Friday afternoon/eve with Our Beloved Amma

[Guest guest]

OM Amriteswaryai Namah...

 

An abridged report - perhaps some of the sisters & brothers who were

around for Thursday and Friday morning have more to say - and as usual

hopelessly self-preoccupied. ( " Eye " pent the American holiday with

my family in Philadelphia, therefore was not as disappointed as some

other Family who had made travel plans and missed out on the

originally scheduled Wednesday programs.)

 

Arrived in the middle of Friday afternoon's program to a crowded,

crowded gathering. Ran immediately into one of my oldest friends, who

was doing some seva in the bookstore, and her sweet hug was as

reassuring as being in Amma's arms... yes, you are off the airplane

and HERE! The Temple was a mix of loving chatter, anxious movements

in the crowd, new children with anticipatory looks on their faces, and

the local satsang members busy busy busy with the constant

rearrangment(s) that seem to go on as we adjust to changing

situations.

 

(Iswari -- several times I thought I saw you there with Baby Rafael...

even tho' I imagine it is a bit early to be flying with him.... but

hope all is well with your family.)

 

I made my way rather close to the Chair, and was overcome to see Amma

in such proximity. Everything felt... very gentle... although given

my own mood, perhaps a calming influence on all of the Rajas I had

been dealing with in my life/travels/dramas. At one point, just as my

mind was becoming tangled up in that worry, the next person at the

Chair was wearing a gorgeously blue, purple, and violet " tie-dyed "

blouse, and just like " That, " Amma wiped away whatever anxiety was

coming to the surface of my mind, and reminded me of a different part

of my life. It was exquisite -- like the way one runs a cloth over a

dusty windowsill and so quickly sees the clear surface for which we

are striving.

 

Upstairs, the walls were hung with embroidered quilts (Rajasthani?)

with those glorious colours and mirrored accents. And several very

large portraits of some of my favorite images of Amma in meditation.

(There is one in Swamini Amritaprana's first book - perhaps the people

in the photography section of the bookstall have a " name " for it. But

in it Her forehead is radiating a subtle, burnished glow. I just love

it...)

 

Downstairs, Amma was giving Darshan until about 4:30 in the afternoon,

upon whence She extended Her legs, Gita and the other person doing lap

Seva removed some thick warm wooly socks that had been keeping Amma's

toes warm (and perhaps protected from too much pressure or supporting

Her limbs after hours and hours of travel? Sorry, I must specuate...)

and Mother rose to give Her attention to Jason and his attendants.

 

At that point, I had been up in the balcony for a while, and it was a

good perspective to watch the way Mother moved through the crowd --

such a sweet smile on Her face, so much gracious giving. Sigh -- what

a MOTHER we have!

 

At the back of the Hall, two of the Sonoma County devotees and I ran

into each other, and adjourned to the snack shop to catch up a little

bit. The moon was waxing, and very full, and it seemed that in aspect

to Jupiter (Guru) many peoples emotions were running rather high. I

heard one person report that due to the carpooling situation, about

one in 20 cars was reaching the property " full " of shared riders, and

so there was a lot of turning around and confusion about getting

parked and transportation figured out. Many devotees ended up taking

some exercise to walk up the road to the Temple. Good for their

aerobic conditioning, I suppose, but lending additional frantic-ness

to the situation for shuttle drivers.

 

The aromas wafting from the kitchen tent were incredible! I forget

the menu now -- a korma or paneer dish? -- but it was very tasty after

bhajans.

 

Swami Ramakrishna gave an inspiring satsang about cultivating the

right attitude towards life, and the balance between managing

situations (emotions) and expressing right action (a comparision

between managers and workers, management and marketing, and other

kinds of business imagery that I admittedly do not have much grasp of,

but made some in the audience laugh heartily.)

 

I was seated in the aisle near where Amma's Chair is kept during the

bhajans, and among some of the Bay area devotees who give a lot of

energy to the Saturday programs at the M.A Center -- keeping the

bhakti going when Mother is not here. Although I have not been able

to attend many of the programs since the summer, it felt nice to bask

in the reflected glow of their dedication. So I was not in the back

for the Pada Puja. But seem to recall that the flower garland was of

a vibrant red and orange-yellow rose combination, that as always

looked especially happy to be decorating Her neck!

 

We also had a prime spot to enjoy all of the constant flow of small

children (i.e. the chronological youngsters) headed up to the stage to

seat themselves around Amma, and the innocence of these sweet faces, I

think, reminded us all of that message Mother reinforces to us -- to

stay in touch with that innocence deep inside of us that is God. At

one point, Mother very carefully readjusted the beaded necklace on of

the little girls wore around her neck, winding up the extra string

into a proper knot, tying things off so to speak.

 

After Swami's satsang, Amma asked if we wanted a Q & A or bhajans. Much

loud voiced contributions from the crowd (I implored for both!).

Bhajans won! Although Big Swami (Amritaswarupananda) remarked

(translated) something from Mother about the newer children and the

older children teaching each other... Revising that somewhat political

statment about " Those who know don't teach, and those who teach don't

know. " But his voice trailed off and I did not grasp the import.

 

Mother had a box on the stage near her, that was wrapped up in the

most gorgeous deep blue velvet... and there was a white flower on it

and a picture. She picked up the flower several times and inhaled

deeply. She brought it with Her off when She came down to the Darshan

chair, holding it to Her chest most carefully.

 

The first numbers of Darshan proceeded rather quickly, and many

newcomers were able to receive Her blessing. I left the Hall around

midnight, after receiving a most gentle and reassuring embrace. The

moon was very very full, casting a glorious purity to the stars, and

as I found my way down the hill, a nighthawk winged over the parking

lot from one of the ponds. Its chest was feathered white, and the

vision was so profound: Remember to fly above the problems &

distractions of this world.

 

With affection,

Prashanti