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Carrots and Obstacles
My next trip to Swami was in August 1989, accompanied by Sharon and our four daughters. I was to enjoy another scrumptious tasting in this grand drama that I called “Russian Around for Nothing.” From the start, Swami was very responsive and loving to me. On the first day, he called me to him and asked, “Where are the Russian scientists?” I whispered back, “Swami, they are in Russia.”
The next day, Swami again asked me, “How are the Russian scientists?” Surprised by his question, I replied, “Swami, you told me not to bring them, so I have not been in touch with them and do not know how they are doing.”
Then on a third occasion Swami asked, “How are the Russian scientists?” There was a smile on his face. Seeing his obvious interest, I asked, “Swami, should I bring them?” He said, “Yes, bring them.” He later told me to bring the Russians for the next Guru Purnima holiday in July 1990.
What joy! An assignment that I knew would keep me close to him and that would be exciting and fun. Even though I had been frustrated during my last Russian adventure, when the Russians seemed interested in a trip, but Swami was not, I was happy to get this assignment directly from Swami.
But what was I to do? There was lile time before the Guru Purnima holiday to contact the psychiatrists, let alone find them. If I did make contact, would they be ready, willing, and able to make the trip in just a few short months?
When I returned home, I made a call to Dr. Belkin in Moscow. Not only were the Russian psychiatrists eager to visit Swami, but also the timing was perfect. We could meet in a few weeks to make plans when Dr. Belkin and his colleagues would be aending a psychiatric conference in San Francisco. They were presenting their findings at a large psychiatric meeting concerning posraumatic stress disorder in Russian troops fighting in Afghanistan. Conveniently, San Francisco is just a short plane ride from my home.
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