I Need Your Help

[Listen to Asha read this story]

(Told by an Ananda devotee)

For 29 years, I was afflicted with a terrible addiction. Not merely a habit, but an addiction, something I needed every day. I tried therapy, 12-Step programs, affirmations, will power. Nothing worked.

When I got on the path, I read everything Master said about overcoming temptation and changing habits. Still the addiction was unbeatable, stronger than anything I could throw at it.

When I confided to an Ananda friend, she responded, “Have you asked Swamiji to help you?”

“I wrote to him several times,” I said.

“Just writing to him isn’t enough. What I’m asking is: Have you opened your heart to him? Have you asked him to give you the strength to overcome this? Have you prayed to Swamiji?”

I hadn’t done any of those things so I decided I would try. That night in meditation when it was time to pray, words came to me with such intensity I felt that they were praying me.

“Dear Swamiji,” I said, “I can’t do this alone. I need your help. I know you can help me.”

For the first time I understood what Jesus meant when he said, “Pray believing.” I knew that Swamiji could help me.

A few days after I began that prayer, 29 years of addiction ended. The desire completely disappeared. In the years since then I haven’t had a single symptom, not an urge, not even a temptation.

About six months later, I greeted Swamiji after a Sunday Service and thanked him again for the help he had given me. He held my eyes with a penetrating gaze. When he spoke, I felt as if a surge of electricity came into me, bathing me with his protection and courage.

“Don’t ever give up,” Swamiji said. “Keep at it with every ounce of your being. Know that Master is blessing you.”