Diary of a Traveling Monk – Volume 11, Chapter 15 – April 7, 2011
By Indradyumna Swami
I spent most of the winter chanting and studying in Vrindavan. Then, in the early spring, I headed for South Africa for a number of preaching programs, including the Ratha-yatra festival in Durban.
I was also looking forward to writing again. In Vrindavan I had been sitting in one place, so there had been little material for new chapters. Several devotees had written to ask if I’d stopped writing.
“As much as I love to write,” I replied, “I have to wait for something to happen.”
After leaving India, I didn’t have to wait long.
As soon as I arrived in Johannesburg I caught a connecting flight to Durban. On the plane I was struck by the diversity of the passengers. “Muslims, Hindus, Christians, and Jews,” I thought as I made my way to my seat. “People of African, European, and Chinese descent. It’s all here. I’m happy to be back in the Rainbow Nation.”
The weather was perfect, typical of South Africa in April, and we enjoyed a smooth one-hour flight down to the coast. But as we circled to land at Durban’s new airport, twenty kilometers north of the city, a strong wind shook the plane.
“Wow!” I thought. “That’s unsettling.”
I heard some people gasp. I looked around. The other passengers were talking excitedly to each other or sitting up tensely. A man was wiping his forehead.
“They’re unsettled too,” I thought.
Moments later we were on our final approach, but the closer we got, the stronger the wind became. At one point the plane shook violently. I took my japa beads and began chanting softly, and then louder as the wind became even stronger. Suddenly the man sitting next to me spoke up.
“You really think praying is going to save you?” he said.
I turned toward him. “Yes sir,” I said. “I do.”
He turned his nose up a little bit. “Hmm,” he said. “So, there’s a God somewhere up here in the sky listening to you, right?”
“Yes there is,” I replied.
“Has he ever saved you before?” he asked.
“A number of times,” I said. “Twice in the Amazon jungle, once in Sarajevo, and several times on the streets of Poland, to name only a few.”
“That’s ridiculous!” he shot back. “It was just good luck. God’s a figment of your imagination.”
As we neared the ground the wind picked up and the plane trembled so strongly that a number of passengers grabbed their armrests. Suddenly the wind hit the plane with terrible force.
“Hare Krsna!” I shouted.
“Jesus!” screamed the man across the aisle.
“Allahu Akbar!” shouted the woman behind me.
“Oh God! Oh God Almighty!” shouted people in the back of the plane.
“Goddamn son of a bitch!” the man next to me shouted and started screaming dirty words.
The pilot turned the plane sharply to the right and upward. Within moments we were above the wind. Obviously, it was too dangerous to land.
The man next to me heaved a sigh. “That was close,” he said.
I smiled. “Yeah,” I said. “Lady Luck saved us.”
“Very funny,” he said sarcastically.
As we circled the airport waiting for a chance to land, the man turned to me again. “It’s not prayer,” he said. “It’s science and medicine that save people from disease and suffering.”
“But eventually everyone dies,” I said. “Science only prolongs the process. Only by going back to the spiritual world can we rise above suffering altogether.”
Minutes later, as the pilot maneuvered for another try at landing, I began chanting japa again, this time even louder.
“Why waste your breath?” muttered the man.
As we came in for landing the wind suddenly picked up and began shaking the plane again. I started to wonder if the pilot was taking too much risk. Suddenly, a hundred feet above the tarmac another huge gust of wind hit the plane, and people screamed again.
“Hare Krsna!” I yelled.
The pilot quickly turned the plane upwards again. I looked at the man next to me. He was shaking and was as white as a ghost. He touched my arm. “Is there a bag for vomit?” he asked in a trembling voice.
I took a bag from the seat-pocket and gave it to him. He remained silent, holding on tight to the seat in front of him.
“This is the captain,” came the voice over the loudspeakers. “Please remain calm. There’s nothing to worry about. We’ll try to land one more time, but if it doesn’t work, we will have to return to Johannesburg.”
People shifted uneasily in their seats. Ten minutes later the plane began its descent again. The man was sweating and turning and rubbing his head.
“Okay!” he blurted out. “What name of God should I say?”
“Any one will do,” I said. “They’re all absolute.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay,” he said. “But what’s the one you’ve been mumbling? I mean it worked for you a bunch of times.”
“Oh,” I said. “It’s Hare Krsna.”
“Just Hare Krsna?” he said.
“Well, there’s more to it,” I said. “There are thirty-two syllables.”
The wind started shaking the plane again.
“Hurry up,” he said. “Tell me the whole thing.”
“Here it is,” I said. “Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare – ”
“Wait!” he interrupted. “How am I supposed to remember all that?”
“Then just say Hare Krsna,” I said, “and try to – ”
Before I could finish, another strong blast of wind hit us.
“Hare Krsna!” screamed the man.
Others screamed too, but suddenly we touched down and everything became peaceful. Moments later we were taxiing to the terminal.
“Welcome to Durban,” said the captain over the loudspeakers. “Sorry about the rough ride.”
I waited until we had almost arrived at the gate, then turned to the man.
“See?” I said with a smile. “It works.”
He didn’t say anything, just stared out the window. I remained silent for a moment.
“Well?” I said. “Now do you believe there’s a God out there?”
“Maybe,” he said, still looking out the window.
“Well,” I said, “a maybe is better than a no.”
“I’ll think about it some more,” he said as we pulled up to the gate.
“Here’s my card,” I said. “Anytime you want to talk it over, just give me a call.”
“Yes,” he said. “Maybe I will. That was quite an experience.”
I put my hand on his shoulder. “Remember,” I said with a wink, “soldiers say there are no atheists in foxholes.”
Indradyumna.swami@pamho.net www. travelingmonk. com Audio lectures: www. narottam. com Facebook: Indradyumna Swami
Reading this story, I am inspired to share an incident with Srila Prabhupad during our travels on Srila Prabhupad’s last world tour in 1976. As Srila Prabhupad’s personal secretary, I would fly in regular coach seating, and Srila Prabhupad was given first class seating along with his personal servant, Hari Sauri. I believe we were flying from Malaysia to Fiji, although I could be wrong. It was definitely in that part of the world. In any case, I was sitting alone chanting japa when the jet plane seemed to drop down quickly about 5000 feet. I felt like my stomach went up into my head. It was something like a feeling of weightlessness. Afterward, I walked forward to see how Srila Prabhupad was. He was calm and simply said, “We can die at any moment.” It was an expression that is always worth remembering. Srila Prabhupad was stating that we must be prepared for our death at any moment. His gravity was the anchor for our capacity to remain serious about our spiritual life. Worth remembering, even now…35 years later. Pusta Krishna das
Saved” does not mean that our material bodies are preserved. .If the plane crashed, we are also saved by chanting the names of the Lord.
“Only the material body of the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity is subject to destruction; therefore, fight, O descendant of Bharata. BG2.18
Purport (excerpt)
The material body is perishable by nature. It may perish immediately, or it may do so after a hundred years. It is a question of time only. There is no chance of maintaining it indefinitely. But the spirit soul is so minute that it cannot even be seen by an enemy, to say nothing of being killed. As mentioned in the previous verse, it is so small that no one can have any idea how to measure its dimension. So from both viewpoints there is no cause of lamentation because the living entity can neither be killed as he is, nor can the material body, which cannot be saved for any length of time, be permanently protected.
At the same time, we learn to credit all “good” things that happen to the Lord’s mercy, and all “bad” things to our own karma. But how do we know what is “good”, i.e. in the best interest of the Lord (and, ultimately, therefore, ourselves)? The king had his finger cut off during a hunt and blamed his minister who was sent to jail. That same “misfortune” saved the king’s life from being offered to Goddess Kali and saved the life of the minister who had been absent during the King’s abduction.
When I am (very) occasionally asked to bless someone, I wish them courage, compassion, faith, etc – ineffable qualities. I don’t ask Krishna to give them wealth, power, longevity, etc; these, in my understanding, our material considerations.
As the winds heavily buffet each individual plane we alone are piloting, may I pray not for bodily welfare, but for surrender to the will of the Supreme. HH Indradumya Swami was present, along with me, at the Detroit airport in 1971 when Srila Prabhupada arrived to a throng of devotees in the arrival lounge. He walked silently to a dais and addressed the hushed assembly. The first words he uttered were, “You are not this body.” Then he paused. Everyone felt the shakti as a wave of realization inundated our hearts and minds. Devotees starting crying in ecstatic relief. Everyone who was there remembers that moment. I pray that we all never forget it.
In connection with Nrsimhananda Prabhu’s comments, I think that we can broaden the experience of Krishna consciousness a little. Firstly, we are not salvationists. We are dependent upon the Will of Sri Krishna. That Will exists both in the para-prakriti and in His apara-prakriti as well. The goal is, as you already are well aware, to awaken love of Krishna in whatever plane of existence we find ourselves. Love and dependence upon Krishna. So, being “saved by Krishna” is a comprehensive salvation that exists for us here and now, and whatever place we might be asked to serve in.
In this connection, what Nrsimhananda Prabhu says is vital. We must try to take shelter of the Holy Names. Not merely for some future salvation, but for our present well-being as well. His namesake is Prahlada, who takes ecstasy in Lord Nrsimha. Prahlada remembered the Holy Names despite happiness or distress, and was protected by the Lord in extraordinary ways. We praise that lila, as we can lesser lilas like we have, during our passage in this world…all the while remembering Sri Krishna. Remember that for Krishna there is no duality, for everything is related to Him, like ‘pearls strung upon a thread”.
With much affection for my friend Nrsimhananda Prabhu, a wonderful bhakta, of generous serving spirit beyond most of us.
Pusta Krishna das
A spiritual master is naturally merciful to his disciples, instructing them what he is inspired on the moment for their benefit. Srila Prabhupada preached so many times that we are not this body. Actually, this very basic understanding is the fundamental reason as to engage in devotional service. This instruction applies not only to his disciples but to the whole world. Actually, in this world there is no lack of anything except for KC, which actually begins with this very basic primary understanding: I am not this body, I am an eternal spirit soul. Let me use my free will properly to act as expected of a spirit soul under proper guidance, reducing thus so much unwanted service to superfluous bodily demands.
But once a living being does understand that he or she is not this body, the door is open to have a sound understanding that there is a definite and specific purpose to this human form of life: to understand and engage in our eternal relationship with the Supreme Person, the One all kind Personality of Godhead Who has been satisfying everyone’s desires since time immemorial. This Supremely Kind Person is waiting to enjoy our loving devotional service again. Eternity and knowledge go hand in hand in this revived relationship. It is up to us to want this relationship by all means and to act accordingly. Hari bolo. Hare Krishna.