Amma’s Western India Tour
December
4-12, 2004
Gujarat
State
December
4-7, 2004
Sri
Karunamayi's second Western India tour commenced on Dec 4 th
in Surat. Eagerly awaiting devotees very lovingly welcomed our
beloved Amma with tears of joy and expressed their hearty gratitude
for her visit to Gujarat. Once inside the very
tastefully decorated hall that was filled to capacity, the mayor
of Surat welcomed Amma with garlands and other offerings. The
mayor then lit a lamp in Amma's presence thus praying to Amma
to light our inner lamps of devotion and dispel darkness. Children
and women dressed in traditional outfits then put on a wonderful
dance performance for Amma. After Swamiji's introductory talk,
Amma addressed the crowd, showering them with Her soothing rays
of divine wisdom. Day 2 in Surat was marked by a peace
march and mantra diksha, inscription of the Saraswati
Mantra on the tongue of hundreds of fortunate
young school children, for their scholastic and social development.
On
December 6, Amma graced the town of Vyara with Her visit. Amma
was so touched by people's love and devotion that she likened
their love to that of the Gopi's love for Sri Krishna. As Amma
blessed each one of the hundreds of devotees gathered, with
kumkum and vibhuti prasadam, they
implored her to bless their town with more than one visit per
year and a longer stay during each visit.
The
following day, the devotees of Navasari were blessed by Amma's
arrival in their town. After welcoming Amma with the
traditional garbha dance, a group of devotees offered
their seva to Amma by singing several bhajans. Amma was so moved by their music that she requested them
to sing more bhajans. Amma herself then sang a few bhajans
that completely immersed the gathered devotees in bhakti
rasa, nectar of devotion. The program concluded
with 108 devotees offering arati to Amma.
Maharashtra
State
Dec
10-12, 2004
The
town of Thane was extremely fortunate and totally divinized
by Amma's first visit to Thane on December 10. Hundreds
of devotees had gathered at the hall to have Amma's darshan
and seek Her blessings. Amma was welcomed at the hall
with an arati and purna kumbha accompanied
by chanting of vedic shlokas by two young
children. A group of local musicians then sang devotional songs
that pleased the Divine Mother. Later, Amma addressed the devotees
with her nectarean words followed by mantra diksha
and blessings.
The
Mumbai program was held at the beautiful Sri Lakshmi Narayana
temple on December 11 and 12. Amma shared Her divine
knowledge with the devotees and blessed the students with mantra
diksha, inscription of the Saraswati mantra
on their tongue.
Responding
to the ardent prayer of all devotees in Western India thirsty
for Her darshan, Amma traveled hundreds of miles to
be with them. On December 13 th the devotees gathered at the
Mumbai airport bid her farewell with a heavy heart
as Amma returned to Bangalore.
Om
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti!
Jai
Karunamayi!
Submitted
by:
Amma's
Bangalore Ashram
