I Felt Peace

When I became a disciple of Sri Chinmoy, I had just turned 21 and was still dependent on my parents. They were still supporting me in college, so their influence was strong. My father attended one of Sri Chinmoy's Peace Concerts, but his overall response seemed to be, to his practical mind, that the whole thing was useless. Because of the difference in belief, I kept friendly contact over the years, but never asked his opinion of my spiritual life. After 19 years, I was spending Christmas day with my father, then 72, and his cousin, 80. These two elderly men had grown up in the farm country of the Midwest and had then gone on to long careers. My father's cousin had been a college professor, and having very rarely seen me, found an opportunity to focus his intense curiosity on my spiritual teacher and our activities. After asking me many questions, he said, "And what does your father think of Sri Chinmoy?" My father was right there, so I said, "Why don't you ask him?" The answer came: "He is the leader of a great peace movement. He is sincere, he is physically fit. He lifts heavy weights and runs. He tells his students, ‘Be the best you can be.'" His cousin asked, "Did you ever see Sri Chinmoy?" My father answered, "I went to a concert and I felt peace. I meditated." Months later, I found it necessary to write to Guru on a different subject. In the last sentence of my letter, I told Guru what my father had said. I thought it might make Guru happy to see the change over the years. As I mailed the letter, and for several days afterwards, it was the last sentence about my father which reverberated in my heart. Within five days of mailing the letter, my family called to say that my father was in the hospital for emergency surgery. The main artery in his neck had become 80 percent clogged, but he had been unaware of it. It was a stroke waiting to happen, but the operation saved his life. Everything turned out well, and my family took it all very lightly. Amazingly enough, when I discussed the circumstances leading to his operation with my father, and told him about the letter to Guru, he believed and still believes that Guru saved his life. The light shining in his eyes when we talked was from another world.

Sutushti (Connecticut)