In Rajasthan with Amma

The night before we got to Jaipur we stopped at another place in Rajasthan called Rajsamand for the night. The place was an ashrama like place located on a beautiful hilltop with a view that was spectacular. From the rooftop of the building one could see the vast lake spread out below. Early in the morning Amma came out for a morning meditation in that very spot. One of those moments that stay with you for a long time.

The Jaipur program was quite interesting in a few ways. The people in northern India have a tendency to express their devotion through dancing and that is exactly what happened during Amma’s bhajans. It was beautiful to see the devotees around me get up and start moving very gracefully and in some cases fairly vigorously yet totally without self-consciousness. There was one lady that especially captivated my attention. She was obviously totally lost to the world as she was dancing to Amma’s Punjabi Bhajan Mata Rani Ne. This kind of dance that comes spontaneously and is rooted in ancient traditions of devotion is a very inspiring sight.

On the road from Jaipur to Delhi we had a lunch stop with Amma where She also sang the same Punjabi song, but this time She picked up a drum and kept the beat with it herself. She was so sweet as She played and sang at the same time. Amma seemed like She was in a very childlike mood during the whole stop.

Vishwanath
27 Mar 2007