CHAPTER 48: The Reunion ...... (Your review here)
"Dad, it's for you."
Nick was in the backyard watering his garden when Maria's voice rang out. Knowing that her father wouldn't come in with wet shoes, Maria brought him the cordless phone.
"Thank you Sweetie. Hello, Nick here."
"Nickolas, it's Rama. My flight will be arriving right on time."
"Rama—wonderful to hear your voice. Yes, that's right, I'll pick you up at seven. Blake and Maria will be there, too."
"What about our other friends?"
"They're all on their way. Rohini, and Jai are already here. Father Mark is due in later tonight."
"What about Major Sutton and Judy?"
"Oh, don't worry, they wouldn't miss being here for the world. Everything is ready—I've reserved a nice lodge and thanks to Maria we'll have plenty to eat."
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The next day turned out to be beautiful. It's hard to ask more from Mother Nature when it's sunny and a steady 71 degrees with only a slight breeze. By ten o'clock everyone had arrived. Greetings were heartfelt and those who had arrived early enjoyed a morning walk down by the lake. Lunch was going to be served early. Maria and her friends had cooked the previous day and everyone was treated to another delicious meal that she had become famous for. The vegetarian lasagna and Italian bread was a huge hit—her pumpkin pie and homemade vanilla ice cream a close second, everything made without eggs.
Inside the lodge there was a small fire gently flickering. Finally everyone was sitting comfortable, smelling the fragrant aroma of the burning logs. Smiling, Nick began to speak, addressing his first comment to Mark.
"Father, it is so nice to see you again but first let me say that all of us are extremely sad to hear about your dad."
"Thank you, Nick. Yes, thank you so much—all of you. My father lived for almost 87 years and was the best friend I ever had. And as you all know, one way or another, he is the reason that I was able to meet everyone here in the first place. For a while we thought he had his pneumonia licked, but his heart just suddenly gave out. At least he didn't suffer and went quickly."
One by one everyone echoed Nick's sympathies. Mark had brought a photo of his dad that had been taken about ten years before he died and everyone took turns looking at it.
Five years earlier Rama had written down Mark's address and phone number, when by chance they had made friends in India. As for Nick, after pondering the sudden turn of events of being found by his daughter and the others, he decided to return on the helicopter when Judy said it was time to leave—just one of many trips he made to get back home—eventually, even meeting the President of the United States during a special ceremony at the White House to honor him as the only American soldier to have survived the Vietnam War on his own.
Not long after returning to America, Maria & Blake said their marriage vows to each other during a beautiful wedding ceremony in the Adirondacks and shortly after that, exactly as Nick had promised Rama that he would—he made a phone call to San Angelo, Texas and spoke to Father Mark.
Mark remembered his friend Rama with great affection and was very happy to hear that he had made it back to Elephant Mountain safe and sound. Even more profound, Mark realized that he was speaking to the very man that Rama had told him so much about.
Wanting to meet each other, Nick took a flight to San Antonio where Father Mark was himself visiting on church business. Nick always remembered the beautiful mission where they spent an entire day talking about the incredible events that both men had experienced.
It was during this visit that the seeds were planted for the reunion that everyone was now attending, but it took a lot of planning. Major Sutton and Judy had also married but they remained in Cambodia running the orphanage. Naturally, they both played a major role in once again flying to Elephant Mountain so that Rama could accompany them on their way to America.
After everyone had expressed their sympathies, Maria smiled at Father Mark and said, "Father, I am curious about your visit to India? Of course I knew that you had met Rama in Vrindavan but still I would like to ask—especially that a few years have gone by. Have there been any long lasting effects on your life from what you experienced there?"
Everyone in the room nodded their mutual interest—also curious about what Father Mark would say. Smiling at Maria and looking at everyone in the room, Mark began to speak.
"I think that anyone would have to admit to the tremendous impact that spending time in India has had on them—especially after actually living in Vrindavan, as I did."
"So to answer your question, after going to India and faced with some honest decisions that I had to make, I decided to dedicate myself to learning as much as I could about Lord Chaitanya. I just felt that I needed to find out for myself exactly who He was. Everything seemed to be pointing in His direction. So yes, I have been very busy since coming back from India.
"Secondly, there is my involvement with two different groups. One is, "The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions," and the other is, "The United Religions Initiative." Both are interfaith organizations that are now a major part of my life. Not only am I able to still function as a Catholic Priest—these two groups are also providing me with a very comfortable format in which to express myself—not only to other Catholics but with people of all faiths.
"As you can imagine, there are many Christians who need a safe venue to explore God outside of what they are accustomed to. Even though they would like to, many simply abstain from ever searching beyond their local church—mostly out of a fear of what their friends might say. I know firsthand about this fear. Just imagine what my fellow priests would think if they saw me paying homage to Lord Shiva?"
That immediately brought a round of laughter from everybody. Mark continued. "Maria, I have always thought that God is great. I should say, 'more than great'—just as it is mentioned in Psalm 145. It is there that we find King David rejoicing in God's greatness. He says, Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.
"But in all honesty, I have to admit to never having read a more thrilling account of God's greatness as I discovered in the books that describe the life of Lord Chaitanya.
Maria then said, "Father, would you please tell us a little about what you have been reading?"
"Certainly, but please, I encourage you to get these books for yourself. You need to hear these stories directly from the saints who compiled them."
Nodding approval, everyone seemed to understand what Father Mark was saying.
"Maria, at first you will discover Lord Chaitanya's grand disguise to obscure His true identity as The Almighty. As we all know, even Jesus held back for over 30 years before he started his ministry. But still, Lord Chaitanya was a very active child and there are dozens of stories about this period in His life that hint as to who He really was and the things to come. It's nice to have this complete picture.
"Later, while still in school, he demonstrated a level of scholarship and knowledge that left even the greatest minds of His time speechless. Then what does He do? He turns right around and preaches to all these great men a theology and tells them to put away all their books and lofty dissertations, and instead join Him in the simple process of Nama Sankirtan—the glorification of God's Holy Names. Lord Chaitanya taught that spiritual perfection is imbued within each of the Lord's Holy Names.
"Then, over time, saints from across India began gathering at His place of residence in Jagannath Puri, situated near the Bay of Bengal.
"By the way, Lord Shiva was also there in human form. His name was Advaita Acharya. One day he passed an encrypted note to Lord Chaitanya. This took place during the Lord's final years and after He read it, Lord Chaitanya spent all His time focused upon absorbing Himself in the mood of Radha, His eternal consort."
"For Lord Chaitanya, Radha's mood of loving separation represented the ultimate gateway for experiencing the highest spiritual perfections possible. Outwardly, Lord Chaitanya became nearly oblivious to the world around Him. He spent several years like this, fulfilling one of the main reasons for His advent."
Father Mark paused for just a second. "Toward Lord Chaitanya's final pastimes upon the earth, although He was never left alone—using His mystic powers—at times He simply vanished. He did this on more than one occasion. What happened to Him during a couple of these incidents is what I'll now tell you about. And remember, many of the Lord's disciples who personally witnessed what had happened were still alive when these events were later written down.
"On the first occasion—His followers—frantic to discover His whereabouts—found Lord Chaitanya on the ground near a small cow shed. Besides being in a spiritual trance, upon looking they could hardly recognize Him because all His limbs had been retracted inside his body like a tortoise.
"On a different occasion, He had dove into the Bay of Bengal which is an enormous ocean. Unconscious when His followers eventually found Him, it was discovered that a fisherman had caught the Lord in a net earlier that morning. Lord Chaitanya had been in the ocean all night. But this time, every limb in his body had become dislocated and He was something like 12 feet long and covered with dried seaweed, sand and salt.
"Frantic to save their Lord—His disciples began to chant the Holy Names of God, just as He had taught them for so many years. And each time—both at the cow shed and there on the beach—Lord Chaitanya quickly regained His natural composure. He bathed, put on fresh clothes and spoke with his disciples."
"But I also read that in each instance He was actually a bit upset that His disciples had disturbed Him because Lord Chaitanya was not really unconscious but totally absorbed in a spiritual trance. I guess you could call it a spiritual dream, if you like. After composing Himself, Chaitanya plainly mentioned to His disciples what He had been doing in His dream, and I must say that reading what Lord Chaitanya told His disciples is simply nectar to the ears."
Turning to his two friends, Jai and Rohini, Father Mark said, "How am I doing? Have I left anything out?"
It was now Jai who began to speak. "Perfect, Father, and as you have correctly mentioned, everyone should read the original material for themselves."
As Rohini nodded in agreement, once again Maria asked Mark a question. "I'm curious, Father, how are you able to balance your love for two religions at the same time?"
"Thank you Maria. Truthfully, the solution that has worked for me has been education. Otherwise there are so many pitfalls that can ensnare you. In fact, you can be so oblivious to your entanglement, that you even feel confident—even arrogant about your position—but completely missing the nectar of God's true mercy.
"Remember the story of Paul who was persecuting Christians with such vengeance. He was instrumental in harming so many of Jesus' followers and yet he felt no remorse.
"Saul—as he was known before receiving the mercy of Christ—was a Pharisee and he was part of the Jewish in-crowd, so to speak. They ruled Jerusalem. He came from the city of Tarsus which was well known at the time for its superior intellect.
"So, as we all know, Saul was encouraged to hunt down and destroy those early Christians, which he did with great fervor. At the time, Saul thought he was doing the right thing—in the name of God. Talk about being caught up in a web of illusion—but he was blessed and his illusion smashed, just as Paul has written about in the Holy Bible."
Father Mark took a sip of tea and continued. "As I have said, thanks to Rohini and Jai, I have had the opportunity to read everything printed about Lord Chaitanya. This is what I mean by my education. At the same time, this is also what I mean by my blessings. But sadly, how many men of my cloth are willing to sit down, like I have, and sincerely listen to the Word of God outside their own religion—afraid that they will be damned?
"Maria, I think that looking upon a person such as myself—and even at Rohini and Jai—it's easy to imagine some great balancing act going on inside our lives. But actually, just the opposite is true. However, yes, at first there was a struggle. And I will be honest—in the beginning I wasn't so forthcoming with my fellow priests. But I had my father's confidence and I spent months reading the books that were sent me.
"But please, I don't mean to marginalize the personal exchanges that I had in Vrindavan. Making friends with Rohini and Jai and their friend Jitendria, was such a blessing. But nothing compares to the impact that reading these books have had on me.
"But I am also speaking of something gradual. For example, the Chaitanya-charitamrita took me well over a year to finish. So this education required a substantial effort on my part. Then I received a copy of the Chaitanya-bhagavata that I had read in Vrindavan—but then read again. By the time I reached the last chapter I was feeling much better about my beliefs—and then Dad told me about The Council as a possible way for me, "to balance things," as you put it.
"Maria, this you should find interesting: I even started to discover that my love for Jesus was becoming more heartfelt. In fact, the more I read Shrila Prabhupada's books, in my heart I also began to make friends with the all the characters that I had been reading about. That friendship soon lead to a very deep respect, and before long I even felt love for all of Lord Chaitanya's disciples.
"Granted, on the surface, their lifestyles and religious customs—how they dressed, the language that they spoke, and their food—yes, that can all seem so foreign. But thankfully, the books let you get past all that with the speed of light."
"Maria, you have to blind yourself to appearances and simply listen to what they are saying. Otherwise, there is the possibility for negative attitudes and prejudices to stifle the grace that is being offered to you from above.
"Let me give you an example to where this education can take you. As you are all aware, when I first arrived in Vrindavan I was involved in a spiritual mystery, of sorts. By now you all know about the nun, Maria de Jesus, who lived her entire life cloistered in a convent located in Agreda, Spain. You also know about the material I discovered about her—how she was able to bilocate from inside her room to the distant plains of West Texas. This was her way of bringing the word of God to the American Indians."
"And then when I arrived in Vrindavan and was explaining all of this to Rohini and Jai, they took me to an ancient forest where Lord Krishna had bilocated Himself so that simultaneously, each of the young girls from His village could have Him personally as their dance partner. What I find so interesting is that while Maria de Jesus was only able to bilocate herself one manifestation at a time, Lord Krishna on the other hand can easily expanded Himself as many times as he wants. And then, just as interesting, later I read more about bilocation in Shrila Prabhupada's books.
"For example, one of the most beloved associate of Lord Chaitanya was a Muslim outcast by the name of Haridas Thakura. Time and time again, Haridas was singled out for horrific traps and retribution for his grave insult to Allah. "
"Unable to defame Haridas, Muslim soldiers arrested him and brought him to stand trial. Threats of torture were levied against Haridas if he continued his refusal to give up his Hindu ways. Undeterred, Haridas remained faithful. Needless to say, this angered the Muslims even more and they condemned Haridas to death."
"The sentence was to be carried out immediately and so it was that Haridas was bound and taken to the first location where strong executioners were given orders to cane Haridas without mercy until dead. The history of this kind of punishment had proven that few men ever survived for long, so violent was the beating. By the third caning most were finished for good.
"However, after the final beating—having been dragged through a staggering, twenty-one public markets, Haridas was still breathing! His tormentors became frantic knowing that they, themselves, would most likely be executed when it was learned that Haridas was still alive. Such an unheard of feat of survival could only be explained by accusing the executioners of taking it easy on Haridas. But in fact, this was not the case.
"Taking pity on the men assigned to kill him, Haridas Thakura then entered into a deep trance and all signs of life left his body. At last satisfied that Haridas was dead, it was then ordered that his body be disposed of by throwing it into a nearby river. It had been determined by the cruel magistrate that robbing Haridas of a proper burial would destroy his very soul—thus punctuating the horrible death that had just been carried out.
"But history tells a different story. Haridas didn't die on that fateful day. Instead, he reached a ripe-old age. When he finally did pass away, Lord Chaitanya personally carried his body to the ocean and dug a grave for him with His bare hands."
Father Mark then paused for a moment before continuing. "Actually, the glorious life of Haridas Thakura is a story that everyone here should read. Simply hearing about Haridas Thakura imparts untold blessings—especially the events that happened at the time of his death.
"But please let me continue with the my train of thought and how the beating of Haridas Thakura relates to Maria de Jesus, and even to Jesus."
Hearing Father Mark say this, curiosity seemed to take hold of everyone and you could have heard a pin drop. Mark continued.
"As you all know, I have raised certain questions about what actually happened to Jesus Christ on the cross. After all, the Indians certainly thought they had captured, tortured and killed Maria. Now granted, this martyrdom didn't happen to her often, but according to her own testimony, it did happen more than once.
"Therefore, as you all know, I have asked; Who did the Indians really have? And likewise; Who did the Roman soldiers actually crucify? Surely if Maria de Jesus was able to bilocate, then so could Jesus. Also, Jesus only claimed to be the Son of God. So I have also asked, Who is greater—the Son or the Father?
"It is written that Lord Krishna (The Father) bilocated thousands of times. Therefore it only makes sense that Jesus—as well as Maria—also had this ability. And of course, Jesus even more.
"Now, as far as Haridas Thakura, how can it be explained that even after twenty-one beatings—beatings that few men survived past the first three—how was it possible for Haridas to have survived?
"That answer came later on. One day Lord Chaitanya revealed to His disciples that it was NOT Haridas Thakura who was beat on that fateful day, but instead, it was actually Himself. To prove His words true, Lord Chaitanya stood up and turned around so that everyone could see His bare back. In complete shock, the devotees saw the massive injuries that the canes had inflicted. Some devotees fainted when they beheld the divine vision being revealed to them.
"So no, just as the Indians did not have the real Maria, the Muslim soldiers also had a spiritual illusion in their grips—and as I have just alluded to, the Roman soldiers never laid a finger on Jesus Christ?"
"Excuse me, Father, but is this all explained in the books you have been reading?"
"Well, Blake, much of it is, but I am also jumping across decades of time, and even across continents and different religions in an attempt to make sense of certain events that on one hand are inconceivable, but on the other hand appear by all reason and evidence to have actually happened.
"But in all honesty, Blake, I haven't dwelt on these things to the point where they have distracted me from my main duties. After all—yes, this makes for great conversation but rather, the Holy Names of God are what we must pay the most attention to. To divert from that path and wander thru a maze of speculation would be very detrimental. Even Saint Francis emphasized the supreme importance of prayer."
Jai then began to speak. "Yes, I agree with Father Mark. After all, Lord Chaitanya came, in part, to put an end to needless speculations, regardless of how lofty and interesting they might be. Instead, His Commandment was to spend one's devotion in chanting His Holy Names. Exactly as Father Mark just mentioned, Lord Chaitanya said, "Harer nama harer name, harer namaiva kevalam, Kalau nasty eve nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha."
'There is no other way, no other way, no other way, to attain perfection in this age of Kali-yuga (the age of quarrel) except by chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name.'"
Lord Chaitanya (upper left & bottom) showered endless mercy upon Haridas Thakura. Because Haridas was a Muslim embracing a different religion, he was hated by the Mulsims who were ruling India at this that time. They sent a prostitute to where he was praying who attempted to lure him into sin; tried him in their courts; sentenced him to death by beating, which all failed. In his old age Lord Chaitanya would personally bring Haridas food and when he died, Lord Chaitanya carried his body to the ocean and buried him in the sand.
Paintings: Bhaktivedant Book Trust
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Over the following years, Nickolas, Maria, Blake, Major Sutton, Judy, Rama, Father Mark, Rohini, Jai and many of the other characters in this book remained a close-knit family—all made possible by the World Wide Web, sharing photos, e-mails, Instagram, Skype and Facebook. They experienced the joy of Maria and Blake's first child (a boy), followed by two girls.
Although Father Mark comfortably remained a Catholic Priest, he took great pleasure in addressing many of the misleading and harmful attitudes against Lord Krishna found among Christians in general. In the future Father Mark would be promoted to the President's Council of the United Religions Initiative, even opening an office in Vrindavan. Father Mark would be the first to tell you that indeed, it IS possible to love both Jesus and Krishna at the same time. In the years that followed, Nickolas returned to Elephant Mountain on two separate occasions to be with the very people who had saved his life. Maria, once again enjoyed cooking kitri for the children at the Shining Lotus Orphanage.
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Final Comments from the author, Ronald E. Boutelle: Abandoned has now reached the end. Thank you for reading it. The connection between the ancient Vedas of India and the construction of Angkor Wat, interwoven with the tragedy of the Vietnam war, has provided me with a fascinating backdrop for my book.
In a different book, The Journey Home, Radhanath Swami shares not only his incredible, true-life story, but his book also serves as an excellent primer for anyone interested in knowing more about the art of devotional service. Undeniably, Angkor Wat was inspired by this knowledge. The Journey Home is also worth reading because the author presents the main questions that most people would ask—including, of course, the real-life answers he received. Answers that for many have sustained for them years of solid and inspired faith.
Sheltered on the summit of Elephant Mountain, Nickolas and his band of monks lived peacefully in a secluded temple. Contrary to this fictitious mountain which was nearly impossible to reach, there exists another kind of mountain. Not only is it real, its majestic peaks, caves, valleys, ponds, and streams are open to the public. But here I'm referring to a mountain of Grace. Furthermore, this divine mountain is also inhabited by monks—men and woman—eternal spirit souls—dedicated to serving God and who welcome all. After 40 years of "climbing," I am simply stunned as I take in the view, held safely as I dangle by the ropes of their mercy and the sounds of the Holy Names.
All my books are free and complete. Sometimes people want to pay me but all I ask is for you to send me a few comments that I can add as a review.
- Thanking -
• Iman Maleki kindly gave me permission to use three of his images and for this I am most grateful. Iman was born in 1976, in Tehran. Fascinated by the art of painting since he was a child, at the age of fifteen Iman started to learn painting under the mastery of his first and only teacher who is the greatest realist painter of Iran. Meanwhile, Mr. Maleki began to paint professionally.
• Although mentioned in my book, the Shining Lotus Orphanage does not exist. However, Alessandro Vannucci has taken many beautiful pictures at The Osborn House, which is a real orphanage, located in Cambodia. So a big thank you is extended to Alessandro.
• Another orphanage that I want to mention is, The Center for Children's Happiness. I met Mr. Charles Pieters over at Flickr who was willing to share some of his pictures of Cambodia, Laos and this orphanage. Thank you very much.
• Ancient Wisdom is a website out of England that has given me permission to use one of their images.
• PBase is another Internet photo sharing community where I was introduced to Nick De Marco and his great photographs. So a big thanks to Nick for letting me use his photos.
• Gopak devi dasi who lives in Chili, and Mathura Lilaprija who lives in Vilnius, Lithuania are two natural born photographers who have given me complete access to their photos of India. Their candid shots of Vrindavan, India are simply wonderful.
• Christopher Cotton has a very impressive collection of photographs stored over on Picasa Web Albums. Spending time at his Cambodia gallery (or any of his galleries) would be a worthwhile use of anybody's time. I owe Mr. Cotton a huge, thank you. He knows why. Thank you, again!
• Wikipedia has been a valuable source for finding Public Domain imagery. Thank you.
• I am also indebted to Bell's Aviation Museum for allowing me to use one of their photos. Thank you!
• The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust deserves much praise for preserving the art and wisdom of ancient India, as well as actively encouraging many new projects to unlock her great history.
• Having most recently completed Part 3, there are a few more photographers that I want to thank for letting me use their outstanding pictures of the holy city and surrounding areas of Vrindavan. They are Sudevi dasa, Aishwarya Kumar Varshney, Laksman Poddar, Suryakant Ajay, Vijay Radhika, and my old friend, Chaturatma dasa. (please note that due to image restriction on wattpads I have not been able to include all the photos I have. )
• I want to thank Haridasa Thakura dasa for allowing me to use a few of his beautiful images of Vrindavan.
• I also want to acknowledge the many Christian Saints who have given my life so much inspiration. There are simply too many to mention but there is one, in particular, who I owe everything too. I cannot tell you her name but because of her deep and simple devotion to Christ; with love and forgiveness beyond comprehension, she blessed me when I needed it the most. Hopefully this little book will please her.
• On a personal note, I want to acknowledge the following: My sister, Ava Harrison; Charles Berner; my lovely wife, Kay; The Pilgrim; Joan Grant and her book, Winged Pharaoh. I also want to say thank you to Alexander Kon Berner who put on his editors hat and gave me some good advice. And of course my deepest appreciation to Shrila Prabhupada and the worldwide Vaishnava society of saints, sadhus, and scholars, led by my hero, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
• Finally and above all, I want to thank my dear friend, Kris Carlson who gave me some key ideas on how this difficult story could be told. Without his input I doubt that I would have written any of this.
- Coming Soon -
Krishna and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance by Ronald E. Boutelle