Singing Leela! [was: About Stotram]

[Guest guest]

Ammachi, Mike Brooker <patria1818> wrote:

 

> But some of the Toronto satsang

> group didn't get to sing for Amma at all, even though

> we had been practicing for months. For some reason,

> they cut us off after we had sung a little over half

> of the bhajans we had planned to sing.

 

Oh, this is so typical! *grin*

 

A group of us who had recorded the "Honey Bhajans" CD were supposed to sing in

Rhode

Island on Devi Bhava (we had rehearsed for quite some time that day!), but got

bumped so

that the swamis could perform a set. And the same thing happened last year, too!

 

However...

 

My song was a late addition to the CD, and I was the only one of our group who

hadn't

been able to sing for Mother last year in NYC (well, I sang backup for the

others, but didn't

have a song of my own at the time). Another devotee who was very moved by my

song

strongly sensed that there would be some way for me to be able to sing it for

Mother that

night. She tried asking around for me, to see if anyone would be willing to give

up a

couple of minutes of their set, but wasn't having much luck. She suddenly got

the intuition

that I should ask Mother when I went for darshan if I should sing my song for

Her.

 

So, I did...and I was asked to wait behind Mother until Radhika could find out

the answer. I

realized at that point that whatever Her answer was would be fine! It would be

wonderful

to sing for Her...and yet, I also felt that, even if I didn't get to sing before

Her, She already

knew this song of my heart. I felt Her presence so strongly in singing it at

other times!

 

Anyway, I was standing right behind Mother for an hour and a half! In the

meanwhile, I

was blessed to be given some prasad from which she had taken a bite, and I also

got to

witness my dear friend, who had just met Mother for the first time, receive her

mantra! =)

 

The very moment after my friend got her mantra (I am always amazed at Mother's

timing!),

Radhika turned to me and said, "Oh, I forgot about your question...let's ask Her

right now!"

And so we did, and She beamed at me, and exclaimed "YES!" =)

 

So, I found my devotee-friend who was trying to facilitate this whole thing, and

she found

someone who, when she found out that Mother had said I should sing, very

graciously

offered me the first few minutes of her group's upcoming set to perform my song

for Her!

 

And then I looked at the time, and realized that I had a stagekeeper seva shift

that was

beginning in just a few minutes! So, I scurried over to the seva desk to see if

the person

on-duty before me would be willing to stay a few minutes later so I could

sing...only to

find out that my name had somehow disappeared from the schedule, and I was free!

=)

 

Earlier in the evening, when I had contemplated singing this solo piece all by

myself in

earshot of thousands of people, I felt sooooo nervous...but when I began to

sing...it was

just me and Amma. I was conscious of Her and Her alone, and it was so very, very

sweet.

 

What a blessing! I feel so grateful to Mother and to Her children, who made

space for me...

 

Namah Shivaya,

Iswari