When the time comes for you to live among strangers in your husband's
family, what will they think of you if your days are spent in
nothing but eating?'
"The calamity she had foreseen came to pass. I was only twelve
when I joined my husband's people in Nawabganj. My mother-in-law
shamed me morning, noon, and night about my gluttonous habits.
Her scoldings were a blessing in disguise, however; they roused my
dormant spiritual tendencies. One morning her ridicule was merciless.
"'I shall soon prove to you,' I said, stung to the quick, 'that I
shall never touch food again as long as I live.'
"My mother-in-law laughed in derision. 'So!' she said, 'how can
you live without eating, when you cannot live without overeating?'
"This remark was unanswerable! Yet an iron resolution scaffolded
my spirit. In a secluded spot I sought my Heavenly Father.
"'Lord,' I prayed incessantly, 'please send me a guru, one who can
teach me to live by Thy light and not by food.'
"A divine ecstasy fell over me. Led by a beatific spell, I set out
for the Nawabganj GHAT on the Ganges. On the way I encountered the
priest of my husband's family.
"'Venerable sir,' I said trustingly, 'kindly tell me how to live
without eating.'
"He stared at me without reply. Finally he spoke in a consoling
manner. 'Child,' he said, 'come to the temple this evening; I will
conduct a special VEDIC ceremony for you.'
"This vague answer was not the one I was seeking; I continued toward
the GHAT.
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