Amritapuri – Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Recently i heard a devotee from Delhi saying, “Amma should show Her divinity, She should manifest Her Divine Form… Like Krishna for Arjuna…! Why is She making us wait…? O, i can’t wait anymore…”

Next morning is her flight to Europe!

Amma is humblest of the humble, yet Her divinity shines through it all. Her humility itself is an express manifestation, so to speak, of Her Divinity.

The Vishwarupa that Krishna showed Arjuna is of a different kind. We are nowhere near Arjuna. Moreover, Amma manifests Her Universality not in a dramatic form where all gods of the pantheon show up. On the other hand the essential quality of love and compassion flow out of Her in the most explicit manner to one and all of creation. It is not for us to kneel down and look up like Arjuna, but it is for us to sit still in Her presence, see Her even with our physical eyes, and understand it all.

These two months seem to be an extended Onam: How many thousands did Amma not serve Sadya on the eight Tuesdays… These two months seem to be an extended Krishna Janmashtami: how much of fun and frolic did Amma Krishna not play with Her thousands of children from across the world these two months! And on Her Birthday, except for the stage programs where projects were released –which gave us all rare opportunity to see Amma full length, standing or sitting in a chair- (Amma never does sitting and standing on the other days, for She has no such free time) Amma was doing the self-same things of her everyday life: giving darshan. These two months, days and nights have flown into each other just as lines and lines of devotees have walked up into Her embrace! This way, every day was virtually Her birthday celebration darshan day.

These two months was Amma season in Amritapuri.

How many bhajan sessions and how many meditation sessions by the sea did these two months not see? Was there a day when Amma stayed back in the room? Was there any one work –joli– that She didn’t do?

Today afternoon, the last day of this Amma Season, Amma was saying “Giving Darshan is not the only work Amma has got to do.”  Amma listed some of the things She had to do this morning before She came down. One of them was letters from devotees: “Every day Amma has to read so many letters, and that is much more than reading a book!”  And all of them expect Amma’s instruction, reply, in matters ranging from family problems to choice of subjects for Plus two course!

When Amma came down to the Kali temple where everyone was assembled for meditation, it was around 10:20. Right away, she called all the ashram children for darshan; it was a ‘quick standing darshan’, as it is called. It was our Birthday darshan; we got our Laddoos! It was also parting darshan as She is leaving shortly for the Europe tour, and also the first darshan of the season.

Amma then led us all in meditation. She was seated high, on the altar, with Kali’s sanctorum behind her. It felt very special as we got Her full view. After that Amma sang us ‘Bandalo’, asking us to clap hands with neighbors. Amma answered questions and gave satsang about the virtues of tyaga and a life of meager means; giving examples from old times of the Ashram.

Then Amma served us all the Tuesday Prasad!

Today seems to be a roll of Onam, Krishna Janmashtami and Amma’s birthday celebration-all in one.

By 2:40 it was all over. And, like in the song, “Koyi lota nahi udhas ma jo aya tere pas,” (no one has returned unhappy from you, Amma) every one of us were happy.

Going back to the first para, i wonder, ‘What more has Amma got to reveal?’ If we haven’t seen IT yet, then it is for us to sit still in Her divine Presence and look at Her. When we get tuned, we begin to suck the immortal bliss that emanates from Her being…

– Sandhya