Extraordinary
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Da's Influence on Life & Death > True Source of Security
The True Source of Security
Terry
Cafferty
Terry
Cafferty has
been a devotee of Adi Da Samraj since the early 1980's. He is
an aerospace engineering consultant specializing in orbiting imaging
systems, and has worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon. Terry has many stories of his personal
interaction with Avatar Adi Da and His otherwise invisible influence
in his personal and business life. These are two of them. In addition
to being one of Beloved Adi Da Samraj's patrons, Terry also generously
supports the Adidam Fear-No-More
Zoo, and is on its Board of Directors. He is also a member
of the Board of Directors of the Adidam Global Ashram.
In the following two stories, Terry's brushes with
death (and the extraordinary Grace that saved him both times)
would reveal to him the True Source of Humor, Security and Eternal
Life.
I.
In the winter of 2001-2002, I was driving from my
home in northern California to southern California to visit clients
of my small engineering consulting business. I had been on the
road for about a half hour when it began to rain, the first rain
of the year. Going through the mountains, I cautiously pulled
out into a passing lane to go by several slow-moving cars on front
of me. We were going around a bend in the road to the right. As
I passed the first car, the driver of that car decided to pass
also and, without looking to his left, pulled out also into the
passing lane. The side of his car collided with mine and broke
loose the traction of all four of my tires on the rainy road,
thus pushing me into the lane of oncoming traffic. I looked up
to see a huge truck bearing down on me, perhaps 30 yards away
and closing fast. There was nowhere to go; it looked like I would
head-on a semi tractor at about 50 miles an hour, plus whatever
speed he was traveling.
I have absolutely
no recollection of what happened next, but the next thing I do
remember is being back in the passing lane. The car that had hit
me had braked, and was now behind me. I signaled and pulled over
to the side of the road and stopped. So did the driver of the
car who hit me. We both got out, and as I walked around the back
of my car, I yelled at him that he should look before he pulls
out to pass. He apologized. I looked at the right side of my car
and was absolutely amazed that there was not a scratch; nothing
to indicate what had just happened. There were no marks on the
other car, either.
I got back in my
car to continue the journey, pretty shaken by what had just happened,
knowing I had come very close to being killed, and not knowing
exactly how it had happened that I was now completely safe. About
a minute later, my cellular phone buzzed. I answered it to find
my intimate partner calling to tell me that she had just received
a call from Naitauba, Adi Da's primary Sapta Na Sannyasin Hermitage in
Fiji. Adi Da was asking about me.
I now realized what
had happened; I had been saved from death by Adi Da's Graceful
Intervention. I told my intimate partner what had happened, and
she relayed to Adi Da that I was fine and would write to Him that
evening when I got to Santa Barbara. That night I wrote to Adi
Da and thanked Him for saving my life. When the letter was read
to Him, He simply said "Tcha", His characteristic sound of acknowledgement
and Blessing.
II.
By late 2002, I was
completely worn out from business travel by car and commercial
airline between northern and southern California. As a young man
I had come close to obtaining a private pilot license. Now I decided
I would get a license and buy a small airplane, which would cut
my travel time and stress a great deal.
Adi Da's first human
teacher, Rudi (Swami Rudrananada) had been killed in a small airplane,
and I knew that Adi Da as a result does not like small airplanes
because they can be very unsafe. So I wrote to Adi Da, telling
Him of my plans and asking for (and receiving) His Blessing to
use the airplane for business purposes only. I started flying
back and forth in the spring of 2003.
On one trip from
Santa Barbara to Lakeport, a quick change in weather while I was
en route created a very dangerous condition for small planes
like mine. When I called the FAA flight service station over San
Francisco Bay, I asked for a weather update on the ground at my
destination and was told that the wind was blowing at 20 knots
from rapidly changing directions and was gusting to 35 knots.
Such winds create complete havoc on a small, light airplane like
the one I was flying, and I knew that to land in such wind would
mean that I would be lucky to land without crashing.
I asked for weather
at nearby airports, and was told that the gusty and variable winds
had sprung up everywhere without warning. I became deeply afraid.
I'm a good pilot, but those were nasty conditions.
As I approached Lakeport,
I invoked Adi Da in my feeling heart, calling on His Divine Blessing
Grace to protect me, and offering the Devotional Prayer of Changes
that the winds on the ground at Lakeport would be calm when I
arrived there. As I descended from 8500 feet down to about 4500
feet, there was fairly severe turbulence that bounced the airplane
around like a cork in rough seas. I was afraid, but continued
to invoke Adi Da's Help.
I continued to descend
to 2400 feet and entered the landing traffic pattern. As I set
up the final approach to the runway, I noticed that the turbulence
was completely gone. I further noticed that I did not have to
correct for wind to stay aligned to the runway.
I landed completely
without incident, and as I taxied past the wind sock, noticed
that it was hanging absolutely limp, indicating that there was
no wind whatsoever. I taxied to the gas pump and filled the tank.
Still no wind. None. Zero. Not a breath. I taxied over to my parking
space, tied down, locked and covered the plane.
Then suddenly, as
I carried my luggage to my truck, the wind picked up instantaneously,
just as if the switch to an enormous fan had been turned on. As
I drove home, my truck was buffeted around by very strong and
variable winds, the kind that would probably have caused me to
crash had I been forced to land in them.
That night I again
wrote to Adi Da to thank Him for protecting me.
*
* *
Through these and many other lessons, I have come to know
that all the forms of security that I previously had been relying
upon — money and material well-being — are a poor man's form of
security, and a form of security that is temporary in any case,
because death intervenes even for the most wealthy and powerful.
The only True Security is the Infinite Grace of the Living
Divine Being.