In his youth Yukteswar had a\u00a0close friend named Rama. One day Rama became seriously ill with cholera. Specialist physicians were called to his bedside. In shock, Yukteswar rushed to see\u00a0his own Guru, a Rishi\u00a0by the name of Lahiri Mahasaya, to tell him the serious news.\u00a0Lahiri 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.<\/p>\n
However, by the time he reached Rama’s house, he\u00a0found that his\u00a0condition had rapidly deteriorated. There was a note from the Doctors which read: “We have done our best, but his case is hopeless”.\u00a0Convinced\u00a0by the words of his\u00a0Guru 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.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0Yukteswar replied that he would soon see how he was when his body was carried off to be cremated.\u00a0With that, he began once again to sob openly.<\/p>\n
“Yukteswar, control yourself” said his Guru. “I see you are disturbed. Why\u00a0didn’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\u00a0scornfully 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”.<\/p>\n
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<\/em>. 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.”<\/p>\n One cannot escape the parallel of the story of Rama with the\u00a0resurrection\u00a0of Lazarus referred to above. Just as Jesus\u00a0waited for two days before departing for Bethany, so Lahiri Mahasaya waited until Rama was dead before offering the “healing”\u00a0drops.\u00a0And 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,\u00a0these two miracles were designed to awaken faith in their disciples.<\/p>\n 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\u00a0merely an\u00a0objective symbol designed to impress your mind. Because you doubted my words, it was designed to awaken your greater faith.”\u00a0(Pages 335-338)<\/p>\n
![](\"context.image.src\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t