[17-1:] In 1936 I heard from a friend that Sasi was still in excellent health.

CHAPTER: 18

A Mohammedan Wonder-Worker

“Years ago, right in this very room you now occupy, a Mohammedan wonder-worker performed four miracles before me!”

Sri Yukteswar made this surprising statement during his first visit to my new quarters. Immediately after entering Serampore College, I had taken a room in a near-by boardinghouse, called Panthi . It was an old- fashioned brick mansion, fronting the Ganges.

“Master, what a coincidence! Are these newly decorated walls really ancient with memories?” I looked around my simply furnished room with awakened interest.

“It is a long story.” My guru smiled reminiscently. “The name of the fakir [18-1] was Afzal Khan. He had acquired his extraordinary powers through a chance encounter with a Hindu yogi.

“‘Son, I am thirsty; fetch me some water.’ A dust-covered sannyasi made this request of Afzal one day during his early boyhood in a small village of eastern Bengal.

“‘Master, I am a Mohammedan. How could you, a Hindu, accept a drink from my hands?’