Amma’s eyes rolled back slightly, and there She was, Devi in all her glory.  So beautiful Her form, so bright Her radiance, so vast Her benevolence.
It was during bhajans on the evening of the Tirunelveli program that Amma granted this brief but penetrating glance of Devi.
” Whosoever offers with devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I shall accept it.”  So states a verse in the 7th chapter of the bhagavad gita.
Filled with gratitude and devotion, my mind went to a bright, perfectly ripe orange I had brought with me.  “I’ll offer it to Devi!” I thought with anticipation and wonder.
A little later, Amma asked me to take a break from the seva I was performing for a while.  Her happy smile told me all was O.K., but as I sat, my mind went over all the reasons for which this may have been a reprimand.
Later in the morning as the darshan was finishing, I was close to Amma.  She hugged the last person and rose up.  Still feeling quite small, I somewhat meekly offered the orange up to Devi.  My offering was drowned in a chorus of shouts and waving hands.  Glancing at the orange, Amma turned away, and was gone.  The words from the Gita echoed in my mind.
Unswayed, I climbed to the stage looking for a suitable place to place the offering.  Amma’s photo had been taken down, so I wandered about the stage, here and there looking.  Though I knew there was a proper place for it, I just couldn’t seem to find it.
As I stood in the middle of the stage, orange in my outstretched palm, a flash of yellow dashed out of the crowd surrounding Amma.  A brahmacharini in yellow rushed towards me and said in an urgent tone “give me that orange!”  I handed it to her without hesitation.  Brahmacharini Bhavamrita whirled around and headed back into the crowd making her way towards Amma.  I stood, amazed, and it became clear;
“So this is how to deliver an offering!”
The orange reached Amma’s awaiting hands, where she was giving a last minute darshan on the way towards her car.  After hugging one particular devotee, She lovingly placed the orange into his hands.
All of the other prasad had been taken from the stage.  It was only by Amma’s grace that I had held onto the offering, and not losing faith, then climbed to the stage, which allowed Her devotee to finally receive the precious prasad from Amma.  It seems that She wanted me to know this: ‘Better than offering to Me, see Me in another, and give where needed…’ and that’s what happens to everything we offer to Amma, anyway.
~Premnath