Dreaming about my spiritual name
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
Guru had told me he would give me my soul's name when he returned to Puerto Rico in May 1970. That evening I am dreaming that I am in a park or a garden, and all the young disciples of that time are in the garden. One of them tells me to come to the well: “Guru is waiting for you to give you your name.” So, I walk with them and Guru is waiting for me. He puts a bucket down inside the well. He puts it all the way down and then brings it up full of water. And in the water there is my name, my soul's name. Then Guru proceeds to pour the water in the bucket over me, over my head. He starts saying my name, over and over and over again. It is so realistic and so powerful that the mind wants to grab the name to remember it.
I woke up with the word Ananda in my mind. I kept on repeating it over and over and over again, but I knew that there was another part to the name before the Ananda. I spent the rest of the day trying to remember what the first part was. I made the most ridiculous combinations.
During that visit Guru gave fifteen names, in groups of five disciples at a time, on the 5th, the 6th and the 7th of May. I was lucky to be in the group of the 5th of May. In those days, Guru would give your name mostly by physical contact. The same as in an initiation, he would place one hand over your head touching the third eye, and the other on the heart. He started to say, “In the name of the Supreme, I want to offer you your soul's name. Your soul's name is S E V…” Then I, in my mind, went on “…A N A N D A,” because I knew it, I knew what the name was. And I knew the meaning. Then Guru started to describe the qualities of the name.
As Guru was speaking, he gave me a vision of my entire life, my complete life quite fast. Every single movement, every single gesture, everything I did was connected to my name. It was like a dance, like a beautiful choreograph with every single gesture connected to my name. It was an amazingly beautiful experience. And as it was happening, Guru was telling me, your soul is giving the message to your heart, and your heart is conveying the message to your mind. This kind of experience you never forget, you can never forget, it stays with you forever.
Today
My heart is beaming
With God’s blissful Blessings.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 21, Agni Press, 2001
'Good, very good'
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
I was very lucky in that that in 1981, Guru turned 50 years old, and for that occasion he said all his disciples who want can come to the celebration of August for his 50th birthday, no matter how long you are on the path - at the time, I was only four months.
The only problem with my going to New York for Guru’s birthday was that it was at the end of August, and I had my school vacation over the beginning of August. I told my parents I would be going for one week—from 1st to 8th of August—but I booked from 1st to 28th.
I was so happy going to see my Master. I felt that being his disciple was like being a disciple of the highest Supreme. I thought that Guru must be very tall, above the Earth, not walking with his feet on Earth. In my imagination, I thought he must be very tall.
I was so happy and nervous that I couldn't eat in the airplane; the first thing I wanted to eat was prasad from Guru. So I didn't eat in the airplane. When we arrived in New York, Guru was there only in the evening. There was no prasad.
Then Guru said that all those who arrived on that day could pass by him. We were four girls, and Guru meditated on each of us. I just remember that Guru looked not into my eyes, but at my heart where I had my hands folded. He nodded with his head, and said, "Good, very good."
The compassion-eye
Of a spiritual Master
Is an ever-light-flooded stairway
To Heaven’s summit-heights.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, part 230, Agni Press, 1996
Heaven on Earth
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
It was in August 1979 that I first got a chance to go to New York. I was 10 years old. I went with my mother. The whole experience was unbelievable. It was an incredible experience. For starters, everything in America was bigger. Cars were bigger. People were bigger. They were louder. Everything was bigger.
Then there was this whole community around Guru. There were disciples. There were enterprises. There was so much dynamism and so much activity. Guru was into running at that time and there were races all the time. People were running all the time.
For me as a child, it was like a dream come true. It was a place with all these wonderful people who are very kind, very nice, but very bright and very positive and very dynamic. It was just heaven on earth. It was fantastic.
In 1979 there was no Aspiration-Ground [our current meeting area], so we used to go to the Jamaica High School track nearby to meet Guru. We went to see Guru in the mornings and to do running and to watch Guru play tennis.
One of the things I remember most is that the functions would go really late. We would have evening functions with meditation, music, plays and whatever. It would go to like three o'clock, four o'clock in the morning, really, really late.
There was an event in those days that used to take place every August called Jala-Ramini. It was in an outdoor school swimming pool—synchronised swimming and other sorts of swimming performances, like theatre in the swimming pool.
It was a very warm evening. I remember at the very end suddenly somebody must have asked Guru, and they got permission that everybody who wanted to could jump in the pool. All these boys and girls in their whites and in their saris just jumped into the pool.
I tried to jump in but my mother wouldn't let me. She made me change first. Then I jumped in and it was just wonderful. It was a swimming pool full of disciples in whites and saris.
At the very end Guru was smiling, smiling, smiling.
May each and every soul
Swim and swim
In God-oneness-sea.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 23, Agni Press, 2001
Sri Chinmoy is going to be with us forever
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
An interview with scholar and National Book Award-winning novelist Professor Charles Johnson.
Dr. Agraha: Do you remember when you were the head of the creative writing programme, and you presented the World Peace Literature Award to Sri Chinmoy?
Prof. Johnson: That's correct. And I had that award made down the street from my house at a store that makes trophies. And I wrote the copy, I wrote the words. It was a great pleasure for me to do that, because Sri Chinmoy's publications, his writing of a spiritual nature, is voluminous. It's many, many, many, many books. And I think they are all very valuable, which is why it's for spiritual writing, this award.
Dr. Agraha: That's right. You gave it for spiritual writing.
Prof. Johnson: I met Sri Chinmoy before that. It was even before that when he came to the University of Washington. And I remember he would lift up people.
Dr. Agraha: Oh, that was prior to that that you met him and were lifted by Sri Chinmoy?
Prof. Johnson: That's correct, yes. That was my first meeting.
Dr. Agraha: What was what was it like for you? Please tell me, what was it like for you to be lifted by Sri Chinmoy?
Prof. Johnson: Well, it was a unique experience that was like nothing I've ever experienced before. I remember what impressed me the most, certainly the deep spirituality that emanated from Sri Chinmoy, but also the kindness and generosity of all the people associated with him like yourself.
Dr. Agraha: Well, if we have kindness and generosity, we hope to have imbibed a tiny drop. I mean, imagine the kindness and the love he showered everyone with. And you spoke about that, if I recall, right after you were lifted. I'm forgetting your exact words, you said something I still remember was very deeply spiritual. You said a few words.
Prof. Johnson: I can't remember what those words were. But I do remember on a second occasion when Sri Chinmoy came to the University of Washington and we met in the Student Centre Auditorium. He played for me a Buddhist composition or song. I remember that. That was a very kind and generous gesture.
Dr. Agraha: Well, you know, Sri Chinmoy was deeply moved by your spirituality and he was so inspired. Here we have a man who is a world famous writer, National Book Award winner. And actually, I think at that time, by then, you had already been the National Book Award judge, I think.
Prof. Johnson: And I was a judge for all the contests, the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, three times for both of those.
Dr. Agraha: So he knew, he really knew about all your background. I remember him speaking about you and he was so moved that such a great writer - and he had read many of your writings, I excerpted from several of your books and also I wanted to show him a bit of the range, I showed some cartoons which you did.
Prof. Johnson: Oh, God, really? I didn't know.
Dr. Agraha: Yeah, he was astounded. And he said something like, oh, he's like me. He likes so many different types of creation.
Prof. Johnson: And we have wonderful drawings from Sri Chinmoy. I think his point, which I believe in deeply, is that if you have a spiritual practise, that spiritual practise allows you to manifest good things in many different ways, many different art forms. And in his case, with the lifting, he was addressing athletics, you know, so that for athletes, for artists, for musicians, it really helps to have a grounding in spiritual practise. You know, it's not a register or dimension that we see often enough in literary writers, it just isn't there for one reason or another. But I've always valued those people who are moving through this world on their journey, who inspire us to tap into that wealth that we have within ourselves, all of us now.
Dr. Agraha: Yes. Well, actually, that was one of the questions I wanted to ask you about was how you are a very deeply spiritual man and you put it into practise. I mean, you learned, if I am right you learn how to read Pali (the language of Buddhist scriptures) so you could read the...
Prof. Johnson: Not Pali. Sanskrit.
Dr. Agraha: Sanskrit. Even better. So you could go to the original slokas and get the real spiritual flavour. I mean, that to me is astounding. And so your living spirituality is so profound. And I was wondering how what could you say about how has it influenced your own writings?
Prof. Johnson: It's all over my writings, really, all over my writings. I've been studying Sanskrit since 1998. I will never be a Sanskrit scholar. I'm a Sanskrit student because I can't do it every day. But it's a beautiful language. It's the language of the Bhagavad Gita. It's, you know, and it's spawned or gave birth to Pali, a number of other, you know, religions as well, languages as well, Marathi, Hindi, you know. So it really is a base for understanding many, many things. But yeah, this, this is very important. I say that if we have a spiritual practise, then I don't tell anyone what their spiritual practise should be if they're honestly pursuing it because that will make them a person, a man or woman of peace and generosity towards others. Right. And we need people to remind us of that so much right now in our world.
Dr. Agraha: Yes.
Prof. Johnson: There's so much violence in America. There's the terrible, terrible things that are happening in Ukraine right now. Break my heart. So we really need those people who understand the importance of non-violence, our connectedness to each other, the richness that we all possess within ourselves to do good and to create beauty in this world.
Dr. Agraha: That's beautiful. Well, I am grateful to hear that. My next question I was going to ask you about when you first met Sri Chinmoy, what it was like. And you've shared that with me beautifully. And I want to ask you something that has struck me so profoundly. But you had told me something was in 2009, after Sri Chinmoy's passing and you dictated this, I think, on the phone. Or you may have sent it to me, but you said I am a strong Buddhist and I wish to say that every age needs an Avatar. The Christ, the Buddha, Lord Krishna have all come as avatars for the entire world. The Avatar for our era is Sri Chinmoy, you said.
Prof. Johnson: Well, I don't remember exactly writing that, but I do believe in the truth behind those words. We do need avatars, people who are leading, leading a spiritual life to give us an example, to give the rest of us an example. I believe Sri Chinmoy was devoted to doing just that.
Dr. Agraha: Yes. In every way that was his life, to to help inspire us. And he actually wrote, he wrote separate plays and other books about, these are his Avatar plays, one on the Christ, one on Lord Buddha. I could send you the one on Lord Buddha, particularly if you're interested, because it's it's just a beautiful, beautiful kind of is his telling of, you know, the story of Lord Buddha's life. But then in his way, it's quite lovely.
Prof. Johnson: I would like to receive it. I have many, many of Sri Chinmoy books here in my house.
Dr. Agraha: And I know he's always wanted to present you with them. You know, this is something you wrote and you said in 2004, you said to him, and it kind of interests me as a spiritual writer - he wrote to you, you are a supremely great writer, and yet you have most generously inundated me with your appreciation-ocean for my spiritual creations. He sent you a letter with that. And then after his passing, you very kindly read out the 'Wisdom' chapter from The Jewels of Happiness.
Prof. Johnson: That's correct, yes.
Dr. Agraha: And it was to me, of all the chapters anyone read, it was the most moving. It was so beautifully. You have a sonorous voice, but also your depth of spirituality is so powerful. And I wonder if you can share with us, because you're a supremely great writer, as you said, how you how you experience Sri Chinmoy's writings.
Prof. Johnson: Well, they're like, I could express it in many, many ways. They are like a breath of fresh air. They're like oxygen when you need oxygen. They are a reminder of our possibilities, you know, for pursuing the good, the true and the beautiful in this life. And they have a great deal of generosity.
Dr. Agraha: That's beautiful. I know that Sri Chinmoy in his life, he always wanted to try new things. Even in lifting, in the last year. He said to me, can you think of some new things I can do in the lifting world? And I had an inspiration that he could lift a huge, huge air balloon, it would weigh a lot of weight, but he could lift it and it would be beautiful. So he did it. He was open to anything new and he loved newness. I'm wondering, in your life, you've basically won almost every award? I mean, hopefully you'll be getting the Nobel Prize in literature. That's what I'm hoping.
Prof. Johnson: That's very political. So I don't know.
Dr. Agraha: In the case of Sri Chinmoy also, he should have, I think, gotten it for Peace. But anyway, I know you you should be the one.
Prof. Johnson: You are very kind.
Dr. Agraha: Do you have certain, certain things in mind, in your heart or in your inner vision of new, writing experiences or new other experiences that you hope to share with the world? Or is it or are you just kind of taking it by how it comes to you?
Prof. Johnson: Well, I'm writing constantly right now. I'm writing a talk I have to give to a group in Texas of South Asians on the importance of democracy and participation in our political lives. So that's that's where my focus is right now. I give lots of talks. I've been retired from teaching now for 14 years. But I write all manner of things, whether they're essays or book reviews or philosophical essays, you know, things that people request. And every year I read a new story for Humanities Washington's Bedtime Stories fundraiser in October. And I started that event in 1998. Actually, I gave them the idea, and I've written the story every year for them, a different story.
So one of the wonderful things about creativity is you're never - if you're not a genre writer, if you're a serious literary writer, everything you do is different. Every project you take on has different problems to be solved, and every one will lead you to new discovery. Unlike the other things that you've done. So your mind is always being fresh, being challenged. And to me, that's one of the wonders and beauties of a creative work, of any kind.
Dr. Agraha: So you have a being that is younger than most people who are like 15 or 16. I mean, you're so growing, you're constantly - you're alive, you're creative, and many people who are 15, 16, 17, even, they're already ossified, you know, in what they're saying. But you have like this freshness about you.
Prof. Johnson: Well, I do think that it has to do with my curiosity about life and the world and knowing more new things, gathering new skills as much as I can. I'll be in a couple of weeks, 74 years old. I have been working steadily since I was a teenager and studying, obviously, all my entire life. You see, here's the thing I believe. I believe that life is a gift. Every life is a gift. And one of the ways that we show the appreciation for that gift is doing things for others. It might be creating gifts for them in literature or teaching, you know, is a gift that we're giving to the next generation. So every night in my prayers and meditations, I always express gratitude for the gift of life.
Dr. Agraha: It's interesting you say that word because someone once asked Sri Chinmoy about gratitude, and he said if you pray for gratitude, that is the only quality you need to pray for because gratitude encompasses every divine quality.
Prof. Johnson: And that's yes.
Dr. Agraha: If you have gratitude, you'll have peace, love, joy, happiness, service, everything. So all you have to do, pray for gratitude. And that's interesting you say gratitude.
Prof. Johnson: I think it's very important - thanksgiving, gratitude. The world we live in is a very beautiful place when we listen to our better angels, better angels and our spiritual teachers. Our better angels, they are the ones who remind us that every moment of our life is fresh and new. Every day, every moment.
Dr. Agraha: You're so right. What you're saying is very true. Sri Chinmoy kept emphasising that.
Prof. Johnson: Regardless of the tradition one is in, any religion, any spiritual tradition, those wise men and women say many, if not all of the same things, because their path and attainment is brought into a common human, universal wisdom. So you can find it in Judaism and Christianity and Hinduism and Buddhism. No one religion is, seems to me, or spiritual orientation has a monopoly on the truth.
Dr. Agraha: That's right.
Prof. Johnson: And so very often, you know, you hear the same things being said sometimes in different ways, different words. But it is always expressing gratitude for the gift of life.
Dr. Agraha: That's true. In fact, someone asked Sri Chinmoy once, they said, What is your religion? He said, I was born into a Hindu family, but now my religion is to love God and serve humanity. That is my religion.
Prof. Johnson: That's it. That's all one needs to say or do.
Dr. Agraha: Well, let me ask you one more question, you have so much insight. Let us say, if Sri Chinmoy were sitting with you now, right across from you. And you were to say, Sri Chinmoy, the world is having a lot of, like you said, a lot of challenges right now. What is your advice for us? Where do you think he would say?
Prof. Johnson: What do I think he would say?
Dr. Agraha: His guidance.
Prof. Johnson: I would think he would say that we need to have compassion for each other, and love each other as much as we seem to love ourselves, and understand that all beings, all sentient beings experience suffering and want happiness. Those two things, Buddhists always talk about that. So maybe Sri Chinmoy would say the same thing. All sentient beings want happiness and freedom from suffering. If we can understand that, you will not want to increase suffering for any other sentient beings, and you want them to experience happiness and you feel joy in their happiness at the same time.
Dr. Agraha: That's true. I remember when, when Sri Chinmoy met you, for example, and he was just so happy, it was like had met a seeker, a very strong, powerful spiritual seeker. And when you honoured him, it was almost - yes, it was a great honour, but it was also, oh, here's someone I can count on, here's someone who's a part of my heart.
Prof. Johnson: I can say that one of the blessings of my life, during my journey through life is that I had the opportunity to meet and know Sri Chinmoy.
Dr. Agraha: Can you say one more thing about that? Anything else, what that gave you?
Prof. Johnson: I have a photograph of him and me together that was taken at one of those events, and he is giving me a bow. And I just felt the spiritual connection so strongly. You want to smile when you're in his presence. You feel peace when you're in his presence. And that is, believe me, a gift. He is going to be with us, you, me, forever. I mean, he is a part of us.
Sri Chinmoy offered to humanity what humanity needs the most
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
Rudolf Moge was a member of Parliament representing the Slovenian city of Maribor, and a dear friend of Sri Chinmoy.
Maribor will always remember Sri Chinmoy with gratitude, as he was the only one who turned religion in the direction of bringing peace and progress to humanity at large. You could say that he is a modern Buddha, a modern Christ, a modern Muhammad.
The biggest message in his book Wisdom of Sri Chinmoy, which I call the Bible for this Millennium, is that if you want to get to the basic insights, to the truth or, as some say, to enlightenment, then you have several paths that lead to that goal. And there’s nothing wrong with going this way, that way, or any other way. The only thing that matters is our aspiration and the direction towards the goal.
I believe this idea from his book Wisdom of Sri Chinmoy is one of the fundamentals, because it gives humanity something that no philosopher has been able to offer so far. Religions do try to get closer here and there with some communiqués or mutual agreements or with some common ceremony or mass. But so far nobody has openly said what Sri Chinmoy said, which is that many paths lead to the ultimate truth. This is what makes him great.
He is great not only because of that, but also because he offered to humanity what humanity needs the most. And that is opening the inner doors to aspiration, aspiration for peace, aspiration to make the Earth a peaceful planet where men and animals and plants can co-exist in peace and harmony.
It is not necessary to always be right, but it is necessary that we learn how to listen to and communicate with each other with compassion if we want to live in a better world, different from the world of the past, which was riddled with wars , quarrels, envy and so on.
He was a man who tried to bring to humanity all these things, not by force, but by planting those seeds into the human soul. He would gather a lot of his students around him to help with his mission. You (Tyagavan) were also one of them and you helped with this mission in Slovenia. And your mission has borne thousands of fruits.
Some of them are, for example, Slovenia becoming a Peace-Blossom, Maribor becoming a Peace-Blossom, the theater in Maribor becoming a Peace-Blossom. And the list of such Peace-Blossoms, which you helped to establish in honor of Sri Chinmoy in Slovenia, goes on and on.
Another thing that shows how extraordinary he truly was is the events in the spring of 2004, when Slovenia was accepted into the EU, and Sri Chinmoy personally attended the main celebration in May of 2004. The celebration took place at the Slovenian National Theater in Maribor. The title of the celebration was Opera Europissima, and was attended by opera champions from all EU Member States. And who opened this celebration? The first one to take the stage was Sri Chinmoy.
He greeted everybody and wished peace and progress to all the people in the newly accepted states. After that, he offered a small concert. I must say, that even long after this event, people would come up to me in the street and ask me about it, because of the whole celebration, the part when Sri Chinmoy was playing his instruments, was the one part they remembered even weeks after.
This means that he touched people so deeply with his meditation and music that they really believed what he spoke of was real. And indeed, since then our country has been blessed with a relatively peaceful and fruitful period.
Q: Do you still remember the day Sri Chinmoy left this world, when you called me that morning and you were slightly confused?
People may not believe that when one leaves the material world, sometimes one says goodbye to people who were near and dear. This has happened to me twice in my life. The first time was when my mother died. Even today I can still see her, I can still hear her as she was leaving and saying goodbye to me before she left. And the second time it happened was when Sri Chinmoy died. This was at the time when we (members of Slovenian parliament) sent a request to the Nobel Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Sri Chinmoy. And in the evening before they would decide on the winners, I had a vivid dream in which Sri Chinmoy came to me, touched me and then slowly, slowly walked away in a beam of light. This confused me so much that I called you the very next day and told you about my dream. But as it later turned out, it wasn’t just a dream, it was real.
I have met Sri Chinmoy a couple of times in my life. And every time he made a great impression on me. An impression of a great spiritual being, who was not only spiritual in his words, but also lived this spirituality and brought it to humanity at large through his actions. I believe that before he left this world, he wanted to say goodbye to people who appreciated, respected and loved him.
Muhammad Ali: I was expecting a monster, but I found a lamb
This is one of the stories in our Story-Gems project, a collection of our experiences with our Guru, Sri Chinmoy. Project homepage »
I was working in a very fancy hotel in a jewelry store and I heard from some boys that Guru wanted to meet Muhammad Ali.
At the time, I literally hated Muhammad Ali; I found him to be vulgar, boisterous, arrogant, and I had no interest in the man at all, no interest. But one day when I was at work, I found out that Muhammad Ali was coming to Puerto Rico and that he was going to be staying at that hotel. I thought, “Oh, God, this is my job to break the news to Guru.”
He comes into the big lobby of the hotel. I am walking up and down the lobby thinking, “How am I going to approach this guy who I can't stand? I have nothing to tell him, and there is a huge wall of security.” I'm literally walking up and down, looking at the floor, just trying to figure out how am I going to do this. Suddenly, I smack into a wall. When I look up, it isn't a wall, it’s Muhammad Ali.
I just smash right into him. I look up, and he is this big, big guy. I look up and I say to him, “I need to talk to you, I need to talk to you. I'm not a fan and I don't like boxing. I don’t even like you, but I need to talk to you.”
So, he bends down to my ear and whispers something that I cannot understand. I say, “What did you say? I don't understand you. Please tell me again, what did you say?”
He says, “Room 326.”
“Is that your room?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Now.”
So I say, “I need to tell my boss that I want to be away for a moment. Please, please, wait for me.”
I go to my boss. I tell him and then take the elevator to the third floor. Right at the elevator there are two big, big security guards. They are blocking me. They don’t let me go out.
I say, “But he asked me to come. He asked me to come.”
They say, “He is a very nice man. He really likes kids, but we cannot let you go there.”
I'm pleading with them, saying, “He told me, he told me.”
Suddenly the door opens and a head comes out of the door like this. I tell the guys, “Look, look, look, look, he's calling me.” They turn around and say, “Boy, you're so lucky, you're so lucky.” I go in.
He asks me to sit down. He's very soft spoken and very gentle. I'm expecting a monster, but what I'm finding is this lamb. He's asking me all questions about myself and what I do. He can’t believe my age when I tell him that I am 25. He says, “No, no, you are 19.” It was just so sweet! Then he asks, “What have you come to tell me?”
I take out my Transcendental photograph of Guru. I give him the photo and tell him, “My spiritual Master Sri Chinmoy would like to meet you.”
Ali says, “Oh, yes, I'd like to meet him. Where is he?”
“He's in New York.”
“But I am here.”
I say, “Well, do you agree to meet him? Can you give me a date and the time? He’ll be here.”
So, he asks me if Guru could be in Puerto Rico in two days and I say, “Yes, he'll be here. He’ll be here in two days.”
Then I called Ashrita. He told Guru, and Guru called me. Everything was set. The next day Guru was in Puerto Rico with a song written and everything.
Muhammad Ali stayed in Puerto Rico for one month. When I went to tell him the next day that the meeting was set, that Sri Chinmoy would be coming at the time that he wanted, Muhammad Ali said to me, “From today on, I want you to come and see me every day while I am here.”
Then he turned to his chef and told her, “I want us to have lunch together every day.”
He asked me what kind of food I liked to eat. I said that I was a vegetarian, He was so thoughtful and so, so sweet. He told her, “Okay, then you're going to cook vegetarian food for him. He will eat the food in your apartment.” So, he set it up that I would go to the cook’s to have lunch every day.
I was not able to go to the meeting with Muhammad Ali and Guru because I had to work. But Muhammad Ali had invited Guru to the training camp and I was able to go. He introduced Guru to everyone there. Then there were other meetings that happened through the years until Guru lifted him.
Another thing about Muhammad Ali was that he was an excellent poet. One of the things that he used to do when I was with him was to read me his poetry.
So, he completely transformed me from that very first meeting. He totally changed my attitude towards him, my attitude towards the sport and everything. So many things. He brought a whole new experience to me, a new world that I had no idea of.
How Guru helped me find my house
The story of getting my house is an interesting story.
One day, my mother invited me to go downstairs to the house where there's a safe, the family safe, where she keeps all the treasured papers. She opened it up and the first thing she gave me was a copy of my bachelor's degree from the university, which I had never seen before. This was in 1980, and I graduated back in 1970.
My father passed away in 1968. But on this occasion, she brought out all the money and the documents, and the stocks that my father had left me. I think she was under instructions to give this stuff to me when I got married. But she was beginning to see that that wasn't going to happen.
In any case, suddenly I had all this wealth on my hands. So, I went to Guru, and I asked Guru what I should do with it. Guru said, “Buy a house.”
This was in February, and Guru said to buy a house in time for April Celebrations, then I could put a lot of disciples in the house for April Celebrations.
I went around looking for a house and finally I found one that Guru liked. So, you know, there was an old lady living in it who said that she could be out by March 31st, which meant we could have it ready for Celebrations.
I got a mortgage. I did the whole closing with the lawyers and everything. We did the whole deal. Then the lady said she needed till April 31st. She needed another month to prepare for moving.
So, I told Guru what happened. I said, “It doesn't look like the house will be ready for April Celebrations because the lady wants to stay there until the end of April.”
Then Guru said, “Buy another house.”
I said, “But Guru, I already put down—whatever it was—20 thousand dollars. We have a mortgage and did the closing, signed the papers. If we back out of it, there are problems. I told him all these outer problems.
Guru said, “Well, tell Chidananda to buy that house and you get another house.”
So, then I called up Chidananda and said, “Chidananda, Guru wants you to buy this house that I bought because he wants me to get another house for April Celebrations.”
So, in any case, here it is, it was already well into March. It took me a long time to get the mortgage for the house and make the deal and then have the closing. There's usually a big delay in the closing. They have to check it out. They have to do all these different inspections. And now I had about two weeks to get another house before April Celebrations. It seemed impossible. It took me a couple of weeks to find that first house.
The funny thing is, I did manage to find another house, and it was practically across the street from where I was living, but they didn't have a “For Sale” sign there. I'm not sure how I figured out that the house was for sale. But somehow, it must have come to my notice. Maybe someone mentioned it or something.
I started speaking to the person who owned the house. It turned out his mother had recently passed away and he was selling the house. He was a lawyer, so he had the ability to find me a mortgage, to set the closing, and to do everything that needed to be done within about a week, which is unheard of. It's almost impossible to do.
Well, of course, before buying the house I brought Guru there to show it to him so he could approve it. He looked at it and he was satisfied with the house. Then basically it was ready for Celebrations, and I think we put about 30 disciples in there during that Celebrations.
Soon after Celebrations had ended, people moved in. Guru came and visited the house. He visited all the rooms and gave advice to various people, like not to have their clothes out in the open. They should put a curtain in front of where their clothes are if they don't have a closet. Various other little bits of practical advice Guru gave to people in the rooms. He sat and meditated for quite a while on the house. He also said that, you know, he had to approve of any people who were living in the house, and he made it clear that it was his house and not my house.
God tells me that
He likes to remain
Permanently
The Landlord of my heart-house.Sri Chinmoy 1
- 1. The God of the Mind, 1991
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