Amma's Power to Transform

[Guest guest]

6 June 2007 — San Ramon, California, USA

 

On the second evening of Amma's San Ramon programs, a 32-year-old San

Ramon Ashram resident, Sreejit Poole, gave a talk about his experience

since meeting Amma in 1989, when he was just 14 years old.

 

Sitting at Amma's side on the temple's dais, he told everyone a

beautiful story about Amma's power to transform lives. The story was

about his father.

 

Sreejit explained how although he and his father had met Amma on the

same evening—at the urging of Sreejit's mother—they had come

separately, as his parents were divorced. His father had taken the bus

to Amma's program from another part of town.

 

" My father has Multiple Sclerosis, a degenerative nerve disease, "

Sreejit said. " At the time of his first visit with Amma, my dad had

always got around with the help of a cane. At the time, he was also

unemployed and living either on the streets or in low-income housing,

as he had only his disability check to live of off. That first night,

our first night with Amma, my dad stayed for Amma's talk and the

bhajans, and then left—happy for the experience but not blown over by

it. But on the way home a funny thing happened. He was so full of

energy that, seeing the bus was not going to be coming soon, he

decided just to walk to the next bus stop. And at the next stop, still

feeling energetic, he decided to continue on foot again. Like this he

managed to beat the bus home.

 

" You might be thinking that it was just the rush of adrenaline from

meeting a saint like Amma that gave him the strength, but that wasn't

the end of it. Soon after this, my dad would gradually give up his

cane, and his MS never bothered him to as great an extent as it did in

those days. But his rapidly improving health was only one small part

of the transformation. Within a couple months of that first meeting,

he was inspired to apply for a job at the housing project where he

lived. He got it as case manager, helping the people in the community.

A few months after taking that job, he became the centre's director.

Two years down the road would see him take over as the executive

director of the Operational Emergency Center, one of the biggest food

banks in Seattle. And then a few years later, he graduated to working

for the city of Seattle, where he now works as the director of the

city's Homelessness Intervention & Block-Grant Administration. In

short, he went from being homeless to being the person in Seattle who

decides where all the city's funds for homeless people are allocated. "

 

At this point, everyone in the hall, the devotees filling the San

Ramon temple hall slowly broke into a round of applause. After the

clapping stopped, Sreejit continued, " And in his office on the 60th

floor overlooking the city, he has a picture of Amma and a copy of

Amma's Geneva speech for all to read.

 

" Amma did not even physically touch him on that first visit. But no

one can doubt the complete transformation that just being in her

presence brought about in his life. Amma has so much faith in us, that

we have no choice but to believe in ourselves. "

 

—Tulasi from www.amritapuri.org

[Guest guest]

Thanks for posting this remarkable story Amarnath. My work schedule

did not allow me to enjoy the evening programs this time in San

Ramon so I appreciate your report all the more.

 

aikya

 

Ammachi , " amarnath " <anatol_zinc wrote:

>

> 6 June 2007 — San Ramon, California, USA

>

> On the second evening of Amma's San Ramon programs, a 32-year-old

San

> Ramon Ashram resident, Sreejit Poole, gave a talk about his

experience

> since meeting Amma in 1989, when he was just 14 years old.

>

> Sitting at Amma's side on the temple's dais, he told everyone a

> beautiful story about Amma's power to transform lives. The story

was

> about his father.

>

> Sreejit explained how although he and his father had met Amma on

the

> same evening—at the urging of Sreejit's mother—they had come

> separately, as his parents were divorced. His father had taken the

bus

> to Amma's program from another part of town.

>

> " My father has Multiple Sclerosis, a degenerative nerve disease, "

> Sreejit said. " At the time of his first visit with Amma, my dad had

> always got around with the help of a cane. At the time, he was also

> unemployed and living either on the streets or in low-income

housing,

> as he had only his disability check to live of off. That first

night,

> our first night with Amma, my dad stayed for Amma's talk and the

> bhajans, and then left—happy for the experience but not blown over

by

> it. But on the way home a funny thing happened. He was so full of

> energy that, seeing the bus was not going to be coming soon, he

> decided just to walk to the next bus stop. And at the next stop,

still

> feeling energetic, he decided to continue on foot again. Like this

he

> managed to beat the bus home.

>

> " You might be thinking that it was just the rush of adrenaline from

> meeting a saint like Amma that gave him the strength, but that

wasn't

> the end of it. Soon after this, my dad would gradually give up his

> cane, and his MS never bothered him to as great an extent as it

did in

> those days. But his rapidly improving health was only one small

part

> of the transformation. Within a couple months of that first

meeting,

> he was inspired to apply for a job at the housing project where he

> lived. He got it as case manager, helping the people in the

community.

> A few months after taking that job, he became the centre's

director.

> Two years down the road would see him take over as the executive

> director of the Operational Emergency Center, one of the biggest

food

> banks in Seattle. And then a few years later, he graduated to

working

> for the city of Seattle, where he now works as the director of the

> city's Homelessness Intervention & Block-Grant Administration. In

> short, he went from being homeless to being the person in Seattle

who

> decides where all the city's funds for homeless people are

allocated. "

>

> At this point, everyone in the hall, the devotees filling the San

> Ramon temple hall slowly broke into a round of applause. After the

> clapping stopped, Sreejit continued, " And in his office on the 60th

> floor overlooking the city, he has a picture of Amma and a copy of

> Amma's Geneva speech for all to read.

>

> " Amma did not even physically touch him on that first visit. But no

> one can doubt the complete transformation that just being in her

> presence brought about in his life. Amma has so much faith in us,

that

> we have no choice but to believe in ourselves. "

>

> —Tulasi from www.amritapuri.org

>