Contact with The Mother

IN THE DUST AND DIN

In the city where I stayed last, the only means of transport was rickshaws. There was a bus service, of course, but it was very unreliable and dirty so that often people avoided to avail themselves of it.

One morning a friend and colleague of mine who stayed in an adjacent flat came and told me, “Well, sir, how will you go to the office today; there is a total strike of rickshaws and the buses too are not plying.” The office was about four miles from our residence. I told him, “I’ll ring my office up for the office car and, if even that is not available, I’ll take leave. But I won’t go on foot.”

“Now perhaps your Mother may help you in this difficulty.” There was shrewd sarcasm in his tone. “You depend so much on her! Why, you can’t ask her for a rickshaw?”

I was cut to the quick. “Yes, that is also possible. Her Grace can work in any way.” My faith retorted immediately in these words. But it was a little too much to pray for help in such a small matter. I dropped the subject and busied myself with my meditation. My friend left the house quite early to foot the whole distance to the office.

When I came out of my house to the rickshaw stand at the road-crossing, I found it deserted. Then I remembered the sarcastic words of my friend. For a second I thought of the Mother and the morning’s incident. When I looked the other way, a rickshaw was there. Because of the strike, I could imagine that the rickshaw driver would charge exorbitantly. I was prepared to pay ten times the usual fare. I questioned him. I was surprised to hear him demand from me the usual ordinary fare.

When my rickshaw had gone about four furlongs from my house, I heard someone shouting my name. I made the rickshaw stop. Looking back I found my friend hurrying on foot. He was perspiring. After a word or two with him, I continued my journey.

While working in the office, I came to know from someone that my friend had been spending quite a good time in inquiring whether the strike was over and the rickshaws had started plying again. He felt surprised, disappointed and cooled down. In the afternoon, he came to me with tears of apology, for he felt that even though he understood next to nothing about the Grace, yet it could work at any time in any matter—and that it did work in the present case.

His enquiries had shown that between 7.30 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon when he came to me, not one rickshaw had plied on that road to my office. I was extremely grateful to the Mother and smiled at her ways.