07 Oct 2024, Amritapuri Ashram
Since the time of Covid, it has become a regular practice at Amritapuri Ashram for devotees or ashram residents to share their life experiences and spiritual insights with Amma and the assembled gathering. Today, Sarani, a devotee from the USA, sat beside Amma and shared a humorous story, reflecting on her early days of spiritual practice with her husband.
She recounted:
“When I was first married, my husband and I would practice the I AM meditation together. Once, while meditating, I couldn’t control myself and let out a loud sneeze.
Immediately, he yelled, ‘AHHHH!!!’
‘What?!’ I asked.
He said, ‘Don’t sneeze when I’m vibrating my muladhara!’
My understanding is that kundalini rising from the muladhara is a mystical experience that can happen on the path to realization. So, at first, he had no idea it was an external explosion.”
The story brought laughter to the gathering, and Amma, with her characteristic warmth and insight, took the microphone to respond:
“When we close our eyes and meditate, we are trying to guide the mind towards stillness, towards silence. So, suddenly, when we hear a loud sound, we are naturally shocked. But by your sneezing, kundalini will not move—that’s a silly thought.”
Amma continued, offering a deeper reflection on the nature of meditation and external disturbances:
“For the practice of meditation, what’s important is silence. When we go on Bharata Yatra, we often meditate while traveling in the bus. We sometimes stop on the side of the highway and meditate there too. At that time, we hear the sound of vehicles and horns, but we don’t feel disturbed. We know we are sitting by the roadside, and vehicles are bound to pass by, so our mindset is already prepared to accept that reality. As a result, we don’t get angry or distracted when we hear the sounds.
“But if you are living in the Ashram and meditating, and suddenly a vehicle comes into the ashram grounds and honks its horn, you may feel disturbed. Every situation and your attitude of mind towards it is what really matters.”
Amma’s message highlighted the importance of cultivating an attitude of acceptance and understanding, not just towards the external environment but also towards how we react internally. Her words brought laughter, wisdom, and clarity to the gathering, gently reminding everyone that true peace lies not in external silence, but in the silence of the mind amidst life’s inevitable disturbances.
-Sakshi