Jai Karunamayi!
Our loving Amma's visit to New York started with her darshan of the powerful deities and Sri Lalita Sahasranama yajna kunda (holy fire pit) in the Ganesh Hindu Temple in Flushing, Queens, where the programs took place. Amma, in her infinite compassion, thus allowed all those attending the yajna, who could not leave the ceremony, to receive her darshan. It was indeed an auspicious beginning.
The Importance of Devotion
Amma was then warmly received in the Community Center of the Temple by her anxiously waiting children. After a short cultural program performed by Amma's talented and devoted children, Amma gave a profound discourse on the importance of bhakti (devotion) in our lives. There are many paths to salvation, but the path of bhakti is most sweet. She told the story of Prahlada, who from the tender age of five realized that Narayana (Lord Vishnu) was everywhere and in everything.
Amma said that we have many desires which cause us much restlessness and grief. However, the only desire which will bring us peace is the desire to be close to God. "The fruit of bhakti is bhakti," she said many times. Individual Blessings day was very special for all who attended. Most were able to sit in Amma's divine presence for several hours and receive the grace of a few private personal moments with her.
The Joy of Meditation
The first Sri Karunamayi One Day Silent Meditation Retreat held in New York was also a profound experience. The details of pranayama (yogic breathing to still the mind) and meditation were explained very well by Swamiji and many suggestions given to first time meditators. Meditation sessions were interspersed with Amma's divine discourses.
Amma talked about Sri Vidya, the worship of Divine Mother, which for millennia has been secretly practiced by only a few sages and their disciples. The ancient practices usually take several hours in a day. However, Amma has blessed us with the ability to receive the same benefits by chanting the Samputita Sri Suktam while bathing the most sacred Sri Chakra (now made available to all through Amma's bookstore) and by chanting the Sri Devi Khadgamala Stotra Ratnam. The Samputita Sri Suktam is a very powerful combination of the Sri Suktam and an important verse from the Chandi Sapta Shati, both ancient hymns which extol Divine Mother.
The Sri Devi Khadgamala Stotra Ratnam is a short 10-minute condensed worship of all the divine energies within the Sri Chakra. These universal energies correspond to specific energy points within the body, such that chanting this stotram fully awakens the subtle energy body. Doing this every day, preferably at 8 p.m. in our own time zone, will bring peace, healing and tremendous spiritual progress. The stotram is more powerful than a laser beam and can burn away the accumulation of our entire karma load.
Chanting Divine Mother's Names with Sincerity Will Lead Us to the Goal
Amma also talked about some of the names in the sacred Sri Lalita Sahasranama, the Thousand Names of our beloved Sri Lalitambika Devi. According to tradition, one must chant the entire stotram without interruption. However, Amma very compassionately said that we could learn just one or two names, saying that chanting even one name of Divine Mother with sincerity is equivalent to chanting the whole stotram. Amma, being Jagan Mata, the Mother of the universe, is ever compassionate and wants to include all her children so that they may also receive the benefits of the knowledge discovered by the rishis. Amma said that the vision of the rishis encompassed all beings in the universe and was not limited to one faith, cult, village, town or family. One can't help but notice that this is also an apt description of our own beloved Amma's vision.
A Homa for Universal Peace and Welfare
Amma's visit to New York culminated in a beautiful homa for world peace and individual contentment. Swamiji performed the homa in Amma's presence, explaining many details about the steps in the homa and the significance and benefits of the different kinds of offerings. As always, all present were able to join in the chanting, so that we all felt very much included, as though we ourselves were performing the homa. Amma arrived an hour early and, even before the homa started, chanted many mantras quietly for our benefit and the benefit of the world. At the end of the homa, she also chanted several shanti (peace) mantras to calm the pancha bhutas (five elements) as well as for the benefit of all beings in the universe, including humanity. She particularly remembered the victims of the recent quake in Indonesia and the victims of war and starvation in Africa.
Amma is now on her way to bless her children in the Midwest and West leaving behind a sweet inner silence and joy within us. We are ever grateful. May she come to us physically for many more years!
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
May all beings be happy
Om Shantih Shantih Shantihi
May there be peace in every heart
