SCARRED FROM THE WAR

I boarded my flight and hoped to catch up on some rest. As I looked for my seat I noticed the man sitting next to me was an amputee. It turned out he lost his legs in a roadside blast in Iraq. I explained to him that I was a soldier too and showed him my J.D. card. He asked if I saw anything crazy there. “My friend, too much,” I responded.

He looked down and with a sad expression explained how now he drinks all the time and is very depressed. As he opened up I could see this boy was suffering intensely and was looking for something to guide him through this rough time. I said I was here to help him if he so desired it. He grabbed my hands and pleaded for help. He asked how I am dealing with the effects of combat. I started telling him how I try to take shelter of God and how I try to develop a relationship with Him within my heart.

“This body is temporary my friend’ I said, “when we die, it’s the body dying, not the soul” He stared at me with an intense look. So for the next five hours, I spoke to this man about the Bhagavad Gita. When we landed I gave him Bhagavad-gita, a Perfection of Yoga and a Science of Self Realization. He was moved to tears. He said, “I have gone to so many groups and talked to so many people, but no one wanted to help me. So, why are you opening your heart to help me?” “Well, because I have a great treasure that was given to me,” I said. “I would be a miser to keep it to myself.”

With tears in both our eyes, we exchanged hugs, and he clasped the books to his chest.

Source: BTG, Dec. 2008