Communion

"Do not disturb me".

My Mother's stern and repeated warnings ring in my years, even as I disobey with unremitting love.

She is not entirely without fault in my having to seek communion with her years after she left her mortal body. Firstly, there are many things that I did not learn while she was alive in the conventional sense of the term. Secondly, there have been extenuating circumstances that justified disturbing her eternal peace. Finally, there are times when I simply cannot help myself!

 

The spirit of my father continues to be more gentle and accommodating. He does not like long sessions in trying circumstances, but is also available for counsel with loads of subtle humor. My vocation does not always allow me to seek communion in the inherited prayer room (pictured above). The practice of mental projection helps my son and I to consult each other though we are now mostly oceans apart, sometimes without electronic connectivity.

My friend and former business associate from Jamnagar (on the western fringe of India) taught me how to communicate unconventionally with a spouse. I have not been able, as yet, to use the technique fully, but he could ask his first and late wife to serve tea by just glancing her way.

Pitaji (my Guru) has been steadfast by my side since he left earth in 1966. He keeps a discreet distance, but never fails to respond quickly and firmly when I need his help.

Communion with God is an incredible resource to float through the turbulent waters of life. A secular way to this end that all of us can use, is to see God in people, other forms of life, and in objects. Casual encounters may titillate some senses, but communion needs deep introspection, time, and persistence. Spend quality time with people you love, like, honor and respect. Discuss issues with them as broadly as possible, focusing on reflective listening, rather than on trying to win debating points. I recall my Mother's peculiar comments on brands of cigarettes ("buy good brands like Benson&Hedges",) though I never openly admitted to smoking.

Communion with people you have never met is not reliable. Historians are not free from bias, so what you read and hear about ancestors and predecessors could be entirely misleading. However, even the briefest meetings with the wise and beloved can be lighthouses in the darkness of difficulties. I have met my paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother only when I was less than 10 years old, yet I know their minds (I think) relatively well. I have tried meditating on pictures and accounts of other ancestors I have never met, and it has worked albeit very gradually.

There may be something in the Hindu convention of communicating with ancestors through crows. Certainly, their actions on occasion can only be explained through imagination of what the departed want, feel, and need. However, it is eternal life that is the Alfonso mango of communion. My wife and son know me so well that I can live adequately through them. Shiben can teach as many of his descendants as possible, so that we can all live forever.