A rain of grace

Anandamurtiji came to serve the masses

There was heavy flooding when we arrived at our Tiljala headquarters yesterday. It had been raining heavily since yesterday afternoon.

Baba arrived only that morning—perfect timing. From the main road to our office it is a distance of about one kilometer; I had to walk with my luggage on my head. The water level was up to my waist. As I was entering, there was a stream of villagers leaving, temporarily abandoning their homes, taking with them whatever belongings and food they could manage.

When I reached our building, some villagers were seeking safety from the rain in our four-story office. The Dadas told them they would soon be arranging relief materials, but there was no more space in the building.

It was true. The place was packed with about 500 Margis due to various meetings Baba had called.

Soon after, our electricity and water systems stopped functioning. The water level rose up to my chest. We had not prepared any special food stocks, and that evening we consumed the last of our meager supplies.

94 There are many other stories of Baba appearing in two places at once. I hope other workers and Margis will write their own books about Baba, and mention their personal experience on this subject.

No one can enter the area now except by swimming or rowboat. Boats, of course, are very few.

With all this trouble, one might expect a tense atmosphere among the workers and Margis. But the level of inspiration seems higher than usual; everyone is taking it as an interesting test.

From the moment I came, Baba has been holding meetings in His house as usual. To get there I have to swim, and the water is filthy—an oil slick covers the surface. I keep a dry uniform in a plastic bag under a chair in His house. During the meetings, He never refers to the flood or our present difficulties. For Him, difficulties is something normal.

Outside of our meetings, He takes hourly reports on the progress of our relief programs for the village people. At first we didn’t even have food for ourselves. Then a small boatload of beaten rice and unrefined sugar arrived. This has been our only food. Our relief workers are pro¬ viding the same food to the flood victims, and also helping them set up temporary shelters on the road. By this evening, the number of recipi¬ ents increased to 18,000. Government assistance has still not arrived.

Three days later. This afternoon the rain finally stopped. Most of us stood on the roof as we watched Baba board a boat, which then slowly negotiated its way between the flooded houses. A few Dadas swam beside the boat. At that very moment the sun came out; it was beautiful. A thought passed through my mind: Anandamurtiji came to serve the masses. Even the poorest of the poor will reap the benefit.

A dog joined the Dadas swimming near the boat. When they shooed him away, he climbed onto a rooftop sticking out of the water. From this vantage he wagged his tail and watched Baba.

A few thousand villagers stood on the road watching Baba’s boat. For most of them, it was the first chance to get a close look at this man whose fame had spread throughout the world. As His boat pulled up and He stepped out, the villagers maintained complete silence, holding their hands together in namaskar pose. Everyone’s eyes were glued on the People’s Guru. The dog too was caught in this collective trance. Only at the moment that Baba slipped out of view behind a bus, did the dog stop wagging his tail and retire from his post.

Baba had instructed some of the workers, including me, to follow Him after the relief work was regularized to His other house in central Calcutta.

Next day. We are now in central Calcutta. I heard that at last the government’s relief team arrived in Tiljala. The villagers were so frustrated with the slowness of government help that they shouted, “We would have died without the assistance of Ananda Marga!” To demonstrate their anger, they dumped the first delivery of government food into the flood waters.

Two days later. We sometimes hear suspicions voiced regarding the source of Ananda Marga’s finances. So how did we get money for these relief operations? Food, medicine and miscellaneous assistance for 18,000 flood victims is no small matter.

Though our relief department promised the public their minimum necessities, our relief teams had almost no money in the beginning. Practically speaking, the guarantees we made to serve the needy public fully depended on Baba’s grace. That might seem foolish, but we had faith that He would provide what was required. The team leader, Dada Ramananda, personally approached Margis and workers for donations from the first to the last day. A few days ago, I gave him as much as I could, but when he left my room, he said, “It’s still far from enough. I really don’t know how we’ll manage tomorrow.” When I saw him the next day, he smiled at me. “Yesterday, shortly after I met you, I ran into one of the richer villagers, who owns a car which we saved from the flood waters. I expressed our financial problems, and he gave me enough money for an entire day’s supplies. In relief work, we are forced to count on at least one or two miracles a day.”

I mproving agricultural and industrial production

Dada Vijayananda gave a class today explaining many of Baba’s suggestions about how to increase agricultural and industrial produc¬ tion, especially in developing countries. Excerpts from my notes not only provide some practical ideas, but also show Baba’s concern for overcoming poverty. 95

[Author’s note: These notes are somewhat detailed. Interested read¬ ers are referred to the article “On increasing agricultural production” in the appendix Technical talks by Baba or with Baba. At the end of this class were a few points of general interest regarding improving the industrial output in poor regions:]

95 Later a book was printed of Baba’s agricultural ideas called Ideal Farming.

Baba supports the idea of synthetic fibers. He warns that Bengal will soon be in danger because it is too dependent on jute fiber and animal hide. Due to synthetic fibers, the jute industry will soon be a thing of the past. Hundreds of thousands of people will lose their jobs. Baba explained that it is better to convert to the production of jutewool. Jutewool is a combination of jute and wool. He does not appreciate the slogan from the days of Mahatma Gandhi — “science is the monster of civilization.” Rather, for all those in danger of losing their jobs Baba proposed a demand: “Let every sub-division have a jutewool industry, and let the weavers be supplied with power looms. Thereby both the farms and the weavers will receive the proper wages.”

In India paper is expensive because it is imported. To improve the paper industry, He gave a list of twenty good plants. These include bam¬ boo, different kinds of grass, and mesta jute sticks.

Bran is usually wasted simply as a fuel. Part of the bran is good for manufacturing oil, and the rest should be used as an element in making cement (along with lime).

Until now politics has dominated the economy. But economics should dominate politics. If any politician does little to improve the people’s living standard, then he should be dismissed.

[Author’s note: A few days later, Baba gave a number of points to which all Margi district in-charges must pay attention when making their planning. These points may be found in the article “Grassroots planning”, located in the appendix Technical talks by Baba or with Baba.]