Challenging Impossibility

The morning after we arrived for our week in Paraguay on the Christmas trip, Guru quietly mentioned during the function, "Nemi will bring buffalo milk." I was startled, because Guru had never requested me to go out and find something unusual before. Could I do it, I wondered anxiously—and in a completely unfamiliar country? Many years earlier, Guru had revealed that I had had two water buffalo incarnations, and now it was time for me to research my past! I knew that there was no such thing as a casual request from Guru, so that afternoon I started tooling around Asunción with my patient roommate, Mandira, looking for buffalo milk. Someone had supposedly seen buffalo milk in a store while we were in Brazil, but where to look in Asunción? I dusted off my Spanish and explained my need to the cab driver. He phoned his dispatcher, who suggested a fancy European-style delicatessen. A worker there said they had buffalo yogurt, and perhaps I could phone the dairy to ask about milk. But, looking at the container, I saw that it was only ordinary yogurt. Two supermarkets proved equally disappointing. I was starting to panic, imagining myself at the end of a week in Asunción with a buffalo-sized failure in my heart. A disciple to whom I mentioned my challenge suggested I speak to the chef at the hotel, and that I did, with Nishtha. He in turn phoned the manager's office and left a message conveying the unusual request. The following morning, Tuesday, I spoke to the manager myself. He assured me that he understood perfectly what I wanted, and that he was doing everything he could to find out where the milk could be obtained. I told him that when the Master asks for something, it is definitely possible, and we always feel it is important to fulfil the Master's wish. This kind of thing one may not be able to say to every hotel manager, but our manager accepted it seriously and wholeheartedly. The next morning, the manager said he had made lots of phone calls and had finally traced the one single place in Paraguay where buffalo are raised, 100 kilometers away. The farmer would milk the buffalo the following morning and our manager-friend would arrange for a truck to collect 35 liters of milk and drive it back to the hotel. That would be great, I thought; now let's hope it actually happens! Sure enough, late on Thursday morning, three days after Guru's request, the manager summoned me from our function room and said quite excitedly, "The buffalo milk is here!" I was thrilled! Then, some details: how to serve it? It had not been pasteurized or homogenized. Shephali recommended a good boiling, and the chef graciously complied, despite the long hours our presence was already demanding of him. The boiled milk separated, but the chef put vat after vat of it in the blender—and it came out tasting very rich and sweet. Guru accepted my notification about the arrival of the buffalo milk quite matter-of-factly—he clearly knew everything that was going on!—and said it should be served at 9:30 p.m. Our meeting room extended around a corner into the dining area, and I spent an hour or so during the evening function by the kitchen, out of sight, trying to pour the milk into every available hotel glass. I had just finished when I heard Guru say, "And now Nemi will give buffalo milk." It was exactly 9:30! I was afraid there would not be quite enough for everyone, but Guru most compassionately and sweetly said, "Girls' night—girls will get first. But as long as you have brought for you and me, why do you have to worry?" As it happened, everyone who was brave enough to try it did get a glass of buffalo milk as prasad. I was privileged to offer Guru a glass. After drinking some of the milk, he blessingfully gave it to me to finish. It felt as though the circle was beautifully complete. Guru was then inspired to speak about devotion, and particularly about a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna who scoured the earth to find a fruit that his ailing Master wanted, although it was supposedly out of season. It was a very happy and elevating night for me. Before our departure from the hotel at the end of the week, the manager reluctantly accepted a small gift for his exceptional effort. He said he had learned something totally new to him, and he was visibly honoured and moved by the opportunity to serve the Master in this unique way. From the search for buffalo milk I received an intense experience of Guru's loving and energising command that fed my devotion most powerfully. It remains the defining memory of my stay in Paraguay, for which I offer Guru my loving gratitude.

Nemi (New York)