18 May 2006 – Kaimanam, Trivandrum, Kerala
Amma reached her ashram in Kaimanam, Trivandum at 3:00 pm. She was greeted by hundreds of devotees who were busy making the final preparations for the Brahmasthanam Festival that will begin there tonight and will finish up Monday morning.
Amma’s room is on the ashram’s first floor, a balcony level overlooking the main temple. Upon Amma’s arrival in Trivandrum, it is a tradition for her to walk upstairs and shower flower petals upon the devotees gathered below. This year’s visit was no exception. The devotees chanted “Om Amriteswaryai Namah” and reached out for Amma like baby birds crying for what the mother has brought back to the nest.
It was a rather intimate crowd, so most of the people standing below could see Amma very easily. But Amma was not satisfied with her view of them. So Amma bent down, lowering her head to the railing so as to be able to see the few people standing outside of her line of sight. Such a simple gesture. So spontaneous. A gaze so full of love it brought tears to all the eyes it reached.
In the temple, the devotee prays for the god’s kadaaksham, who says prayers go unanswered?
The temple doors open and the devotee unburdens his heart. For how many lifetimes we must have prayed for a god we could not only see but also touch.
—Kannadi
* Kadaaksham literally means “a look from the corner of the eye.” In a Hindu temple (especially Siva and Devi temples), the idol faces, and looks, straight ahead, and one does not stand directly before it. Thus, eye to eye contact can only come from God blessing one with his kadaaksham.
