When We Were Kings
When I was in college, I went to hear Martin Luther King give a
variation of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in the St.
Joseph's University (Philadelphia) gym. There was standing room
only and that's what I was doing at the very back of the gym,
near the exit doors. I was really moved by the emotional
intensity of his speech but what I remember the most from that
day was what happened afterwards.
Rather than leave with the crowd, I decided to hang around to
see if I could catch a closer glimpse of him. I got lucky. King
and his entourage headed right towards me as they were leaving.
I can still see his determined face as he walked quickly by
about two feet away from me. As he swept by I remember getting
hit with a strong palpable energy force that emanated off of
him. I had never felt anything like that before. Over the years,
whenever I tell someone that I had heard King speak, the thing I
emphasize is the powerful force field that came off the man.
A few years ago I went to hear a Bach Mass performed at the
National Cathedral in Washington, DC. that was dedicated to
Martin Luther King. I didn't know ahead of time that the concert
was in his memory---I had bought a ticket just to hear the
performance in that incredible setting. I saw in the program
notes that Coretta King, his wife, was in attendance. Cool!
During intermission, I was wandering around the Cathedral and
happened to see her in conversation with several people. I
walked closer and as I did the people talking to her all left at
the same time, leaving her there by herself. So I did the
spontaneous thing--I strolled right up to her, clasped her hand,
introduced myself, and told her I had had the good fortune to
once hear her husband speak. I'll never forget how she
responded. She continued to hold my hand sincerely and warmly as
she gazed deeply into my eyes for a long moment. I don't recall
her saying anything. What I felt was a wave of love, as palpable
as her husband's wave of power, course through me.
I never met Nelson Mandella but I once did the next best thing
as far as South African civil rights leaders go. I was living in
northern England in the early 90's and once Archbishop Desmond
Tutu was invited to speak at a small Ilkley, West Yorkshire
church near where I lived. So of course I went. There weren't
many people in attendance so it was easy to get in the short
'queue" to meet him after he spoke. But the problem for me was
that it was Sunday, July 10th. So what?
Well, my spiritual teacher is Meher Baba and July 10th is the
anniversary of his Silence which he maintained for 44 years
until his death. It is commemorated every year by his followers
around the world by a day of total silence. Wanting to preserve
my day of silence and to meet Archbishop Tutu, I scribbled a
hurried note to him as I waited in line: "Dear Archbishop Tutu,
I am keeping silence today in memory of Meher Baba's 44-year
Silence. I loved your speech and I am honored to meet you."
When my turn came, I handed him the note. He read it carefully
and then said, "Ah, brother." Then he gave me an incredibly long
and loving embrace. He then held my shoulders at arm's length
and stared deep into my eyes. What I felt from Archbishop Tutu
was a combination of what Martin and Coretta King emanated
separately: power and love, both strength and compassion. I was
reminded of a quote by Meher Baba, "The things that are real are
given and received in silence."
It's amazing how just a few seconds in the presence of a great
soul can have such a lasting impact. No words were exchanged, or
hardly any words, in each of these three encounters. From
speaking to numerous people who had met Meher Baba, he had a
similar effect, even though he was observing silence. Ditto for
Gandhi. I wish there were "five steps" I could give that would
enable you to ramp up the quality of your personal presence to
the degree that people's lives would be transformed just by
meeting you.
Well, maybe there are. How about these?:
1. Find a socially useful cause and devote your whole life to
it. 2. Be willing to sacrifice all physical comforts and peace
of mind for this cause, even if it means spending 25 years in
jail or dying for it at any moment. 3. Totally forget about
yourself. For the rest of your life. Don't talk about yourself
at all, lose yourself in the highest ideals of your just cause.
4. Be willing to completely forgive those who in their ignorance
and hostility resist the values and reforms you are fighting
for. 5. Surrender all results to a Higher Power. Take no credit
for anything positive that comes about as a result of your
efforts. Also be willing to make all the above sacrifices anyway
even if at the end of your days your efforts result in total
failure.
There you have it. See you on top of the mountain