Part 38 (2/2)
An inspiration seizedto the Dakshi+neswar temple Please come with me, and persuade your husband to accompany us I feel that in the vibrations of that holy place, Divine Mother will touch his heart But don't disclose our object in wanting hireed hopefully Very early the nextI was pleased to find that Roma and her husband were in readiness for the trip
As our hackney carriage rattled along Upper Circular Road toward Dakshi+neswar, my brother-in-law, Satish Chandra Bose, aurus of the past, present, and future I noticed that Ro
[Illustration: Self-Realization Church of All Religions, San Diego, California--see sandiegojpg]
[Illustration: I stand with ]
[Illustration: My sister U]
”Sister, cheer up!” I whispered ”Don't give your husband the satisfaction of believing that we take his mockery seriously”
”Mukunda, how can you ad
”A SADHU'S very appearance is repulsive He is either as thin as a skeleton, or as unholily fat as an elephant!”
I shouted with laughter My good-natured reaction was annoying to Satish; he retired into sullen silence As our cab entered the Dakshi+neswar grounds, he grinned sarcastically
”This excursion, I suppose, is a scheme to reforht et to ements with the teoing to meditate now Do not worry about your lunch,” I replied sharply ”Divine Mother will look after it”
”I don't trust Divine Mother to do a single thing for me But I do hold you responsible for
I proceeded alone to the colonnaded hall which fronts the large te a shady spot near one of the pillars, I arranged h it was only about seven o'clock, thesun would soon be oppressive
The world receded as I became devotionally entranced My e at Dakshi+neswar had been the special object of adoration by the great uished dee of this very te form and conversed with him
”Silent Mother with stony heart,” I prayed, ”Thou becamest filled with life at the request of Thy beloved devotee Ramakrishna; why dost Thou not also heed the wails of this yearning son of Thine?”
My aspiring zeal increased boundlessly, accompanied by a divine peace Yet, when five hours had passed, and the Goddess whohtly disheartened Sometimes it is a test by God to delay the fulfillment of prayers But He eventually appears to the persistent devotee in whatever form he holds dear A devout Christian sees Jesus; a Hindu beholds Krishna, or the Goddess Kali, or an expanding Light if his worshi+p takes an impersonal turn
Reluctantly I openedlocked by a priest, in conformance with a noon-hour custom
I rose from my secluded seat under the open, roofed hall, and stepped into the courtyard Its stone floor was scorching under the midday sun; my bare feet were painfully burned
”Divine Mother,” I silently remonstrated, ”Thou didst not come to me in vision, and now Thou art hidden in the temple behind closed doors I wanted to offer a special prayer to Thee today on behalf of my brother-in-law”
My inward petition was instantly acknowledged First, a delightful cold wave descended overall disconified Its large door slowly opened, revealing the stone figure of Goddess Kali Gradually it changed into a living for e, the breath ithdrawn froh not inert
An ecstatic enlargement of consciousness followed I could see clearly for several es River to my left, and beyond the temple into the entire Dakshi+neswar precincts The walls of all buildings gli to and fro over distant acres
Though I was breathless and ely quiet state, yet I was able to move my hands and feet freely For severalmy eyes; in either state I saw distinctly the whole Dakshi+neswar panoraht, x-raylike, penetrates into all matter; the divine eye is center everywhere, circu there in the sunny courtyard, that when rossed in a physical world indeed dream, baseless as a bubble, he reinherits his eternal realms If ”escapism”