At around 1:45pm, while watching the last hour of Devi Bhava darshan, a few of the Brahmacharis appeared on stage carrying trays. Yes, it was ice cream!  Little cups and little wooden spoons were passed out to everyone. Not surprisingly, there seemed to be an unusually large number of Brahmacharis appearing.  Perhaps it was the timing of the broadcast that allowed them to break away from their seva. 

We felt like little kids as we sat there. No one was eating yet. The temptation was there, but most of us were silently wanting to offer some to Amma once She called from inside the Mandapam.

When Amma did call, shouts of ‘Ammeeeeee’ arose.  Amma asked if we had our ice cream. Some of us held our ice cream cups over our heads or held out our spoons for Her to taste.  Amma made a few jokes. She then told us to start eating – and we did! Of course, by then, most of the ice cream had turned to soup, so there were slurping sounds all around as we drank rather than ate our treat. Even though I was fasting today, I didn’t mind breaking it just once for this Depavali prasad. (I later found out that the ice cream is made and packaged right here in Amritapuri in the Juice Stall – with the cream coming directly from the cows in the cowshed).

It seemed that this chat was longer than others. All the while, Amma was beaming at us. Her face was so radiant – perhaps She was reflecting our ice cream bliss. Or maybe it was that of a Mother giving a special treat to Her children.  Either way, Amma’s smile will remain with me for quite some time – as will memories of a sweet Deepavali Devi Bhava.
Sri Pati