13 Sep 2009, Amritapuri

Saturday night and one of the busiest Darshan days in the week. Amma was talking to many Ashramites asking about the Seva and clarifying their questions. Amma pays a lot of attention to the person getting the Darshan at the same time. She would even talk of them in midst of all discussion.

A devotee from far away had come and Amma had made him sit by her side. A long meeting ensued. It is plainly beautiful to observe Amma. Every act she would do carries with it the full awareness and alertness. She would be observing the one coming to her, the one coming next, talk to one, answer to another, listen to a conversation nearby, say something in the ear while hugging, observe who hands out the prasad to her besides a lot more and all at the same time and this goes on for hours at a stretch. It is real lesson on alertness just to observe Amma.

Around a few minutes after that, a mother and her little son came for Darshan. Amma noticed the boy even before they reached her and started looking at him dearly. But when the Darshan position came. Amma took the boy in her lap, like she usually does with little ones and with a loud authoritative but loving voice asked him “Why dint you come to my lap yesterday?(Amma was mentioning the day of the Krishna Jayanthi, when many children had the chance during Uriyadi game) “. The little boy said “Amma it was crowded near you” as if he did understand the situation of not troubling Amma. Amma immediately responded “why do you bother about that? Isin’t it crowded now? Still you came.” The boy said “Amma i dint want to ask.” Amma looked at him dearly and with an extra high volume replied “Why do you have to ask someone to sit on my lap? Isint Amma waiting for you?” The little boy just looked all around and then at Amma and smiled in a content yet innocent way. Amma hugged the boy’s mother and they both left.

Amma then looked all around and smiled. While sitting next to Amma, one tends to only wonder how to tell Amma all what we want to tell her and not bothering to be concerned about her too. Yet this boy’s concern and the way of talking to Amma was so mature to amaze all around Amma that evening. Much more was Amma’s enthusiasm when she said “Isin’t Amma waiting for you?” Being near her, really tells us how much Amma waits for us. At the very end of Darshan, Amma asks if there are people who came late and did not get Darshan. She makes no exception if one had come early but not early enough to get their queue token which is usually distributed early in the morning. She forgoes food, sleep from her everyday activity and even forgets pain to meet any number of her children much after almost a full day of Darshan. Such is our Mother!

– Shyam