MAN IN DIVINE STATE

THEY WANDER IN MANY DISGUISES

ONCE, a God-intoxicated sadhu came to the Kali temple. One day he received no food, but, though feeling hungry, he did not ask for any. Seeing a dog eating the remnants of a feast thrown away in a corner, he went there and embracing the dog, said, "Brother, how is it that you eat alone, without giving me a share?" So saying, he began to eat along with the dog. Having finished his meal in this strange company, the sadhu entered the temple of Mother Kali and prayed with such an ecstasy of devotion as to send a thrill throughout the temple. When, after finishing his prayer he was going to leave, 1 asked Hriday to watch and follow the man and to communicate to me what he might say. Hriday followed him for some distance, when the sadhu turning round, enquired, "Why do you follow me?" Hriday said, "Revered sir, give me some teaching!" The sadhu replied, "When the water of this ditch and yonder Ganges appear as one and the same in your sight, when the sound of this flageolet and the noise of that crowd have no distinction to your ear, then you will reach the state of true knowledge." So saying, he hastened away.

When I heard this from Hriday I remarked, "That man has reached the true state of ecstasy, the true state of knowledge."

The Siddhas roam about sometimes like guileless children, sometimes like ghouls and at other times like mad men. Indeed, they wander in many disguises. (152)