Every second with your Master on earth is precious

The Masters speak of the inevitable dry spells along the journey to our self-realization. I experienced one after twelve years on Sri Chinmoy’s path, when I felt flat for a number of weeks. I thought to myself, “I have not made any spiritual progress,” and one day I simply knew I had to go to New York to be with Guru.  

I arrived very late, and in my morning meditation the next day, I felt no enthusiasm to be seeing Guru soon. I went to Aspiration-Ground (the tennis court where we met) despite this, where there were only a few dozen disciples waiting for Guru’s arrival. Suddenly, I felt a strong inner push to get my camera from my accommodations―just a small, ordinary camera. I ran as fast as I could so that I could return quickly, saying to myself, “Every second with your Master on earth is precious.” (How quickly things had already changed for me inwardly!)

I made it back before Guru arrived, and when he did, he called for a photographer. This day was one of his tennis anniversaries, celebrating his accomplishments in playing the game.

I looked around and none of the usual photographers seemed to be there, so I went and stood on the far side of the net. He would play a set with one of his tennis court assistants; they would then come to the net, Guru would place his tennis racket on the person’s head in blessing, and I would come close and snap a picture of the moment. Guru had asked for a photographer knowing that for each player, the blessing-photo would be a treasured memento. Somehow I got the inner message to run for my camera even though I was in the depths of a spiritual dry spell!

After he had played tennis with all of his assistants, I went back up to my seat in the bleachers. On my way I passed an older Canadian disciple, Nivedita, who was like a mother to the Canadian girls. I knelt down by her chair for a moment and said, “Isn’t Guru amazing?” because by now my inner joy and fulfillment had returned.

Nivedita told me that recently Guru had inwardly prompted her to phone her “daughter” Sarita, but she had been involved in a serious family issue and had not done so. At the time of my spiritual “flatness,” Guru had been in Germany, I was in Halifax, and Nivedita was in Ottawa―demonstrating the universal oneness of the Master with each of his disciples.

The inner dryness
Surrenders to
God’s Grace-Rain.

Sri Chinmoy 1

• 1. Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 31