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Kashmir Journey Delay

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Executive Summary AI
  • In chapter twenty of Autobiography of a Yogi, a LibriVox recording, Mukunda asks his father for six train passes to Kashmir for his guru Sri Yukteswar and four friends, and his father, laughing at the third such request, hands over the passes and a roll of ten rupee bills.
  • On Monday Rajendra tells him the master has refused to go, so Mukunda decides the others will go anyway, but the former servant Bihari slips away by the back stairs and his uncle Sharada, a government attorney, angrily refuses to lend his servant Laldhari.
  • Sensing his guru's hidden motive, Mukunda stays behind while his friends leave with the luggage, and as his train time approaches he collapses with the symptoms of Asiatic cholera.
  • Sri Yukteswar explains that this is what would have happened at the station had Mukunda gone, declares him already healed, and a doctor later confirms from specimens that it was Asiatic cholera and calls him fortunate to have a guru with divine healing powers.
  • His friends return with the luggage, and Mukunda tells his guru that since his twelfth year he has failed to reach the Himalayas and is now convinced the goddess Parvati will not receive him without his blessings.

Brief overview

Mukunda's defiant attempt to reach Kashmir without his guru ends in cholera, healed by Sri Yukteswar.

  1. The guru's refusals had a hidden purposeSri Yukteswar worked through Bihari, Uncle Sharada and Rajendra so subtly that the events seemed natural.
  2. Defying the guru led to choleraMukunda collapsed with Asiatic cholera just as his train was about to leave.
  3. A doctor confirmed the healingSpecimens showed Asiatic cholera, yet the physician found Mukunda smiling and chatting the next morning.

Questions this recording answers

8 questions, each answered where it is said
Why did Mukunda fall ill instead of travelling to Kashmir?

After collapsing with the symptoms of Asiatic cholera, Mukunda hears Sri Yukteswar explain that this is what would have happened had he been at the station with his friends. The guru says he had to look after him in this strange way because Mukunda chose to doubt his judgment about the trip's timing.

How did Sri Yukteswar heal Mukunda's cholera?

Mukunda begged his guru to heal him, saying he was too far gone for any doctor. Sri Yukteswar replied that he was protected by the divine mercy, that the doctor would not find him in this state, and that he was already healed. With those words the excruciating suffering left him.

What did the doctor conclude about Mukunda's illness?

The doctor first said Mukunda appeared to have passed the worst and took specimens for laboratory tests. The next morning he found him smiling and chatting, said he hardly expected him alive after the specimens showed Asiatic cholera, and called him fortunate to have a guru with divine healing powers.

How did Mukunda's father respond to the Kashmir request?

His father laughed heartily, calling it the third time Mukunda had told the same cock and bull story, since Sri Yukteswar had refused at the last moment before. Still, the following day, after some good-humoured jibes, he handed over six train passes and a roll of ten rupee bills.

What happened when Mukunda tried to hire Bihari as a servant?

Bihari, a former family servant working for a Sarampore schoolmaster, greeted Mukunda warmly until Kashmir was mentioned, then apologised and went inside. After half an hour, Mukunda knocked and learned Bihari had left by the back stairs about 30 minutes earlier, as the guru had predicted.

How did Uncle Sharada react to lending his servant Laldhari?

Uncle Sharada, a government attorney, first welcomed Mukunda and offered help. But when asked for his servant Laldhari, he jumped so violently that his chair overturned, his papers flew and his hubble-bubble pipe clattered to the floor, and he shouted that Mukunda was a selfish young man.

Who were Mukunda's companions for the planned Kashmir trip?

Mukunda planned to take his guru Sri Yukteswar, the hermitage disciple Kanai, and three friends: Rajendra Nath Mitra, Jyotirnadi and one other boy. Departure was set for the following Monday, after a weekend in Calcutta for a cousin's marriage rites, though the guru and Kanai ultimately did not go.

What did Mukunda realise about his guru's role in the day's events?

He concluded that great masters seldom display their powers openly. Sri Yukteswar had worked his will through Bihari, Uncle Sharada, Rajendra and the others so inconspicuously that everyone but Mukunda probably thought the situations were logically normal, while he now understood the intervention behind them.

Key Quote
“This is the third time you've given me”
— Father
Key Quote
“My simple request had the effect of an earthquake.”
— Reader
Key Quote
“Remorse seized me that I had been trying to thwart my Guru's will.”
— Reader

Transcript

0:00 chapter twenty of autobiography of a yogi this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox Kashmir. Father, I want to invite master and four friends to accompany me to the Himalayan foothills
0:26 during my summer vacation. May I have six train passes to Kashmir and enough money to cover our
0:31 travel expenses? As I'd expected, father laughed heartily. This is the third time you've given me
0:37 the same cock and bull story. Didn't you make a similar request last summer and the year before
0:42 that? At the last moment, Sri Yukteswarji refuses to go.
0:46 It is true, father. I don't know why my guru will not give me his definite word about Kashmir.
0:52 But if I tell him that I have already secured the passes from you,
0:55 somehow I think that this time he will consent to make the journey.
0:59 Father was unconvinced at the moment, but the following day, after some good-humoured jibes,
1:04 he handed me six passes and a roll of ten rupee bills i hardly think your theoretical trip needs such practical props he remarked but here they are non-committal. I would like to go. We shall see. He made no comment when I asked his little
1:26 hermitage disciple, Kanai, to accompany us. I also invited three other friends, Rajendra
1:31 Nath Mitra, Jyotirnadi, and one other boy. Our date of departure was set for the following Monday.
1:38 On Saturday and Sunday, I stayed in Calcutta, where marriage rites for a cousin were being
1:42 celebrated at my family home. I arrived in Tarampur with my
1:45 luggage early Monday morning. Rajendra met me at the hermitage door. Master is out, walking. He's
1:51 refused to go. I was equally grieved and obdurate. I will not give father a third chance to ridicule
1:57 my chimerical plans for Kashmir. Come, the rest of us will go anyhow. Rajendra agreed. I left the
2:03 ashram to find a servant. Kanhai, I knew, would not take
2:06 the trip without master, and someone was needed to look after the luggage. I bethought myself of
2:11 Bihari, previously a servant in my family home who was now employed by a Sarampore schoolmaster.
2:18 As I walked along briskly, I met my guru in front of the Christian church near Sarampore courthouse.
2:23 Where are you going? Sri Yukteswar's face was unsmiling.
2:27 Sir, I hear that you and Kanai will not take the trip we have been planning.
2:31 I am seeking Bihari.
2:32 You will recall that last year he was so anxious to see Kashmir
2:35 that he even offered to serve without pay.
2:38 I remember.
2:39 Nevertheless, I don't think Bihari will be willing to go.
2:42 I was exasperated.
2:44 He was just eagerly waiting for this opportunity. My guru silently resumed his walk. I soon reached the schoolmaster's house.
2:51 Bihari, in the courtyard, greeted me with a friendly warmth that abruptly vanished as soon
2:56 as I mentioned Kashmir. With a murmured word of apology, the servant left me and entered his
3:01 employer's house. I waited half an hour, nervously assuring myself that Behari's delay was being caused
3:07 by preparations for his trip.
3:09 Finally, I knocked at the front door.
3:12 Behari left by the back stairs
3:13 about 30 minutes ago,
3:15 a man informed me.
3:16 A slight smile hovered about his lips.
3:19 I departed sadly,

Showing the first 40 of 113 lines.

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