for you." I arrived one evening, holding my chain of flowers. But
shyly he drew away, repeatedly refusing the honor. Perceiving my
hurt, he finally smiled consent.

"Since we are both devotees of the Mother, you may put the garland
on this bodily temple, as offering to Her who dwells within." His
vast nature lacked space in which any egotistical consideration
could gain foothold.

[Illustration: Two Brothers of Therese Neumann, I stand with them
in Konnersreuth, Bavaria.--see nbrothers.jpg]

[Illustration: Master Mahasaya, Ever engrossed in his blissful
cosmic romance.--see mmahasaya.jpg]

"Let us go tomorrow to the Dakshineswar Temple, forever hallowed
by my guru." Master Mahasaya was a disciple of a Christlike master,
Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

The four-mile journey on the following morning was taken by boat
on the Ganges. We entered the nine-domed Temple of Kali, where the
figures of the Divine Mother and Shiva rest on a burnished silver
lotus, its thousand petals meticulously chiseled. Master Mahasaya
beamed in enchantment. He was engaged in his inexhaustible romance
with the Beloved. As he chanted Her name, my enraptured heart seemed
shattered into a thousand pieces.

We strolled later through the sacred precincts, halting in a
tamarisk grove. The manna characteristically exuded by this tree
was symbolic of the heavenly food Master Mahasaya was bestowing.