by John Nelson
Marsha Singh was in her late fifties, short but buxom, her skin lighter than most native East Indians, but definitely a daughter of that country. She glanced up from Maggie’s questionnaire forms, squinting over the top of her thin black-framed glasses. She stood and stepped around her desk to greet them.
“Ms. Langford, Anna, it’s wonderful to finally meet the two of you.”
She shook hands with Maggie and like James Edwards, Marsha squatted to exchange eye-to-eye contact with Anna. “My dear, I am so sorry that your siddhis have been called into question.”
Anna smiled and looked intently at the doctor but didn’t respond. Dr. Singh stood up and had them sit in the chairs set out in front of her desk, Anna’s with a booster chair in it.
“I’ve had extensive talks with James and Sri Ma hi’ Ma, my own guru, and understand the situation somewhat, but it’s always good to get a firsthand account.” Maggie nodded her head. “So Anna, I am told that you have a spirit guide, Joseph, and that you are able to shift yourself and others into his presence in”—she glanced down at her notes, then looked back up at Anna—“some kind of astral park setting.”
“Yes, but just our spirit bodies. You like to go there?”
Singh wasn’t at all alarmed by this suggestion. “Yes, but not now.” She turned to Maggie. “I need to evaluate your daughter objectively, and such an exhibition could be taken by others as a kind of subjective psychic contamination.”
Maggie nodded her head. “Which is what the other side will no doubt claim she does to others.”
“Yes, I believe that may be their position, Maggie—if I can call you that?” She nodded her head. “But, let me ask Anna, when was the first time you visited Joseph there?”
“I, in my crib, not able to talk yet. Very hard. There I in spirit body and… older.”
“I see.” Singh turned to Maggie. “I’ve been told by Ma that the two of you were also transported there and can both attest to the validity of this experience?”
“Many times for me,” Maggie added.
Singh nodded her head. “Well, I must admit that in my forty years dealing with people’s spiritual experiences, I’ve never come across such a display of… spiritual prowess, I guess you could call it. I mean, in India you hear of yogis who can bilocate, levitate, and whatnot, but from a strictly Western psychological perspective, this would be inconceivable to most.”
Maggie leaned forward in her chair. “But not to you, I hope.”
Dr. Singh shook her head. “No, not in the least. I have personally had such experiences in the dream state, but from a strictly conscious point of view, it does blur the lines.”
Anna smiled. “Everything one anyway.”
Singh chuckled. “Yes, my dear, but most people prefer a discrete separation of their… realities.”
“Or, what Joseph says, until… mind let go,” Anna said.
“Yes, but the premature… letting go of the mind by some fills this hospital’s psyche wards,” Singh said.
“And what the educators and their doctors might feel has happened to Anna and would happen to others exposed to her,” Maggie said.
Dr. Singh sat back in her chair. “That is very astute, Maggie.” She paused. “Yes, but we must understand their concerns, not dismiss them outright, and just claim religious superiority.”
Maggie nodded her head. “Yes, of course. So, where do we start?”
“We need to run a series of standardized tests to determine if Anna’s advance spiritual practices have affected her emotional stability, or made her in any way delusional or… sorry to say, psychotic, and verify that her mental development has been unaffected.” She paused, but seeing Maggie’s concern, added, “None of which I’m sure is the case here.”
“And if cleared, it may make the case that exposure to her and her practices will not be harmful to others.”
Dr. Singh nodded her head again. “Yes, but I believe, to assuage their concerns, that Anna like any spiritual master must use her powers… more discretely.”
Anna said, “Yes, Doctor. You right. I wrong to take class to see Joseph, even he say so.”
“That’s a good start, Anna. I think we’ll make quick work of this, and that by the end of the day, I’ll have all I need to make my case.”
“Okay, let’s do it,” Maggie said somewhat relieved and impressed by the doctor as well.
Maggie and Anna were taken to a conference room with a long table, where an associate psychologist, Dr. David Shaw, a studious-looking man in his early thirties with lightly shaded eyeglasses, sat down across from them and handed Maggie the first of many questionnaires. When he didn’t stand up and leave, Maggie asked, “So you’re staying?”
“Yes, after you’ve finished filling out the parental questionnaire, I need to ask questions of Anna directly.”
Maggie nodded her head. “Yes, of course.”
The first questionnaire was in regard to her assessment of Anna’s moods and if she ever had emotional outbursts, became dejected and sullenly withdrawn, or ever acted impulsively. There were some fifty questions along this line, but Maggie was able to quickly to check them off since Anna had such an even temperament. There were a few more questionnaires that went deeper into her own assessment of Anna’s emotional stability, but were just as easy for her to answer. Dr. Shaw read over and graded each questionnaire as she finished it. Then, it was time for him to ask Anna a few questions.
David picked up the next questionnaire to fill out himself and asked, “Anna, do you ever feel sad?”
“Yes, when I see how people suffer.”
“Does that make you feel hopeless?”
“No. I know all people come back to God in the end.”
David looked up from the form and studied her for a moment, and then made a notation. “Are you sometimes frustrated when others don’t share your beliefs?”
Anna shook her head. “No. Everyone say same thing in own words.”
David continued along this line for another dozen questions, and when he was finished, picked up another questionnaire. He stared at her for a long moment. “Anna, do you see things that are not there?”
Anna smiled. “I see things that are there but others can’t see.”
David chuckled. “Yes, of course. Very good.” He paused, then went on to the next question. “Are you able to talk with and interact with… nonmaterial beings?”
It took Anna a moment to decipher this question. “Yes, I do.”
“When did this… interaction start?”
“When I was a small baby.”
David looked over at Maggie, who only nodded her head. “Okay. Do you sometimes wish you could stay with them and not come back?”
“Yes, but I miss Mommy and Bodhi, and I like it here. The sun is warm on your skin, the wind blows through your hair, and there is ice cream.”
David chuckled again. “Yes, let’s not forget ice cream.” He looked down at the next questionnaire and up at Anna. “Okay, now for a few hard questions.”
Anna smiled. “I like answer questions.”
“Good, Anna.” David paused. “If someone tried to hurt your mother, what would you do?”
Anna felt her way through this quagmire of a question. “I send them so much love, they not harm anybody.”
“But, what if that didn’t work and they still tried to harm her?”
“I step between, die instead, because I know this body not me.” David nodded his head. “Or, we run away very fast, and not make bad karma for them.”
“But you would not… stop them in any way?” he asked tentatively.
“Not good to…”
Maggie added, “Interfere?”
“Yes, Mama. To interfere with people’s… free will, or so says Joseph?”
“Joseph?”
“My spirit guide.”
David let out a sigh and then sat back in his chair. He turned to Maggie. “I’ve been testing children for years, and your daughter is… no child, more lik
e the Dali Lama in a child’s body.”
“Well, let’s not tell the school board that, or they’ll think you’ve been… psychically contaminated, as I believe Dr. Singh cautioned.”
David nodded his head and continued with even harder questions for a while longer, and then he administered a child’s IQ test, which, after he graded it, he could only shake his head in astonishment. They finished after three hours, and Maggie was told to take a lunch break, and when they came back, Dr. Singh would talk with her. There was a Nepali/Indian restaurant within walking distance, and they went there for lunch. When they finished and returned to Dr. Singh’s office, Anna was able to take a nap in the children’s break room. Maggie sat in the doctor’s waiting room while she finished reviewing Anna’s test results and Dr. Shaw’s notes.
After fifteen minutes, Dr. Singh stuck her head out the door and waved Maggie inside. Her receptionist was apparently on her lunch break. Maggie noticed boxes of half-eaten Chinese takeout on a nearby table. After they were seated, Singh looked up with a big smile on her face. “Maggie, was your daughter’s IQ ever tested?”
“Well, no, since she’s been outside the school system.”
“She has a 140 IQ, or thereabouts. It’s more difficult to ascertain with children, given their limited language skills, but both David and I feel that this is a fair assessment.”
“But, I thought the problem here was ascertaining her emotional stability.”
“Yes, of course, and she passed those tests with flying colors. High scores in all areas, and not a thing to concern you or anybody else about, but you have to realize that intelligence is the holy grail of any school system, and evidence of it will make… personal eccentricities more acceptable.”
“So, we have an ace in the hole.”
“Yes, I feel we do, but when you return home, I’d like you to take Anna to a child psychologist and have them administer an independent IQ test, but only that.”
Maggie nodded her head. “I understand. So, what’s next?”
“Well, we have what we need at this end to make our case and file a report for James Edwards, and so you’re free to leave and drive up to the ashram. I’m sure Ma has plans to add another layer of religious protection for young Anna. If you’re staying the whole weekend, I may come up to soak up more of her wonderful energy.”
“That would be nice, doctor.” Maggie paused. “I see on the form that your services aren’t being billed?”
“Oh, James was going to pay for it, but it’s my pleasure to be of any assistance to you and your daughter… anytime.”
Anna stepped into the office rubbing her eyes. Singh walked around and knelt down to greet her. “Have a nice nap?”
She nodded her head, then reached out and took the woman’s hand and gave her a charge of energy that she would never forget. “Payment in full,” Singh would later tell James Edwards.
Chapter 30
It was late afternoon on a Friday, and so Maggie decided to start driving to the ashram to beat some of the city’s evening rush-hour traffic. Fortunately they were heading north, not west to San Francisco, or east to Sacramento, but they did get caught up in the traffic on Interstate 80 heading to the Six Flags Amusement Park. Once they turned off onto Route 29, they were slowed down somewhat by local traffic but were able to reach Napa Valley by 6:30, where they stopped for dinner. While the ashram was only twenty-five miles north of here, the evening meal would be over by now and Maggie didn’t want to impose on them. There was a vegetarian restaurant here that the devotees would sometimes drive to on the weekends, and they stopped there for soup and salads. While they were finishing up, Maggie received a call from Guru.
“Maggie, are we seeing you this evening?”
“Yes, Ma. We’re in Napa Valley just finishing up dinner, and should be there in forty minutes.”
“Very well. I’ve had your room prepared, but would like to see you before you retire for the evening.”
“Yes Ma, of course.”
“I’ll have Prema keep an eye out for you. Until then.”
When they arrived, Prema escorted them to see Ma in the temple room. She was sitting in meditation with several of her attendants, but could sense the shift of energy in the room when Anna stepped inside. She opened her eyes and held her arms open for Anna to rush up and jump onto her lap. The others stood, bowed in homage, and left.
“My little bundle of bliss.”
“That’s me, Ma. Annananda, bliss supreme.”
Ma shook her head and glanced down at Maggie seated cross-legged on a pillow. “How do you keep things from her?”
“Well, James did mention the name, and of course we know Ananda is Hindu for bliss or happiness.”
Ma looked down at Anna. “So, you are fine with becoming a Swamini?”
“Joseph say follow guide of those sent to nurture my… unfolding.” Ma nodded her head.
Maggie asked, “What kind of ceremony are you planning?”
“I’ve talked with James, and he feels that the bibidisa, or the full ceremony, is needed.” Ma paused for a moment and then continued, “Know that this is a death ceremony, or death to one’s old self, and will include the fire ritual, a kind of symbolic funeral or purification rite, but given Anna’s elevated status, it’s more for external show.” Ma paused again and tentatively added, “James would like us to film the ceremony.”
Maggie shook her head. “Take still photos, but a film will get onto YouTube, and create too much notoriety.” She paused, then added, “And please make an announcement of such for those with cell phone cameras.”
Ma stared at Maggie for a long moment. “As you wish, but this will not be a sannyasa, or mantra diksha, initiation. Swami Vinanda agrees with me that Anna is fully self-realized, and should bear the name Sri Annananda Ma, and as such is required to give her ‘blessing’ at the end of the ceremony—all of which will be hard to contain.”
“Especially if she heals everybody present,” Maggie said with mild irritation.
Ma began to reply, but Anna added, “I not control energy. I give it out, and it does what it does.”
Maggie nodded her head. “And this will happen tomorrow?”
“No. We want to give you a day of rest and thoroughly go over the ceremony with the two of you.”
“And allow time for the word to get out,” Maggie added.
Ma smiled indulgently. “This is a joyous occasion, my dear.”
“Yes, of course.”
Anna slipped off Guru’s lap and stepped down to sit next to her mother, but Maggie beat her to the punch line. “I know, ‘Don’t worry, be happy.’”
Anna smiled and patted her mother on the arm for reassurance.
That night Maggie dreamed that her daughter was sitting on a park bench, and then the clouds parted and a stream of intense bright light shown on her, filled with circling doves. She woke up and patted Anna on the head. It all seemed to be decreed from on high, and she just needed to go with the flow.
After morning tea, Prema came for them and they were taken to the temple room. Ma had written out, even before they arrived yesterday, the ceremony’s format and handed Maggie a copy for her to read. Since only a swami could initiate one into the dasanami order with its lineage, Ma would conduct the ceremony but would be aided by several esteemed swamis and swaminis from ashrams up and down the West Coast.
“Did you send out an alert?” Maggie asked.
“No, but as I said, the yogi grapevine was abuzz, and I’ve gotten several calls this week from spiritual adepts, and it only adds to the authenticity of the ceremony for one so young.”
Maggie nodded her head, but if these swamis heard about it, she could imagine their devotees swarming the ashram ceremony. She posed that question to Ma.
Ma replied, “I told them they could come, but only my ashram devotees were allowed inside the compound for the ceremony, including James Edwards and Marsha Singh.”
“Thank you.”
“The first orde
r will be my asking Anna if she has gotten permission from her mother to enter the order.”
Anna looked up at her mother. “Do I, Mama?”
Maggie nodded her head. “Yes, but you can’t leave home and join the yogi circus.”
Anna and Ma laughed, and this lightened the mood. “Yes,” Ma added, “but the question still needs to be part of the ceremony.”
Maggie said, “I’ll leave out the circus bit.”
Ma smiled. “Next will be the agreed upon external and internal renunciations, or tyaga and vairagya. I know Anna is a little young to consider renouncing worldly pleasures and positions and her attachment to them—”
“No. I not too young. I do not wish pleasures or positions, money or… fame.”
Ma looked agape at Anna. “My dear, these are the three eshanas that are usually renounced. Is this ceremony not new to you?”
“No, Ma. I… initiate you and Mama in other lives.”
Ma let out a deep sigh and turned to Maggie. “This ceremony is going to be quite monumental.”
The swamis and swaminis started to arrive later that afternoon. Prema was sent to gather Anna and Maggie for introductions, prior to the evening meal. Anna was installed on the pillow next to Ma on her dais and greeted the holy men and women who had come for her initiatory ceremony. Some stood, others sat cross-legged on pillows, but all engaged Anna curious as to the legitimacy of Ma hi’ Ma’s claims of her self-realized status. Anna answered all their inquiries with spiritually astute replies if in a childlike manner, and after a while they all bowed to the Spirit alive in young Anna Jane Langford. Maggie stood back and listened to her daughter and knew that the true nature of her being could not be contained now, and despite pledges to honor her right to privacy as a child, that the world would soon know of her and beat a path to their door. Maggie wondered if moving to India was not indeed a better option.
That night, after an elaborate dinner where Anna sat with Ma at the head of the table, they retired to their quarters. After Anna’s bath, Maggie tucked her into their bed, but before she could leave, Anna grabbed her hand. “I know you’re afraid of people knowing of me, but as you say, maybe why I was born here.”