexander was not rebuffed, and Kalyana agreed to join him as an advisor.
However, the extreme rigors of the return journey to Babylon, which had already cost the lives of many of Alexander’s army, began to take their toll on Kalyana. He was already seventy-three years of age, and at this advanced age, he recognized that his failing health was becoming an impediment to their progress.
He therefore approached Alexander and announced that he had decided to end his life in the traditional manner of his culture. He asked that a funeral pyre be set up, so that he could consign his body to the flames. Nothing that Alexander said could dissuade him.
So, on the appointed day, Kalyana bade an emotional farewell to the assembled Greeks. When he came to Alexander, he chose not to embrace him. He merely looked at him intently, and said: “I shall see you later in Babylon”.
Then, to the astonishment of the assembled throng, Kalyana ordered that the funeral pyre be lit. He then then slowly and deliberately mounted the pyre, and sat erect amid the flames. The Greek chroniclers of that time noted that he never once flinched or showed any sign of fear, as his body was being consumed by the fire.
This display of utter and complete fearlessness in the face of imminent death so impressed Alexander that he ordered an official salute in his honor. The entire army roared out their battle cry. It is said that even the elephants joined in with their shrill trumpeting.
So in death, this elderly Yogi proved to Alexander the true meaning of the words spoken to him earlier by Dandamis:
“Should Alexander cut off my head, he cannot also destroy my soul. Let Alexander then terrify with these threats those who wish for gold and for wealth, and who dread death, for against us these weapons are both alike powerless, since the Brahmins neither love gold nor fear death.”
As it happened, Alexander was about to face death himself just a short while later. As he lay on his death bed, and as the moment of his passing approached, it is said that he recalled the final words spoken to him by Kalyana:
“I shall see you later in Babylon“.
