Phyl Graham
As you may know, I went to my Gurus ashram in Virginia for a reunion and retreat in October 2009. Most of the Mumbai survivors attended that program and it was wonderful to catch up with them again. A memorial shrine had been created for Alan and Naomi, who were killed in 2008 and Kia, Alan’s wife and Naomi’s mother, was involved with creating a more lasting memorial to them. In November 2009, Kia and Master Charles initiated an organization they called ONE LIFE ALLIANCE. OLA is dedicated to honouring the sacredness of life, at first in the individual and then to everyone in their world. It fosters tolerance, interfaith dialogue, and respect for individual differences. People then act out of a state of balance and “beingness” and are more inclined to care for themselves as they care for others. A number of initiatives are being developed such as peace curricular in schools and conflict resolution projects. One of my friends who is a children’s author and illustrator, has been working with children in orphanages in Mumbai using art projects as a medium. More information is available on the OLA website.
Early in 2010 I received a communication from Kia, indicating that she and MC were returning to Mumbai for the second anniversary of the terrorist attack. Their purpose was to inaugurate the Indian Chapter of OLA, to conduct a memorial service and to bring a modern update of the ancient practice of meditation, once again, to the people of India.
Those of us who were in Mumbai in 2008 had been named as honorary founders of OLA and we were now invited to return with Kia and MC. This was not to be a shopping and sight-seeing trip, rather a working holiday which centred around the Trident hotel where we were accommodated. On our previous visit we had stayed at the adjoining Oberoi hotel and Mr Oberoi, kindly provided us with accommodation at the Trident, free of charge and gave us our food at a 50% discount.
The idea of returning was challenging, but I felt a need to support Kia and MC and after speaking with Kia on the phone, I felt very strongly that this was an appropriate way for me to ‘walk my talk’ as they say.
After the initiate preparations and travel arrangements, I put it all away and went to China and Thailand with Pete. Closer to the time, I felt a bit uneasy from time to time, especially when reading government warnings for travelers on the net. But the evening before I left, I was filled with a sense of calm and a knowing that whatever the outcome, this was what I was meant to do.
On arrival at Mumbai, I had organized a car through my travel agent as I didn’t want the added stress of battling crowds for a taxi. The Airport had been updated and it was all a lot more seamless than my previous visit. The ride to the hotel was easier too, there were by-passes since my last visit, and because it was almost midnight, the drive was faster.
At the hotel I was struck by the amount of security, it was non-existent last time. When I was shown to my room, it had the same view as previously and I felt a momentary chill, which soon passed.
Next morning I went off for a walk along the marine parade by the Arabian Sea. I did this every day on our previous visit and it stirred up a lot of memories so I enjoyed a good ‘cry’. India is a great place for letting it all hang out. I was surrounded by people practicing yoga, chanting, exercising, walking, reading the Koran and just gazing out to sea. The stray dogs were lying about as if nothing had happened, very Zen-like. I decided to emulate them.
At breakfast a couple of the Synchronicity group turned up and I received the first of many hugs. Kia contacted me after breakfast and filled me in on meetings and other administrative details. We all had interviews with the media and were videoed for various documentaries. We regularly appeared in the local newspapers.
Each night we were invited to MC’s room where we just hung out till he threw
us out, usually around midnight. For those of you who don’t have a guru (most), it is considered a great honour to spend time like this in the master’s presence. Most gurus are surrounded by hundreds of followers and you cant get within a ‘bulls roar’ of them.
I guess it was different for us as we had gone out of our way to demonstrate our support for him and for Kia. So we all had a great time and gurus can be very funny and entertaining. They also don’t need much sleep and he seemed to take great pleasure in watching us nodding off from time to time. He also spent a bit of time taking the ‘mickey’ out of one of the girls who had undertaken a bit of botox and kept trying to make her laugh. Fortunately, they have been friends for 40 years, so she took it all in good part and allowed us all to laugh at her expense. On a more serious side, he was also monitoring us carefully, to ensure we were coping with the experience. He seemed to ignore people who he sensed were OK and closely quizzed those who seemed to have issues.
A friend from Melbourne, Miriam and I revisited the Oberoi and were amazed at the transformation. It was all redecorated with reflective white flooring and a bright red grand piano in the centre. The restaurant had been re-decorated and re-named and we caught up with some of the staff we had met before. We also re-visited the hotel shops and the shopkeepers greeted us with hugs and gifts. Most of them have had a hard time during the past 2 years and they were very grateful that we chose to return.
We were invited to a cultural show which was held within walking distance of the Trident. Kia was one of the guest speakers. There were several speakers from governance organizations who indicated their concerns about government response to issues like corruption and poverty. We were videoed while we were there and watched some interesting entertainers, singing, poetry reading and the like.
The next morning was an information meeting and briefing for the memorial service to be held on the 26th. It also explained the purpose of OLA in more detail. It was held in a meeting room on the rooftop and took all morning. I volunteered to act as an usher and also to look after the choir. This consisted of 9 teenagers and some teachers and about 50 children who came as guests. The Jews agreed to look after the Rabbi etc,. There was silence when it came to the Imam as we were all unsure about the protocol. In any event, he was a feminist and brought a young woman with him as a translator.
During the afternoon, I went to the shops to get a coffee and buy a snack. There were police and army personnel everywhere and I had some ‘shutting the stable door’ kind of thoughts. This quickly changed to alarm when I was not allowed to return to the hotel through the shopping arcade. At the front of the hotel, army vehicles were lined up and my first thought was to call one of my friends. I decided that none of them needed my anxiety, so I went to the gym instead. As it turned out, they were rehearsing for a memorial parade the next day.
On the Wednesday evening there was a meditation held at the Trident that was open to the public. There were several people there that we had met on our previous visit and it was a fantastic evening. MC and Kia outdid themselves and spoke brilliantly. It was a perfect conclusion to the morning briefing and put everything into context. It is obvious that the Indian people really appreciate the fact that we returned. Again we, went to MC’s room and I had great difficultly staying awake.
By now, everyone was beginning to wind up. There was a lot of planning still to be done and it was all going to Indian time. One of the group, Peggy, is skilled at organizing, so she contributed a lot. The Indian organizer was doing her work in her spare time and worked full time as well. Kia has yet to develop organizational skills, but she is learning fast. Everyone was under pressure and it was interesting to watch how a group of meditators dealt with this. I appointed myself as Linda’s Minder as she was stretched to the max, working all day in schools and then coming back to more at the hotel. We all appreciated the opportunity to unwind with MC each evening.
On the 25th we were invited to the American/Indian Association for high tea. MC and Kia were two of the speakers and some of the questions from the floor were challenging, as some people had difficultly with coming to terms with what had happened and the government’s handling of it. Nevertheless, they acquitted themselves admirably and at the end were surrounded by TV cameras. I was highly amused at an exchange between John Slicker and his father Jo. John was maneuvering Jo’s wheelchair, and Jo demanded to know why he was leaving so early. Jo is 90 years old!
Our taxi ride back to the hotel was something that all visitors to India would have experienced. Horns blaze loudly all the time and about 10pm all the traffic lights stay red and it’s a free- for- all. Four of us, including me and three very large others, were squeezed into the back and the driver and an Indian photographer in the front. You just have to call on Jesus, Ganesh, the Buddha and anyone else who might be listening.
On the morning of the 26th, I went out for a walk, but ended up watching the military parade. It was quite emotional as I watched the army go by and I remembered the graciousness of the 5 young men who rescued us. I felt pretty tired. I didn’t feel scared, just alert and watchful. There was definitely an air of tension across the city and I think this effected all of us.
I need to say something now about Linda and her work with the Peace Dragon. As a children’s writer and illustrator, it was not surprising that Linda had agreed to teach Naomi to draw dragons. Sadly, this never happened. Linda was badly wounded in the attack and as soon as she recovered, she launched a project called the Peace Dragon. She decided to teach other children to draw dragons and use them as a medium to encourage dialogue across cultures. She began in the USA and then took some of the children’s work to India. She was completing a project when I arrived there and it consisted of a huge collage of hearts that the children had drawn. They formed the dragon’s scales. Two dragons faced each other and held the world in their front claws.
The project was unveiled at the memorial service and presented to Mr Oberoi. It now hangs on the wall of the hotel.
Once things began to wind up for the memorial service, I felt much better. I had a choir, some nuns and a bunch of kids to look after. There was heaps to do and people to greet. Somehow it all fell into place. Kia and MC opened proceedings and there were speakers from government, business and all religious traditions. The talks were quite brief and were interspersed with items from the choir and video clips of all of us answering the question “how do you honour the sacredness of life?.” My response to that was to say “by allowing my being to dominate my doing”. I gave my return to Mumbai as an example.
We were all pretty ‘high’ at the end and I didnt get to bed till 0100hrs. I did keep an eye on the clock around 2130 as that was the time the attack occurred in 2008.
I was invited to a synagogue the next morning by some Jewish friends. They assured me that gentiles were welcome and so I was. The entrance was down a narrow street and it was lined by police. By now I was starting to feel like – well – Pete’s right, I can’t die prematurely. At least I’ve done some interesting things while I am embodied. We were given lunch afterward, men at one table and women at another. All of us were invited to speak about our experiences. This was interesting, as I really haven’t felt the need to do this, but in India I was frequently asked about it. Clearly, they needed to hear it. Also, they needed to know that we had not let the experience limit us in any way. My only legacy is tendency to jump when I hear a gunshot. (Read firecrackers).
One last evening was spent with MC, but he tossed us out early as he had an early flight the next morning.
I spent the remainder of my time in India socializing with group members. We had breakfast and a lunch at the Oberoi and a dinner with our Indian friends at the Trident.
I had a lovely time with Linda and a long chat before she left for yet another school and I left for the airport.
It felt great to be coming home. I was overjoyed to see Pete and loved catching up with my friends and talking to my kids on the phone.
Experiences like India, enrich your life, but nothing to be compared to family and friends.
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