88. Indra Devi. Part 2

She entered Sri Aurobindo and Mother’s ashram in 1949, at the age of 29. She had multiple smadhi experiences. Generally, they were two types:

1. She would feel being drawn inwards. She would feel complete absorption, but consciousness was not completely lost. She would experience ecstasy or yearning. Sometimes she felt viraha (pangs of separation).  She would, occasionally, dance in rapture. Such state is called bhava smadhi

2. She would experience an electric current, starting from the base of spine and shooting upwards to the crown of head. Then she would feel like head opening up, and setting her free, floating in the space. There would be peace, waves of ecstasy, thoughtlessness, and freedom from time and space. Yet she would remain conscious of her personality, her I-ness. Such state is called savikalpa smadhi.

3. Three times she was blessed with the experience of nirvikalpa smadhi ( the highest form of smadhi )                                   It started with waves traversing from the base of spine to the head, feeling of opening of the head, and  floating in space. But, additionally, she completely lost her identity. I-ness was gone. There was nobody to experience. No God, no devotee. She had lost all consciousness to become consciousness. There was just bliss and one vast Reality……………………………………………………………………………..

Miracles. She displaced many psychic feats. She could, at times, see events hundreds of mile away and predict future happenings. However she once showed this powerful miracle:

Her guru sang a song which put her in deep smadhi. As soon as she came out of smadhi, she asked the others whether she should get some prasad (consecrated candy). None was available. She walked down the steps and got some sandy earth. She took it in her folded hands and went into smadhi. It turned into granulated prasad. It was distributed to the three persons encircling her. Then she folded her empty hands and went again into smadhi. When she opened her hands there was some more prasad. Dilip put the remaining prasad in an envelope. He also stored the sandy soil, which was originally been given to Indra, in a separate envelope. They went for dinner. After dinner, Indra, told Dilip that the soil has also partially turned into prasad. Dilip rushed to his room. Envelope was opened. Part of the mud was still mud, the rest had turned into prasad.

Mirabai. Mirabai is one of the most famous saints of India. Her songs of love and yearning for Lord  Krishna have been sung by devotees for the last five centuries. Her spirit started communicating with Indra. Indra became a ward of Saint Mira. Mira sang her songs in original Hindi of that time to Indra, who would then dictate them to Dilip, who would then sing them back to Indra. She eventually dictated more than eight hundred of such songs. The songs were in a language that Indra did not even know!( her folks spoke Punjabi and Urdu, although Urdu is similar to Hindi ).

Some thoughts. 1.:  "If one has read all the scriptures in the world………………….learned all the postures, killed all desires, learned to sit still for hours…………..yet his bigotry is intact……………………he feels other religions, other prophets, other modes of worship are wrong and only his way is right, then one may be anything but he is not a yogi."

2. Her love for her Beloved is the reality of her life. It is like air to her. Whether or where she shall arrive is not very important because all she needs is to love Him and seek Him. There is no urge to become anything at journey’s end.

Her prayer is to give herself completely to Him. It is not her aim to help or better the world. Everything which comes from God is a blessing: joy or pain, love or rejection.  “Only reveal to me Your will and the way to do it……………………………………………………………………….good or bad, whatever I am, belongs to You………………………………………that You draw me closer to You is all I ask”