amma's birthday, the mist cool on the mountains, and a soft rain falling. some mondays are born like this. thought that this mail would be written in yercaud where the poppies are in a glorious yellow bloom and the rainy sunny crispness of the air dispels all gloom. but as always life had its own plans and so its on the west coast express i type this email finally, on our return journey home, somewhere between tirupur and coimbatore, the breeze still cool and the "where is my monday morning email" emails beginning to trickle in :-) its ammas birthday and out there in amritapuri the air will be so very festive. somehow the heart of that little piece of land by the arabian sea will expand to accommodate lakhs of people, all of whom will have to be fed, and amma may be hugging people for hours together, sometimes almost a day nonstop. a mother's love pushing the boundaries of the human body miles beyond what it can normally endure, a heart too soft to say no to the smallest of its creatures expanding to hold an entire world in its embrace. they say that swami sivananda, after finally relenting and allowing public celebrations of his birthday, would be the one at the forefront of the celebrations, the life of the party so to say. he who had no need for any birthday party. she who has no need for our hugs. such are the ways of these saints :-) its ammas birthday and i am reminded of two beautiful darshans in the past year. its also an opportune moment to fulfill a commitment i had made in one of the early monday morning emails - to tell the story of what happened when i took the "road not taken" one day on campus. there are some out there who i am sure have not forgotten that promise :-) it was a beautiful evening like many at ettimadai, the sun gently setting on a quiet day. there was a rumor that amma may be making a stop at ettimadai on her way to coimbatore but i was not part of it. taking the temple road to asb i ran into prof sriram, a friend from the chemical engineering department. "amma's in the campus and she may be doing a special satsang for the brahmacharis by the swimming pool." "should we try our luck?" "why not?!" in general the access to amma when she is on campus is restricted (else there would be chaos) as is the access to the brahmachari satsangs. had never managed to gatecrash one before! it was a long shot but we were game to take the road not normally taken by us. and it was like a magical dream! it was as if we had turned invisible for the gatekeepers and all the gates kept opening and before we knew we were by the swimming pool, pinching ourselves and quietly waiting.
the evening session that followed with amma was one of the most beautiful i had encountered. you can imagine the setting, amma and her brahmacharis sitting by the water, the sun bathing the mountains in its golden hue. there was a relaxed intimacy, many jokes, much teasing and laughter, some lovely singing, so much love :-) was reminded of descriptions of the evenings at dakshineshwar when ramakrishna parmahansa relaxed with his beloved "naren" and naren's gurubhais - once again the sublime teachings, the easy laughter, the sun setting on the hooghly in the background, the soulful singing, and an air electric with a love divine. must have been the same at the divine life society by the banks of the river ganges in rishikesh, where swami sivananda was so lovingly molding his young group of future world teachers. how beautiful are these intimate moments with the gurus. just got a brief glimpse of it that evening but it filled the heart :-) the other darshan was in circumstances far more sombre when shobhana and i had accompanied our (then) first year mba students to amritapuri. one of their seniors had just passed away in unfortunate circumstances (indhu - i have written about her earlier) and they were deeply traumatized. nothing the authorities did seemed to ease their pain. we'd arrived on a non darshan day, amma was about to depart for trivandrum and it wasn't even clear whether the students would be able to meet amma. when suddenly the word came - amma had made herself available for a special impromptu darshan by her home - just for the students. she delayed her departure by, i dont know, maybe an hour and sat with the students just listening, absorbing every bit of their sorrow. every kind of question was entertained, respectfully heard, and gently responded to. there was both gravity and deep love in what she said. "i have never seen her eyes so dark and deep" i remember thinking. just a little "quality" time and it made a world of a difference to all of us. yet another valuable lesson in how love can heal :-) the saints such as amma truly dont need anything from us. nor do they need to prove anything to us. they could probably spend their entire time blissed out in solitary contemplation. yet they care so much. rama mata, yet another saint who has graced shobhana and my lives, truly doesn't need to tell us that she loves us. yet she does. why they care so much is a mystery. and like all mysteries divine - why ask why, just soak in it and sigh :-) this mondays poem is a song that was crafted from a speech that amma gave a few years ago. a beautiful poignant glimpse into the heart of love. and an unforgettable statement on the world we have created for ourselves.
Everyone in the world Everyone in the world should sleep without fear. At least for one night, sleep without fear. Everyone in the world should eat to their fill. At least for one day, eat to their fill. There should be one day when there is no violence, No one is injured, no one is harmed. All people young and old should serve the poor and needy. At least for one day, serve selflessly. This is my dream; this is my prayer. Love is the answer; Love is the way.
its past midnight and i'm finishing this mail from the warm comforts of my home thinking love is truly the answer. may it always shine a light on our way. and may we share it with others as fearlessly, fully and beautifully as amma does. for that truly is the message her life is giving us. may it be such a week :-)
much love, d&s
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment