18 Jan 2008, Covai

Sitting on the second floor balcony, swaddled in my sari and caressing the last remnants of my morning chai, I am enjoying the morning sun – not yet burning with the ferocity that will later send me searching for shade.  My charkas spin and dance to the vibrations of the second recitation of the thousand names of the Divine Mother drifting up from the stage below.

I am remembering a scene from the night before that will continue to bring tears to my eyes for the rest of this lifetime.  With hands pressed together in front of hearts and heads lifted to bask in the presence of the Guru, a few hundred local devotees greeted Amma upon her arrival at the Brahmastanam Temple in Coimbatore.

From the first floor landing outside her room, Amma was looking down at the gathered crowd. Standing directly one floor above Amma, I had the perfect place to stand witness – and to see their eyes.  The eyes of these devotees were full of a breath and capacity for devotion I have never experienced before.

Maybe there is a word in Malayalam to describe this intensity of devotion, longing, adoration, love… at times I find myself looking at the faces of the devotees nearest Amma than at Amma herself, mesmerized by the thousands of reflections of her love.  I hope that one day, I may catch a glimpse of my own reflection and see that immeasurable capacity for love and devotion that we call Amma.

Kate – USA