Scene I

[A palace. The King, Queen and Princess are together.]

KING: The great spiritual Master Gorakshanath is all love and compassion. Everybody is full of appreciation, admiration and adoration for him. Not only his own disciples, but also those of other Masters have tremendous devotion for him. Even people who care nothing for the spiritual life have tremendous admiration for him. You know that I, too, have become a very great admirer of his.

QUEEN: Had you been an ordinary King, you would have been extremely jealous of Gorakshanath, and perhaps would have banished him from your Kingdom. But instead, you are not at all jealous of his name and fame or of his great influence. For a long time I have also been his admirer, but how can we ourselves go to this spiritual man? Perhaps it is my pride, but after all, we are the King and Queen.

KING: Yes, and at the same time, I feel it is not right to send a messenger to such a great spiritual man asking him to come to me. This predicament has been bothering me for a long time, but now I have come to realise that since we are hungry for peace, light and bliss, we should go to this Master. Although I have wealth and worldly power, although my subjects appreciate me, admire me and flatter me, I have no peace of mind. I am always worrying about my enemies who may attack my Kingdom. And no matter how much material wealth I amass, I do not get any satisfaction from it. I have no inner joy and no inner peace. My beloved Queen, I think we must go to Gorakshanath. He will be the answer.

QUEEN: If you think so, my dearest King, I shall go with you. Daughter, sweet daughter, would you like to come with us?

PRINCESS: No, Mother. I think this Gorakshanath must be a crazy man. I don't want to go to a crazy man. You can go; I won't go with you.

QUEEN: No, he is not crazy; he is very great. He has many, many spiritual disciples, and he is extremely good and kind. He has realised God, and he can take others to God.

PRINCESS: I don't believe in God. I don't need God. If you and Father believe in God and realise God, that will be more than enough for me. You share with me everything that you have. Now you are supplying me with material wealth, with love, with whatever I want. You give me everything I need. So if you gain spiritual wealth, I know you will be kind enough to share that with me too, as you are now sharing your other wealth. If you get anything, I know you will give me all I want and need.

QUEEN: All right, dearest child. We will not force you to come with us. You may stay here.

KING: Come, let us prepare to leave now. Her mind is made up.

PRINCESS: Wait! I want to come with you after all.

KING: Why this sudden change of mind, my daughter? Well, whatever the reason, you have made both of us very happy.

[Exeunt omnes.]

[Gorakshanath's ashram. Enter King, Queen and Princess and bow down to Gorakshanath.]

PRINCESS: [aside] My parents are bowing down and touching the feet of the Master with utmost devotion, but I am doing it with utmost fear. I am sure this spiritual Master has read my mind and knows what I said at the palace. Now I will be exposed and perhaps insulted by the Master.

[Gorakshanath gives the Princess a compassionate smile.]

KING: Master, we have come here for initiation. Please accept us as your disciples. Although I am the King of this country, I know you are the real King. He who has peace, light and bliss in abundant measure is the King of many worlds, whereas I am a constant victim to worries and anxieties, not to speak of temptation and other undivine things.

GORAKSHANATH: I am very sorry that I shall not be able to initiate you right now, O King. Nor shall I be able to initiate your Queen. You two are not quite ready to accept the spiritual life whole-heartedly. You may feel that you are extremely spiritual and that you can be very devoted, but I see clearly that your hour has not yet struck. You should be happy and proud, though, that the hour of your daughter has struck. I shall initiate her today, and in a few years she will realise God.

KING: We can't believe our ears!

QUEEN: Master, just before we came here, she said that you were a crazy man and that she did not believe in God. She wanted just to share our spiritual wealth if we got any, as she now shares our material wealth. This is the consciousness she has; this is her spiritual development, and you say that she is very spiritual, she will be very devoted and she is the one who can be initiated. Master, please explain this to us. We don't understand.

GORAKSHANATH: This is not your first or last life. What did you do in your previous incarnation? You wanted to be a Queen. And you, O King, wanted to be a King. But this girl wanted to realise God in her last incarnation. God is now listening to all your prayers. You two have become King and Queen. And God is fulfilling your daughter's prayers for realisation through me in this incarnation.

QUEEN: Master, if she is going to realise God in this incarnation, why is it that just a few hours ago she didn't even want to come here? She said she had no need for God. And we have never seen anything spiritual in her. She is nice, she is obedient, but nothing striking. She has never even prayed. She is sixteen years old, but she has never, never prayed even once. She has never even gone to the temple. Obviously she does not care for God. So how can we believe you when you say that she is ready to accept the spiritual life wholeheartedly?

GORAKSHANATH: You do not understand world-ignorance. World-ignorance is such that it can obscure everything. No matter how spiritual, how devoted, how divine you are, world-ignorance can cover everything. Your daughter is not yet sixteen years old. What you have seen in her so far is only a cover. I know what is inside. There is a choice hour for everyone—God's Hour—and I know that for your daughter, God's Hour has struck. I am just removing the veil, and you will see what she becomes in a few years. She was preparing herself in her previous incarnation for God-realisation, but God-realisation did not take place. In this incarnation she is bound to realise God; that is what God has decided. Each time we take human incarnation, in most cases ignorance comes right from the beginning and envelops our inner wisdom and inner light earned in our previous incarnations. But spiritual Masters help those aspirants who are striving to become Masters and who are destined to be their successors. Here on earth I, too, lived in ignorance for many years, but I was initiated by my own Master when the time came, and I realised God because God's Hour had struck for me. My Master claimed me as his most devoted and dearest disciple, and I am claiming your daughter as my most devoted, my dearest and my most favourite disciple. As I am working for my Master now that I am realised, even so your daughter will work for me. And it is from her that you will get realisation, O Queen. I shall initiate you both in a few months, but I shall not live on earth to grant you realisation. Your realisation will take place in some other incarnation, and in that incarnation your daughter will be the one to grant you realisation. Of course, at that time you will not know her as your daughter; you will know her as your own spiritual Mother.

QUEEN: What you have said has deeply moved me. If you say this will happen, we shall believe you.

GORAKSHANATH: Whether you believe me or not, this is the reality.

QUEEN: Until now we thought that she was just a silly girl who did not care for God. Now she is going to be a God-realised soul.

GORAKSHANATH She said I was a crazy man, so a crazy man will give the Princess realisation, and a silly girl will give the Queen realisation.

KING: I have not said a word against my daughter. I am all fondness for her. Now what will be my fate? Who will liberate me? Your Guru has liberated you, Master; you are liberating my daughter, and my daughter is going to liberate my wife. Who is going to liberate me?

GORAKSHANATH: The one who is going to liberate you will soon bless you. Let us meditate for a few minutes.

[While everyone is meditating, Matsyendranath appears in a divine effulgence behind Gorakshanath and blesses him.]

MATSYENDRANATH: I am here to bless my disciple. I am all love for him; I am all admiration for him; I am all adoration for him. He has surpassed me.

GORAKSHANATH: [blessing the Princess] I am blessing you with all my love, with all my appreciation, and with all my divine pride. Dearest child, you will be my best disciple. You will definitely realise me.

PRINCESS: [blessing the Queen] I am so happy, so proud and so delighted that once upon a time I was able to be your daughter on the physical plane. Now I am his daughter, but one day I shall be your spiritual Mother. At that time I will liberate you.

[Matsyendranath signals the Queen to bless the King.]

QUEEN: My dearest husband, it seems that I am the one who is going to liberate you. Now I am blessing you with all my love and joy. I am truly happy—not out of human pride, but out of divine joy—that I have been chosen as an instrument of God to liberate you. You have done everything to make me happy on the earthly plane. Someday I shall do everything to make you happy on the spiritual plane. One day I shall liberate you from all suffering; therefore, I am truly happy.

MATSYENDRANATH: Only a disciple who has constant, unconditional love, devotion and surrender for the Supreme in his Master can be liberated. All of us should be proud that we will have that kind of disciple, and all of us should be proud that we once were or someday will be that kind of disciple. My dearest son, I am eternally and unconditionally proud of you.

GORAKSHANATH: Master, it is you and you alone who have made me all that I am. Your grace and compassion have lifted me to the highest, and for that my eternal gratitude is at your divine feet.