January 13, 2011
Leslie (left) chats with Swami Sadashivananda.
January 13, 2011 - Unedited - Straight from the Heart
Dear Ones ...
It's 3:15am ... Osho, one of my dogs woke me ... Barking outside to comeback in after several hours of wandering ... He likes to go out twice, but I'm only willing to support once ... Living on the second floor of a modest house I'm renting (4500 rupees a month--about $100US -- You, too, could live a life of "luxury" on a pauper's income) ... Have to go up and down twice on each of "Osho's meandering" -- once to let him out, once in ... Also, I'm only willing to get up twice during the night for him ... I have five dogs ... They're not pets ... They're street dogs -- Osho, Lady-ji, Keshav, Shirdi, Alex, by name ... I live with them ... Love them ... Give them reasonable freedom ... They've all become sweet ...
But Osho's like a great being ... People and dogs, alike, adore him ... He seems to have free passage into other dog's territories -- where no other's have ... And is anointed with affection and adoration as he wanders around -- from humans and dogs alike ... I occasionally get jealous, but manage to keep it under wraps ... Think Ken is writing a story about him in our first Newsletter ...
So here it is at this ungodly hour ... I'm communicating because Ken has pressured me by pointing out -- several times, mind you -- that I last wrote anything for the "Founders" section of the website, some thirty or forty years ago ... He thought it would be good if I'd communicate more regularly ...
This is the 13th of January... Three days ago we celebrated the fourth anniversary of our opening ... I'm not heavily into celebrations ... So it was a modest affair ... A brief puja early evening ... (For those of you who aren't familiar with "puja", it's basically an expression of gratitude to God ... For those who are agnostics, or atheists -- think of it, as a heartfelt thank you to the Universe) ... There were about 20 present, in addition to the staff ...
There were still two clinic cases being treated (We were all in the clinic, where the puja was held) ... Operations were still going on in the operation room ... Our beloved puppies and dogs were mingling with us ... It was growing dark ... Since I didn't know the appropriate mantras (I did the offering) ... I waived the light in silence while soft mantras were playing ...
I wish you could have experienced it ... You could feel the intimacy, warmth, and Heart in the air ... All of us crowded into this simple clinic room ... Here in the south of India ... We were truly moved ... It was an anointment by the Universe, to bless us for our activities ...
I wish that all of you could have been there ... I talked a little after the waiving of the lights ... Mostly about our staff ... Actually about all of us engaged in this endeavor ... The deep changes we were going through ... The magical changes ... As we experienced more spaciousness in our minds and came closer to our Hearts ... Each of us could look back at how we were a year ago ... And the year before that ... And see the profound changes that had taken place ... I'm aware of the "unfolding" of each of my staff ... Some came in heavily contracted ... And it was so moving to see the light entering their eyes as they worked through their things and their Hearts started opening further ... It's such a blessing for each of us to be involved in this Work ... And we were surrounded by some of those creatures we've been able to help lift from suffering ... How warm it feels to see their happiness ...
Towards the end ... It was already solidly dark ... I was sitting on the Shelter veranda with two old, dear friends who were visiting ... We'd known each other for over forty years ... Ranvir and Manjit Singh ... They're family to me ... Several times over these decades I've actually lived with them in their countryside home outside Ann Arbor, Michigan ... A fellow named Dev was leaving ... He'd been living in Tiruvannamalai for a number of years ... I introduced him to Ranvir and Manjit ... He talked about his experience ... It's the first time I saw him so deeply moved ... His eyes were almost teary, as he expressed his gratitude ... He took some photos (he's an accomplished photographer) ... And has posted an account of the evening on the Internet which is essentially what he said to us that evening as he recollected his memories, and I quote ...
"Public memory is short. Few can recall the rampant stray dogs everywhere, young and aged, starving and diseased, scavenging in the garbage heaps, fighting amongst themselves, ignored and abused by the human population, while remaining a menace to all including themselves .... In four short years, the roads are more peaceful, with few strays to be seen, and the naturally loving relationship between humans and animals restored to its true state."
How grateful I am that it turned out this way ... It truly is magical and a great blessing ... Without those blessings, with the same effort, it could have been much different..
