Circus

Expressions researched:
"circus" |"circuses"

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Lecture on SB 1.2.5 -- New Vrindaban, September 4, 1972:

This was the main question in the meeting, that brūhi: "Kindly tell us..." Yogeśvare kṛṣṇe. Kṛṣṇa is mentioned here as Yogeśvara. You have heard about yoga in your country. This yoga word is very popular. Yoga means mystic power, generally it is understood. If one actually becomes a yogi, he attains many mystic power. He can become smaller than the smallest. A yogi, actual, who has attained perfection yogi, he can pack up in any small thing, but if there is little hole, he will come out, a little hole. We have seen it. There was one Mr. Chakravarti. He learned this art, and he made money in cooperation with a circus, Bose's circus, in Calcutta. I have seen it in our childhood, that this Mr. Chakravarti first of all was packed in a bag, and the bag was sealed before all audience, and the bag was put in a box. The box was locked up, not only locked up, it was sealed. Then a curtain, mosquito-curtainlike curtain, was covered. And on the box there was a tablā. You know tablā, harmonium.(?) So from outside one of the circus men said, "Mr. Chakravarti, will you kindly play the tablā?" The table was going on nicely within the curtain. Then he said, "Mr. Chakravarti, will you kindly play on the harmonium?" The harmonium he played. Then he said, "Mr. Chakravarti, will you please come out?" So he immediately came out from the curtain, and he began to round the box, and the man, circus man, asked everyone, "Catch him, catch him, catch him." So somebody tried to catch him, but nobody could catch him. He again entered in the curtain, and when the curtain was taken, everyone saw that the table was there, the harmonium was there, and the box was locked and sealed. And then the seal was opened. The box was opened. Then Mr. Chakravarti, within the bag, he was taken out. And the bag was sealed. It was opened. At that time Mr. Chakravarti was perspiring. He was very fatigued. He remained in such a way, but he came out. That we have seen.