Rainbow on My Heart

Sanbornton, N. H. :
Sant Bani Ashram, 2002
xiv - 314 pages
ISBN 0-89142-049-5

Contents

Preface, by Kent Bicknell
Introduction, by Russell Perkins

1. Meeting the Saint
2. Not a Leaf Stirs
3. Going to Receive Sant Ji
4. The First Tour
5. South America
6. Return to New Hampshire
7. Spiritual Vanity
8. Spiritual Surgery
9. The Ocean of Love
10. Epilogue

From the author's preface

The following account is personal narrative of the early years of the mission of Sant Ajaib Singh, covering 1976 through 1979. Through what Sant Ji described as "luck," I was given the opportunity to travel with Him on tours to South America, and to stay in His house when He resided at Sant Bani Ashram in New Hampshire. From the beginning, Sant Ji encouraged me to learn Hindi - and while I never became fluent in the spoken word, I was able to write directly to Him and to read His letters to me. When Sant Ji's mission was in its earliest phases -- before we even thought of it as a "mission" -- I was given much access to Him.

The narrative is not a history per se, as it focuses on my growth and development. That, of itself, is of limited interest. The way that Sant Ji, the Master Teacher, taught me the lessons I needed is what readers may find instructive and inspiring. Master Kirpal Singh and Sant Ajaib Singh have never stopped showering Their love and infinite care down upon me. In the routine of my day-to-day life, it can be very easy to lose sight of the magic of the universe - of the divine forces at work behind the scenes. A focus of the book is the extraordinary power and reach of the Masters - Who come into this world to awaken us by showering Love and Grace upon us. The book stands as a testament to that - not just in my life, but in the lives of my family, friends, and both the Sant Bani Ashram and the Sant Bani School.

The title of the book, Rainbow On My Heart, was suggested by a specific incident in June of 1977, in Vermont, described in Chapter Four. I think also of the Sant Bani School, whose beginnings were sealed with a double rainbow. This summer, while I was in the midst of working on the book, a freak storm swept by our cottage on Newfound Lake. As fast as the tempest came, it was gone, leaving behind a double rainbow that hung almost within reach. I hold these to be more than physical manifestations of the natural world. They are visual unfoldings of the covenants of God.

The narrative describes meeting Sant Ji in 1976, visiting the Ashram in India, and the First World Tour of 1977 (Chapters One through Six). Chapters Seven and Eight speak of my own misguided attempts to become truly spiritual, and Sant Ji's loving guidance directing me back to my old self. Chapter Nine centers on two areas: the unfolding of the English translation of the Anurag Sagar [The Ocean of Love] the great spiritual text of Sant Kabir Sahib; and the wonder of it all as shared with a nine year old boy, my son Chris. Chapter Ten is a short epilogue.