(Told by an Ananda devotee)
I had suffered a severe disappointment and was living under a cloud of sadness that I couldn’t seem to shake. I found comfort in the words of St. Teresa of Avila: “Let nothing disturb you, nothing affright you. All things will pass, but God changes not.”
Teresa is a popular saint at Ananda, and several people had set the words to music, but the melodies expressed the sadness of life, not the underlying joy.
I was talking with Swamiji about my disappointment and my love for Teresa’s prayer. “I want to chant it as well as say it,” I said, “but the melodies we have are depressing.”
“Would you write down the words?” he said. I was touched by his sensitive concern for my small desire.
We were sitting in his living room, and his coffee table was covered with papers and correspondence awaiting his attention. I wrote down the words, but as I added my piece of paper to the heap I thought, “It will be a long time before he gets to this.”
Imagine my surprise and gratitude when Swamiji called at eight the next morning. It was my birthday. He said, “I have something for you.” Then, over the phone, he sang St. Teresa’s prayer with the lilting, joyful, perfect new melody that he had written.
Singing that prayer, and feeling Swamiji’s love behind it, helped turn the tide. The cloud of sadness soon melted away.