Spiritual Stories 
Previous: 2.Self-Surrender Next: 4.Twentyfour Gurus Glossary The Jnani and the Siddha
One day, while speaking about hatha yoga and related
subjects, Sri Bhagavan narrated the following story from
Prabhulingalila, a well-known Tamil work by the Sage
Sivaprakasa Swamigal.
mostly prevalent in Karnataka State only), was touring the land
for the uplift of the spiritually minded. He met the famous Yogi
Gorakhnath in Gokarnam (a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage
on the west coast of India). The yogi welcomed him respectfully,
but was however, proudly conscious of his own extraordinary
powers over the elements. He considered his guest more or less
his equal, expressed pleasure at meeting him, and upon greeting
him, asked who he was.
Prabhulinga replied that only the One who had destroyed
his ego, root and branch, and who had thereby realised himself
could know who he was, and wondered what he could say to a
non-entity, a person, who clung to his perishable body.
Gorakhnath, who identified his body as himself, replied,
“That person alone who has gained the immortality of the body,
by the favour of Siva and consumption of gulikas (medicinal
herbs), will never die. Therefore one who had not gained such
immortality dies.”
Prabhulinga remarked that knowledge consists in realizing
one’s Self and not in immortalising the body and went on to
explain at length that the body cannot be the real Self. However,
Gorakhnath could not be persuaded and would not budge an
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inch from his ground; he proudly challenged Prabhulinga to
try cutting his body, handing him a long, bright and sharp
sword. When the sword struck the body of Gorakhnath, it caused
him no injury but was itself blunted. Prabhulinga feigned
surprise, and asked Gorakhnath to try cutting his body. At first
Gorakhnath hesitated to do so saying that Prabhulinga would
die. But when Prabhulinga insisted, he took up the sword and
tried to cut his body. To the great surprise of Gorakhnath, the
sword passed easily through the body of Prabhulinga without
affecting it in any way. It was as if the sword was passing through
empty space! Only then was Gorakhnath, the Siddha, ready to
acknowledge the superiority of Prabhulinga, the Jnani. Thus
his pride was humbled, and he prayed to Prabhulinga, to teach
him the truth. Prabhulinga then expounded Brahma vidya to
Gorakhnath as follows: “Gorakhnath, do not think your body
to be your Self. Seek the In-dweller (the cave-dweller) and you
will once for all rid yourself of the disease of birth and death.
The cave is your heart only, the In-dweller thereof is called God
and I am That.”
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