Our Guru becomes the perfect disciple
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
Guru came to England many, many times. He gave several concerts at the Royal Albert Hall; many beautiful experiences meeting people.
But one of the very special memories for me was Guru's visit to Cambridge University in 2003. Guru was coming to Cambridge to honour professors, to lift professors in the Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart programme.
I was up in Cambridge preparing. Somebody called in the morning to tell me that Guru was still in London and that he would like to see the room where Sri Aurobindo had studied when he was at King's College in Cambridge. I was looking everywhere in the university. I was asking everybody, but nobody could tell me where Sri Aurobindo studied.
The place where Sri Aurobindo lived when he was in Cambridge was a very simple building. We knew it had been destroyed and didn’t exist anymore.
But nobody could tell me where Sri Aurobindo studied in King's College. I was running around and asking many questions, looking through many archival materials, but I couldn't find out where he studied.
Guru arrived and went into the garden of the Provost, the head of the university, the garden where we were doing the lifting. There's a bust, a statue of Sri Aurobindo in the college, which Guru asked us to put outside there. You can see it in the picture. Guru had this wonderful, wonderful meditation next to the bust of Sri Aurobindo.
Then Guru lifted all of the professors. While lifting was happening, I spoke to one professor. He said, "Oh yes, I know the place where Sri Aurobindo would have studied. I know it. It's a room in the college. It's actually the residential quarters now of one of the professors who lives here. He lives and teaches in that room."
The professor who told me this was Dr John Barber. He's a teacher, a professor of Russian studies. He spoke perfect Russian. He knows all about history of Russia and the language. He spoke to some of the Russian disciples when we were there.
He told me, "I know where the room is. It belongs to Professor Avery". He said, "The trouble is, that professor is the grumpiest professor in the whole college. Let me see. I will speak to him and see if we can arrange for Sri Chinmoy to visit the room."
The amazing thing is that we eventually we found where the room was. I told Guru, “We know where the room is, where Sri Aurobindo studied.” Guru was so happy. After the lifting, he went across to this room.
What was very, very interesting is that Guru suddenly changed. As he was going to go to visit this room, the room where Sri Aurobindo studied, Guru changed. He changed from the Master into the disciple. There was something in Guru's quality, in his consciousness that was very dramatically changed. He became all humility and like he was a disciple going to see his Master, like the best disciple ever. You could feel in Guru this intensity and humility and complete love and devotion for Sri Aurobindo. It was in every part of Guru's being. You could feel it. It was amazing. The feeling around Guru had changed. We guided Guru over there. You could feel as Guru was going, he was going to the room with tremendous humility and devotion.
This picture shows Professor Avery. He was very nice to Guru. He welcomed Guru into the room. It's his own personal living space and he spoke to Guru. That professor actually passed away a few years after this. Guru was trying to explain to him his whole connection with Sri Aurobindo. He didn't fully understand but he was very kind and very gracious.
There is a video of Guru walking in this room. At some point the professor asked Guru to sit down. Guru said, "I will not sit down in my Master's room. I will not sit." You could really feel Guru's devotion to Sri Aurobindo, his love for Sri Aurobindo. It was an amazing moment, amazing moment in the history of Guru's visits to the UK.
India's poet
India's poet,
India's seer,
India's Yogi-Avatar,
O Sri Aurobindo,
O Superman pioneer,
To you I ceaselessly bow.Chinmoy 1
- 1. Sri Aurobindo: The Infinite, Agni Press, 1997
'It was like I was seeing who Guru really was: this extraordinary, beautiful being inside a physical body'
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
I was asleep in New York when the phone rang, and I was invited to go up to Guru's house. That was about 1:00 in the morning. I went to his house, and there were about six boys and maybe six girls there in the room.
Guru didn't say very much, but he asked us to walk around the room as a walking meditation past him and round the back in a circle. We walked around him about seven or eight times very, very slowly.
When I walked past Guru, I began to see this extraordinary being that I had never really seen before. It was like I was seeing who Guru really was, this extraordinary, beautiful being inside a physical body. Guru looked like some very ancient, very majestic and quite incomprehensible spiritual force. I realised that I was really getting a glimpse of man in God or God in man, that there was this very powerful being inside the finite body that was Guru. I realised that Guru would always be beyond my comprehension, that my mind could not fathom how vast Guru really was.
'No matter what happens, I will always, always, always be with you.'
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
Banshidar is describing his experiences during his 3,000 mile run across America.
Throughout the run, a few different times, Guru wanted to speak with me. This was before there were computers or even cell phones. We would make arrangements: I'd be at a place where we could speak on the phone.
Very early on, maybe after a few weeks, I had some injuries, which is normal, and it was very challenging.
In one of these telephone conversations with Guru, he said something that he essentially says to all of our souls, every single disciple. In that conversation, Guru said, “No matter what happens, I will always, always, always be with you.”
That completely put me into another place. No matter what happened, no matter how much pain, no matter what came and went, I was totally happy and felt absolutely safe and protected in Guru’s grace.
At the end of every day, I was completely exhausted and hurting. The disciple who was with me would do the cooking and he'd massage me. He was like an angel, a saint and a good buddy. Every morning when I woke up, it was like a miracle. No matter how exhausted I was the day before, Guru’s force and Guru’s grace made it possible for me to start over anew. I’d step out of the camper in the darkness of the morning and no matter what the weather was, raining, snowing or whatever, I would go and do the miles. I had an incredible adventure every single day.
Because of the intensity of the daily focus on this journey my attitude was very meditative. When you're doing these kinds of things, your mind goes into another place. Actually, the mind doesn't work too much. You're just completely present and immersed in your inner world.
There were so many wonderful experiences on this journey. One of them sticks in my mind as clear today as it was then. After about a month on the journey, running late in the afternoon, the sun was setting behind me. I had already run 25 miles or so and I was feeling pretty good, with a good pace. Because I was running east up a hill with the sun behind me and low on the horizon, my shadow was in front of me. I was looking at my shadow and I had this very special experience.
As I was running up this hill, I became aware of the distinct experience that I was riding my vital horse. The energy, my life energy was like a horse, and I had the reins of the horse firmly gripped in my hands. It was like galloping. It was such an incredible experience. For the first time in my life, I felt that my vital energy, my life energy was completely in my control. I'll never forget that. I could feel Guru smiling and his presence creating this experience.
With the dynamism of your vital
And the self-giving qualities
Of your heart,
You can inspire humanity.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, part 169, Agni Press, 1992
I know where you are
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
At the store, we had a red phone for Guru to call if he was looking for Ashrita. If it rang five times, then I was supposed to pick up the phone.
So this particular day, I told Guru I did not know where Ashrita was. And then Guru said, “But I know where you are. You are inside my heart. You are inside every heartbeat of mine.”
The Master’s heart
Is made of affection.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 43, Agni Press, 2005
Guru the child with his London disciple-children
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
Guru was in Scotland and he left Scotland. We thought Guru had gone back to New York. Ashrita called London and he said, "Guru is not in New York. Nobody knows where he is."
In London we got a call from Guru. The father of Shankara and Dipika, two of the British children, whose name was Ongkar, was a disciple to the end of his life; he has passed away now. That year, he was opening a new divine enterprise, called Run and Become, which still exists. The shop was not open to the public yet. It was still being refurbished. Guru asked us all to meet there.
He came in the evening and we all met in this shop, which had two floors, a ground level and an upstairs level. Guru said all the children should come upstairs with him and for all the adults to stay downstairs. He invited all the children to come upstairs.
Guru was like a child. He was with us and he was like another child. I was thirteen at the time. The children were mostly younger than me all the way down to four or five years old. Guru was so excited. He was really like a child when he was with us.
Guru played a little game with us. He said, “I want you all, each child, to guess your animal incarnation. What animal you were in your last animal incarnation.”
We all guessed. I remember that I thought maybe I was a dolphin because I loved dolphins at that age. Then Guru went around to each child and he told them which animal they were in their last animal incarnation. Mridanga was an elephant. Dipika was a dog. My brother Sahadeva was a cow. To another girl, Sudhira, who lives in San Francisco now, Guru told her she was a deer.
Then Guru told me that I also was a deer. Guru said that it was very unusual because in my case I was a deer for two consecutive incarnations. Guru said in my first deer incarnation I was not satisfied with my speed. The deer represents speed in Guru's Animal Kingdom book. As a deer, I was not satisfied with my speed. I asked the Supreme for another deer incarnation.
Those 'lucky' people who have seen my speed on the Peace Run will realise that I still have a lot more incarnations to go if I want to be satisfied with my speed!
What my heart needs
Is aspiration-speed,
What my life needs
Is dedication-speed,
And what I need
Is surrender-speed.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, part 172, Agni Press, 1992
How I started working full-time for my spiritual Master
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
I had been working at the United Nations for about ten years when 1985 came along. Unfortunately, I followed the advice of a lawyer and somehow that got me in trouble with the taxes at the UN. Rather than get into a long dispute with the UN, Guru suggested that I just retire.
In any case, Guru came up to me and said, “Well, you need a job now. Right?” I said, “Yes, Guru.” He said, “Would you like to work for me? You could come to the tennis court and be a tennis court guard.”
My job started the next day. At that time, the tennis court, which had been constructed in 1980, was not yet called Aspiration-Ground. Guru was playing tennis there practically every day.
Ketan and Sagar were his two main helpers there. Basically, they were the steady helpers. Ketan was more interested in setting up all of Guru's exercise equipment and his shoes and his drinks, as well as cleaning the area around Guru. Sagar did sweeping and other things around the court area. I became eventually sort of a specialist in taking care of the surface of the court.
At times, because I thought I was in charge of things, I would ask them to do something. That's when things became a little shaky because they knew what they had to do. They thought, “Who is this guy coming in here telling us what to do?” I would suggest something like “Maybe we should rake the stones in the driveway.” And they would say, “Yeah, if you think we should rake the stones, then here's your rake.” I guess I started learning to develop my patience and tolerance and oneness with my fellow workers there. I wasn't perfect either.
We all served as ball boys, and I assisted Guru also when he was lifting his weights.
How I started massaging Guru: the first thing that happened was when Guru would come to the court, he'd be wearing his sandals. Then one day when I was nearby, he sat down in his chair, reached into his pocket, pulled out his socks and threw them at me. This was an indication that he wanted me to put his socks on.
I was a little surprised at the moment, but eventually the message got through to me. Guru didn't have to say anything. So I would put his socks on and then his tennis shoes on because Guru never wore his tennis shoes to Aspiration-Ground. He always came in sandals and had one of us put his socks and shoes on for him.
Guru would play tennis for an hour or two hours. Sometimes it would be very, very hot and he would be totally drenched in sweat, but it was what he loved to do—play sports.
After playing tennis, Guru would come back to his seat. He often called me to take his socks off and then one day after taking his socks off, he asked me to massage his feet.
The true Master
Says,
“I shall show you
How to place your soul,
Heart, mind, vital, body
And earthly existence,
Everything that you have
And you are,
At the Feet of God
To please Him in His own Way.”Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. The difference between a false Master and a true Master, Agni Press, 1999
My wife's soul comes to visit
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
I was married to Subarata, an Irish disciple, for 20 years. She passed away from a very rare disease in the year 2000. When she passed away, Guru said to me, “Do not grieve too much. The secret of life is that there is no death.”
One night, about three months later, I was back in New Zealand. I was asleep in my room and I got woken up at three o'clock in the morning. There was a very strong and very beautiful fragrance of flowers in my room. I had a feeling in my heart that her soul was there in the room and she had come to visit. I jumped out of bed and I sat in the little side room where she used to meditate.
Ten minutes later, the telephone rang. It was Ashrita or someone in New York calling me up. He said, “Guru told me to call you and tell you that your wife's soul is there in the room. She has come to visit you.”
I was very surprised, as Guru was 12,000 miles away in New York, and he confirmed the experience that her soul had come from the soul's the world into our world to visit.
The Master's Fruitful Answers
The Master’s fruitful answers
To his children’s soulful questions
Are as meaningful to them
As their highest meditation,
For his answers convince
Their physical mind
Of the messages they receive
From their spiritual heart.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, part 69, #6886, Agni Press, 1983
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