Vyankatnath Maharaj was one of the great Yogis of the Nath tradition. Today, many modern ascetics are labelled “great yogis,” but performing yoga postures does not make someone a Yogi. A true Yogi is one who has full command over his own body, the body of a disciple or devotee, even the body of a stranger, and also over the forces of the universe. A Yogi has mastery over the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and space — and can alter their effects. Stopping rain, creating shade in burning heat, or preventing the body from feeling cold — these are natural abilities for such beings.
Ordinary humans cannot control even their own thoughts, but a Yogi can understand anyone’s thoughts, regardless of distance. He knows events before they occur and can change the course of those events. Once, while speaking to Narendra, Maharaj said, *“Just as you watch television and see pictures and hear sound, in the same way we see and hear everything happening everywhere.”* For ordinary people, it is impossible to imagine how multiple scenes and thoughts can appear simultaneously in a Yogi’s awareness. Outwardly, their body appears ordinary, but the inner discipline of senses, mind and intellect sets them apart. Through such mastery, a Yogi can move his body anywhere instantly or perform subtle experiments on others. Not all visitors to saints are virtuous; some carry jealousy, hatred or harmful intentions.
A similar attempt once happened to the great Nath Yogi Jalandharnath, who was buried alive in a pit of horse dung through a conspiracy. Being a perfected Siddha, he accepted it calmly and emerged unharmed. A similar betrayal occurred with Vyankatnath Maharaj.
Maharaj once visited a disciple in Achalpur. This disciple had married three times; the first two marriages resulted in daughters, and the third finally produced a son. Naturally, his affection shifted entirely toward the third wife. Out of jealousy, the first two wives began discussing ways to remove the third wife — and even how to remove Maharaj himself.
Every night Maharaj drank milk. One night he asked the third wife to bring it, but the first wife said, *“All of you sit, I will bring the hot milk.”* She went inside while everyone listened to Maharaj’s stories. She returned with the milk. Maharaj looked at it briefly, drank most of it and left a little in the bowl. Normally he shared the leftover milk as prasad, but this time he did not. Instead he told the third wife, *“Keep this remaining milk in your cupboard. Lock it. Bring it to me in the morning.”* Everyone went to sleep.
In the morning, when the leftover milk was brought, it had turned completely green. After questioning, the first wife confessed that she had put a live poisonous lizard into the milk to kill Maharaj. The leftover milk was thrown into the street, where a stray dog licked it — and died instantly. The truth was undeniable: someone had attempted to poison Maharaj.
Yogabhyanand Vyankatnath Maharaj was a true Yogi with absolute mastery over the body. While drinking the milk, he separated the poison from the milk within his mouth itself. Only the pure milk entered his body; the poison remained in the bowl. Such subtle and powerful control over inner functions is unimaginable to ordinary people. Everyone in the house was shaken, yet Maharaj experienced no illness, no discomfort and required no treatment. His routine continued exactly as before. Such was the extraordinary Yogic power he possessed.