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Chapter Three
Round Two...
Mad Elephants and Prize Goats - 1982
Having developed a penchant for riding large motorcycles - my spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy humourously calls them 'mad elephants' - I proceeded one morning to ride mine into the back of a very large solid object! This particular object was a trailer which had a cage on it, and in that cage was a very large prize goat. The trailer was hitched to a big car which was standing stationary in the middle of a major highway - just around a blind bend. That's when I arrived! The main problem was that I was travelling at around 60 miles per hour when I hit the trailer. I was later told that the motorcycle wrapped itself up in the cage; the trailer rode up into the back window of the car, and the goat ran off down the highway bleating piteously. It was never seen again and I have always been glad that it seemed to have survived the crash at least. I found myself sitting in the middle of the road on a hot Australian morning with body parts in places that they should not have been - but thankfully still alive. If you are into liberating prize goats, please do not try this method! I am sure there are far less dramatic techniques.
Grace Drives A Taxi
| "Why me?" |
Fortunately, the first person to arrive at the scene was a very
compassionate lady taxi driver. I was fighting to stay conscious
because I wanted to tell someone about my medical condition and was
really happy to see her. I was a little worried about excessive
bleeding from my wounds as my blood was artificially thinned - a
necessity for people with prosthetic heart valves. While she was calling for
an ambulance, two
carloads of doctors and nurses turned up - can you imagine!? It seems
they were out on a wine tasting jaunt which, fortunately, had not yet
begun in earnest. I explained my medical background as best I could and
can not remember much at all after that. I drifted in and out of
consciousness during various phases of the 70 mile trip to hospital and
ended up in an orthopaedic unit for six weeks or so. Many of the people
with leg injuries were motorcycle riders and two of them had been there
for over 18 months! When released, I was wearing a full leg cast on my
right leg and a full arm cast on my left arm, with various plates and
pins holding the arm together. Having a shower was very interesting.
Apart from the broken bones, it seemed that I had gotten off lightly.
In those days, being young and foolish, I would never wear a helmet
when riding. On this particular morning however, something or Someone
compelled me to bow my proud head and don the loathed 'skid lid' -
which probably saved my life - I only had a couple of minor cuts on my
forehead. Oh by the way - I later found out
that the taxi driver's name was Grace!
Back To The Royal Adelaide - 1983
Upon release, I went to stay in the bush with some friends of mine.
I had a huge open wound in the front of my poor leg which needed
constant dressing and to cut a long story short, I developed an
infection which soon lodged on my heart valves. Symptoms of fever and
general listlessness forced me to head for Adelaide once again. To top
that off, my leg had knitted badly and was very unstable - it was like having
two knees on the one leg. I spent the best part of a year in hospital and weathered a
second open-heart operation, a bone graft to mend the leg and other miscellaneous repairs and physical maintenance. By
coincidence, my orthopedic surgeon and I shared the same first name. We
were also born on the same day of the same year. I spent my birthday in
hospital that year and he kindly surprised me with a visit. We enjoyed a nice
birthday chat and toasted each others good health with some strange
Australian cordial that he assured me was for medicinal purposes only.
I trusted him and slept well that night.
At the end of that rather tedious year and with no-one to blame but myself, I was full of angst, very frustrated and somewhat lost. Feeling the need to overhaul my life in some way, a nagging intuition was warning me that I had drifted too far from a seemingly vague "right course" and a fresh start was required in order to get back on track. But which track? What track? On one distraught night in hospital, I had a very vivid dream, which left no doubt in my mind that I had choices to make. Certain choices led me up to a higher ideal and other choices would lead me to a lower reality. An extremely benevolent being was trying to warn me of dire consequences should I not take heed and make good in some way. This inner conflict was all happening around the time leading up to Sri Chinmoy's 1984 Harmony Concert in Melbourne - but I had not even heard of my 'Guru-to-be' at that time.
Drip-stands I Have Known
Due to the fact that I was having large ongoing doses of intravenous antibiotics to combat the infections, it was necessary to have a mobile drip-stand so that I could move around and remain 'plugged in!' I have never been able to sit still for very long and do not make a very good Yogi. You learn to accept the constant companionship of a drip-stand. They are handy for hanging clothes on and people open doors for you. I stopped short of giving my drip-stands names though because it only makes parting more difficult. Like humans, different drip-stands have different personalities. While it is true that most are tall, skinny and somewhat cold by nature, they will often behave in strange and unusual ways when you least expect it. Some will not move when you push them or move in a direction contrary to the one you want to go in. Others will move when you do not want them to, or take off down a hill with you in tow. Rather awkward in a leg cast! Some develop squeaky wheels that only squeak when you are trying to sneak out of the ward or rudely fall over when you are riding them. Generally though, they make great conversation pieces and eat very little.
At one particularly difficult juncture during my second tenure at the Royal Adelaide, I decided that I really needed to get away from the hospital for a few hours. Just after the nurses had topped up my antibiotics, I convinced my drip-stand to accompany me on a quick tour of the environs close to the hospital. Immediately next to the hospital are the beautiful Adelaide Botanical Gardens; my first choice and initial destination. The drip-stand however had other ideas and led me completely astray. Some kind of mind-melding power entered into the chromed monster and it led me straight to the front bar of a public house across the road from the hospital. Fortunately, I was carrying my wallet - otherwise I would have looked a real fool. The fact that I was wearing hospital pajamas and dressing gown did not seem to bother the drip-stand at all. Spending life basically naked, it had no sense of sartorial pride anyway! My dress code did not seem to bother the patrons or bar staff either. I guess as long as you are purchasing something...
I will not burden you with the dreary details, but some four hours later, I meandered back to the hospital via a rather different route to the one I had left by. Not content with dragging me to Hades, my belligerent companion forced me to cross a traffic busy four lane road in a state that can only be described as arrogantly over-confident and staggeringly uncoordinated. On arriving back at the ward and in a much merrier mood, I was mercilessly accused of all sorts of misdeeds. The nurses must have believed the drip-stand situation though and to their credit, I didn't see another one for over two weeks. I think that they sent them all off for rehabilitation. Someday I must tell you about some of the wheelchairs I have known.
'Three Chimneys' and the 'Master of Sorts' - 1984
1983 had been a rough year! Someone told me that the world was going to end in 1984, but obviously the Creator had other plans. Anyway, I didn't give the doomsday talk much credit and was keenly looking for a fresh start. Having finally escaped hospital and survived a second heart operation, a friend of a friend recommended that I take up Tai Chi. She told me that it would help get some fitness, strength and poise back in my life after nearly 12 months of incarceration. I had become a little tense from the experience. This turned out to be really good advice and I soon became very dedicated to learning the ancient Chinese art. At the end of each training session, our Chinese teacher would have us sit quietly, close our eyes and perform some simple relaxation techniques. These little sessions kindled a curiosity for meditation in me and I asked one of my fellow Tai Chi practitioners if he knew of anywhere in Adelaide where I might be able to learn meditation. He seemed like a good person to ask because I knew that he practiced meditation on a daily basis.
| Is this the mysterious Three Chimney Centre? |
Now, you would think that he would have told me about his own group. But no - he suggested that I go to what sounded like the 'The Three Chimney Centre', and even gave me an address. This information was suffixed with the snide comment, "They have a Master of sorts and meditate on his third eye." It turned out that he had a lot of pride about whatever it was that he was into and I don't think he saw me as a serious contender to accompany him on the same lofty road. We often hear the expression "God works in mysterious ways" - and surely that phrase applies in this instance. Here was a guy that could have steered me in the direction of what he was doing, but instead was somehow moved to tell me about a completely different path. As time went by I came to realise that God employs us to fulfill His Will in various and often mysterious ways. Like pawns in a game of chess, we are moved hither and thither in a drama that has been unfolding over millennia. Secretly and sacredly He fulfills Himself through His creation and in doing so, gives us the opportunity to participate in His Cosmic Game. I was reminded of this when I saw The Lord of The Rings. Gandolf advised Frodo to keep an open mind about where assistance might come from to accomplish his quest of taking the ring to its ultimate destruction in the fires of Mount Doom. He even hinted that Gollum might have an important role to play - and he did on more than one occasion. Often in life help and opportunities spring from the most unexpected quarters.
I had no idea what a third eye was or why anyone would want to meditate under three chimneys, but it all sounded quite mysterious and piqued my curiosity. I had very few preconceptions about the spiritual life or of what having a spiritual path and a spiritual Master really meant. My Tai Chi classes had prepared me in so much as I liked having the guidance of a teacher, but I really had no idea what a real spiritual path was about. As you may have already guessed, the 'The Three Chimney Centre' turned out to be the Sri Chinmoy Centre. I started going to the free classes that were being offered in Adelaide and soon felt moved to try Sri Chinmoy's path. I felt really happy with what I heard, saw and felt at the classes being offered by Sri Chinmoy's students and had a strong sense of arriving where I was meant to be - 'coming home' as it were. The members of the Australian Sri Chinmoy Centre inspired me tremendously and made me feel very welcome. I was soon attending the regular meditation sessions and a whole new world was gradually opening up before me - my unspoken prayers were being answered. One little preconception that I did have was that the spiritual life meant sitting around and meditating for hours on end. I was not sure that I would be able to deal with that over a long period of time as I had always loved to be active. To be sure, meditation is the foundation of our path and lifestyle, as it is with most spiritual paths and religions. I soon found that Sri Chinmoy's disciples lived very full and active lives - as does Sri Chinmoy himself. A 21st century Guru, Sri Chinmoy lives and recommends the integral life for the modern age. Running and physical fitness, holding down a job, operating enterprises and being involved in various community service projects are all part of the lifestyle of the Sri Chinmoy Centre member. Regular prayer, meditation and other practices such as reading spiritual books and singing are the basis for keeping oneself anchored firmly in the heart - that place where meditation occurs naturally and the light of the soul most powerfully prevails.
| Sri Chinmoy |
My first trip to visit Sri Chinmoy in New York was in April of 1985. I remember being struck by what a warm, energetic and dynamic group of people Sri Chinmoy's students are. Each year the members of our international family gather in Jamaica, Queens to celebrate Sri Chinmoy's arrival in the West in April of 1964 - and again in August to celebrate his birthday. I don't remember much of that first trip to New York, but I do remember that I was very happy that I went. It was for me a trip that affirmed my positive feelings about having a spiritual teacher and a path. Being in Sri Chinmoy's presence was a wonderful experience of what meditation is really all about - his own meditative calm and peaceful demeanour, his poise and sense of purpose, his child-like simplicity and beautiful sense of humour. At the same time one could see that he was a fantastic teacher - a role-model who leads by example and guides his students responsibly - with a clear view of their needs both inner and outer. I left New York without having seen any of the travel brochure 'must see' places that one would normally visit, but with a sense of fulfilment that can only come from the experience of being in the presence of a holy man. Spiritual Masters feed the hearts and souls of those who are hungry for spiritual experience and fulfilment - and I had eaten my fill.
Sipra's Sound Advice and Sri Chinmoy's Miracle
When I returned to Adelaide, I
decided to go to hospital and have a pin and a plate removed from my
left arm. The pin ran the length of my forearm and the plate had been
used to repair multiple fractures in the wrist area. They had outgrown
their use and become quite painful. Armed with my Guru's blessings, I
was admitted for what was a fairly straight-forward procedure. My previous long stays in hospitals had left me with subtle
attachments and vulnerabilities to hospital life. After the pin and
plate were removed, I began to sense that the environment of hospital
was spiritually unhealthy for me - and I voiced my concerns to Sipra,
who is the Centre leader in Adelaide. She advised me to trust my
heart's feelings and try to get out as soon as was possible - good and
sound advice! I convinced a doctor to discharge me sooner than they probably
would have liked and packed my bag. Happy to be leaving, I reached down
to pick up my bag using my left arm without thinking. The strain tore
some of the stitches and made the wound bleed profusely. It swelled up
to a huge size within 5 minutes and the doctors had me back on the bed
immediately. They told me that I would have to stay for a few more days
until the wound had healed some more and so I resigned myself to this
fate. When I phoned Sipra and informed her of my predicament she said,
"We will see about that!" Sipra got a message to Sri Chinmoy about the
situation and within half an hour, the bleeding and the swelling had
disappeared completely! The doctors could not figure it out - and
frankly neither could I. All I knew was that Sipra was well connected
and my Guru was definitely the 'Best Sort of Master.' I had to sign a
release form but I left the Royal Adelaide that day and did not have to
go near a hospital again for a few years.
I have always admired Sipra for her steadfast trust and powerful faith in our Guru - and I have experienced Sri Chinmoy's loving concern and kind intervention on many occasions over the years - not only in my life, but in the lives of my sister and brother disciples as well. Sri Chinmoy's love for us, and indeed for the entire world, is boundless and unconditional. There are countless stories about how spiritual Masters save their disciples from mishaps and disasters - these are miracles that a real master can and does perform as easily as we can breath. But I have often heard Sri Chinmoy say that the greatest miracle is when human beings aspire to go beyond their limited human nature - to delve into the recesses of the heart's vastness and discover the Infinite Source that lies within us all.
The Abode of God's Compassion
Is the hospital
For sinners.
The Abode of God's Delight
Is the lighthouse
For seekers.
- Sri Chinmoy.
by Shardul - a memeber of the Sri Chinmoy Centre of New Zealand.
