Swami Kriyananda As We Have Known Him

[Listen to Asha read this story](Told by an Ananda devotee)“You have a serious medical condition called a fistula,” the doctor said to me, “The only remedy is surgery.”I had come to Italy to visit relatives and take care of some business obligations there. As soon as I arrived, I started feeling something very painful in my lower back. Within three days, it was so bad I couldn’t walk, and I had to go to the hospital. A fistula, I found out, is an abnormal opening or connection between two internal organs, or from an internal organ to the surface of the body. Mine was inside.“We have to operate as soon as possible,” the doctor said, “otherwise you won’t be able to stand the pain.”I agreed, and the next day I had the surgery. The fistula, however, was so large and so deep the surgeon was unable to repair it completely. “You’ll have to wait a few weeks until the first surgery heals,” the doctor said. “Then I’ll operate again and finish the job.” Oddly enough, the doctor tied one end of a string to the spot where