The most kind-hearted stewardess

On July 2nd I gave a concert in Guatemala. ⁵ Over three thousand people came. And how many disciples worked to organise the concert? Only six disciples! Six disciples worked so hard to bring three thousand people.

I wish to tell one special experience.

I boarded the plane in New York. A few minutes later the stewardess came up to me and asked, “Would you like to have some assistance when you come out of the plane? Will you need some assistance?”

I said, “No, I do not need it.”

“You do not want some assistance?”

“No, I do not want it. I will be able to manage.”

“Please tell me if you want some assistance. I will arrange it for you.”

I thanked her and said, “No, it is not necessary.”

She was very, very kind.

The food was non-vegetarian, and I did not take anything to eat. She asked me, “What would you like to have?”

I said, “I cannot eat the meal. I am a vegetarian.”

“Oh, I am sorry — there is nothing vegetarian. But can you have a bagel?”

I said, “O my God, that is something that I do not like! My teeth do not permit me to eat it.”

She brought me a very soft corn muffin and a few pieces of fruit, and she apologised that there was nothing else. I thanked her and said, “I do not need anything else.” Then she went away.

A few minutes later she came with the immigration form and gave it to me. After ten minutes she came back and asked me, “Have you filled out your form?”

I said, “No, not yet.”

“Do you want me to fill it out for you?”

“No, thank you, I will do it.”

Twenty minutes later again she said, “Shall I ask one of those who accompanied you to fill it out? Or let me do it.”

I said, “No, I will manage it.” I was at that time writing my Service-Trees. I had written around forty poems by that time. I have come back to New York with about eighty-two Service-Trees poems. The stewardess would never let me write my poems! She came again and asked me, “Have you done it? Have you filled out your form?”

I said, “I have done it, I have done it!”

Then I told her, “You are a very, very kind-hearted stewardess.”

She was so thrilled! She put both of her hands on my right shoulder and pressed it quite hard, and she said, “You are a very, very good man.” I called her kind-hearted, and she said I was very good! When she was showing me such affectionate concern, I was inspired to say, “I am a musician.”

“You are a musician?”

“Yes, and tomorrow I shall be performing in Guatemala. If you are free, do come.”

“Where is the concert?”

“My students know the name of the hall. There are a few here on the plane.”

She could easily have forgotten about it, but she went to look for one of the disciples in another cabin and she got the name of the hall.

I never carry with me my credentials, my résumé or the book with photographs of my meetings with important people. Some people have written that I am a saint! I requested one of the disciples, “Please bring me something that I can show the stewardess about my qualifications.”

Alas, none of the disciples had anything! There was only something about my 12,000th Bengali song. Now, what would I say to this lady about my 12,000th song? What a disappointment!

When we arrived in Guatemala, Immigration was quite far, at least 150 or 200 metres. The way was not straight; it was zigzag, serpentine. Ahead of us there were many, many people. I think a plane had arrived just ahead of us. One of our boys was with me all the time, right behind me. The stewardess came to that area for some purpose and said goodbye, again smiling at me.

Ten or fifteen minutes later she came back with the Annam Brahma bag! This is the bag with my refreshments. She had gone back into the plane and she had got it from my seat. Is there any other stewardess who will run and run and run to bring my bag?

The disciple who was accompanying me told her that another disciple was responsible for carrying that bag. So she took it back again, looking for that disciple.

Where can one find such a kind-hearted lady?

I gave one disciple the job to trace this stewardess. In the evening she tried very, very hard, and early the next morning she made about fifty calls. Some people in the airline office on the American side, alas, were on the verge of nastiness. In the Guatemalan airline office, people were very, very kind, but they were not able to help us. Kindness was available — nothing more.

Our disciple went to the airline office. At long last she found a sympathetic woman who happened to be the supervisor. When this lady saw that our disciple was imploring their kindness, she made a phone call to the stewardess. Unfortunately, the stewardess was not carrying her mobile phone. She had gone to attend a class, and they could not reach her. Then the supervisor phoned the mother of the stewardess! The mother said she had already got a ticket for a concert, which happened to be our concert, but she had lost it! She wanted to come to the concert, and a free ticket was necessary. Tickets were available at two or three places, and people had to come and collect them. It was all confusion; confusion-clouds were thickening!

Then the supervisor brought a photograph of the Pope, the one who recently passed on, with this particular stewardess. The supervisor brought it with such joy and pride, because one of her workers was able to have a picture taken with the Pope.

Finally the supervisor was able to get in touch with the stewardess, and she got the message that the stewardess would definitely, definitely come to our concert.

Now the confusion increased! The stewardess wanted to go to the airport to get a ticket for the concert. She said she did not have a ticket, and she thought she had to get it at the airport, which was so absurd!

Everything finally went well. I had invited the stewardess to come to our concert at a quarter to seven. The concert was supposed to take place at seven o’clock. Long before a quarter to seven the stewardess and her mother came in. The mother came up to me for my autograph. Her daughter said that afterwards they would not be able to see me. Once the concert was over it would be impossible for them to come and see me.

They were acting like my family members! The stewardess had also brought her daughter. The daughter’s name was Natalia. She was with her mother and grandmother. She was not in a happy mood. I gave the grandmother my autograph, and I wrote down her name. Her name was Lupe. She spoke very little English. I wrote something nice and then I drew three or four birds, as usual. She was so thrilled! Then I gave a small medallion to the grandmother to put on the granddaughter.

When the grandmother put the medallion around the little girl’s neck, immediately she entered into the seventh Heaven of delight! She had a medallion, and she was so thrilled, so thrilled! Then I asked the grandmother to put a large medallion around her daughter’s neck. She did it, and the daughter also put a medallion around her mother’s neck. They were all very, very happy.

I had drawn about one hundred pages of birds. Each page had at least five, ten or twenty birds. They were beautiful! I had my drawing book with me. I was rapidly going through the pages to find the best one. One page had many colours — four or five — plus many, many birds. There would have been at least two hundred or three hundred birds. I tore out the page and wrote down the granddaughter’s name; the stewardess’s name, which was Maria; and the grandmother’s name. While I was writing the names, they were so happy! They said, “We will frame it! We will frame it!” I had not yet given it to them, but they were saying, “We shall frame it! We shall immediately frame it!”

Then I went into my little room to practise before the concert. After practising, I expressed the desire to have a copy of my picture with the Pope. I said, “How I wish I could show this lady that I met with the Pope so many times! I have many, many pictures.” Somehow one of our boys had come to learn that the stewardess had a picture of herself with the Pope. Then this disciple appeared with two pictures. In one picture the Pope and I were holding the Peace Torch, and in the other one, the very first one, he had his arm on my shoulder. He was showing me such affection. This is called good luck. I was so thrilled!

Then I requested one of the disciples to go and bring only the stewardess to see me, not her mother or her daughter. She was so happy and thrilled with my pictures, and I autographed them for her. Then she sat right in front of me. With such affection and love, and all divine qualities, she was looking at me — like my most devoted, most sincere disciple. She was so happy, so happy!

They understood what our concert was about, and they liked it immensely. During the video about my activities, I was told that the grandmother was speaking almost sixteen to the dozen, so her daughter had to stop her and say, “Look, look at this! This is an important person!” She wanted her mother to see me on the screen with all the important people.

After the concert I requested one of the disciples to bring prasad to the stewardess, her mother and her daughter. Very, very happily they went home.

That is not the end of the story! Yesterday our plane was supposed to leave for New York at five o’clock, and I went to the airport at around three-thirty or a quarter to four. The disciples were there at two o’clock or two-thirty, because I had so many musical instruments. They kindly checked those instruments along with their own luggage.

As usual, I started moving around the airport, browsing. I went to a shop where they sold mostly clothing. I selected something very nice as a gift, and I was paying the cashier. I noticed that somebody was standing on my right side. A disciple said, “Guru, look who is standing there.” Right beside me I saw that stewardess! I was very happy. She looked at me with very gentle affection.

I wanted to give prasad at that time. We had two items. I asked one of the disciples to invite the stewardess. She came up and took prasad from me for herself and for her mother and daughter.

Then something unimaginable happened! I was about to enter into the last place where people sit before submitting their tickets. I was nearing that place, and whom did I see? The stewardess with her whole crew! All five crew members were standing with folded hands. I could not believe it!

She said, “This is my crew, this is my whole crew!”

She was standing there, almost blocking my way, with her hands folded. They were all standing before me with folded hands. It was unimaginable! I had pictures taken with them. They were so happy, and they were smiling and smiling, with such respect.

Is it not absolutely the best experience that I got from this stewardess?

She comes to New York quite often. She arrives at eleven o’clock at night and then she has to catch the plane to return at five o’clock in the morning. She is determined to come and see us here in New York, so one of these days she will come.

Her name is Maria. Her daughter’s name is Natalia. Her mother’s name is Lupe. They have already become sweet members of our family. No other stewardess has given me this kind of most sincerely affectionate treatment.

4 July 2005 Aspiration-Ground Jamaica, New York