Visions of Champaklal

Annihilation of Evil

1976-11-23

It was the night of 23.11.76, the day just before 24th November, the Golden Jubilee Day of the great Descent of the Overmind Godhead into the Yoga-perfected body of Sri Aurobindo.

At 1.30 a.m. I came back from our terrace and as usual was lying near Sri Aurobindo's bed. After a time, I saw someone with a huge body sitting on the floor beside the bed. The figure was very strange and not at all clear. It only appeared that somebody was sitting there and nothing more.

His mouth was emitting clouds of smoke, as profusely as the chimneys of big mills do and the strange thing about the smoke was that instead of going upward it was diffusing itself all around and creating uneasiness and disgust. I even began to feel that it was not Sri Aurobindo's room, but some other place altogether.

Normally, whenever I see smoke rising from incense or even from the chimney of our dispensary, I find it a beautiful thing to look at; but this smoke emitted by that vague figure was felt as evil, positively evil. For, although I have called it smoke, it was not exactly that, but something quite different for which I have no name. The only thing I can say about it is that it merely appeared somewhat like smoke, and as it entered into the atmosphere it caused restlessness and uneasiness.

Then suddenly I saw that a still bigger person was there, sitting just near that huge and hideous figure. I felt his presence but could not recognise him. Certainly he was neither distasteful nor ominously weird. I saw that this new great person was emitting huge quantities of bright golden flames from his mouth which spread all around. As a result, all the smoke which I have spoken of and the atmosphere created by that evil-looking vague figure were completely annihilated. The process of this annihilation is indescribable, but it looked like an experiment which a scientist conducts in his laboratory with various substances, or like a mixture that a doctor's compounder systematically prepares with several medicines. All that went on was something beyond imagination but all the same it was very interesting.

When the whole process was over, the atmosphere became full not only of peace and joy but also of something more which is beyond the power of words to describe.

What was really wonderful was the fact that although the whole atmosphere was filled with flames, everything in it was cooling and soothing in the extreme. It was a glorious sight to see. The person who was pouring out flames from his mouth appeared now to be himself made of those golden flames and that golden light. It was astonishing to find that though appearing formless this person was felt as somebody who was there.

What happened to the hideous vague figure that emitted smoke I could not make out.

During this vision I thought I was awake, but when the scene ended I felt that I was only half-awake. I have called it 'not a dream', because it started with my eyes quite open.