Chapter Forty Seven

Satyananda, without uttering a word to any soul upon the field of battle, turned away and made his way back to the Ananda Math. There, in the deep watches of the night, he seated himself within the Vishnu Mandap and entered into meditation. At that very hour the Physician appeared before him. Beholding him, Satyananda arose and bowed in salutation.

The Physician said, "Satyananda, this night is the full moon of Magh."

Satyananda answered, "Let us go—I am ready. Yet, O great-souled one! resolve thou one doubt of mine. At the very moment in which I have triumphed in battle and rendered the Eternal Faith free of all thorns, wherefore comes this command of repudiation upon me?"

He who had come replied, "Thy work is accomplished. The Mussulman dominion is overthrown. There is now no further task for thee. There needs no further slaying of men to no purpose."

Satyananda said, "The Mussulman dominion is overthrown, yet no Hindu kingdom is established—even now in Calcutta the Englishman is in power."

He answered, "A Hindu kingdom shall not be established now—if thou remain, there shall only be the slaying of men to no purpose. Therefore come."

Hearing this, Satyananda was overcome with a bitter anguish of soul. He said, "O Lord! if no Hindu kingdom is to be established, who then shall be the king? Shall the Mussulman be king once more?"

He answered, "Nay; now the Englishman shall be king."

Then from both the eyes of Satyananda streams of tears began to flow. He turned toward the image above—the form of the Mother, the Motherland—and with folded hands, his voice choked with weeping, he cried, "Alas, Mother! I could not deliver thee—and once again thou must fall into the hands of the outlander. Hold not thy son's transgression against him. Alas, Mother! wherefore did I not meet my death upon the field of battle this day?"

The Physician said, "Satyananda, be not so sorrowful. Through the error of thy understanding thou hast gathered wealth by means of brigandage and so won the victory of arms. Sin never beareth a holy fruit. Therefore by your hands the deliverance of the country cannot be wrought. And that which is to come to pass shall be for the good. Unless the Englishman become king, there is no hope for the restoration of the Eternal Faith. As the great ones have understood it, even so shall I expound it unto thee. Hearken with all thy mind. The worship of the three hundred and thirty millions of gods is not the Eternal Faith—that is but a vulgar, popular religion; and beneath its sway the true Eternal Faith—that which the outlanders call Hinduism—hath been lost. The true Hindu faith is of knowledge, not of works. And that knowledge is of two kinds, the outward and the inward. The inward knowledge is the chief part of the Eternal Faith. Yet if the outward knowledge be not first acquired, there is no hope of the inward knowledge arising. Unless one know what is gross, one cannot know what is subtle. Now in this land for a long while the outward knowledge hath fallen into ruin—and therefore hath the true Eternal Faith also perished. To restore the Eternal Faith, the outward knowledge must first be made common. There is at this hour no outward knowledge in this land—there are no men who can teach it; we are not skilled in the instruction of the people. Therefore must this knowledge be brought from another land. The Englishman is most learned in outward knowledge and most apt in the teaching of the people. Therefore shall we make the Englishman king. By English learning shall the people of this land be schooled in the outer truth, and so come to apprehend the inner. Then shall there be no longer any hindrance to the preaching of the Eternal Faith. Then shall the true religion of itself be kindled anew. Until that day come, until the Hindu be once more endowed with knowledge, with virtue, and with strength, until then shall the English dominion stand unshaken. Under the English the subjects shall be happy—they shall practise their religion without let or hindrance. Wherefore, O wise one, lay down thy war against the Englishman and follow thou after me."

Satyananda said, "O great-souled one! if to make the Englishman king was indeed your purpose, if at this hour the English dominion be for the welfare of the country, then wherefore didst thou set us to this cruel work of war?"

The great one answered, "The Englishman at this time is a merchant—his mind is set wholly upon the gathering of riches; he hath no wish to take upon him the burden of governance. By reason of this rising of the Children he shall be constrained to take that burden upon him; for without rule there can be no gathering of wealth. It is to the end that the Englishman should be anointed unto sovereignty that this rising of the Children hath come to pass. Now therefore arise—when thou hast attained to knowledge, thou shalt thyself perceive all these things."

Satyananda answered, "O great-souled one! I have no longing after knowledge—I have no use for knowledge. The vow upon which I have entered, that vow shall I keep. Bless me only, that my devotion to the Mother stand unshaken."

The great one said, "Thy vow hath been fulfilled—the welfare of the Mother thou hast wrought—the English dominion thou hast set up. Lay down now thy strife and battle, let the people betake themselves to husbandry, let the earth be made fruitful of grain, let the welfare of the people increase."

From the eyes of Satyananda there leapt forth as it were sparks of fire. He said, "I will make the Mother fruitful in grain, but I will steep her first in the blood of the foe!"

The great one answered, "Who is the foe? There is no foe now. The Englishman is the friendly king. And there is no power upon earth that can in the end conquer the Englishman in battle."

Satyananda said, "If there be none, then here, before the image of the Mother, will I yield up my body."

The great one said, "In ignorance? Come, thou shalt attain to knowledge. Upon the summit of the Himalaya there standeth a temple of the Mother; from thence will I show thee the form of the Mother."

So saying, the great one took Satyananda by the hand. What wondrous beauty was there! Within that solemn shrine of Vishnu, before the vast four-armed image, in that dim light those two figures of mighty splendour shone forth, each holding the hand of the other. Who was it that held whom? Knowledge had come and laid hold upon Devotion; Religion had come and laid hold upon Works; Renunciation had come and laid hold upon Establishment; Kalyani had come and laid hold upon Shanti. This Satyananda was Shanti; this great one was Kalyani. Satyananda was the Establishment; the great one was the Renunciation.

And Renunciation came and bore the Establishment away.