Attacks In Mumbai Offer A Bittersweet Gift

by Clyo Beck

The attacks in Mumbai, India offer us a bittersweet gift, should we decide to accept it. We can open to the revelation that fear does not need to be our master, and we can cultivate awareness of how God’s love lives within us, awaiting activation, should we be brave enough to answer its call.

During the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, 200 people were injured and 195 people killed. Michael Pollack and Anjali Pollack would, doubtless, be among the dead had they not been moved around and hidden by the staff of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

Staff Formed A Human Barrier

As Anjali says of the staff, “…they stood in a line…I would say, at least fifteen to twenty of them… should anything have happened they formed a human barrier between the terrorists’ shots and us while walking [us] into the chambers…”

One of the chefs came up to Anjali and said, “Don’t worry, be calm…if anything has to happen, don’t worry. I will die before you.” She said she held his hands and said, “But I don’t want you to die.”

This is a remarkable interview in which Anjali and Michael talk about what really matters in life. They are witnesses to the kindness of strangers, and the unselfishness of the Christ Within.

Note that those who put themselves in danger to save a roomful of strangers were not Christians. Yet they were people with other deeply held beliefs about the sacredness of life and their relationship to God and that cannot and should not be discounted. The love in their hearts is surely all that mattered to God in their final moments, not any religious doctrine.

As Michael Pollack said, “The real gift, beyond the second chance at life, is to have seen the selfless nature of others in a period of absolute mayhem and barbarity and to see how selfless human beings can really be and pull together as a community…it’s only something that Anjali and I can hope to try and emulate…”

Amen. May we all aspire to be the loving servants of God, as were the staff members of the Taj.

Dear God,

My faith is strong and You work Your miracles through it.
For I am One with You and You fill me with Your healing force.

Together We promote world harmony.
Together We promote personal healing of every kind.

Bless those who have shown us the way
By the valor of their unselfishness.
May we honor them
In the ways that we treat each other.
Let us give in to the valor of love.

Amen.

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