>From a friend
for the life of me, I do not know why I'm doing this, however I have this
strong urge to share the following with you all......
Ok, here I sit reading Swami Ramakrishnan's "Racing Along the Razor's Edge".
I'm on Chapter Five: "The Importance of Having a Guru" and the subsection
is titled - "Healing Presence".
Swami starts this off by describing how people with what may seem to be huge
problems in their lives, as they come up to Amma for darshan seems the
problems become insignficant, they just "melt away" as it were.
The following, after I read it, I reflected on an incident that I witness at
DFW (Dallas/Ft Worth airport). Then this "strong urge" came up to share
this and why I don't know but here goes...
"When Amma was in Chicago in 1993 at the Parliament of World's Religions
Centennial, She was requested to give the closing prayers and message. The
devotees brought the car close to the stage door so that Amma would be able
to get to the car as quickly as possible when the function was over;
otherwise, people would crowd around Her. As the Dalai Lama and some other
important celebrities were also on the stage along with Amma, there was
tight security. Because of this, it was diffuuclt to get permission to park
the car near the stage door. Amma finished Her prayer and message and was
walking out the stage door toward the car when She saw a security guard
arguing with a devotee. The guard's face was red with anger and his voice
was escalating. Amma walked straight up to the guard, stroked his chest and
gave him a hug. He was totally taken aback by this unexpected loving and
soothing embrace.
The guard, who had been insisting that due to security reasons they
should move the car and bring Amma only through the designated gate and not
through any other door, was now escorting Amma to the car and opening the
door for Her! Just one touch was enough to change him. Next year when Amma
came to Chicago, he was the first person in the darshan line."
I was there and I remember standing way in the back of this open arena. It
was nightfall, and so happend I was standing next to another Amma devotee.
When it was Amma's turn to come up to the podium, all we both could see from
the angle we were at, was Her nose ring shining brilliantly. We both could
not believe how radiant it shined! Just a certain way She would turn Her
head and the stage lights would hit that ring and it was like all of a
sudden seeing a bright light from a lighthouse beaming out and it this
instance this dazzling, sparkling, radiant divine brilliance shining forht.
It was truly remakable.
Sometime in the early 90's I went to see Amma at DFW as She was leaving to
go to Chicago. As She was walking to the gate She would stop and either
embrace or stroke a person's chest. Devotee or a passerby! It was
remarkable to see how She would so naturally come up to a stranger and
embrace them. One very sweet moment, for me was when She walked up to an
American Airline employee, a young African American male, and just
completely showered him with so much affection. You could tell at first he
was a bit bewildered, but then completely accepting and grateful what just
happened to him. The following year he showed up for darshan there in
Dallas.
So there you have it, like I said don't know what came over me to write
this, but its done and hope you enjoyed the story(s).
Happy Valentines
Charles
