He knew that he was about to die soon. So the Mohant of the monastery gathered his eight chief disciples and told them to prepare for seven tests that would determine his successor. For seventy years the Mohant had led this monastery built on a mountain. He was loved and worshipped by the people of the surrounding villages. By his supernatural yogic powers he could heal the sick, bless the farmers with good crops, and grant babies to childless couples. His reputation had spread well beyond the mountain monastery. But he refused invitations to foreign kingdoms saying that God placed holy men all over the world to suit the different tastes of the people. The one hundred and twenty year old Mohant was known for his desireless humility besides his supernatural yogic powers. In the old days, the local people said, he had lived for eighteen years on top of a huge tree meditating on the sun. After attaining realization of God as the cosmic infinite light, the Mohant had the ability to reflect this through his big blazing eyes. But with kindness and patience he tried to teach his eight chief disciples the secrets of Hatha Yoga, the Upanishads, and meditation.

The mountain monastery was built in such a way that one would have to pass through seven rooms in order to enter the holy meditation shrine of the Mohant. The eight chief disciples that were to participate in the seven tests determining the Mohant’s successor were Kumar, Chandra, Dilip, Ravindra, Jagdish, Mukunda, Shankar, and Gopal. So the Mohant sat in front of them in the first room and told them to begin practicing the yogic heat breathing exercises. The eight disciples began to take deep rhythmic inhalations followed by rapid forceful expulsions. After fifteen minutes seven of the disciples had made their bodies hot with drops of perspiration running down their forehead. But Ravindra had failed in this first test, and so he was eliminated for consideration. Then the seven successful disciples entered the second room and were ordered to meditate oblivious to all distractions that they would encounter. After the disciples had closed their eyes the Mohant projected a phantom roaring tiger to test their firmness. Six of the disciples succeeded in entering a deep meditation state. But Chandra became frightened by the tiger’s roars and opened his eyes. Hence he was eliminated for consideration. The first two tests determined yogic powers of endurance and the next three tests were to determine conquest of desire.

The six successful disciples were led into the third room and told to wait. Suddenly a beautiful young lady with smiling eyes entered carrying a tray of sweets that she distributed to each. Five of the disciples did not raise their gaze above her feet. Jagdish looked at her beautiful body and was eliminated from the competition when the Mohant entered the room. Next the five successful disciples were led into the fourth room and presented with a piece of gold by the Mohant as a reward for their successful endeavors. Four of the disciples immediately showed detachment by returning the piece of gold to the Mohant. But Gopal would not part with his gold piece and was automatically eliminated from the competition. Then the four successful disciples entered the fifth room. The Mohant walked in and pretended to collapse dead before their feet. While the previous two tests were designed to measure sex and money temptations, this test was created to reveal the lust for power. Three of the disciples were extremely shocked and began to lament over the Mohant’s apparently lifeless body. But Shankar argued that he should be the next Mohant since he was living in the mountain monastery longer than the other disciples. This was not to be since the Mohant opened his eyes, and an embarrassed Shankar was eliminated from the competition. So two final tests remained for the three surviving candidates.

The three successful disciples entered the sixth room and prepared to discuss spiritual philosophy before the realized Mohant. "What is the most important thing on the spiritual path?" asked the Mohant. "Charity to help others, rooted in a realization that one is part of a universal Godhead" replied Dilip. "To surrender to the spiritual master and follow his teachings wholeheartedly" said Kumar. "To be detached from the world and pursue one’s own liberation" replied Mukunda. The Mohant evaluated the three answers. The first two answers he considered to be rooted in the foundation of desireless action transcending the individual ego. But the third answer was too self centered, and with such an attitude one would be unfit to serve others. Hence Mukunda was eliminated from the competition. Finally the last test was to begin. Kumar and Dilip entered the seventh room and saw a cup of milk in front of them. "The disciple who first takes this cup of milk will be disqualified," said the Mohant. So Kumar and Dilip sat without food in the seventh room for three days. Kumar began to feel very weak and dizzy. But he would rather die than touch the cup of milk. Dilip felt more compassion for Kumar. Having his friend alive was more important than becoming the head of a monastery. So Dilip touched the cup of milk first and poured it into Kumar’s dry lips. The Mohant read the thoughts of each and decided that Dilip would be the successor because of his kindness and self sacrifice.

The Mohant walked with Dilip into his holy meditation shrine. He sat before Dilip and entered into deep meditation. Dilip saw that the Mohant’s body became brighter and brighter until it merged in God’s descending pure white light. Only a handful of ashes remained of the Mohant’s body. With tender love Dilip put these ashes in his hands and contemplated the meaning of this experience. Suddenly the ashes became transformed into a sparkling golden lotus. Dilip became identified inwardly with the lotus. He closed his eyes and felt his soul climbing up a stalk within his spinal column until he reached the head summit of a thousand lotus petals. Now he was expanding world after world into God’s infinite light. He was in tune with the Creator’s cosmic mind. Throughout his expanded being he became identified with the eternal mystic Aum sound. Eternal wisdom descended into his previous human brain. His body began to undergo a strange transformation until it took a shape nearly identical with the old Mohant when he was a young disciple. Hence, by his guru’s mysterious grace, the process of transmission had been accomplished. Dilip was now the Mohant of the mountain monastery.