Don't Worry, You'll Do It

One year I wanted to run the New York Marathon, but three days before I had severe lower back pain. The night before the Marathon, it had increased to the point that I could barely walk across the room. When Sri Chinmoy saw me he said, "What has happened to you?" I said that I was very sad because I had developed this back pain and it had become worse and worse and that I was supposed to be out on the starting line early the next morning for the Marathon. Guru just smiled and said, "Don't worry, you'll do it. Go out and start." So I got up the next day and went on the bus like everybody else. My back was definitely better. By the time I reached the starting line, my back was hurting so little that I was not even thinking about it, but I was all jittery and nervous anyway. While I was running, my back never bothered me in the slightest. The second I walked in the door to my apartment, the telephone rang—it was Guru. He said, "Oi, Divine, how is your back?" I thanked Guru and said that the pain had completely disappeared—that he had taken it away and that I had had a very normal, happy run. Guru said, "Fine, fine."

Nishtha (New York)