Over the past few days I have engaged in an email conversation with an individual who has been listening to the podcasts for the past two years. He related a story about him and his son which I want to paraphrase here because it is a wonderful example of what Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita; “the ways of karma are unfathomable”.
Usually we think of this as meaning that our vast personal karmas are so bad and complicated that attempting to understand them is a fruitless waste of time. But this story illustrates what I think is another dimension to this thought. Some times, the little things that we do can have unexpectedly positive effects in the world.
“I have been listening to them [the podcasts] for about eighteen months…maybe closer to two years. Last August I took a long drive with my son to the Florida Keys as a going away ritual as he was about to leave for the Navy. We listened to many of the podcasts while driving (along with his music choices) and also some bhajans. Well, three weeks later he goes to boot camp and volunteers to be the “Chaplin” for his boot camp company. He was pretty aware of the New Testament and his Christian heritage…but he also asked me to send him something else…he asked me to send him the Gayatri Mantra in transliterated Sanskrit. He introduced it as a prayer for wisdom and getting closer to God and added it routinely to the prayers he lead every evening.”