Hariharananda Tapovanam (Himalayas)
December 10, 2004

My loving souls,

I had a dream a couple of days ago. It was not a prophetic, earth-shattering revelation—more like a gentle whisper in the chamber of my heart.

On the desolate, windswept face of a craggy mountain laid a woman in the throes of death while simultaneously giving birth to a baby girl. The young woman expired, leaving the newborn baby on the ground—a sickly, faint little spark of life struggling for survival in this harsh and cold world. A few steps away a man was kneeling with his arms outstretched towards an empty, gloomy sky, crying repeatedly "God, save the child, save the child O God!"

The sky softened, and a luminous Presence glowed from horizon to horizon. "Save My child, and the child will save you" whispered the wind in the ear of the prostrated young man.

Waking up suddenly in my freezing little Himalayan hut, I found tears running down my face as I kept whispering under my breath over and over "Save the child O God, save the child..." I sat up in bed, threw a blanket around my shoulders, and meditated for an hour, letting the vivid impression of the dream slowly settle into the deepest core of my being.

The symbolism was clear to me, as it embodied the spirit of the "Ark of Love". Spend some time with society's poor and abandoned little ones, and you quickly realize that this is a precious opportunity granted by the Supreme Almighty Father. By saving His children from neglect and despair, these children in turn save us from the demons of selfishness, arrogance, and God-forgetfulness. We cannot remain engrossed in our self-created misery while sharing a smile, a hug, a song, or a story with a little one.

Thank You Lord for the child. And thank You for your sinners too!

Humble,
Swami Sarveshwarananda