22 Jun 2009

A storm in Maui

As Swami Vishwananda and some monks were in Maui at the Hotel one quiet night, a huge storm decided to invade the island. We watched the torrential rain pour down from our windows. Our apartment was on the ground floor so we went outside to investigate. We could only see the light of the Hotel’s garden lamps and the streetlights, for the vision of everything else was blurred by the torrents of water bucketing down. We were amazed at the vision of this spectacle of Nature. The rain was warm and so there was also a playful element in the air. The thunder roared and lightning streaks lit up the sky. We went with Swami Vishwananda for a second time outside and we noticed that the rainwater had started to accumulate in the street in front of our door. As the storm grew in fury, it soon became alarming for us and hence Swami Vishwananda went outside a third time. The water level because of this heavy rain was now so high that soon our apartment would start to be flooded. Swami Vishwananda suddenly looked up at the sky and in fury shouted at the elements, “Stop now! Stop it!”  At this very moment, the storm decreased dramatically in strength! The rain reduced, bit by bit so that within seconds, it had completely stopped! Not a single drop! We all thankfully went back into our apartments and awoke the next morning to a bright sunny day. We laughed as we saw in the morning newspaper that some places of the island had suffered from a freak storm the previous night.