The Education of a Non-Believer 131"Tell me about it, and we'll analyze it."
"I was involved in a lot of Vietnam peace demonstra
tions then. They weren't unusual; it was happening in
colleges all over the United States and was typical of my
generation.
I'd been arrested several times while taking part in
these demonstrations.
On this particular day, as I left my mother's house,
she warned me very sternly that if she had to bail me out
of jail once more, I would be facing a lot of trouble. I
assured her it would only be a peaceful demonstration
and that there was nothing to worry about. As it turned
out, the only peaceful thing about this demonstration
was the name.
As usual, things got out of hand. Before long, we
were surrounded by policemen with tear gas, arresting
people. The only escape route, the alley, was blocked by
two police cars. I guess I feared my mother's wrath more
than the police. I don't know how I got the strength to
jump over the trunk of one of those police cars, but I
did."
"That's simple, Charles," Rama said, smiling. "Faith.
You knew you could do it because you had to. Like the
mother who lifts the car, you knew you could perform
that miracle. At that split second, your leg muscles
reacted in such a way that your whole nervous system,
your thinking processes, and all of your body move
ments were part of a cosmic force outside of your body.
That force gave your legs the strength and spring that
enabled you to jump over that car."
There is a passage somewhere in the Jewish Talmud
that says a lesson learned with pleasure is a lesson
remembered. If this were true, I knew I would probably
remember everything Rama ever said to me. As she
talked, she smiled, touching me frequently, her ani
mated face communicating her tender feelings for me.