Men of Miracles – Part One
According to the Apostle Mark, a ruler of the synagogue by the name of Jairus approached Jesus in the hope that he might be able to heal his twelve year-old daughter who was critically ill. Before Jesus could reach the child, however, friends came to Jairus to say that his daughter was dead. Undeterred by the news, Jesus accompanied Jairus to his home and entered the room where the dead girl lay. Then, taking her by the hand, he said to her: “I say to you child, arise.” Immediately the young girl rose up and stood on her feet. (Mark 5:35-43)
Likewise, when Jesus heard of the illness afflicting Lazarus, the brother of two of his devoted friends, he made his way to Bethany where the dying man lived. But before he reached the town, his sister Martha came to say that her brother was already dead, and that his body had been been placed in a cave. Once again Jesus was unmoved by the news. He continued his journey to Bethany and when he arrived, asked that the gravestone guarding the cave be removed. Then, crying out in a loud voice Jesus commanded Lararus to come forth. To the astonishment of the gathered throng, Lazarus emerged from the cave, still draped in his graveclothes. (John 11: 11-44)
Now Jesus was not the first person in recorded history to raise a person from the dead, nor was he the last. Some nine centuries before Jesus was born, the Hebrew prophet Elijah was confronted with the death of the young son of a widow who had befriended him. In this case Elijah placed his body over that of the boy and prayed that his soul might return. The boy revived, causing his mother to say to Elijah: “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth”. (1 Kings 17:24)
Some 1900 years after the death of Jesus, a Rishi emerged who was one of the long line of spiritual giants that India has continued to produce in every generation. His name was Sri Yukteswar Giri. It was his famous disciple Paramahansa Yogananda who travelled to America and founded the Self Realization Fellowship, which later became a worldwide organization devoted to spiritual truth. In his book “Autobiography of a Yogi“, Yoganada described a story told to him by his Guru Yukteswar.
In his youth Yukteswar had a close friend named Rama. One day Rama became seriously ill with cholera. Specialist physicians were called to his bedside. In shock, Yukteswar rushed to see his own Guru, a Rishi by the name of Lahiri Mahasaya, to tell him the serious news. Lahiri merely smiled at Yukteswar and said: “The doctors are seeing Rama. He will be well.” Yukteswar returned to his friend comforted by his Guru’s words.
However, by the time he reached Rama’s house, he found that his condition had rapidly deteriorated. There was a note from the Doctors which read: “We have done our best, but his case is hopeless”. Convinced by the words of his Guru that Rama would recover, he remained at his bedside. Yet it quickly became clear that Rama was losing his battle with this deadly disease. With a final gasp, Rama reached out to Yukteswar. “Run to Master and tell him that I am gone”. With that Rama fell back on his bed and died.
Yukteswar was beside himself with grief, weeping for more than an hour at his dead friend’s side. Then, when another friend appeared, he asked him to remain with the body so he could pass on the news to his Guru. When he reached Lahiri Mahasaya, his face was wreathed in smiles. “How is Rama now?” he asked jovially. Yukteswar replied that he would soon see how he was when his body was carried off to be cremated. With that, he began once again to sob openly.
“Yukteswar, control yourself” said his Guru. “I see you are disturbed. Why didn’t you tell me that Rama needed medicine for his illness?” He then pointed to a cup-shaped lamp that contained some castor oil. “Fill a little bottle with oil from the lamp and put seven drops in Rama’s mouth”. Yukteswar scornfully replied: “Sir, he has been dead since noon yesterday. Of what use is the oil now?” “Never mind”, said Lahiri, “Just do as I ask”.
Despite Yukteswar’s conviction in the utter futility of these instructions, he nevertheless did as he was told. By this time Rama’s body was locked in rigor mortis. In spite of this rigid condition, Yukteswar managed to pry open his lips and deposit seven drops of castor oil between his clenched teeth. No sooner had the seventh drop passed his lips when Rama’s body gave a convulsive jerk. Rama sat up on the bed exclaiming: “I saw Lahiri Mahasaya in a blaze of light. He shone like the sun.” He said: “Arise, forsake your sleep. Come with Yukteswar to see me.”
One cannot escape the parallel of the story of Rama with the resurrection of Lazarus referred to above. Just as Jesus waited for two days before departing for Bethany, so Lahiri Mahasaya waited until Rama was dead before offering the “healing” drops. And just as Yukteswar was scornful of his Guru for offering medicine when Rama was already dead, so the sisters of Lazarus were equally scornful of Jesus when he claimed that Lazarus was merely asleep. In both cases, these two miracles were designed to awaken faith in their disciples.
When Yukteswar later questioned his Guru about the significance of the castor oil, Lahiri Mahasaya explained that the oil had no healing quality whatsoever. He said that any substance would have done equally well. “Because you expected something material, I chose the nearby oil. The oil was merely an objective symbol designed to impress your mind. Because you doubted my words, it was designed to awaken your greater faith.” (Pages 335-338)
