"The yogi should not feel allured or flattered by the overtures of celestial beings, for fear of evil again."
- Patanjali - Yoga aphorisms

Kali Kinkar Bhattacharya aspired to be a Tantrik Yogi. He was fascinated by the mental and physical excellence he would acquire by these practices, in addition to getting the vision of the Divine Mother. No one in the world would then be able to match his powers, he thought. But he did not have the farsightedness to see the inherent dangers in these practices. One day he deserted his wife Shefali and went on the quest which lasted almost four years.

There are 64 different rites to be performed before attaining proficiency in Tantrik Yoga. Some are extremely risky, like the one in which the yogi would have to sit and meditate on the pancha-mundiasana or the five-skulled seat in a cremation ground. This would continue for the whole night during which he would be severely tested. The tests were necessary so that the prize was not given to a fool nor the crown to a weakling.

First to arrive would be the evil spirits - the ghosts and ghouls, followed by warriors with drawn swords with the intention to frighten and divert, and finally enchanting women with caskets of wine to beguile, seduce and hallucinate. Ancient, dark and dreadful are these powers who are hostile and would have no change. Only those with an iron will and undivided concentration on the Divine Mother come out unscathed; others are scarred for life mentally and physically.

Kali Kinkar got himself ready on a new moon night for this dangerous penance. The cremation ground he selected was far away. There was no sound there other than the flapping of bats' wings and the hooting of the night-owl. Sometimes the crackling of the residual embers from a funeral pyre could be heard. The smoke rising from these burnt out pyres looked ominous.

He laid out the five-skulled seat as prescribed in the tantrik texts, sat down and started his meditation at midnight. He bravely withstood the onslaught of the evil spirits and was undisturbed by the sword-wielding warriors. But when the enchantresses came, his attention was diverted. The bevy of beauties was of infinite variety, comprising women of different complexions, sizes and shapes, but all of them were bewitching with curvaceous figures, expressive eyes and the eagerness to seduce.

They made him believe that they were messengers of the Divine Mother, sent to please him; there was nothing wrong in satisfying his desires and he could even go back to his wife and lead a normal life, all the time the powers he had acquired would be intact. He was thus deluded into believing that he had already acquired the powers and was highly satisfied. He left his meditation halfway and started his long journey back home.

During this journey which lasted several days, he often thought of how happy Shefali would be on seeing him, how she would welcome him with open arms and shower on him all her affection. After so many years, the reunion would be like a second wedding and there would be another first night.

It was late in the evening when he reached home. He was pondering, on the way, what his first words to his wife would be and was thoroughly excited. He opened the door and stood speechless for a moment. He found his wife in the arms of another man! They were cuddled up together and did not notice him.

In his rage, he wanted to reduce them to ashes with his newly acquired powers. He mumbled something and gestured towards them. It had no effect. Instead, they nestled closer to each other. In the end, the pair was startled by loud laughter. They were surprised to see Kali Kinkar standing there and laughing loudly, continuously, uncontrollably. All his spiritual practices had taken their toll and affected his mind. He had lost his mental balance.

Thus, Kali Kinkar Bhattacharya, who had aspired to become a godman had, in the end, become a madman.
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