All World
Gayatri Pariwar

It was the first year of my pilgrimage and I was somewhere along the highway between El Paso and Dallas when I was picked up for vagrancy. I have never heard of the FBI investigating people for vagrancy but I was. A man in a black car stopped and showed me his badge. He didn’t even demand that I come with him, he just said, “Will you come with me?” I said, “Oh yes. I’ll be interested in talking with you.” I got into his car, but first I scratched a large ‘X’ on the highway where I had been picked up. During the time I was counting miles, if I left the highway I would make a large ‘X’ and then return to the spot to begin my walk anew.

He took me to this prison and said, “Book her for vagrancy,” and I went through the routine. They first take you in for fingerprinting. I was fascinated because I never had fingerprints taken before—or since! He then took a chemical and, just like that, he got all the black ink off my fingers. When I was wondering how long it would take to wash it off, it was off.

I spoke to him just as I would speak to anybody I was with, and something interesting happened. Apparently he was used to being treated in a very uncooperative manner. When I treated him like a human being he gave me a lecture on fingerprinting and he showed me the charts. It was very interesting. I had really not learned that much about fingerprinting before. People were waiting in line, but I didn’t know that until I came out of the room and saw the long line.

Then they took me in to be photographed and hung a number around my neck with a chain. When they were photographing me from the front and side, I remembered all those pictures of wanted people you see in the post office. I remembered how mad they all looked, and I said to myself, “Let me be different.” And I smiled as sweetly as I could. There’s one smiling face somewhere in rogue’s gallery!

Then they took me in to be questioned. They actually sat me under a strong light—it’s supposed to have a psychological effect on you. But I had already been on television at that time, and I said to myself, “Do they really think this is a strong light? They should see the lights in a television studio!” At that time TV lights were not only bright but hot.

They first asked me if I would answer any question, and I said, “Certainly, I will answer your questions. Not because you are law enforcement officers, but because you are fellow human beings, and I answer the questions of all my fellow human beings. Whatever you are in your official capacity, you are first and foremost a human being. And if we could get together as human being to human being we can get done much faster.”

And it ended up that way!

They began with the confusing technique. One would fire a question at me. Before I could answer the other would fire a question at me. I had to keep saying, “If you will pardon me for a moment while I answer the other gentleman’s question.” Then they got down to meaningful questions such as college students ask me. How I warmed up to the subject!

Then they referred to physical violence as being the intent to hurt. They said, “Would you under any circumstances use or sanction the use of physical violence?” I said, “No, this is contrary to God’s laws. I would rather have God on my side than any power on earth.” I told them the story of the disturbed teenage boy who hit me during our walk together.

Then they said, “Suppose it was necessary for you to defend a loved one?” I said, “Oh, no, I do not believe I could defend a loved one by disobeying Divine Law.” I told them about the eight year old girl who had been left in my care and the experience we had with the psychologically sick man who tried to harm her.

Then they got into things very philosophical and said, “If you had to choose between killing and being killed, which would you choose?” I answered, “I don’t think I would need to make such a choice—not as long as my life remains in harmony with God’s will. Unless, of course, it was my calling to be a martyr. Now, that’s a very high calling, it’s a very rare calling. I don’t believe it’s my calling— but the world learns to grow through its martyrs. If I had to make a choice, I would choose to be killed rather than kill.”

They said, “Could you give a logical explanation for such an attitude?” Here I was, attempting to explain the attitude of the self-centered nature and the attitude of the God-centered nature so they could understand it! I told them that in my frame of reference I was not the body. I was just wearing the body. I am that which activates the body—that’s the reality. If I am killed, it destroys merely the clay garment, the body. But if I kill, it injures the reality, the soul!

And they put me down as having a religious basis for my pilgrimage. But suppose I had said, “After all, you’ve heard of self-defense— why, even the law recognizes self-defense.” This might have been considered legal—but not religious.

There was an occasion when I felt that I was indeed battling with the elements. It was my experience of walking through a dust storm which sometimes blew with such force I could scarcely stand against it, while sometimes the dust was so thick I could not see ahead and could only guide myself by the edge of the road. A policeman stopped alongside me, threw open his car door and yelled, “Get in here, woman, before you get killed.” I told him I was walking a pilgrimage and did not accept rides (at that time). I also told him that God was my shield and there was nothing to fear. At that moment the winds died down, the dust settled and the sun broke from the clouds. I continued to walk. But the wonderful thing was that I felt spiritually lifted above the hardship.

Concealed in every new situation we face is a spiritual lesson to be learned and a spiritual blessing for us if we learn that lesson. It is good to be tested. We grow and learn through passing tests. I look upon all my tests as good experiences. Before I was tested, I believed I would act in a loving or non-fearing way. After I was tested, I knew! Every test turned out to be an uplifting experience. And it is not important that the outcome be according to our wishes.

I remember one experience when it said in the local newspaper I was going to speak at a church service. It showed my picture — front and back, wearing my lettered tunic. A man who belonged to that church was simply horrified to discover that this creature wearing a lettered tunic was about to speak at his church. He called his preacher about it, and he called his friends about it. Somebody told me who he was. I felt so sorry that I had somehow offended a man that I didn’t even know. So, I called him!

“This is Peace Pilgrim calling,” I said. I could hear him gasp. Afterward he told me that he thought I had called to bawl him out. I said, “I have called to apologize to you because evidently I must have done something to offend you, since without even knowing me you have been apprehensive about my speaking at your church. Therefore I feel I must somehow owe you an apology and I have called to apologize!”

Do you know that man was in tears before the conversation was over? And now we’re friends— he corresponded with me afterward. Yes, the law of love works!

Another man once said to me, “I’m surprised at the kind of person you are. After reading your very serious message on the way of peace I expected you to be a very solemn person, but instead I find you bubbling over with joy.” I said to him, “Who could know God and not be joyous?”

If you have a long face and a chip on your shoulder, if you are not radiant with joy and friendliness, if you are not filled to overflowing with love and goodwill for all beings and all creatures and all creation, one thing is certain: you do not know God!

Also, life is like a mirror. Smile at it and it smiles back at you. I just put a big smile on my face and everyone smiles back. If you love people enough, they will respond lovingly. If I offend people, I blame myself, for I know that if my conduct had been correct, they would not have been offended even though they did not agree with me. Before the tongue can speak, it must have lost the power to wound. [Reproduced with glad consent of the publishers – Friends of Peace Pilgrim]