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The Fakir and the Science of Miracles/Chapter Ten: Preparing a New Show

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Chapter Ten:
Preparing a New Show

One day, Tom asked:

“Ram, why am I still not feeling free — beyond just those short moments in meditation that you have already taught us?

“Yes, I now know these marvelous moments of joy and freedom, when I understand that He, God, is here! And — that it is a great happiness to know Him personally and to merge with Him!

“But when the meditation ends, I am again just a prisoner of the material world and of this body. Why is it so?”

… Tom was silent for a while, and, not waiting for an answer from Ram, he continued:

“All my life, I dreamed of a show where I could fly under the circus dome. But… again and again, I still continue to depend on circumstances; in particular, on this injury crippled body, which can no longer be what it used to be… Are our dreams destined to never come true?

“And with all the horror that is happening in this world, where malice and vices triumph, and honesty and kindness are weak and suppressed, — is there really nothing that can be done about all this? Can’t you even influence this?”

… Ram smiled broadly, hugging Tom with an amazing state of caressing peace, and answered:

“Well then, let’s try to influence this world of illusions — at least a little! I propose making a new number about the true Freedom and what limits It. We will think about the plot. And, at the same time, your body will be treated: you will heal it yourself, and I will show you how.”

* * *

Ram, Tom, and Katya began preparing a new show full of miracles.

Ram began to teach Katya and Tom how to be in zero gravity, which he created locally around their bodies — and they soared freely above the circus arena.

Katya was delighted with what was happening! And, of course, many of her questions were addressed to Ram.

“How can you make my body weightless?

“And why am I not at all afraid to fly?”

“The ability to control certain phenomena in the world of matter, such as bodies and objects, is just a small consequence of the Knowledge about the Divine structure of everything in the universe.

“We are sometimes allowed to use these skills, but not for making money or for any other personal gain, and not out of our own desires, or in search of fame, or to control other people. These skills can only be used to show people the Path to true Freedom and to the Knowledge that opens the doors to the Divine World!

“For many people, the dream of flying is a kind of symbol for the dream of complete Freedom. It sometimes seems to us that the ability to soar above the Earth makes a person free. This, of course, is not so: we become truly free in a different way.

“Freedom is acquired by the soul that is no longer burdened with fears and passions, and which instead consists of love and peace. And — which, most importantly, has found a place for itself in God!

“To manifest some miraculous phenomena, I unite with the Power of God. In this case, it is not my mortal personality that acts, but the Divine Power of Love, the Divine I, Which is One with all life in the universe.”

“Ram, tell me how you learned all this, how did you once want to be able to fly?” — Katya asked.

“In India, there are many wandering magicians who entertain people in the squares.

“Once, when I was a child, I saw a boy rising above the ground at such a performance in puffs of smoke, and a magician said that he could make any body soar in the air.

“After the performance, I came to this man and asked him to teach me how to fly. He laughed and showed me the rope with which his assistant, well hidden from the audience, lifted the boy’s body.

“The ‘magician’ continued to tell me that I was light and flexible, and that he was ready to add me to his performances, because his assistant-boy was already too heavy for this number.

“I barely listened: my dream of free flight crashed! I realized that I had believed in an illusion… And how painful it was to know that this was just a hoax!

“But my desire for a miracle and my dream to do good magic, became the basis for my further searches.

“I decided that I would definitely find a way to fly above the surface of the Earth without cheating!

“In India, it is very easy to believe in miracles: it is woven into its ancient culture. Even semi-literate peasants talk about the Divine Forces, Which created everything, and believe in various superpowers of yogis and swamis.

“I began to look for masters who possessed this ancient Knowledge.

“In the beginning of my search, I met many charlatans and unenlightened ‘yogis’. But, I so much wanted to make my dreams a wonderful reality that I did not give up.

“And later on, I found some true Masters and studied from Them.

“And when I studied, I realized that all sorts of superpowers — the so-called ‘siddhis’ — were not at all the goal of such training. They can even distract one from the main thing: from the cognition by the soul of the Divine World! Moreover, such abilities can lead one away from the Path by seductive tricks of pride because of one’s own power over material phenomena.

“Having well understood this, I directed all my attention to God — to that creative and creating Power of Love, which governs everything in the universe.

“I also realized that a person can cognize his or her Oneness with this Force, merge with It, and dissolve in It — through the transformation of oneself into Love!

“Moreover, this Force cannot belong to any one person in particular. It belongs only to God!

“It took many years…

“I no longer dreamed of showing performances…

“But, when my training was over, the Masters suggested that I do something unusual: under the guise of tricks and mysteries, to tell people about the meaning of their lives, about good and evil, about earthly and Heavenly love, and about God. They invited me to leave for Europe and show performances filled with deep meaning there. Thus, my current Ministry began.

“Talking about God and the Path of cognizing Him, which is customary to do in India, is very difficult to do here. Here, there is a ‘church’ that has usurped all rights to knowledge about God. And, moreover, very rigid rules have been enshrined in the minds of people over generations, making people believe that you can address God only through church servants. To contradict this directly would be insanity! But the circus is a very suitable place for a story about the illusory nature of life in the material world and about real miracles.”

… Tom also listened carefully to Ram’s story.

* * *

Then Ram, Tom, and Katya went on to discuss the new show.

They thought over the details of the main — final — part of the performance for a long time: a story about the liberation of the soul from attachments to the world of matter and the way to Freedom

The scenario was as follows:

Tom, dressed as a somewhat funny and awkward man, enters the arena with ropes tied to his hands, legs, and clothes. Then, the circus workers take these ropes and pull on one rope after another, shouting: “come here”, “fall”, “crawl”, “forwards”, “backwards”, “do that”, “do this”… — and Tom’s body either resists, or sometimes weak-willedly submits, or runs ridiculously, then falls, and then stands up. And he is pulled again and again …

Then, Tom demonstrates how people themselves are responsible for tying themselves to the things of this world, when they say: “I want this, I want that”… And when he expresses such desires, new ropes then draw different objects towards him, such as a golden chair, table, and chest… And then Tom puts on a rich frock coat from the chest, and it turns out that it is entangled in an incredible entwined network of large and small ropes, resembling a web-trap. …

And suddenly he sees — as a beautiful vision — the free and weightless Katya, flying in the rays of light.

And he begins to try to break out and to fly with her: in the Light, in that Freedom!

But, with all their might, the workers begin to pull on all the ropes at once… And then Tom takes off his outer clothes that are tied with ropes and remains in a body-tight leotard.

Tom starts to jump on a trampoline, tumbling and falling in a funny way. Then he jumps to a trapeze, hanging at a height. He again and again tries to fly there… and again and again he comically falls onto the trampoline net…

But he sees Katya soaring without a trapeze or safeguards, and he begins to climb up the rope, being inspired by love for this beautiful girl and that Light of Freedom…

Katya takes his hand, and they fly into the Shining Light and dissolve, disappearing in It.

… Then Tom and Katya come out from behind the curtains, and they bow.

Little by little, their idea for the performance became more and more detailed.

… And now, the new show began!

In the initial part of the performance, Ram worked with the audience. For example, he turned the contents of the wallet of someone from the public — into colored fog. And then, when the frightened spectator joyfully found his bills again in his own pocket, Tom appeared and joked about people’s attachments to money.

Then there were small sketches devoted to guessing thoughts.

And in mini-stories with humor, human vices were portrayed, such as: anger, jealousy, fear, and gloom. Here, Tom showed outstanding ingenuity. And many viewers saw allusions in his jokes to very specific “powerful people”.

Tom was happy because he could so clearly expose evil! And he was even happier due to the fact that he could again be under the circus dome — and soar in zero gravity! All his dreams had come true!

And Katya and Tom now learned from Ram not only to fly. They learned to always live without fear for themselves and to rely on the Divine Power, Which was gradually being revealed before them by Ram in meditations.

Everything turned out great! The shows shocked the audience!

It turned out to be a beautiful depiction of how a person can see his or her attachments to “earthly” objects and of how one’s unnecessary desires create these attachments. It also showed how one can stop being bound by passions and circumstances, and free oneself by striving for the Main Goal!

In the final part of the show, Ram himself was almost invisible to the audience. He stood as a calm and motionless witness to all this delightful sight. And only a very attentive spectator could notice how, through the body of the fakir Ra-Mak-Mei, the Divine Strength rose and filled all the space above the arena. This Strength allowed Katya’s and Ram’s bodies to soar in the air, and it also allowed those present to feel the Freedom that is possible for the soul that thirsts for this!

… Once, Ram spoke to Tom about the current situation:

“We are trying to change this world for the better. Just a little bit… You yourself wanted this!

“You and Katya believed in the Divine Power, you both trusted in God, in His Love!

“This also happens during every one of our performances — obviously!

“But do you think that this is enough? If yes, then you are mistaken!

“The Divine Power, Which ‘switches on’ during the performance, embraces the audience. And this allows some people to feel what you and Katya already know, namely: the Love and Beauty of the Creator!

“All of our shows are devoted precisely towards helping souls to stop clinging to the ‘earthly’ — and to start striving to the Light and Purity of God! For then, and only then, can genuine Freedom begin to be opened for them!

“Not all souls, of course, but at least some of them can wake up from the sleep of everyday life and start thinking about how they live and why. And then they will be able to see the clutter of the many unimportant things, desires, and actions in their lives — and begin to change themselves and the world around them.”

* * *

The new tour in many countries was now a sensational success!

The director of the circus was very pleased, because the box-office earnings exceeded all his expectations!

Their performances awakened new significant states and thoughts in people. Many came more than once in order to relive these unforgettable experiences!

There were those for whom touching the Divine Light and Divine Love became clues to change their own lives, causing them to start thinking about the purpose of the time that souls spend in bodies on the Earth.

Tom with inspiration invented new jokes for the initial part of the performances that ridiculed human vices. There were transparent allusions to the greed of various rulers, and to the indifference of people living in luxury — to the suffering of those who were in poverty. And many other shortcomings of people such as vanity, greed, anger, and lust for power, were ridiculed in ever new comic scenes.

In each performance, these kinds of new jokes appeared. And often Tom, in a burst of inspiration, impromptu added something right along the way.

And during every show, the audience would laugh and applaud. Although, more often than not, people did not see their own vices but only saw and laughed at the vices of others. Indeed, it’s easier!

Ram did not mind this and played along with Tom, saturating the jokes with the beauty of his magic tricks.

But one day, they had a conversation on this topic. Ram said:

“It is not wrong to confront evil. After all, by fighting for one’s understanding of truth, people become real heroes.

“However, you must know that God doesn’t fight against evil people! God uses all the processes, taking place in Creation, — for the development of embodied souls! Even the people of evil, even the events that seem so terrible to you, are used by God to perfect souls!

“It’s time for you to outgrow this ‘fierce fighter for truth’ stage!

“The Divine Laws are not only the Laws of Good and Justice, but they also give every person the right of free will!

“Each person has his or her own difficulties, his or her own pain, his or her own feelings. For some, certain words or events are a trifle, but for others, the same may turn out, for example, to be a tragedy or a stimulus for serious thoughts. It is necessary to learn to understand people, and not to measure everyone ‘on your own’! Also, do not feel chosen to correct other people’s vices!

“Tom, you are still currently living as if you must constantly fight the evil outside yourself; and therefore, the world is seen by you as a battlefield. But leave it to others. Let others use this as a means of perfecting themselves!

“It is time for you to start living differently: touching everything gently, like a blooming flower or a newborn baby!

“The world and your attitude towards what is happening in it, will also change as soon as you change!

“The world of a fighter for truth is different in comparison with the world of a person who has cognized the Divine Bliss, who has cognized true Love and Beauty!”

“But evil does exist! And shouldn’t we expose this evil?!”

“Yes, evil exists… But next to every shadow there is a light… Yes, there is hatred, but even it only emphasizes the perfection and beauty of love!

“When you fight, trying to expose evil, then everywhere around you becomes a battlefield between good and evil, a war against injustice and tyranny. But when you bring love by yourself-soul, and give it to others, then you find yourself in the Divine World! You can live like that, and you already can!

“And this, too, is a way to transform the world — but without violence, without a continuous war for the truth!

“Everyone has their own truth… But the real Truth is one! This Truth is God!

“We are obliged to change only ourselves, and then the world around us also begins to gradually change, albeit slowly! This is the best that we can do.

“A person should not try to ‘perfect’ others! Everyone should transform only themselves — as souls — and give love, shine, and create! In return, someone may just turn away, but someone else may just want to also become a lamp!

“Poverty or envy in connection with the material wealth of others are not the cause of human suffering! If all the wealth from the rich is taken away and distributed to the poor, then after some time there will again reappear those who have become rich and those who are poor!

“In India, quite a lot of people give up property, their home, and the prospects of creating a family, to go to the mountains and search for the meaning of life and God. But only very few gain wisdom and kindness through this, and even fewer gain the knowledge of God…

“The Path to God is the transformation of oneself-soul into love!

“And then all the love of the soul must be directed to God!

“Have you noticed how the power of attention works? That, to which the soul’s attention is directed, seems to increase in size and approaches a person. This is how, for example, fears and other interpersonal ‘frictions’ act. This is what we are unhappy with. When one focuses all of one’s attention on this, this problem becomes so huge that one ceases to notice everything else in one’s life.

“Compare this with the situation where the attention of the soul is turned to God. In this case, He surrounds this person from all sides with His Tender Infinity!

“When the love for God has awoken in the soul, then such a soul is filled from within with His Joy and Power!

“It all depends on the distribution of the attention of the soul, on its aspirations!”

… Ram handed Tom a book:

“Here is one of the best books about it: the ‘Bhagavad-Gita’! This, of course, is a translation. But I made some notes in the margins to make it clearer for you. If you have questions, I will be happy to answer them. And this is one of those books whose wisdom is revealed over the course of many readings. It makes sense to reread it.

“And now, I also wanted to tell you about something else: it is important to remember that those who will immediately begin to ‘remake’ the Truth in their own way — that is, according to their own personal ideas about good and evil — should not be allowed to possess great personal power. We have already talked a lot about how these ideas can differ between different people and human communities! Do not forget that we have the right to only slightly open the door to the Divine World, so that people can look into it and feel God’s touch. And what they do after, is their choice!”

“I understand…

“Tell me, Ram, why do you continue to meditate so much? You devote almost all of your free time to this. Do you have anything more to learn in meditation? After all, you have already accomplished everything that one could dream of!”

“My meditations allow me to feel the happiness of Oneness in the Divine World!

“And with regards to learning… Yes, there is always something to learn! For the one who is attaining and for the one who has already attained, there are still more seemingly incredible prospects for further improvement! This is the life with God, in God!”