one more good Amma story

June 9, 2005

Om Amriteswaryai Namaha!

I just remembered something from the satsang before Atma Puja in Seattle

(Tacoma). For some reason, my mind has blanked on who told this story, either

Big Swami or Swamini.

Once, while waiting in the darshan line, a little boy threw up on the floor. His

mother was so embarrassed that she just picked him up and ran out of the hall,

and didn't return. The other people in the darshan line were also disgusted, and

held their noses or looked away. For a while the vomit remained on the floor

next to the darshan line, and nobody volunteered to clean it up. Amma, of

course, was watching all of this. Finally, a little nine year old boy came up

with some towels and water, and carefully cleaned up all the vomit himself, even

spraying a little perfume on the spot. Amma was extremely touched, and gave the

boy a very long darshan, asking him to sit by Her. She later commented that due

to that boy's innocent devotion and selfless service, She could not get his face

out of Her mind for several days.

Jai Ma!

Prajna

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June 9, 2005

Om Namah Shivaya

Hare Om!!

Dear Prajna:

Thank you for the recollection. I was out of the Hall during this

story and through Amma's grace read it here.

The nine year old boy wiping up vomit on the Darshan line had

shraddha.

The action (karma) of the boy with towels and perfume teach me a

valuable lesson.

I SHOULD NEVER WASTE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO PERFORM A GOOD DEED!!!

Bathroom Seva for Amma? Guess what, Groupsters, That is a GOLDEN

OPPORTUNITY

Nursing Home Visits? Not for me. Yucky old people eeeeuuuuuuu

Grace Grace and More Grace. The Guru granted me a chance to help Her

aged Children and I passed it up. For those who like Advaita I

passed up an opportunity to serve Amma manifesting as a debilitatied

Senior and/or I did not serve my own Self.

What a pity!

The problem (Maya) is that I have spent all of these years passing on

these opportunities.

I still dislike seemingly "gross" or "unpleasant" Seva.

One more point if I may.

Americans have an expression called Goody Two Shoes.

For those of you unfamiliar it means a person who is always good and

nice and therefore uncool, un-hip somewhat dull and out of the

mainstream.

On the other side, when we get catastrophic illness we beg God for

help.

Can we make a withdrawal from the Bank of Grace without making the

deposit of meritorious actions?

Praying for Grace,

GeorgeSon

Ammachi, Prajna - Brianna <prajnaji>

wrote:

> Om Amriteswaryai Namaha!

>

> I just remembered something from the satsang before Atma Puja in

Seattle (Tacoma). For some reason, my mind has blanked on who told

this story, either Big Swami or Swamini.

>

> Once, while waiting in the darshan line, a little boy threw up on

the floor. His mother was so embarrassed that she just picked him up

and ran out of the hall, and didn't return. The other people in the

darshan line were also disgusted, and held their noses or looked

away. For a while the vomit remained on the floor next to the darshan

line, and nobody volunteered to clean it up. Amma, of course, was

watching all of this. Finally, a little nine year old boy came up

with some towels and water, and carefully cleaned up all the vomit

himself, even spraying a little perfume on the spot. Amma was

extremely touched, and gave the boy a very long darshan, asking him

to sit by Her. She later commented that due to that boy's innocent

devotion and selfless service, She could not get his face out of Her

mind for several days.

>

> Jai Ma!

>

> Prajna

>

> Discover

> Find restaurants, movies, travel & more fun for the weekend. Check

it out!

>

June 9, 2005

Satchitanand, you hit the nail on the head. The theme of last week for me was

also never pass up an oportunity to serve. You can get close to Amma by jumping

into Her arms, giving prasad, or sitting on the stage, but if you really want to

get close, put down the pride and SERVE (barring any physical obstacles, of

course).

I used to fall apart when Amma would leave after a retreat and I wouldn't be

going to the next city. I remember last year in LA, running away from the end of

Devi Bhava, pissed off at the Divine Mother for getting me hooked and then

abandoning me, crying all the way home only to find a check for $500 in my mail

box (whoo-hoo! New Mexico, here I come!!). But even after such miracles, I was

crushed when Mother left. But something has definately shifted for me, and I'm

really starting to see Mother in everyone around me, and in all (well, most) of

life's situations. Now I'm on more of the tour than I've ever been on, and the

desire to be near Her is waning, and the desire to serve Her children is

waxing... I notice that this seems to be common among those who have been with

Her a few years.

I first saw Amma in 1999, and I just can't believe how profoundly my life has

changed because of Her. I used to smoke, drink, do cocaine, lie, and treat

people (especially my family) like dirt. Although I was raised hindu, and with a

strong spiritual foundation, I rebelled strongly for a few years in there (the

"tortured artist" needing an audience). My art, writing and music used to be

about my pain and how no one understood me. I used to get up on stage in these

famous rock clubs in LA and just turn myself inside out, trying to make the

audience as uncomfortable as I was. By Ma's grace, I am still painting, but

painting my joy. Still writing, but writing about advaita and yogic philosophy.

Still singing, but singing the holy names, every day, and with so much gratitude

and love... how can I ever thank Her? The only way I can think of to reciprocate

the love and grace She has showered on me is to serve Her children, because it

is clear that She and they are one. She always says,

"Creator and creation are one and the same," (a true vedantin, our Mother is)

so I'm just trying to honor each person, moment, thing and situation as the very

body of the Mother. And of course, I suck at it frequently, and yell at my loved

ones, and get all stressed out and take things personally, but I'm starting to

witness that and gradually I feel it all losing its' grip.

A friend of mine, who spends a lot of time in Amritapuri, and is an Ayurvedic

doctor, was called to the Ayurvedic hospital a few weeks after the Tsunami. He

got all excited, thinking that here was his chance to shine, and imagined

himself skillfully treating Amma's children with all his years of experience in

Ayurvedic healing. However, when he got there, they handed him a mop and a

bucket, and said that the bathrooms desperately needed to be cleaned. These

bathrooms, he said, were covered in vomit, blood, urine, feces, pus, and every

sort of biohazardous waste you can imagine. It was a huge lesson for him in

humility and service, and how often the less glamorous the seva, the more

rewarding. He said it totally opened his heart, to think of how people had been

suffering such intense physical pain in addition to the overwhelming emotional

and psychological pain. The least he could do was help provide a clean place to

bathe. Jai Ma.

-Prajna

leokomor <leokomor wrote: