When a great person helps you to discover your soul

Irina Malikova was the head of international relations for the Gorbachev Founndation, and a dear friend of President Gorbachev and Sri Chinmoy. The following are some excerpts from their video interview.

Irina: When Guru came to visit where where we were staying at Dimitri (my son) immediately rushed towards him, sat on his lap embraced him and said this is my grandpa.

Agraha: Guru tells a story too - this is direct quote from Guru:

This is a story about Dimitri, Irina Malikova's little son. Today I was talking to him on the phone. I said, “Lotika will be here shortly. When she goes back to Moscow, I will send lots and lots of gifts for you.”

Then he said, “But Guru, you are the best gift.”

Sri Chinmoy

And that melted Guru's heart. I'm just wondering can you just maybe tell us a little bit more about Guru's special connection with Dima and also with your whole family, maybe can you just tell us all something?

Dmitri: I just remember that he was the brightest person that I've ever met in my life. He was a gift to this world and I could feel it even when I was a child. And there was a unique connection between us which I will remember for the rest of my life. And every time when we met in person it was an event for me, you know, it was an occasion. It was something special, something unique, something that couldn't be ever repeated with anybody else.

I saw that he was probably the purest person that I've met and he was bright in the way that he could get the attention of people and he could share what he's feeling and what he's thinking and everybody would understand what he means. And he was a center for many people; there was really really something unique about him. Something that I've never encountered in anyone else.

Michael Gorbachev was another example. Also, a unique experience and somebody I will always remember.

Agraha: And what do you remember about when you were with Mikhail Gorbachev?

Dmitri: I remember that he was, you could feel that he understands a lot about the world. And he understands more than you know. And he can connect with anybody and he can find a common language with anybody. He can share his ideas and share his views with people understanding him without any issue.

Irina: And I can tell you another story, you know of Dimitri and the president. So it was Dimitri's first day to school, you know, and after the first lesson, I took him because it was just one lesson, you know. Dimitri was six years and a half and I had to go rush to do the foundation, so I took him with me. And in the elevator, we met with the President, and he said "Oh, we have guests!'' Because he knew Dimitri since he was born - by the way, when he was going to be born and when the President knew this piece of news he said, oh, it will change all your life, Irina.

So, we went to his office. And Dimitri sat on his lap. The President was giving his blessing to Dimitri and wishing him a lot of success during his studies at school, you know, and when we were leaving - understanding that he has a lot of things to, do a lot of work, at that time he was the president of the Green Cross International - the President gave Dimitri a crystal globe, and he said, I'm giving to you Dimitri, our Earth, and you the new generation should take care of the Earth. And you know what Dimitri said? Please, Mikhail Sergeyevich, I want you to take care of yourself.

Agraha: Your son was born with a very big heart.

Irina: Yes, Guru said that. The parents give the body to the child, but God gives the soul. I think that it was Guru who enriched Dimitri's soul, and I can tell you that I'm totally thankful to Guru, because Dimitri - not because he's my son, I'm very objective, but has a very pure soul. Those qualities, which I cherish the most in Guru and in President Gorbachev- the purity, the dedication, the devotion, the ability to love. Endless love, you know, self-giving love, to everyone.

You know thanks to the President, I could know a lot of things about life about politics, about people. I could know many many interesting and outstanding people. Both the President and Guru were like dads to me, you know, my senior friends and my teachers who gave me joy-experience, who discovered my soul to myself. You and all the disciples know that. You live and you don't think about yourself, and all of a sudden a person, a great person helps you to discover your soul.

I do remember when Guru showed me my soul. It was my first trip to America and my short visit to Guru, it was August 1992 I think. Nishtha brought me from one hotel to Kritagyata's and then to the tennis court when I met Guru. And the morning singers whose bright and soulful eyes I will remember for all my life, they were so beautiful, those eyes, those souls. They were showing me everything, and all of a sudden I was attracted by some force to to the track, to Guru's track, and some of the girls told me you cannot go there, but Guru stopped them.

I entered the track area. I was walking all around, I remember remember every plant at that moment.moment. And all of a sudden I saw a bright blue bird in there. I was mesmerized, really, because I never saw such a beauty. And when I came out, a little bit shocked by everything and especially by that bird,  I said, oh, I saw such a beautiful totally blue bird there. And the girls were saying no, we don't have those birds in America. And Guru said no, we have, she saw it.

Then the years passed. It was many years after. I had a surgery, and the anasthesia was so strong that I couldn't wake up, but I saw under all this anasthesia some strange beings trying to to take me to somewhere through a tunnel and they brought me to a very bright lighted room, a hall, saying let's go, let's go with us. I said, I don't want to go with you. And all of a sudden I saw a huge figure, an image of Guru in front of me, huge, half transparent, holding a big bright blue crystal in his hands and he was giving it to me and saying take it and scream the magic word. And I screamed and woke up. And I saw the faces, of many doctors around me saying, can you imagine, we have spent four hours trying to wake her up.

When I told that to Guru, I said Guru, tell me what happened, what was that crystal? He said no, tell me first. What was the magic word? I said Dimitri. He said, right. Right it was and I can tell you that that bright crystal was your soul. Do you remember that blue bird, in America, you saw the first time you saw me? I was introducing you to your soul and this time with that crystal, I have returned it to you.

The following conversation took place some months after Irina's surgery:

Irina: I had a very nice experience with my surgery. Normally I should have been afraid, because it was major surgery, but to my own and everybody's surprise, I was so sure about everything that I did not feel nervous. The doctors said they had never seen a patient with so little anxiety about his health. It was not a question of my victory. It is just that I physically felt your presence in the surgery room, and that helped me a lot.

Sri Chinmoy: I told you not to worry. I said there would be absolutely no problem, and I promised you that I would be there for your operation. If the consciousness and the vibration of the room had been a little higher, then you would have seen me. But definitely I was there; I was there!

Sometimes when I know the date of an operation, I do not even need to know the exact hour. If someone is close to me, even if he notifies me a month in advance, I can promise to take care of it. And my promise will definitely be fulfilled. At the time of the operation, my physical mind may not even be aware that it is taking place, but I have many, many inner representatives who will act on my behalf. One of my inner beings will keep my promise for me.

But in your case, it was totally different. I did not depend on my inner beings; I was directly involved one hundred per cent. The day before the operation I called you, and also that morning I called you.

And you know, the memory is so vivid, of all my moments with Guru. Even about the poison ivy on the track and the fragrance of Gardenia. And I can tell you that Guru came and still comes to me. I can feel it and sometimes even other people can feel it. In a very very hard moment for my family, I was standing out on the front of my house in Moscow, near by Moscow, shocked by everything, you know, and I didn't know what to do, all those things about my husband and my mother and myself and Dimitri who was in Germany with his grandfather. Thank God he was not there.

And all of a sudden a big white dove came flying towards me and sat nearby. First of all, I couldn't understand but I realized in this countryside, I've never seen a white dove, never ever. Beautiful, absolutely white, big. And he wouldn't, he wouldn't stand out, you know. I went to take food for it, you know for him and he would never go out, then I realized that first of all it was not causality. Then I felt it was Guru giving me sign of alert and hope at the same time. He was saying he was showing that something is happening, something would happen,but everything would be okay with his help. Maybe I have not realized all of it, at that very moment. First it was very strange to me, you know,to see that white dove go walking around me, you know on the staircases in the front door. But it was walking around me, looking at me.

And I could tell you that in other difficult moments, I feel the fragrance of Gardenia which was favorite Guru's fragrance. Absolutely. All of a sudden in the empty room, empty house, I feel the fragrance of Gardenia, can you imagine and I know Guru is there to support me. Maybe it sounds crazy, but its how I feel it.

And I can tell you that all my family, they are treasuring Guru. My mother, let her rest in peace, she received her name without being a disciple because she was treasured by Guru - Janakala. She trusted Guru without seeing him. And when she saw him during his visit to my home in Russia, you know in Moscow, she was crying like a baby, because he was one of the most beloved persons on the earth, you know and it was her gratitude to him for his closeness to our family, for his assistance, for his love and everything.

And Dimitri also, as you saw. You know, when we received the very dramatic and tragic notice about Guru's passing away, you know it was early in the morning when Nishtha called me. It was just two weeks after I saw Guru for the last time, in St Petersburg. I was so shocked, I woke up all my family, and you know what Dimitri said? His first reaction with tears in his eyes - Mum, we should go to New York. We should go. He was 12 at the time.

Agraha: Amazing. What an amazing  child you have brought to earth.

Irina: You know, Guru really was great, because you know what? The President never spoke about God, he was not a believer but once he told me already after I have abandoned my job, but I visited, I try to visit, you know the foundation as frequently as I could, you know. And he said, I can recognize, Irena, I can tell you that Guru made me believe in God. Sri Chinmoy made me believe in God.

You know, Nishtha told me that once Guru said that in their previous incarnations Guru, the President and my dad, they're very close friends. As well, he told about all the incarnations of my family - my mother was a bull, my husband was a horse, Dmitri was a deer and I was a swan.

I can tell you another story. I was in Spain at a charity fair, I was invited by one of my good friends from Madrid, and there were a lot of the royal family and and aristocracy and charity people from all around the world. Among them was a head of white magicians of Brazil, a huge black lady dressed in white. And she wanted to tell me my future and I didn't want, I said no, no, no, thank you. So during the whole week I was saying no, thank you, I don't want, and all my friends around me, they were begging, Irina, please. I said, okay. Don't speak about my future, speak about my job, speak about the Foundation. That's my condition.

So we entered the very dark room with candles and stones and shells and all that stuff they use, and she was with her white assistant, young assistant, and she was trying to tell me something. I was very tense, concentrated because she was speaking Brazilian Portuguese, so I had to find out the right thing with my Spanish. And all of a sudden, she pronounced, you should trust only your intuition at that very moment. The phone rang. The assistant took the phone and she said no, I can't understand, because it was asking for Irina, and she gave the phone to me and it was Nishtha. She said Guru wanted me to tell you that you must trust, only trust your intuition. Can you imagine that?

The same moment I put down the phone and turn my head to to those ladies, such a horrible thing - the assistant collapsed on the floor. Then the black lady turned gray with her eyes, upwards, and started shaking like crazy. The candles went out. I was horrified, I stood to to call the ambulance or someone to help, but her eyes came back.

And she said "whoa, who was that?"
I said "No, tell me what was that?"
She said "Tell me, who was that."
I said "It's a a message from my elder friend and teacher, an Indian Guru from New York. So tell me what was that. What happened? "
She said, "I read it in an antique book about magic - he made a triangle, a cosmic space triangle between himself. you and me and stopped me. I am afraid of you."
I said "I am afraid of you. I'm sorry. I told you not to speak about myself, not to speak about me, and you wouldn't. You wouldn't have had that horrible experience."

We came out, and all our friends who begged me, they were sitting, asking what happened? I said better not to speak about it. And the lady, she was silent and the assistant was screaming "She's a witch, she's a witch, don't come near me!". I said, you don't come next to me, never.

You know, there was a time, that hard time in my life, you know 14 years ago when we lost Guru and we had a lot of problems in my family, you know dramatic problems, you know, I went to an empath. Nice lady, very spiritual. And she was working on me. And when she stopped, you know, she said Irina, I felt some experience I've never felt in my life. Somebody from there was watching me and controlling me, and even stopping me at some moments. Tell me, who is that? And she was crying. She was very pure, she was a very talented and pure soulful lady.  She said, It is an unique experience for me. I felt someone from there is watching and controlling me and protecting you.

And I can tell you that each visit to New York, it was it was the happiest time and it was a spiritual retreat for me. I want to send my love and my greetings you, to Ranjana, to all the disciples, you know my sisters and brothers, with all my gratitude of accepting me to your family, you know feeling me as a member of your family and you are my family and I treasure it and I'll be always grateful to Guru and to all of you for everything you've done and you're doing. And I'm also grateful to all of you for your love to the President and your love to Guru and for everything you're doing to make possible the continuation of Guru's legacy. And I am asking you to reinforce your efforts for peace which the world needs in these tragicand very painful for all of us moments. And I hope that all our efforts and the message of our souls will win. We shall overcome.

Agraha: We shall overcome, and Guru has said that world peace will dawn on on Earth, either the near or the distant future, but it is a real reality. And so yes, there's fighting here, there, there may be in the future, but as you said, the Supreme will win, and President Gorbachev and Guru, their dreams will be victorious for sure.

Irina: And all of our dreams with them. And our thoughts because I do believe that thoughts have material strength and so let's join our thoughts and our wishes, for peace.