not even know that we have such powers. Only if we are rubbed hard will we know
that the power is there.
There is an anecdote which is not mentioned in the Yoga Sutras. Aurangzeb heard
that Tulsidas had great powers, that he was a siddha. He wanted to see what powers
Tulsidas had, so he ordered Tulsidas to come to his court. By some means they
brought the saint to the court of Aurangzeb, and the emperor said, “I want to see
your powers. They say you are a person endowed with great occult forces.” The saint
said, “I don’t know what you are talking about. I have no powers. I myself have not
seen any, and from where do these powers come?” “No, no, no,” Aurangzeb said, “I
am not going to leave you like that. You must show me your powers.” Tulsidas said,
“I do not have any powers. I have not exhibited any. Nor am I aware that I have any
powers. So where comes this question of demonstrating before you? I myself do not
know anything about them.” Aurangzeb said, “No! That is no good. I will not leave
you. You must show them. If you are not going to show your powers, I will imprison
you!” And Aurangzeb put Tulsidas behind bars. Well, that is all; Tulsidas was in the
prison of Aurangzeb. Then and there a miracle took place. They say huge, giant-like
monkeys—hundreds and thousands in number—started demolishing the entire city
of Aurangzeb. They threatened everybody, and they destroyed many. It was a
ravaging experience. They started attacking the palace of Aurangzeb himself. The
guards ran away; it was all confusion, and they did not know what had happened.
Nobody could come out of the house. Everywhere were giant-like monkeys, showing
their teeth and attacking.
Aurangzeb did not know what was happening. People were crying and complaining
about the ravage that had been effected in the whole city by unknown monsters
coming as huge monkeys. Then someone told him, “We have made a mistake in
imprisoning Tulsidas. Release him. He is a devotee of Rama, and so Rama’s army
must have come.” Then Aurangzeb said, “Let him off. Let him off! Go, ask him to
leave.” What this anecdote shows is, when we oppose a man of power, his power is
seen. Otherwise, we cannot see the power. Even a lion’s power cannot be seen unless
we oppose it. The lion will be sitting or lying down, crouching on the ground as if it
has no strength at all. If we want to see the strength of a lion, we must attack it, and
then its power will be seen immediately. Similarly, often the powers of a yogin are
not known, as they are hidden.
There were great yogis such as Suka and Jadabharata. Jadabharata’s case was very
marvellous. He never exhibited powers, and there is no indication anywhere that he
was even aware that he had powers. He was like an idiot. Some dacoits caught hold of
him and took him to Mother Kali to offer him as a victim in the worship, and he said
nothing. He kept quiet and did not open his mouth. He did not behave like a yogi.
When the archaka raised his sword to offer the victim to Mother Kali, a miracle took
place. That image, which was apparently made of stone, assumed life, and suddenly a
force emerged. The real Kali came out, and she simply laid waste the entire gang of
the dacoits. They were offered as victims, not this old man.
We have stories and stories of this kind, where great masters lived hidden, unknown
to the public eye, unseen—not only not known to the public eye, but sometimes not
known even to themselves, inasmuch as they were absorbed in something else
altogether. They had no time to think of their own powers and even their own needs.
Janaka was one type of yogi, Sri Krishna was another type, Rama was a third type,