5 – 6 Oct, Europe Yatra 2009, Helsinki, Finland,
With Amma’s Love from Helsinki
Amma had reached Helsinki late noon on Oct 4, 2009. She had come after all the marathon sessions during her Birthday celebrations that had just taken place at Amritapuri. We assumed Amma would take rest but in fact at around 8 pm the same evening we heard Amma calling for her singing children to hear them practice a Finnish bhajan that Amma would sing the next day.
During the program, Amma lead a guided meditation session with all the kids(of all ages) huddled close to her. During Darshan, most of the time were taken by press interviews. Amma answers each and every question in a patient way, although some of the questions may seem very much the same ones that Amma would have recieved at every other place, yet Amma delivers her answer freshly.
As the day grew older and evening mellowed, Darshan became slower and loving as the rushing crowd had settled in. Amma suddenly spotted our regular sound systems person sitting in his post and laughing just as an old bhajan started. Amma looked at all of us and said, “what a bhajan! Do you think he understood the meaning and hence he is laughing?”. Amma was talking of the old Malayalam bhajan “Kali Maheswariye”. Amma asked the sound systems person (Austrian National) who had come forward to Amma if he was laughing, knowing the inner meaning or knowing the subtle Vedantic comedy in that song. His bemused “No” came useful to many of us. Amma looked sidewards at one of the brahmacharis and said “Da, do you know the meaning?” Immediately he too said that he did not know the lines. Amma started asking for the bhajan lyrics. Amma started singing paragraph by paragraph and started explaining the beauty of Vedanta in that song.
Amma sang a bit of the Bhajan where the lines go
വാലും തലയുമില്ലാ പ്രപന്ചത്തില് വേരുനീയെന്നു കേള്പ്പൂ
എന്തൊരു പ്രാന്ത് തായേ സത്യാസത്യം കീഴ്മേല് മറച്ചിടുന്നു.
“O Mother Divine! It is heard that Thou Art the root of the universe, yet who doesn’t have a head or tail. Mother dear, What a craziness! You turn both truth and untruth upside down!” Amma was ofcourse taking this a notch up with her descriptions. Amma then moved on describing the paragraphs “O Bhairavi! Thou Art are the architect of the Universe! The houses of five elements are made by Thee. Because you could find no place to place your feet, you reside in the graveyard!” Going on she made a much laughable comment on the paragraph that says “Even though one may not have even a penny to take with them at the time of death, Yet you make foolish humans strive to earn crores.”
പോകുമ്പോള് കൊണ്ടുപോകാന് ഒരു ചില്ലി പൊലുമില്ലെന്കിലും ഹാ
കോടികള് കൂട്ടിടുന്ന പരിഷയെ വിഡ്ഡികെട്ടിപ്പതും നീ
Amma’s translations were getting more and more insight-filled yet humorous and the English language could not frame it as nice as it actually sounded.
നാണമേശാത്ത കാളീ നിനക്കാരു ചെക്കനെ തന്നിടുന്നൂ
നിത്യവും കന്യകയായ് നടന്നോളൂ ദ്വന്തമില്ലാത്ത കേമീ
Nanameshatha kali ninakkaru
Chekkane thannidunnu
Nityavum kanyakayayi nadannolu
dvantamillathakemi
The lines read the meaning “O Kali, you have no sense of shame, who will give you a guy (in marraige)? O, great one, who art, non-dual in nature, continue as a virgin” Amma added to say the Divinity has no gender and yet Devi has a female form, so when it is purnam and there is nothing that needs to be completed.
The brahmachari told Amma that he dint read the same fun the way Amma was explaining. Amma mentioned about that need of having such full translations that could yield so much more joy in devotion.
As night grew into day and Darshans got over early in the morning. The second day, Amma had some visitors from Industry and the Technological University at Helsinki. Amma was as joyful with every single devotee in her own ways. She consoled many who cried on her shoulders as she embraced them warmly engulfing them in a recess of peaceful rest.The Devi Bhava started late that evening. Amma’s beautiful blue-green color touched that eyes of many. As lines filled in, Amma would get eager to see them all. While she blessed all showering flower petals, they were in tears, smiles and in pure bliss. Amma wanted all, as her children, and that very look in her eyes could have no equivalents. No words would ever convey that. That ended the Finnish program around 4:30am local time. Next day was a travel day to Zurich for the next program of the 2009 Europe yatra with its many sweet stories to tell. It is such a blessing to be in that very presence of Amma.
– Kannadi