On the last afternoon during the Singapore programmes, a group of 30+ devotees from the Philippines came for darshan, holding signs asking Amma to come to their country. They had flown all the way from the Philippines just for the programmes. That they had come such a distance is not so remarkable in Amma’s world—so many make such pilgrimages to see Amma.

What made this group so different was that the majority of them had never met Amma before!During the past two years, Swami Ramakrishnananda and Br. Shantamrita have been visiting the Philippines, holding retreats with satsang and bhajans, even conducting Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique classes. These pilgrims had become familiar with Amma through these programmes and were eager to meet her.

I had a chance to speak with a few of them. I noticed Punnu Singh Wasu and his nine-year-old daughter Aman on the first morning. They had not yet received darshan, but the look in their eyes seemed to say otherwise. They were so happy just being in the hall!

When I sat down with him and his daughter the next day, I asked him what had made him come such a long way. He smiled and said, “It was Amma’s love that pulled me here.” Indeed, this same expression was echoed by others in the group that I briefly spoke with.His daughter was very shy and sort of distracted. But when I asked if she wanted to go for darshan again, her eyes opened wide and her face lit up with a smile wider than the Pacific Ocean.

I tried to ask Singh a few more questions, but all he would say was “Words just can’t express…” and sit there, his face lit up with a twinkle in his eyes.In the end, we both just laughed. That was enough. I understood, words truly can’t express what one experiences when has Amma’s darshan. Not just the first time, but every time.

That evening, Singh arrived in the hall with his daughter and a young gentleman. It was his taxi driver. Apparently, inspired by Singh’s description of Amma, he had decided to stop in for a look. He could stay only a moment, but assured us that he would return later that night. Sure enough, he did. And a beaming Singh (who was sitting very close to Amma) was right there to see his new friend’s first darshan.

– Sri Pati

Singapore Expo, 28 March 2008