There's more to the story

[Guest guest]

The mountain top story.

 

I was living in Marin County, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San

Francisco. I was a fairly new devotee of Shree Maa and Swamiji, going

up to their ashram and temple every weekend. I was very inspired by

their worship, especially Shree Maa's devotional music to Kali.

 

I decided to do a 10-day vigil to Kali. Everyday I would drive up to

the top of Mount Tamalpais, singing bhajans and chanting all the way.

When I got to the top, I would find a quiet place to meditate.

 

The experience with the storm occurred on the 10th day. All the other

days I had gone alone. On this day I asked my daughter (a graduate

student), if she'd like to join me.

 

The weather was clear when we started out from San Rafael. It started

getting cloudy on the way. By the time we got to the top of Mount Tam

there were dramatic puffy black and grey clouds.

 

I had a special place I wanted to share with her that I had discovered.

You couldn't see it from the road. You had to follow a path up over a

small ridge and then down past a boulder. Suddenly you had a clear

view of the ocean below. There was a fallen log cantilevered out over

the cliff. That was the spot where I wanted to meditate.

 

She really didn't like the idea of sitting on the log in that very

exposed place. I went first and slid out on the log. That's when

the winds started up. They were incredibly intense. We had to hold on

to the log to keep from being swept off the cliff. Talk about

one-pointed chanting! I think I had chanted for about five minutes

when the Silence came. I kept on chanting and thanking the Divine

Mother for this demonstration of Her Grace and that She had accepted my

prayer.

 

My daughter, who was an intellectual skeptic, came away from the

experience shaken, but a believer in a Higher Power in the form of Kali

Maa.