- Posts: 8
- Joined: 30 Jun 2012
Every week day in the fall of 1977, as I exited the reception area of John Andrew Hospital at Tuskegee University, I would always exchange glances with a beautiful lady with an Afro hairstyle. She would gaze at me in a very strange way, though we never knew each other. It was my first semester at Tuskegee and I was living in the dormitory across from the Veterinary School. Being a BK and strict vegetarian, arrangements were made for me to have vegetarian meals at the hospital cafeteria. I would have breakfast by 6:45 AM and by 7:15 AM I would be walking back to the dorm to collect my back pack to be early for Dr. Clarke’s Mathematics lectures. It would see the lady pass by me each morning and the strange stares did not diminish. In the winter of 1977, as I completed the intensive training in Madhuban with my Vidayshi Brothers and Sisters, Baap Bada assured me and the BK top brass that my pursuit of veterinary studies would open many avenues for service. In the Court of Indra at that time, my two lawyers were Jayanti Bhen and Hemlata bhen. They presented a strong case on my behalf to Baap Dada, who gave me the green light and blessings to pursue veterinary studies. I would today say to Jayanti bhen and Hemlata bhen: In my kingdom in all of the yugas, I will reserve a special place for you both. The avenues for service blossomed in Tuskegee and the Sister who was gazing at me mysteriously played a pivotal role in enabling service to be initiated and sustained in the South Eastern US, part of the Bible Belt. That Sister was Barbara Moore or Barbara Bhen.
I met her at a private satsang in Tuskegee and she immediately developed an interest in Raj Yoga. She told me that she would see my aura and see a powerful presence of another entity accompanying me. Dr. Bart McSwaine, a professor of psychology at Tuskegee, who had an interest in Yoga, had invited me to the satsang. There was as psychic connection established between myself and Barbara bhen and I found myself communicating with her beyond sound. By October, I began teaching Raj Yoga to faculty, students and staff at Tuskegee, while maintaining a course load of 18 credit hours, including a graduate course in Biochemistry. Barbara was one of the persistent students; another was Henry Snelling a graduate of MIT, who later did a PhD at Stanford University. Pat Harris was also another student. Pat was on leave from her PhD studies at Harvard and teaching at Tuskegee. Dr. Fannie Cooley, a professor of education and psychology at Tuskegee had organized a one hour inter-disciplinary luncheon forum, in which an expert would facilitate discussions on a variety of topics. Mine was Raj Yoga meditation, especially the psychophysiology of meditation. My first presentation took place in the fall of 1977. Denise and Chandru Bhen made their first visit to Tuskegee in the spring of 1978. It was followed by a visit by Janki Dadi in the fall of 1978. By the winter of 1979, Barbara Bhen visited Madhuban. By the fall of 1980, Barbara had her brand new home converted into a Raj Yoga Center. Mohini bhen, Jayanti bhen, Rajni Bhen and Hansa bhen have visited and done service at Tuskegee. There was also the visit of Kumaka Dadi in 1984. I can also remember the visits of Rick, Sandy and Wadi. The service in Tuskegee can be discussed in another post. I dedicate this to Barbara bhen.
Because of the center and Barbara’s pioneering work, the Who’s Who in the Black America, got the message of the BK. There are many great memories of doing service with such a special jewel. In the late spring of 1983, we were interviewed by the NBC affiliate in Montgomery, Channel 12. We, along with another Sister did a 30 minutes presentation on the psychophysiology of Raj Yoga meditation. Through her support, I was able to have great meetings of the minds with many great academics and intellectuals at Tuskegee and the South East. By the summer of 1986, I returned to Guyana, where I was appointed a veterinary officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. After almost 4.5 years in Guyana, I returned to the US and commenced graduate studies at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. There is more to this story. However, I wanted this to be a celebration of Barbara bhen’s life. In spite of her Gyani life, she was a great single mom to two fine young men. Though I was banished by the BKs in the fall of 1990, I corresponded with Barbara in 1995, during my graduate studies at the University of Illinois. At that time she informed me of her health condition and told me that she was recovering. We lost track of each other during my one year of post graduate studies in 1996/97 in London. In the early summer of 2008, I was officiating at an international science and engineering competition in Atlanta, Georgia. I visited Tuskegee for three hours. However, due to the banishment, I did not visit the center. During the Christmas Holiday of 2011, Garfield and Ray informed me that Barbara bhen had made her transition. A stalwart pioneer of BK Raj Yoga has made her transition.
Errol
I met her at a private satsang in Tuskegee and she immediately developed an interest in Raj Yoga. She told me that she would see my aura and see a powerful presence of another entity accompanying me. Dr. Bart McSwaine, a professor of psychology at Tuskegee, who had an interest in Yoga, had invited me to the satsang. There was as psychic connection established between myself and Barbara bhen and I found myself communicating with her beyond sound. By October, I began teaching Raj Yoga to faculty, students and staff at Tuskegee, while maintaining a course load of 18 credit hours, including a graduate course in Biochemistry. Barbara was one of the persistent students; another was Henry Snelling a graduate of MIT, who later did a PhD at Stanford University. Pat Harris was also another student. Pat was on leave from her PhD studies at Harvard and teaching at Tuskegee. Dr. Fannie Cooley, a professor of education and psychology at Tuskegee had organized a one hour inter-disciplinary luncheon forum, in which an expert would facilitate discussions on a variety of topics. Mine was Raj Yoga meditation, especially the psychophysiology of meditation. My first presentation took place in the fall of 1977. Denise and Chandru Bhen made their first visit to Tuskegee in the spring of 1978. It was followed by a visit by Janki Dadi in the fall of 1978. By the winter of 1979, Barbara Bhen visited Madhuban. By the fall of 1980, Barbara had her brand new home converted into a Raj Yoga Center. Mohini bhen, Jayanti bhen, Rajni Bhen and Hansa bhen have visited and done service at Tuskegee. There was also the visit of Kumaka Dadi in 1984. I can also remember the visits of Rick, Sandy and Wadi. The service in Tuskegee can be discussed in another post. I dedicate this to Barbara bhen.
Because of the center and Barbara’s pioneering work, the Who’s Who in the Black America, got the message of the BK. There are many great memories of doing service with such a special jewel. In the late spring of 1983, we were interviewed by the NBC affiliate in Montgomery, Channel 12. We, along with another Sister did a 30 minutes presentation on the psychophysiology of Raj Yoga meditation. Through her support, I was able to have great meetings of the minds with many great academics and intellectuals at Tuskegee and the South East. By the summer of 1986, I returned to Guyana, where I was appointed a veterinary officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. After almost 4.5 years in Guyana, I returned to the US and commenced graduate studies at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. There is more to this story. However, I wanted this to be a celebration of Barbara bhen’s life. In spite of her Gyani life, she was a great single mom to two fine young men. Though I was banished by the BKs in the fall of 1990, I corresponded with Barbara in 1995, during my graduate studies at the University of Illinois. At that time she informed me of her health condition and told me that she was recovering. We lost track of each other during my one year of post graduate studies in 1996/97 in London. In the early summer of 2008, I was officiating at an international science and engineering competition in Atlanta, Georgia. I visited Tuskegee for three hours. However, due to the banishment, I did not visit the center. During the Christmas Holiday of 2011, Garfield and Ray informed me that Barbara bhen had made her transition. A stalwart pioneer of BK Raj Yoga has made her transition.
Errol