128. Afzal Khan and Hazrat.

 

 

Swami Yogananda wrote in his book about Afzal khan who had an invisible disembodied entity whom he called Hazrat(1). Hazrat would instantly do whatever Afzal asked him to do. Sri Yukteswar (blog 80) told their story to Yogananda.

Afzal was not a man of God. He had been given this gift by a saint for a good deed. Afzal was told to use this gift in an honest way. Afzal used the gift of Hazrat honestly for about twenty year. Then he became dishonest and greedy. If he managed to touch any precious object, soon the object would disappear and come to Afzal’s possession. He would go to jewellery shops and pretend to buy expensive jewellery or watches. The jewellery he had touched would soon disappear. He gathered lot of followers. Soon his fame spread in Bengal. He would touch a bunch of train tickets at the railway station and then return the tickets. The tickets would come to him to be used by his disciples.

Sri Yukteswar, when he was a youth, happened to see four of his feats:

 About twenty people had gathered to watch Afzal’s performance

Afzal asked Sri Yukteswar to bring a stone. When the stone was brought, he asked Yukteswar to write his name on it with chalk. He did. Then he ordered Yukteswar to throw the stone in the Ganges, as far as he could. Yukteswar complied. He then told him to put a pot of Ganges water in front of the house.

Then Afzal asked Hazrat to put the stone in the pot. The stone reappeared in the pot of water at once! Yukteswar examined it. The stone had his signature on it.

Next Afzal saw an heavy, expensive antique gold watch and chain on a man’s wrist. He asked the man to show him the watch. The man gave him the watch . Afzal examined and admired the watch and then returned it to the owner. Soon the watch was missing!

The man begged Afzal to give him his watch. Afzal said you have five hundred rupees in your safe at home. Give me that money and then I will tell you how to get the watch. The man went home and returned with the cash.

“ Go to the little bridge near your house. Call Hazrat to give you the watch and the chain”

The man rushed home. He returned with relief. He told that when he called Hazrat, his watch came tumbling down the air in his right hand!

Next, Afzal asked for everybody to order any drink. The agitated owner of the watch ordered whisky, while everybody else ordered a soft drink. Hazrat soon made all the drinks materialize out of thin air in sealed containers!

Afzal offered to provide sumptuous lunch for everybody.

Soon gold plates with delicious dishes of food appeared.

After everybody had eaten, the guests started leaving. Behind, they heard tremendous noise of dishes being taken away. Soon all food and platters were gone. 

The story of Afzal and Hazrat had a strange ending. The saint came to know of the misdeeds of Afzal. He accosted Afzal and after finding him guilty took Hazrat away from him. But since Afzal had spent his earlier years honestly, the saint made one concession. He told Afzal that Hazrat will still provide him with food and clothes for his own self.

The confession of Afzal appeared in a paper, written by him with remorse and contrition, recounting his greed and misdeeds, and asking for forgiveness from God.

 Yogananda asked his guru, that why did Afzal take the money and gold of others, when he could easily procure it, himself, from some astral plane.

His master replied, “The things made from astral atoms do not have stability. They disintegrate. That is why Afzal was forced to take it from people and shops”

 

 

(1). Autobiography of a Yogi by Swami Yogananda