A Migraine Miracle

As a teenager and college student, I occasionally got extremely bad migraine headaches. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their occurrence. They could last anywhere from several hours to a couple of days.

One very hot day in New York, all the disciples went to a local track and field for our annual Sports Day. At that time we held this event every August in honour of Guru’s birthday, his youthful athletic prowess, and the importance he placed on his own disciples’ physical fitness.

It was my first Sports Day, and I was excited, but I also became dehydrated. Between that, the bright sunshine, and the vicious heat, I started developing a migraine. And I had no painkillers with me, or any way of getting some.

I immediately got more water and lay down on a hillside with my hat over my face, but the migraine had gone past the point of no return and it kept getting worse. I just endured, feeling guilty for wanting the day with Guru to end, but I was in such pain that all I could do was hang on and wait.

At long last the competitions ended. I agonizingly got up and went to join all the disciples who were gathering around Guru in a big semi-circle on the grass for the awards ceremony. My head was pounding like a hammer on an anvil with every heartbeat, and I was utterly nauseous. I just wanted it all to be over.

Finally it was, and prasad (a food offering, blessed by Guru) was brought out. At that point even the idea of food made me sick to my stomach, but I thought, “I can’t not take prasad from Guru.” So I took the smallest thing that I could—a cookie—and took the tiniest possible bite, then waited a minute and did it again. And again. A minute or two later I was still fine, so I risked a larger bite. No problem.

Very slowly I ate the whole cookie, and I started feeling better. My nausea was abating, and the headache itself actually started disappearing! Never had one of my migraines gone away without running its full course, but this one was breaking up rapidly like a wisp of cloud dissipating in a clear blue sky. Within about fifteen to twenty minutes, as we were all leaving the field, the headache was completely gone. By the time I got a ride back to the place I was staying, not only had the migraine disappeared, but I was flooded from head to toe with an almost indescribable sensation of absolute physical well-being.

The Master’s invisible miracles
Far outrun
His visible miracles.

Sri Chinmoy 1

• 1. Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 49, Agni Press, 2008