The Waterloo hotel

Later that morning I walked across the street to the Rosenden Hotel, because I didn't like the Princess. The Rosenden was a very, very nice place, and the man there was also very, very nice. I said, "All right, I shall take a room here." I told him that I would be back in an hour. I sincerely meant it!

Then while walking I passed the Waterloo Hotel, and I remembered that the previous time I had stayed at the Waterloo. I went inside and the old lady at the desk jumped up. Immediately she recognised me. She said, "I remember you! Your room near the water is unfortunately occupied." In that room I wrote fifty songs. "I shall show you another room. The regular price is $135, but now it is off-season so the price has come down to $90. Last time you didn't eat breakfast. If you don't eat breakfast, the price becomes $70, so the total with tax will be $80.50. Are you ready to take it?"

I said to myself, "How does she still remember that four years ago I didn't have breakfast?" I was very, very happy about the idea of going back to the Waterloo. It was only two blocks from the Princess. I said to myself, "Definitely I will take the Waterloo. Waterloo is so famous because of Napoleon!"

But, O God! The wind was so strong! While I was walking back to the Princess, it pushed me so hard — as if I were a cotton ball! It felt like I was running at a six-minute pace instead of just walking. When I reached the Princess Hotel, I couldn't move because the wind seemed to be all inside my back — it was so stiff! What could I do? The Princess Hotel was bad, and the other two places were so good. Still, instead of changing hotels, my decision was to come back home to Queens.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Salutations, numbers 9-12, Agni Press, 1983
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/slt_3