Power of my kara - a personal experience

   

Kara shown here worn on the wrist of the dominant arm

The Power of my kara by Roger H Barnsley

I am President and Vice-Chancellor, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. In December 2004 my wife and I visited India for the first time.

During that trip, most of which was in Punjab, I noticed that almost everyone wore bangles. I asked my host, Mr. Ron Mundi, about his bangle and he told me the religious reason that Sikhs wore the kara. He also mentioned that he attributed his recent good fortune and good luck to wearing it. Several days later, our group travelled to Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple.

While there, I purchased a simple kara for my right wrist. It was my intention to wear it for awhile and then take it off when I returned to Canada several weeks later.

On December 24, 2004 my wife and I flew from Delhi to Krabi, Thailand. We spent Christmas Day snorkelling offshore on an island in the Andaman Sea.

On the morning of December 26 my wife and I discussed our plans for that day. We strongly considered another day of snorkelling offshore, or a trip to PhiPhi Island by ferry. But for some unknown reason, I wanted to rent a motor scooter and explore the interior of Thailand.

This was a very unusual suggestion as I had not driven a motor scooter for over 40 years, since I had an accident on a motorcycle, and because my wife is quite nervous in traffic and had never ridden on a motor scooter.

But that day we did rent the motor scooter and spent the day inland, away from the coast. When we returned, we found that the tsunami had hit and caused widespread devastation and death. Many snorkellers and visitors to PhiPhi island had died.

When my wife and I tried to understand and come to terms with our good fortune, we remembered the kara I bought at Golden Temple. I am not a superstitious man, but I believe that its power saved us that day. I have never taken it off ever since that time.

(Article from Sikh Review courtesy of: Sr. Daljit Singh (Harinagar N.D.))