A Mohammedan Wonder-Worker (Afzal Khan)

This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Read by Rohit Gokhale. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A YOGI by Paramhamsi Yogananda A Mohammedan Wonder Worker worker afzal khan years ago right in this very room you now occupy a mohammedan wonder worker performed four miracles before me made this surprising statement during his first visit to my new quarters immediately after entering serampore college i had taken a room in a nearby boarding-house called panthi it was an old-fashioned brick mansion fronting the ganges newly decorated walls really ancient with memories?

I looked around my simply furnished room with awakened interest. It is a long story. My guru smiled reminiscently. The name of the fakir was Afzal Khan. He had acquired his extraordinary powers through a chance encounter with a Hindu yogi. Son, I am thirsty. Fetch me some water. A dust-covered sanyasi made this request of afzal one day during his early boyhood in a small village of eastern bengal master i am a mohammedan how could you a hindu accept a drink from my hands your truthfulness pleases me my child i do not observe the ostracizing rules of ungodly sectarianism go bring me water quickly afzal's reverent obedience was rewarded by a loving glance from the yogi you possess good karma from former lives he observed solemnly i am going to teach you a certain yoga method which will give you command over one of the invisible realms the great powers that will be yours should be exercised for worthy ends never employ them selfishly some seeds of destructive tendencies do not allow them to sprout by watering them with fresh evil actions the complexity of your previous karma is such that you must use this life to reconcile your yogic accomplishments with the highest humanitarian goals instructing the amazed boy in a complicated technique the master vanished afzal faithfully followed his yoga exercise master's warning, Afzal began to misuse his powers.

Whatever object he touched and then replaced would soon disappear without a trace. This disconcerting eventuality usually made the Mohammedan an objectionable guest. He visited large jewellery stores in Calcutta from time to time, representing himself as a possible purchaser any jewel he handled would vanish shortly after he had left the shop afzal was often surrounded by several hundred students attracted by the hope of learning his secrets the fakir occasionally invited them to travel with him at the the railway station, he would manage to touch a roll of tickets.

These he would return to the clerk, remarking, I have changed my mind and won't buy them now. But when he boarded the train with his retinue, Afzal would be in possession of the required tickets. These exploits created an indignant uproar. Bengali jewellers and ticket sellers were succumbing to nervous breakdowns. The who sought to arrest afzal found themselves helpless the fakir. I followed him, eager to hear more of the baffling Mohammedan raffles. This Panthi house formerly belonged to a friend of mine. He became acquainted with Afzal and asked him here.

My friend also invited about twenty neighbours, including myself. I was only a youth then and felt a lively curiosity about the notorious Fak master laughed i took the precaution of not wearing anything valuable afzal looked me over inquisitively and then remarked you have powerful hands on it with chalk then throw the stone as far as possible into the ganges i obeyed as soon as the stone had written it babu one of my friends in the room was wearing a stoically silent for a while then said you have five hundred rupees in an iron safe sum go to the little bridge near your house the fakir instructed babu call on hazrat to give you the my watch came tumbling down from the air into my right hand you may be sure i locked the heirloom in my safe shocked when the unnerved babu requested whiskey the mohammedan gave an order the obliging hazrat sent feat of the day was doubtless gratifying to our host afzal offered to supply an instantaneous lunch rupees.

Everything should be served on gold plates. As soon as each man had expressed his preferences, the fakir addressed himself to the inexhaustible Hazrat. A great rattle ensued. Gold platters filled with intricately prepared curries, hot luchis, and many out-of-season fruits landed from nowhere at our feet. All the food was delicious delicious after feasting for an hour we started to leave the room a tremendous noise as the dishes were being piled up caused us to turn round lo there was no sign of the why did he covet the property of others the fakir was not highly developed spiritually sri yukteswar explained his mastery of a certain yoga technique gave him access to an astral plane where any desire is immediately materialized through the agency of an astral being hazrat the muhammadan could summon the atoms of any object from etheric energy by an act of powerful will but such astrally produced objects are structurally evanescent they cannot be long retained more hardly earned has a more dependable durability i laughed it too sometimes vanishes most unaccountably afzal was not a man of god-realization master went on to the omnipotent creator of Zell was merely an ordinary man with an extraordinary power of penetrating a subtle realm not usually entered by mortals until death I understand now Guruji the afterworld appears to have some charming features master agreed I never saw of Zala after that day but a few years later Babu came to my home to show me a newspaper account of the Mohammedans' public confession.

From it, I learned the facts I have just told you about Afzal's early initiation from a Hindu guru. The gist of the latter part of the published document, as recalled by Sri Yukteswar, was as follows. I, Afzal khan am writing these words as an act of penance and as a warning to those who seek the possession of miraculous powers for years i have been misusing the wondrous abilities imparted to me through the ordinary laws of morality my day of reckoning finally arrived recently i met an old man on a road outside calcutta he limped along painfully carrying a shining object which looked like gold i addressed him with greed in my heart i am afzal khan the great fakir what have you there this ball of gold is my sole material wealth it can be of no interest to a fakir i implore you sir to heal my limp i touched the ball and walked away without reply the old man hobbled after me he soon raised an outcry my gold is gone as i paid no attention he suddenly spoke in a stentorian voice that issued oddly from his frail body do you not recognize me i stood speechless aghast at the belated discovery that this unimpressive old cripple was none other than the great saint who long long, long ago, had initiated me into yoga.

He straightened himself. His body instantly became strong and youthful. So, my guru's glance was fiery. I see with my own eyes that you use your powers, not to help suffering humanity, but to prey on it like a common thief. I withdraw your occult gifts. Hazrat is now freed from you no longer shall you be a terror in bengal i called onbing at his feet i promise to forsake my worldly ambitions i will retire to the mountains for lonely meditation on god hoping to atone for my evil past silent compassion.

I feel your sincerity, he said finally, because of your earlier years of strict obedience and because of your present repentance. I will grant you one boon. Your other powers are now gone, but whenever food and clothing are needed, you may still call successfully on Hazrat to supply them. Devote yourself wholeheartedly to divine understanding in the mountain solitudes. My Guru then vanished. I was left to my tears and reflections. Farewell, world. I go to seek the forgiveness of the cosmic beloved.