Chapter XIII
The Governor of the village, through an interpreter, welcomed us, telling us we were to dine at his house, and were to start immediately. We filed out of the room, led by the Governor with a guard of two soldiers, one on each side, as was the custom of the country. Next came the leader with our hostess and our Chief with the beautiful lady. Then came Emil and his mother. I walked with them, the rest of the party following.
We had proceeded but a short distance when a poorly dressed child stepped from the crowd which had assembled and asked in the native tongue if she might speak to Emil’s mother. The Governor brushed her aside unceremoniously, saying that we could not be bothered with such as she. Emil’s mother grasped our arms and the three of us stepped out of the ranks to hear what the girl had to say. As we did this, our hostess hesitated and as she stepped out of the ranks the whole company stopped. Emil’s mother spoke to the Governor, saying she would like to have the rest go on and get seating arrangements completed and that by that time we surely would be there.
Meanwhile, she was holding the girl’s hands in hers. As the company moved on, she knelt down and, putting her arms around the little girl, said, “Dear one, what can I do for you?” She found that the child’s brother had fallen that afternoon and they thought his back was broken. The child begged the lady to go with her to see if she could not help him as he was in great pain. Emil’s mother arose, explained the situation to us and told us to go on, that she would go with the child, then come in later. The leader said that if it was permissible, he would like to go along. Emil’s mother invited us all to go; so we turned aside and followed her and the girl as they walked hand-in-hand, the girl fairly leaping with joy. Our hostess told us that the girl was certain her brother would be healed by the great lady. As we neared the house, the girl bounded ahead to tell her family we were coming.
When we came up to the door, we saw that the house was but a mud hut of the lowest order. Emil’s mother must have interpreted our thoughts, for she said, “Although it is a hovel, warm hearts beat within.” At that moment the door was thrown open, a gruff masculine voice spoke, and we stepped inside. If the hut looked wretched from without, it was doubly so from within. It was scarcely large enough for us to crowd into and the ceiling was so low that we could not stand erect. A dim witch light burned and cast a weird light upon the hard faces of the father and mother as they sat amidst their squalor.
In the far corner, on a mass of musty straw and vile-smelling rags, lay a lad not more than five years old, his face drawn and ashen pale. The girl knelt beside him, holding his face in both of her hands, one pressed against each cheek. She was telling him that he was going to be perfectly well again, as the beautiful lady was already there. She removed her hands, moved aside to give him a clearer view, and for the first time she saw the rest of the party. Instantly her expression changed and a great fear seemed to pervade her whole form. She dropped her face in her folded arms and her form shook with a convulsive sob as she cried out, “Oh, I thought you were coming alone.” Emil’s mother dropped on her knees beside her, put both arms around her and held her close for a moment. She became silent and Emil’s mother said she would send us away, if the girl wished to have us go. The girl said she was only surprised and frightened; that we need not mind her, as she was only thinking of her brother.
Then Emil’s mother said, “You love your brother dearly, do you not?” The girl, who could not have been more than nine years old said, “Yes, but I love everyone.” The conversation was interpreted to us by Emil, as none of our party spoke the language. Emil’s mother said, “If you love your brother so much, you can help to heal him,” and she told the girl to take the position she had been in and to place her hands on each side of his face. Then Emil’s mother moved so that she could place her hand on his forehead. Almost instantly the moans ceased, the boy’s face lighted up, his little form relaxed, a perfect calm settled over the whole scene, and the child slept quietly and naturally.
Emil’s mother and the girl sat as they were for a few moments; then, with her left hand the lady gently removed the girl’s hands from the boy’s face, saying, “How beautiful he is, how strong and fine.” Then Emil’s mother removed her hand ever so gently and, as I happened to be standing near her, when she extended her left hand I reached out my hand in order to assist her to her feet. As her hand touched mine such a thrill went through my whole body that it left me perfectly helpless. She sprang lightly to her feet and said, “For a moment I forgot myself. I should not have taken your hand as I did, for momentarily I seemed to be overwhelmed, so great was the power that was flowing through me.” I recovered my composure almost instantly. The others did not notice as they were all deeply engrossed in what was going on around them.
The girl had suddenly thrown herself at Emil’s mother’s feet and, clasping each in one of her hands, was frantically kissing the coverings. Emil’s mother reached down and with one hand turned the fervent tear-stained face upward, then knelt and clasped the child to her and kissed her eyes and lips. The child put both arms around the mother’s neck and both were motionless for a moment; then that strange light began to pervade the room and it grew brighter and brighter until every object seemed to be suffused with the light and nothing cast a shadow. The room seemed to be expanding. The father and the mother of the two children had sat on the dirt floor in stony-faced silence thus far. They arose and the expression on their faces changed to blank dismay, then to fright, and the man bolted through the door, nearly upsetting the leader of the expedition in his haste to get away.
The mother of the household threw herself prostrate at the side of Emil’s mother and sobs shook her frame. Emil’s mother placed her hand on the woman’s forehead, speaking in a low voice to her.
Presently the sobs ceased, she drew herself to a half-sitting, half-kneeling position, and saw the transformation that had taken place in the room. The expression on her face changed to one of terror; she rose hastily to her feet and started to run from the room. Emil reached out his hand, and took one of her hands while the beautiful lady took the other. They held her hands thus for a moment and the frightened expression changed to a smile.
We looked around and, in place of the hovel we had entered, we were in a moderately comfortably furnished room with seats, table, and a clean bed. Emil walked over and picked up the boy, still sound asleep, from the heap of musty straw and rags, placed him tenderly on the clean bed and drew the covers over him. As he did so he stooped and kissed the child’s forehead as tenderly as any woman could have done.
Emil’s mother and the girl arose and walked to where the mother of the household stood. We all gathered around them. The mother sank to her knees and, grasping the feet of Emil’s mother, began kissing them and entreating her not to leave. Emil stepped forward and, stooping down, took the woman’s hand and drew her to her feet, all the time speaking quietly to her in her own language. As she stood erect, the old soiled garments she had been wearing were changed to new ones. She stood in mystified silence for a moment, then threw herself into the outstretched arms of Emil’s mother.
They stood in this attitude for a moment, when Emil reached out and, placing his hands upon their arms, separated them.
Then the girl rushed forward with outstretched hands crying, “See, see, my things are new.” She turned to Emil’s mother who stooped and picked her up. The child put her arms around her neck with her face close to her shoulder. The leader of the expedition was standing just back of Emil’s mother, and the child reached out her hands over the mother’s shoulder toward him, lifted her face, and gave him a happy smile. The leader stepped forward and held out his hands. The child clasped them, saying that she loved us all but not as much as she did this dear lady, meaning Emil’s mother.
Emil said he would go and find the father. He returned in a few moments, bringing the frightened and half-sullen father with him. Still, we could see that underneath the sullenness there was a deep appreciation. We prepared to leave and as we left, the mother of the household asked if we would not come again and was told that we would see her again the next day.
We hurried away to the Governor’s house, fearful lest we had kept the party waiting. Although the time had seemed hours, we could not have been away more than thirty minutes. I am certain it all happened in much less time than it has taken me to write about it. We arrived at the house just as the rest of the party were taking their seats at the table. The leader of the expedition asked if he might sit by our Chief and it was so arranged. It was easily seen that he was very much agitated and the Chief said afterwards that the man was so moved by what he had seen that he could scarcely keep quiet. The seating arrangements were: the Governor at the head of the table, at his right Emil’s mother, then Emil, the beautiful lady, our Chief, and the leader of the expedition. On the Governor’s left sat our hostess, then Emil’s son and his sister. I mention these arrangements because of what happened later.
After we all were seated, the meal progressed very nicely until it was about half concluded. The Governor addressed Bagget Irand, asking him if he would not continue a talk he had started a short time before, which had been interrupted by the arrival of a governor from a larger village. Bagget Irand arose and said they had been talking of the similarity of the lives of Buddha and Jesus. With our permission he would continue the talk but it would be necessary to speak in a language that the host understood, as it was not customary to have an interpreter unless the speaker did not speak the language of the people. Jast volunteered to act as interpreter but, when the Governor understood the situation, he insisted that Bagget Irand should speak in English and Jast would interpret to him, as the greater majority spoke and understood English.
Then Bagget Irand went on to say: “We can compare in our own thoughts what the power of man would be if all the attributes of true Spirit dominated his every action, deed, and thought; or, as Jesus said, `When the Holy Spirit has come upon you.’ In this he referred to the time when the God Power should fully determine the lives of all His children. This means God manifest in the flesh. In reality, do we not see this spiritual unfoldment for all people coming through the lives and teachings of the seers and prophets in a greater or lesser degree, in proportion as their spiritual unfoldment approaches the perfect development of God manifesting throughout all his children?
“It is quite evident that those who have followed steadfastly the true ideals of life which they have perceived as coming directly from God—and thus connecting God with man—have made the greatest attainments toward nobility of character, purity of soul, and moral grandeur of life. Should those who seek to follow them by incorporating their ideals in individuality be able to accomplish as they have accomplished, the world must finally accept that the lessons they gave out, as their lives, presage the undeveloped possibilities of all God’s children.
“Still none of these has claimed that they have reached the ultimate perfection which God has chosen for His children; for Jesus said, `He that believes in me, the works that I do shall he do also, yet I go unto the Father.’ Both Jesus and Buddha said, `You shall be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect.’
“These sons of God are not mythical persons but their lives and work have spoken definitely in the lives and hearts of men all down through the historical ages. There have been myth and tradition woven about their lives. The effective test is for one who is interested in their lives and characters personally to accept and apply their teaching in his everyday life. The fact that the ideals expressed by these great men are those held as the ideals that govern all truly great people is a further proof of their truth. If one attempts to refute the lives of these great men, one may as well ask why great religions exist. It is most certain that they are the foundation and bear the footprints of an irresistible instinctive urge, or instinct, which has presaged the great depth and true basis of the betterment of mankind; and they outlive and outshine any other possible attempt to relieve the human family from limitation and bondage.
“The records of these men’s lives are preserved for us and their lives become a legitimate source of inquiry and research if we will but open our hearts, pursue this inquiry with an open mind, and make their lives, teaching, and ideals our very own. In no other way can we enter in and become one with their lives. This has been the inspired message of every true seer since the world’s history began. Two, at least, of these spiritually enlightened men, Jesus and Buddha, brought to fruition the great possibilities they taught. They have said, in almost the same words, `I am the way, the truth, and the light of life for all men.’ In the divinity of their attitude they assumed they could truly say, `I am the light of the world. He who follows me, who walks and lives as I have lived, shall not walk in darkness but shall have Eternal Life and shall be abundantly free from all limitations.’ Both, in nearly the same words, said, `To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Everyone that is of this Truth, hears my voice.’ These words must have had a direct bearing upon the true unfoldment of the Christ life in every child of God.
“Do not all the religions of the world reveal a higher power in man that is struggling to be free from the limitations of sense? The scriptures of the different races are outward expressions of this intelligence. The Book of Job in your Bible antedates all your history. It was written in this country and its mystical meaning has been preserved through all the changes that have taken place, although it has been nearly smothered by the addition of folklore. Though the people were nearly all consumed, the mystical word of Job will never be consumed, for he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the almighty One. Another thing we must see is that ALL SCRIPTURES CAME FROM RELIGION AND NOT RELIGION FROM THE SCRIPTURES.
The scriptures are a product of religion, not the cause of it. The history of religion came out of experiences, while the gospels came out of all religions.
“You will soon find that unity of purpose and effort will be the most potent means to attain any desired end. Instead of numerous people thinking in all directions and pulling in as many, they will think as one. Then man will know what it means to give a long pull and a strong pull and a pull all together. Then you will see that when the unity of will is set in motion all things are possible. When man casts the selfish satanic thoughts from his consciousness, the battle of Gog and Magog will cease; and this will not be accomplished by any outside deity.
“When Jesus said, `My words are spirit and they are life,’ he touched that inner word that created all things; and he knew that his word was filled with a life essence and the moving power that would produce the thing he desired. If these words would ring through the souls of all men and nations, they would know that they have access to the fountain of Eternal Life which flows from God.
“Some may express the Christ by seeing the Christ enthroned just back of the heart, the seat of love. From this throne see the Christ directing every activity of your body in perfect accord with God’s immutable law and know that you are cooperating with Christ in the ideals received direct from the Divine Mind. Then see the Christ seated on His throne, expanding and including every atom, cell, fibre, muscle, and organ of your whole body. In fact, He has expanded until your whole body is the pure Christ, the only begotten Son of God; the pure temple where God is at home and loves to dwell. From this throne you can call upon every center of your whole body. You can say to those centers that you are positive, loving, powerful, wise, fearless, a free spirit. You are pure with the purity of Spirit. No mortal thought or desire or impurity can come near you. You are immersed in the pure Christ. the Spirit of life in the Christ makes you the pure temple of God. Here you may pause and say, `Father, in this as well as in all things, reveal the Christ, Your perfect Son to me.’ Then bless the Christ.
“When you have realized the Christ, you may hold out your hand and, if it is gold you want, the gold will be there.” Here he held out his hands and there was a circular disc of gold somewhat larger than an English sovereign in each hand. He passed them to those sitting at his right and left and they, in turn, passed them on until the discs had made the rounds of the whole table. (We preserved them and had them examined by experts, who pronounced them pure gold.)
“If you wish to assist others, see the Christ enthroned in them as he is in you and speak to the Christ in them as though you were talking directly to them.
“If you want to get a clearer view of any subject than you have at present, let the Christ speak mentally to the abstract soul of that subject or thing. Then ask the intelligence within the thing to tell you about itself.
“God’s children are just as necessary to Him in the carrying out of His perfect plan as any plant, flower, or tree is; and it is necessary for them to cooperate in the perfect way which He sees. It was the withdrawal of man from this perfect plan to cooperation that threw the world out of balance and caused great waves to sweep over and destroy the greater portion of His children. It is the perfect thought of Love cooperating with Poise and Power in the hearts of God’s children that holds the earth in balance. When they dissipated that force in thoughts of sin and lust, it swung so far out of balance that the great waves rushed over and nearly annihilated man and the work he had accomplished. At that time man had accomplished far more than he has today. But God cannot control man’s thoughts of love and balance, or hate and unbalance; they are for man to control. When the thought force that threw the earth out of balance was dissipated by the great cataclysm it had brought on, then God in His mighty power could restore the earth to its proper equilibrium or balance; but as long as man’s thought held sway, God was powerless to act.” Here Bagget Irand ceased speaking and took his seat.
We had noticed that our host, the Governor, had betrayed signs of uneasiness and considerable excitement; and when Bagget Irand took his seat, our host’s excitement burst forth in an exclamation which carried the meaning of “Dog, dog of a Christian, you have defamed the name of our fair Buddha and you shall suffer!” At this he pulled a cord that hung from the ceiling near him. Instantly, three doors flew open at the opposite end of the room from where he was sitting and in rushed thirty soldiers with drawn swords. He had risen from his seat at the table and the two guards who had accompanied him and were standing just back of his chair during the meal stepped forward to his side. Raising his hand, he gave an order. Ten of the soldiers came forward and arranged themselves along the wall back of where Bagget was sitting; two stepped forward and took their stand just back of and on each side of his chair. The commander walked forward and stood at attention a short distance from where the Governor and his two guards stood. Not a word had been spoken by any of the company and scarcely a move had been made. We sat completely overcome by the suddenness of the change.
Then a deep silence seemed to fall and a strong light blazed forth in the room at the head of the table just in front of where the Governor stood. Every eye was upon his face as he stood with upraised hand, as though about to give another order, but his face was ashen pale and a look of horror had come over it. A dim form seemed to be standing on the table before him. All heard the word, “Stop,” pronounced clearly and very forcefully and the word itself stood out in flaming letters between the dim form and the Governor. The Governor seemed to understand, for he stood as though transfixed and as rigid as a statue. By this time the dim form had taken definite shape and we recognized it as that of Jesus as we had seen him before. But the thing that amazed us was that another dim form was standing beside him and it was this form that was holding the attention of the Governor and all the soldiers. They seemed to recognize and to fear the dim form that stood by the side of Jesus far more than they did Jesus. As we looked around they were standing perfectly rigid. As the second form grew more distinct, it raised its right hand as Jesus had done and at this every sword fell from the soldiers’ hands, clattering to the floor. The room re-echoed with the sound, so deep was the stillness. The light seemed to glow with a far greater intensity; indeed, so intense did the light become that we could scarcely see.
The commander was the first to recover. He stretched forth his hands, exclaiming, “Buddha, our Buddha, the Sublime One.” Then the Governor exclaimed, “It is indeed the Sublime One,” and threw himself prostrate on the floor. The two guards stepped forward and assisted him to his feet, then stood silent and immovable as statues.
A shout went up from the soldiers, who had arranged themselves at the far end of the room. They rushed pell-mell along each side of the table and crowded together at the head, shouting, “The Sublime One has come to destroy the dogs of Christians and their leader.” At this Buddha stepped back upon the table until he could look them all in the face and raised his hand with the words, “It is not once that I say `Stop!’ not twice that I say, `Stop!’ but three times that I say, `Stop!'” Each time when he pronounced the word it appeared in flaming letters as it had when Jesus had pronounced it; and the words did not disappear—they remained.
The crowd of soldiers again stood and stared as though transfixed, some with their hands in the air, some with one foot from the floor, in the attitude in which they happened to be at the instant Buddha had raised his hand. He again walked to where Jesus stood and, placing his left hand under Jesus’ raised arm, said, “In this as in all things I support the upraised hand of my dear brother here.” Then he placed his right hand upon Jesus’ shoulder and they stood in this attitude for a moment; then both stepped lightly from the table, while Governor, commander, guards, and soldiers fell back, staring at them with blank, ashen faces. The Governor sank into his chair that had been moved back until it was against the wall of the room and every one of the company gave vent to a sigh of relief. I think scarcely one of us had drawn a full breath during the few minutes it took to enact this scene.
Then Buddha locked his arm in that of Jesus and the two walked directly in front of the Governor. In words that were thrown from him with such force that they seemed to rebound from the walls, Buddha said, “Dare you for one moment call these, our dear brothers, Christian dogs? You, who but a short time since, ruthlessly cast aside a little child who was pleading for help for a loved one. This dear, great soul here turned aside and heeded the call.” Here he dropped Jesus’ arm, turned, and with hand extended toward Emil’s mother, stepped toward her. As he continued, he turned half-way around so that he could look from the Governor to Emil’s mother. It was plainly seen that he was deeply stirred. He fairly flung the words from him as, looking at the Governor, he continued, “You, who should have been the first to respond to the call of that dear child, shirked your duty; and then you call the one that did respond, a Christian dog. Go and see the restored child, whose body but a moment before was torn and writhing in anguish. See the comfortable home that has been reared from the hovel that your acts are partially responsible for thrusting upon these dear ones. See the miserable heap of filth and rags that this dear soul,” turning to Emil, “raised that child’s body from. See how tenderly he raised him and placed him in a clean, neat couch. Then see how, after he had raised the little body, the filth and rags disappeared. And you, licentious bigot that you are, were sitting at ease in the purple that is to be worn only by those that are pure. You dare to call these that have in no way harmed you or another, Christian dogs; and you call yourself the follower of Buddha, the High Priest of the temple here. Shame! Shame! Shame!”
It seemed that every word would hit the Governor, the chair, and the draperies about him and rebound. At any rate, they were sent with such force that the Governor trembled and the draperies fluttered as though they were blown by a strong wind. There was no question of an interpreter; the Governor did not need one. He understood perfectly, although the words were spoken in the purest English.
Buddha turned and walked to the two men who had received the gold pieces and asked if he might have them. They handed the discs to him and, with these in his open hand, he walked back to the Governor and addressed himself directly to him, saying, “Put forth your hands.” The Governor did so but they were trembling so greatly that he could scarcely hold them out. Buddha dropped a disc in each hand and almost instantly it disappeared. Buddha said, “See, even pure gold will fly from your hands”; and the two discs landed almost simultaneously on the table before the two men that had first received them.
Buddha reached out both hands, placed them on the Governor’s outstretched hands and, in a mild, calm voice said, “Brother, you need not fear. I do not judge you. You are only judging yourself.” He held his hands thus and stood quietly until the Governor became calm. Then he removed his hands and said, “You are quick to fly with your swords, to redress what you judge to be a wrong. But remember, when you are judging and condemning other men you are judging and condemning yourself.”
He returned to Jesus’ side as he said, “We who know, stand together for the common good and brotherly love of all mankind.” He again linked his arm with Jesus’ and said, “Well Brother, I think I took this affair out of your hands entirely. It is all in your hands now.” Jesus replied, “You have done nobly and I cannot thank you enough.” They turned and bowed, then arm in arm walked through the door and disappeared.
The room at once broke into a hubbub of voices. The Governor, commander, soldiers, and guards all crowded around to shake our hands. Everybody was trying to make himself understood at the same time. The Governor spoke to Emil and he raised his hand for silence. As soon as he could be heard, he said the Governor would like us again to be seated at the table.
When all had resumed their seats and quiet had been restored, we saw that the commander had drawn the soldiers back into formation at each side of the table and back of the Governor’s chair which had been drawn near the table. The Governor arose and, with Emil acting as interpreter, said, “I allowed my zeal to get the better of me, for which I am heartily ashamed and doubly sorry. I do not think it is necessary for me to say this after what has happened. I believe you can see by my attitude that I have changed and I wish to ask Brother Bagget to arise and accept my most humble apology. Now will the whole company arise?” After they had risen, he said, “I ask you all to kindly accept my most humble apology. I extend to you all a most hearty welcome and, if you so desire, I hope you will stay among us always. If you wish a military escort at any time, which I judge you do not, I shall—and I know the commander here will also—deem it a high honor to be of service to you. I cannot say more. I bid you all good night. Before you go, I wish to say that everything I have is at your command. I salute you and the soldiers salute you also; and they will escort you to your quarters. Again I bid you good night and salaam to you in the name of the Great Buddha, the Celestial One.”
The commander, making profuse apologies and saying that he was certain we were in league with the Celestial One, with five of his soldiers escorted us to our quarters. As they left they gave us a salute, which is executed by forming a half circle around the commanding officer and presenting their swords so that their points just touch the point of their commanders’ sword. Then they turned quickly, swept off their hats, and salaamed very low, touching one knee to the ground. This salute is given only on great state occasions. We accepted the salute as best we knew how and they departed. We went into the house, immediately took leave of our friends and host, and prepared to go to our tent. There were so many of us that the rest house had not accommodated all; so our camp had been set up in the enclosure at the rear of the house.
