Nectarean Travels

Submitted by:- Mangal Arti Devi Dasi

I was on my flight to Richmond, Virginia early today. Generally going through US customs and security is my most dreaded experience as they treat you like criminals. Today there was an exceptionally huge crowd at security checkpoint (like Christmas day) and they were randomly sending people to full body frisk or another line. I got sent to the other line and had prasad and japa bag in an open hand bag. As my hand bag came out the security lady (Punjabi lady who had immigrated here) saw the japa beads and just started to ask me questions. She said are you Punjabi and I said I am not but my best friend is Punjabi. She then asked me about the japa beads and i explained they were tulasi beads. She saw the Krishna pendent on my neck and said ‘Ah, krishna pendent, so beautiful’…as soon as she appreciated Gopinath she opened a flood gate of appreciation. After a few initial questions she said ‘ I could see you from a distance and had made out you are a very spiritual person’..I was staring at her in bewilderment. Then she said you don’t go now, you stay here and please talk to me your flight is at 8 AM and there is 1 hour so I wont return your boarding pass you talk to me’. I was in utter disbelief – there were so many people waiting and she was on duty just talking to me about God. I realized her courage and sincerity and my emptiness. She spent the next many minutes sharing with me her life and the related problems, I didn’t know what to say. Feeling the need to help, I asked her to chant a mantra - Gauranga…she asked me what it meant and I said it meant ‘be happy’…its golden faced beautiful lord. I also gave her my email and she asked for my phone number. I left with a feeling of gratitude as I got a chance to speak about Krishna even without any effort but I also felt regret as I didn’t tell her the Maha mantra.

Afterwards I was on the terminal waiting for my flight and as always relishing the experience by narrating it to Shyama on the phone – and I was just relaying to her how I regretted not getting the chance to introduce her to Hare Krishna mantra. And that very moment my phone rang to my greatest shock it was that lady Rajkamal or Rosy who was the security officer on duty, she just called to understand what Gauranga meant ?....Now Krishna was giving me a chance, responding to every prayer and now I had to tell her who was Gauranga – so there I am at the airport talking to security personnel explaining Gauranga means Golden faced beautiful Lord. Krishna is blue, Radha rani is golden but when he remembers her he becomes golden and then we call him Gauranga…I told her when you chant Gauranga you are remembering Radha and Krishna. But she was just insistent – she didn’t want to stop here – she asked me is there something more to the mantra – is there an OM around it. I told her well if you want the full mantra – then its Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna hare hare , hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare. So she said ok I know Hare Krishna. Then the discussion dynamics fully changed, she shared with me her tough life and how she cries everyday in front of her altar at home. She expressed her gratitude at having met someone who reminded her of God, she doesn’t talk to everyone like this…she was just pouring her heart out. I told her to try and chant and come to temple. I hope she does. I offered to get her a japa bag and she said she wanted a red or yellow one.