{FN21-4} Christ said, just before he was led away
to be crucified: “Thinkest thou that I
cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently
give me more than twelve legions of angels? But
how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus
it must be?"-Matthew 26:53-54.
{FN21-5} See ../chapters 26, 43 notes.
THE HEART OF A STONE IMAGE
“As a loyal Hindu wife, I do not wish to complain
of my husband. But I yearn to see him turn from
his materialistic views. He delights in ridiculing
the pictures of saints in my meditation room.
Dear brother, I have deep faith that you can help
him. Will you?”
My eldest sister Roma gazed beseechingly at me.
I was paying a short visit at her Calcutta home on
Girish Vidyaratna Lane. Her plea touched me,
for she had exercised a profound spiritual influence
over my early life, and had lovingly tried to fill
the void left in the family circle by Mother’s
death.
“Beloved sister, of course I will do anything
I can.” I smiled, eager to lift the gloom
plainly visible on her face, in contrast to her usual
calm and cheerful expression.
Roma and I sat awhile in silent prayer for guidance.
A year earlier, my sister had asked me to initiate
her into Kriya yoga, in which she was making
notable progress.
An inspiration seized me. “Tomorrow,”
I said, “I am going to the Dakshineswar 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 him
to go.”
Sister agreed hopefully. Very early the next
morning I 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
Dakshineswar, my brother-in-law, Satish Chandra Bose,
amused himself by deriding spiritual gurus of the
past, present, and future. I noticed that Roma
was quietly weeping.
[Illustration: Self-Realization Church of All
Religions, San Diego, California—see sandiego.jpg]
[Illustration: I stand with my two sisters, Roma
(at left) and Nalini—see sisters.jpg]
[Illustration: My sister Uma, as a young girl—see
uma.jpg]
“Sister, cheer up!” I whispered.
“Don’t give your husband the satisfaction
of believing that we take his mockery seriously.”
“Mukunda, how can you admire worthless humbugs?”
Satish was saying. “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 Dakshineswar grounds, he grinned
sarcastically.
“This excursion, I suppose, is a scheme to reform
me?”
