Memories of Sri Maitri Devi

Maitri Devi had been born in the wealthiest and most influential family in the area. Her grandfather was the guru of an entire spiritual community in Agra (home of the Taj Mahal). Since it is advised that gurus not initiate their relatives, when she was only nine years of age he took her to very famous guru in the Punjab and asked that he give his granddaughter initiation, which he did.

Swami Purnananda and surgery without anesthesia

A few years later, her father who was a military surgeon came home at the end of one day and told his wife and children that he faced a worrying dilemma. That day a wandering sannyasini (nun) had come to his clinic and asked him to examine her. He found that she desperately needed a very serious operation immediately, and offered to perform the surgery the very next morning. The nun agreed, but only if he would do the surgery without giving her an anesthetic! “You need only tell me how long it will take, and I will go into samadhi and you can operate. But be sure you tell me the right amount of time, because if I come to while you are still operating, the shock will kill me.” Dr. Dayal was afraid that without anesthetic the woman would die; but she would refuse the operation otherwise and would definitely die.

The next morning as he left for the clinic he had not found a solution. His wife and children awaited his return at midday. He came in smiling and told them that he had done as the sannyasini wanted and that not only had everything gone well, she did not heed any time to recuperate, but got off the operating table and went her way, promising to return over the new few days so he could feel assured. Of course the whole family wanted to meet such an an unusual person and and Swami Purnananda came to the Dayal home.

God alone

Questioning the yogini, they learned that she had never wanted to be married, but her parents had forced her to marry the man of their choice. (This is the Indian way and usually works very well.) When the two were finally alone together, Purnanandaji began to speak of the ideals of total renunciation and the search for God alone. She spoke all night long, and around dawn the two of them crept away and never returned home again. For a woman to travel alone in India was unheard us and dangerous, so they began the wandering life together. So obvious was their purity and resolve that they were given sannyas and accepted as ideal sadhus wherever they went. Papa Ramdas of Anandashram knew them well and sometimes spent time traveling with them.

Purnananda was a brilliant lecturer on Vedanta, as was her husband. As a consequence when she went to Varanasi she eclipsed the professional pandits who were not just jealous but murderous. They poisoned her, but by her yoga power she neutralized the poison. That frightened them and from then on they left her alone.

Maitri Devi becomes a nun

She frequently visited the Dayal family and especially spoke to Maitri Devi who from their first meeting had decided to become a nun. Purnananda told her that she should indeed become a nun and build a beautiful ashram in Delhi. “Many women will desire to live there, but you must only accept girls from the best and most devout families. If their families are not dharmic, refuse their request to live with you.” Purnananda emphasized this again and again. “I will not live to see your ashram, but when you dedicate it I will give it my shakti [spiritual power].”

When the ashram was built a large satsang hall was the central area. High up near the ceiling there was a special shrine in which a large photograph of Purnananda was placed. While the temple consecration was going on, someone came and urged Maitri Devi to go into the satsang hall which was next to the temple. When she did so, she saw that lightning was running all through the ceiling and gathering around Purnan...