My subway experiences

In this series of six anecdotes, Sri Chinmoy tells of his amusing (and sometimes frightening) experiences in the New York City subways during the years 1964-65.

I. Absent-minded hero

I bought a token and slipped it into the slot at one turnstile. However, in my unmindfulness, I was attempting to pass through an adjacent turnstile. Needless to say, my turnstile refused to move, but I failed to grasp the situation.

Suddenly a young guy slapped me in a comradely way on the back, and saying, "Thank you!" crossed through the turnstile in which my token had been deposited. Thus he escaped without paying for himself and I was forced to buy another token. Unmindfulness exacted its retribution.

On another occasion almost the very same thing happened. Again I put my token in one box and tried to pass through an adjacent turnstile. But this time an elderly man saw my difficulty. He put his own token in my box, enabling me to cross, while he used my token to pass through his turnstile. Unmindfulness called forth sympathy and genuine help.