Mallika Chopra: March 2008 Archives

4000 US soldiers dead. The number of Iraqi's - citizens, children - not even quantified. I challenge you to type the numbers... I almost gave up at 282, thinking this is a waste of time, then reminded myself that each one was an individual, with a family, who had dreams and aspirations. Who was 1483, 2567, 321, 3999? What was their story? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ...

I walked into a room where my mother sat, taking just a moment for herself. We were in Costa Rica for a conference, and until 15 minutes before, she had watched my kids for two days so I could attend meetings. She was finally taking a moment for herself.

I told her that we needed help.

My mother got up, headed to her hotel room, and within two hours was on a plane to Atlanta to help my brother and his wife take care of their baby.

This is my mother. This is what a Mother represents and means to me.

Full of love. Always sacrificing herself. Always willing to give with no expectation to receive.

This is my mother.

Last night, I took my daughters to watch my father at his book signing at the local Barnes and Noble for his new book, The Third Jesus. . They were so thrilled to see "Nana" talking in front of people, and Tara, my six year old, whispered to me excitedly, "He told all of them that we were his grandchildren!!" Leela, my three year old, was most interested in pretending to color during his short talk, even though she knew so many people were watching her.

After my father finished speaking, we rushed out to get the kids home to bed. A young man - probably a college student - rushed up to us as we were heading out.

He asked me, "Are you Deepak's daughter?"

"Yes," I replied.

He opened his notebook, looked at his scribbles, and asked, "Did he say that Jesus Christ is actually ourselves?"

I smiled. The thing is for some reason, many people think my brother and I are authorities on mind/body medicine, ayurveda, consciousness, vedanta, physics, spirituality in general and in all its forms, and now, of course, Jesus Christ. Alas, if only people knew how little we know!!

"I'm not sure what his exact quote was," I replied, "But, in essence, I think that is what he was saying. That we all are part of, have God inside us."

The guy looked at me in awe. I seriously thought he was going to cry. "Dude." He paused. "That's just so fucking awesome."

He looked back at his notes, and I made my escape.

"Mommy, I guess he liked Nana's words." Tara chimed in. "Isn't that nice?"

I was grateful that my daughter, for the first time, had seen and realized the power of her grandfathers words, and I was proud of her and my father.

I guess so, I smiled. And we headed home.