Amritapuri ashram

Her seating arrangements

The other night, instead of going to satsang, I had to attended a fund raising ‘soiree’ for the non-profit environmental group I work for here in Canada. I was not really looking forward to it and felt quite awkward about having to dress up for an expensive fundraising dinner in order to represent our organization and make small talk with people I don’t know.I ended up sitting next to strangers, feeling jealous that all my favorite work people had somehow ended up at another table. The only people I knew at my table were my boss and his wife, and they were on the other side of the table. So, I had no choice other than to chat with the man next to me. I was relieved when I saw he was wearing a ring with a big Om on it.

We had been talking for a while when he made some mention of travelling in India. I asked him where and he replied: “Mostly Kerala”… Now, living amongst worldly people in Canada, I often hesitate before talking about Amma because people often don’t understand. In this case however, I felt brave and said “Oh! My guru has an ashram there!” He asked who my guru was – and when I said ‘Ammachi’, this amazing thing happened: His eyes sparkled so intensely that it really looked as if Amma was looking at me from inside his face – it is hard to describe this look but it was extraordinary and very much felt like Amma looking at me. Then he said: “Is she the one that gives out hugs? You know, I’m pretty sure I’ve met her – it was years and years ago though, when she was a teenager – she did this Devi thing in a hut on some little island – all the villagers thought she was crazy and really hated her – there were about 20 or 30 people there… I really ought to see her again – doesn’t she come to Vancouver or Seattle or something now?’

I nearly fainted! I dread having to make small talk and make idle conversation with someone I don’t think I have anything in common with, but I did it anyway – and that is the story he had to tell, about Amma in the early early days?!

I love it so much when Amma is in charge of seating arrangements!

Aiswarya – Canada

Comments

6 responses to “Her seating arrangements”

  1. susannahpryce

    what a great story! Amma is always in charge of our seating arrangements. Recently I was feeling unwell on the subway platform. I sat down on the floor and when I looked up there was an off duty paramedic with all of his tools waiting for his train just a few feet away from me. I felt as if Amma was watching out for me. I do not see hospital workers daily. I was not near a hospital at the time either. In another recent case I was feeling dizzy and sat on the floor of the train. A nurse on her way to work was standing there and asked me what was wrong. When I told her how I felt she simply replied that it sounds like low blood pressure and I should always eat breakfast and carry salt with me in case I’m not feeling well. I’ve not had a dizzy spell since! Jai Amma! Mother is always with us~

  2. sripati

    beautiful story! wondering if he’ll make it to Seattle!

  3. arunachala

    something similar happened to me earlier this year when i was attending a technical conference. I was feeling really bad as i would be missing satsang that day if i decided to stay till the end of the conference. After one of the round table discussions, a lady sitting beside asked me if i was from India (by looking at my name tag and appearance, i would assume). I said yes, and she told me that she had been to India before and had stayed in an ashram in rishikesh for a year. I was surprised, i said that i too go to an ashram in India, but my guru’s ashram in Kerala. Her eyes lit up, “Ammachi?”, she asked. My eyes filled up with tears when i heard the words “Amma”, i simply nodded. Needless to say, the rest of the conference we were only talking about mother and we could not stand to continue staying at the conference when the satsang was only a short drive away. Apparently she was too missing her satsang, which she was not able to attended due to couple of weeks on the road and she was from the west coast and she was lost and confused in the midwest attending various conferences. I really hope the person in this story gets to meet mother again soon. I read once that a mahatma had said that, “my devotees are like birds whose feet are tied by a piece of string, whose end i hold. When the time is right, i pull them to me”. How ignorant are we to think that it is we who found mother, when she is the one that brought us close to her?

  4. ammasdasan

    A very wonderful story. It makes clear that Our Beloved AMMA is every where. It made me remember an incident when I went on leave to Kerala to participate in AMMAs Birthday some 12 years back. In an emergency i had to accompany my brother to Madurai for an immediate eye operation. Thinking that my chance to reach Amritapuri before dawn of 27th september was unlikely on 26th morning in a canteen while taking breakfast thinking only about AMMA and birthday celebrations, immediately I noticed that AMMA is sitting on the opposite chair smiling at me. A boy of ten years was also with that “AMMA”. It was very hard to believe that was the mother of that boy.
    Because of the continous prayesr and deep wish AMMA made it possibe me to reach the ashram and witness the start of AMMAs Padapuja. In normal cases i would have reached back by noon on 28th the next day only, but for AMMA nothing is impossible. AMMAs Love and Great kindness! One day early we got discharge from the hospital and availbilty of train and seats was also a wonder. On the return trip several miracles happened, all made clear that AMMA was always with us on that trip.

  5. Berit

    Amazingly beautiful posting and replies !! Reading this page today is an answer to a prayer and so I thank Amma and I thank you all!
    much love!

  6. aishwaryacanada

    i can’t believe how a little thing like sharing a story about who i sat next to is catalysing so much good stuff – Amma is amazing.. i feel that string around my feet being tugged for sure – thanks arunachala and everyone else for your stories too. oh and i meant to add.. the coworkers i thought wouldn’t understand? After so many people told me how this story touched them, I did actually tell my coworkers and now a couple of them have read this blog… !

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