Lord Krishna Made Me Do It...

[Guest guest]

It is Friday night. In America, the Shivratri will start tomorrow. I pull into

the front driveway of the Mission. I have one or two heavy pieces to take

inside, so I park in front instead of the back parking lot. Ah, fate waits!!!

As I pull in, I bear just a bit to the right since there is another car parked

to the left. I feel that familiar bump of being on the curb. Oh, well, I will

deal with it later.

 

The night goes by quickly. We are immersed in making garlands for Lord Shiva and

for Swami Chinmayananda and Lord Krishna. There will be four pujas tomorrow, so

there are many garlands to be stitched. As part of the preparations, the huge

print of Lord Krishna has been moved from the wall. Later on, as I put a vase

of flowers in front of him, the man standing next to me comments that the print,

which has been put back on the wall, is slightly crooked. He is clearly not

going to mess with it.

 

I look up, the perfectionist in me wanting to straighten his Holy image, but the

pragmantic in me realizing that there is no way I will try to readjust the huge

glass frame which is easily as tall as me and several times my width and set

back away from my easy reach. I make a mental note to mention it to someone to

fix and move on to the next task at hand. Caught up in other things, I forget

and leave.

 

Later that eveing, when we are done, I go out to my minivan, get in, and put it

in reverse. Ooops, forgot about that curb I am on. I play with the reverse and

drive, engaged in the typical strategies we all use to get off of the curb. To

no avail. Suddenly, I feel a thump beneath me. Sigh!!! It is late, I am tired

and I want to go home. I undo my seatbelt, open the door and get out of the van

to assess the situation. As I walk around to the right side of my car, I gasp

as I see that the entire right front end of the van is now resting clear over,

not a curb, but the retaining wall which I have just driven over. My face

blanches!!! The bottom of my van is resting on the wall and the tire is hanging

precariously over the side of the wall, for All to see.

 

OM, gee, I mean, Oh, gee!!! Just when I thought I could fade a little into the

backround, my big fat white van is unceremoniously declaring its presence right

in the front of the Mission. And whose driving does it declare? "How did I get

there?" I think to myself. My face now as red as the flowers in the garlands

waiting inside for tomorrow's celebration, I knock on the door to the Mission.

I am graciously given a Mission vehicle to drive home, to deal with my fiasco

tomorrow morning.

 

When I return the next day to figure out how to disengage my disaster, don't you

know, the people who are there ask me the inevitable question, trying to keep

the laughter out of their faces and their voices... "How did you get there?"

they ask OM, I mean, Um, " Lord Krishna did it!" I claim. Yes, that's the

ticket!!! I will blame it on Lord Krishna. After all, I am the one who failed to

straighten out his portrait. And he is the consummate practical joker. So

instead of tilting the milk can, he tilted my big white van. So, my just reward

is that my van is now as crooked on the wall as his portait is crooked on the

wall.

 

The men gather outside to gallantly try to fix my mess. What is your guess? Do

you really think they are going to be able lift the white behemoth up and over

the wall? Not at all. After much ado, Triple AAA comes to the rescue. One tow

job later, I am now resting quietly on the driveway, this time my rear right

tire on top of the wall. Why did they leave it there? Beats me...just know

that I will not put the car into reverse or I will end up with the other tire

gashed to the hilt on the side of the hill.

 

Lord Krishna...why did you do this to me? I just want to Be, quietly. As the

day wears on into night and I answer too many queries about my driving and me, I

think..."Oh well, at least they are not asking my how I came to be a Hindu :-)

Later, the next day, after a beautiful and challenging Shivrati, I laugh as I

remember my ditch driving part of the day. Then I realize that Lord Krishna's

joke had served such a noble purpose for me, his love and mercy permeating with

his sense of humor.

 

Just two days earlier I had been forced to take certain actions in my personal

life (Lord Shiva made me do it :-), which were necessary but very painful for me

to do. Had this driving disaster not happened to distract me, I might have been

moved to tears over what was going on around me in my life. So thank you, Lord

Krishna, my Eternal Friend :-) You, who almost always look away in the

portraits depicting you, not interested in attention, but always helping us All

with your loving presence. I promise tonight I will remember to get someone to

straighten you out.

 

Govinda Jaya,

Gopala jaya jaya

Radha Ramana Hari,

Govinda jaya jaya

 

 

Love,

 

Joyce