The Ace of Green Eagles: Section 21.
“We walked all the way through the Great White room to the very back end. At the end of the room was a narrow spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. Sister Cactus Flower told me, in a hushed voice, the Mahatma lived upstairs. He might be asleep. In single file we slowly ascended the staircase. We waited patiently for about ten seconds which seemed like a long time. Than we heard a soft voice, ‘Please enter the realm of understanding, the realm of forgiveness. Please enter into the realm of God.’”
“The room over the stairs was as large as the room below. But, it was very different, it was painted gold, all gold. The floor was painted a metallic gold. The wallpaper was embossed with gold flowers on a gold background. The entire ceiling was covered with shinny gold flakes. The effect of the rich cold gold color was different from the effect of the bright white room below. The Golden room made me feel protected and safe, while the Great White room had given me a spiritual feeling. Together, going from the Great White room to the Gold room made me feel spiritually connected, or holy, like I was entering different realms of heaven, like I was ascending toward a state of ‘enlightenment.’ In the very center of the gold room sat a small gold colored podium. On the Gold podium was a small gold leafed chair. On the gold chair sat the Mahatma ‘The Living God’ HIMSELF.”
“When I first saw the Mahatma I was shocked by his appearance. He was an old man, at least 80 years old. He was very small and very thin. I estimated that he was only about four and a half feet tall. He weighed about 70 or 80 pounds. He had a normal sized head on top of a small, thin, withered body. He had dark eyes., eyes that were shinny and bright and bulged out of this forehead. He had little hair. The few hairs that he had were straggly and gray. His cheeks were hollow. His lips were thin having a purple hue. He had a few dangling black whiskers. He looked sick, very sick, very withered. He looked old, very old.”
“He motioned to us with his hand to come near. My Aunt took my hand, together we approached the Mahatma, slowly and respectfully.”
“The Mahatma looked at me intently, then He spoke. His voice was soft but penetrating. His voice had a touching kindness and a special wisdom, something that I hadn’t experienced before, not even from Reverend Pike when he preached from the pulpit at our church. In a quiet voice the Mahatma asked me my name. I told him. He said that he’d heard of my tragedy. Tear came to his eyes. Instantly, I felt that he was concerned about ME. He said that I was welcome to stay at the commune. I could stay as long as I liked. He said that if I missed my mother and father, if I was feeling sad, I should come anytime of the day or night and talk to Him, anytime at all. He would feel good talking to me. He said that He had an especially good feeling towards me. He told me that He cared about me deeply. He told me that He loved me. He really did say that, He said, ‘HE LOVED ME!’”
“I stood there, and then slowly, very slowly I started to cry. Tears started to fall down my checks. Tears dripped from my chin. These were tears of tragedy, tears of loss, tears of sadness, tears of relief, tears of unconditional love. I’d never felt so connected, with such deep devotion to another person. I was never so touched, in a metaphysical way, from such a brief encounter. This was something SPECIAL. This was once in a lifetime encounter, no ONE had ever made me feel this way, not my Momma, nor my Daddy, not even CAITLIN. It suddenly struck me. I was shaken deep within, I was shaken to my very foundation, I must be standing before ‘A LIVING GOD.’”
“The Mahatma than looked deeply into my eyes. He looked into my eyes alone. In His amazing soft yet penetrating voice, He told me a story:” “Once upon a time there was a great desert. In the middle of the great desert there was an oasis. In the middle of the oasis there was a great wooden castle. Within the castle there was a golden thrown where sat… wise King Solarius.
People came from far and near to talk with wise King Solarius. The King tried to help people… by applying his great wisdom. The Kingdom was prosperous and happy. All was well.
Then, one day, a small dwarf came to talk with the King. But instead of talking… the dwarf pulled out a knife and put it to the throat of the Great Wise King.
The King calmly spoke to the dwarf, ‘Mr. Dwarf, it’s true you are very upset. I can see it in your eyes. It’s true you have been wronged much of your life. I’ve heard terrible tales of all of the wrongs. It’s true that you blame me. I could have and I should have done something to make your life better. It’s true that you can now kill me with one stroke of your blade. I will bleed out and die.’
‘But, Mr. Dwarf it’s also true that you are very short. After you kill me, you are still going to be very short. And, in a short time, my men will find you, hunt you down, and make short work of you. These things are all true. Yes?
The Dwarf answered, ‘Yes.’
So, the King said, ‘Go ahead, cut my throat. But before you do, you must remember that I’m just like you… just like you… a short dwarf… with many problems.’”
“The Mahatma said no more. I looked up at Him. I studied the pitiful withered old man sitting there on his small gold leafed chair, on his gold podium, in the middle of this large Gold colored room. I looked deeply into His eyes. His eyes responded to my gaze. In His eyes I saw deep passion with endless empathy. I saw boundless strength combined with an extraordinary peacefulness. As if He had been reading my mind, I blinked. When I blinked, as if I had decided it was time for Him to stop, when I blinked, He stopped. He stopped reading my eyes. He looked up at me… He smiled a very kind and gentle smile, a knowing smile. We seemed to have connected. Then, He signaled with His hand, ‘Time to leave.’”
”My Aunt grabbed my hand, we left the Gold room just as we had entered. On our way out, my Aunt thanked ‘The Living God’ for His kindness and attention. I thanked Him, also. I don’t know why but I felt better. I felt a little more at peace for the first time since the terrible automobile accident. I didn’t feel so ALL alone. Maybe having an adult like my Aunt around was a GOOD THING. Maybe spirituality and the pursuit of enlightenment could become an important part of A NEW LIFE. Maybe this Mahatma is authentic. Maybe living with my Aunt Emily, I mean Sister Cactus Flower, will be my SALVATION. I liked the West. I liked the big bright sky, the sunshine. I was even starting to get used to breathing Nevada dust. I hoped that I would fit in at the commune. I was going to try very hard to FIT IN. I was going to do what I was told and not ask too many questions. I was going to be a good commune member, a tireless worker. Besides, I had no where else to go, not anymore.
… to be continued …