Money and True Security:
Three Stories Revealing
the True Source of Humor, Security, and Eternal Life

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 three 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.

I.

Adidam preserves a great treasure for the world in the form of a large collection of many forms of art. Adi Da has always actively, energetically expanded and improved the quality of that collection. One truly enjoyable means He created for doing so is the "Pazooza Puja". ["Pazoozas" is a humorous name for "money" used in a Disney Cartoon, and a "puja" is a Sacred enactment intended to bring about a specifically intended purpose.] A "Pazooza Puja" is a celebratory auctioning to devotees of art from the collection and other articles, chosen by Adi Da Himself, and often including items kept for a time in His Personal environments. These auctions are attended by devotees all over the world, either physically or via the internet, in order to raise money to purchase new items for the collection or for another sacred purpose.

Terry: In one of the early Pazooza Pujas, being caught up in the happy energy of the occasion, I heard the auctioneer proclaim, "...going three times, SOLD to Terry Cafferty!" I had just purchased a beautiful blown glass paperweight in which was finely captured the glass likeness of a deep orange-red lily flower. I was ecstatic!

The next day and the day after, however, my mood changed. I wondered how I could have been so silly as to spend money on a baseball-sized hunk of glass, beautiful or not! I was at my desk at work, feeling intense "buyer's remorse", when the phone rang. It was a dear friend who was serving at the time as Adi Da's personal secretary. She said that Adi Da had a request for me: He was hoping I would be willing to cover the original cost of the paperweight in addition to what I had bid at the auction. I immediately went into a severe emotional crunch. I was being asked for more money! I was stunned. My mind raced, calculating what I was going to pay. I was speechless for many long seconds. My friend was great...she didn't breathe a word. Nothing.

Then I got it! I burst out laughing and told her that I was happy to add the original cost of the paperweight to my pledge. My Master, always sensitive to my chronically fearful state around money, and always committed to awakening me from that state, had reached through the telephone lines into my heart to connect me with His Great Heart, the Source of True Humor, Freedom, and Happiness.

I still have that paperweight, displayed prominently in my home. It is a reminder of my Master's love.

This training in letting go of my tight hold on money was a first lesson in understanding that money is only the poor man's form of security. Two subsequent brushes with death would deepen the lesson for me, and enable me to place my trust in an Infinitely Greater Source of Security.

II.

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.

III.

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 updates 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 money is the poor man's form of security, and a form that is temporary in any case, because death intervenes even for the most wealthy and powerful. [Editor's note: Terry himself would pass in July, 2017.] The only True Security is the Infinite Grace of the Living Divine Being. I am entirely grateful to have been Given the opportunity to give back to Adi Da a miniscule fraction of What He has Given (and always already) Gives to me and to all who turn to Him in love.

Terry receiving a hug from Adi Da Samraj after giving Adi Da a hat that He loved (click picture for enlargement)