Inspiration In Jail

And so began Tom’s and my fortnightly exchange of letters based on my meditative experiences as a student of my meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy. In my first letter I told Tom that I would be very happy to teach him how to meditate even though I was not strictly a Buddhist, all I asked of him in return was his sincerity and honesty.

Tom went on to tell me that he had a long history of drug addiction, and had been jailed after his arrest for ‘breaking and entering’. He had even broken into his own parents’ home twice, stealing thousands of dollars of electrical goods to help finance his vice-like addiction to drugs. He had been referred to many rehabilitation clinics over the years but sadly he was still using up until the time he was arrested.

To Tom’s credit he distanced himself from the hardcore prisoners, gaining their respect by keeping his tall frame physically strong in the prison gymnasium. Life in prison can be extremely tough, and it weren’t for the protection given by a senior life-term prisoner Tom’s life on the ‘inside’ would have been a lot more difficult. It is normal for new prisoners to be harassed by longer term inmates. So the other prisoners knew to leave Tom well alone, affording him the time and privacy to pursue his meditative practice.

I was immediately taken by Tom’s vulnerability, honesty, courage and determination. He was sick of the regimentation and boredom of prison but was now finding relief in the inner freedom in his meditations. I actually felt, and although Tom never said, that for the first time in his life he was beginning to gain an insight into life’s real meaning and purpose, one that offered him a positive awareness and hope. Tom practiced his daily meditations diligently rising at 4am each morning, then praying and meditating before he went to bed.

To help broaden his understandings, but with difficulties associated with prison security, I mailed Tom two best selling books of Sri Chinmoy’s - Wings of Joy and Sri Chinmoy’s Heart-Garden. Wings of Joy is a compilation of talks given by Sri Chinmoy, it was published particularly suiting western seekers. We went through each spiritual topic and meditation exercise, page by page. Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden is a collection of over 300 of Sri Chinmoy’s shorter aphorism poems, this we shared for daily inspiration.

We started with basic meditation and visualisation exercises, an exercise with each letter, he responded with questions, I replied with answers and the next exercise. Then over the months we moved onto deeper philosophical understandings of traditional eastern meditative teachings. We also looked at karma and for Tom who had never considered the results of his actions before, this was a very powerful awakening. Up until now Tom had never had to think about the consequence of his actions, he was blinded by a craving and would stop at nothing until that craving was satisfied.

He began to understand the hurt he had inflicted on his robbery victims and his parents, family and friends who loved him very much, but who now felt betrayed and unsure of where to turn for help. His long history of drug abuse and criminal activities had caused great sorrow to many people. But at least now Tom was aware of this and he so desperately wanted to gain back their trust.

His parents were the first to notice the change in their son during their weekly visits, ringing me to thank me for my efforts. Tom also began to notice and feel the powerful benefits of meditation. His whole outlook became more positive and he was much happier.

Tom mentioned that he was becoming anxious about his upcoming parole application. He would be required to sit for an interview with the six members of the parole panel, something that he was very nervous about. I reassured him that his meditative practice would give him a quiet and confident attitude for the interview. He wanted to be out, and was aware that the slightest breach in his behaviour could jeopardise his application. His meditative practice became even more important to him then, helping to keeping him calm, focused and positive. I had written a letter of support which Tom knew, to the parole panel based purely on the difference I had seen in him since he had started to mediate.

To Tom’s great relief and delight his application was approved, the final decision held until after the interview. The panel noted how positive and responsible Tom had become. They felt confident enough in his understandings of his past addiction and actions and his positive outlook for the future with the support of his family, friends and his meditation practice, to grant him an early release.

I lost contact with Tom after his release. I had heard from his parents that he had moved to the Buddhist centre at Chenrezig, there he was befriended by a Buddhist monk who taught him the dharma. He then left the centre moving to a small country town nearby. I often wonder if I will ever meet Tom, but am content in knowing that through the meditation techniques and writings of Sri Chinmoy and his continuing meditative practice, he has a more compassionate and positive outlook for his future.