As Promised

Of the hundreds of ways in which Sri Chinmoy has helped me and my whole family, one particular series of events is the most striking. During the busy preparations for Sri Chinmoy's 1993 Chicago Peace Concert and the Parliament of World Religions, one night I found a message from Italy on my answering machine: my father had been hospitalised. As other disciples suggested, I asked Guru whether I should go. The answer came very shortly: "If you are close to your father, you should go." If I had any hope for my father, this answer made it very clear that the case was serious. It was a very difficult time from all points of view. Besides my responsibilities, I had just been approved for permanent residence in the United States and was not allowed to leave the country for a certain period of time. After an entire morning spent at the Immigration Office to get permission to leave the U.S., I stopped briefly by the Centre to get a ride to the airport. At that very moment Guru called. The timing was unbelievable! After Guru talked to a few others, my turn came. I will never forget his words: "So, you are crying. You do not believe in my philosophy…" and a lecture on death and reincarnation followed. He concluded: "Remember, if anything happens to your father, I will take care of his soul." With a heavy heart I left. Guru's words hadn't left much hope in me. Although the surgery went well, after a couple of days my father began to feel worse. He had problems breathing. In the afternoon things became so bad that the doctors gave him morphine. When my sister Anna went to call my other sister, I was left alone in the room with my father. I did not know what to do. Clearly this was it. I pulled out my little wallet-size photo of Guru and started invoking Guru. At the same time I was talking to my father's soul, since he could not hear me. I tried to explain how this was not the end. Suddenly, a beautiful white light came out of the photo. It felt good. When my sister came back, I put away Guru's picture. My nephew, who is a nurse, came to spend the night at the hospital. We instructed him to call us at any time if anything happened and went home sure that we would not see my father alive again. The next morning at 7 a.m. my nephew called: "You wouldn't believe it. He is getting better!" The doctors couldn't understand, but my father recovered and lived one more year, during which he reconciled himself to death. But the story is not over. A year later my father died. When I went to Italy for the funeral, his home felt incredibly peaceful. I felt reassured that my father had died peacefully. So, I thought, Guru had indeed kept his promise. The surprise came a few days later when I was back in the U.S. One morning during my meditation, I had a most beautiful experience. I saw a circle. Within it was my father: alive, younger. He was wearing a jacket of light blue sequins and the blue sky was behind him. He was smiling and reassured me that he was well. As promised, Guru had indeed taken care of his soul!

Kapila (Ann Arbor)