48. Om maha lavanya sevadhaye namah: I bow down to Amma who is the treasure house of beauty
Beauty. Noun. A combination of qualities such as color or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.
A dictionary definition.
Can Amma be described justly in words? Can Amma ever be encapsulated within a manmade framework of beauty? Can we even begin to think that we have finally understood the aura that Amma emanates? It's the same as capturing a rainbow in a bottle. Or the fragrance of jasmine in a closed fist. Or even capturing the soothing sounds of waves within your ears. All these ethereal sensations can't be merely seen, smelt or heard. It has to be "felt" deep within a recess of the heart. That recess which opens up in joyous celebration when you see Amma. That recess which feels a deep stab of undiluted pain when She waves Her goodbye.
How do I give a word or even a generous sentence to the mix of tearful joy, gratitude, thankfulness, elation, relief, calm, anticipation one feels while approaching Amma for darshan? Even if the queue is snaking way behind a pillar or a wall of people, you manage to catch glimpses of Amma. It may just be Her eyes or Her arms but it's enough to wash over us with a deep sense of calm. And the moment when you're three heartbeats away from Amma...!!! What bliss to have the divine opportunity to gaze at that beautiful face and drink it all in. What absolute bliss to be able to look at Her eyes or Her hands...it's been 24 years and yet every time the thought is the same: I've never seen eyes like this before! I've never seen hands so soft and so compassionate. So where and how can I use a simple noun to capture everything universal that Amma stands for? How can I stand in front of a mountain and hope to capture it's magnificence by merely calling it "majestic"?
The closest we can come is through this mantra. Amma truly is the treasure house of beauty. She's a treasure. She's beautiful. Absolutely every thought, every action, every gesture, every look is one of beauty. We owe our happiness to Amma. We owe our present to Her. And as we think about Her, the heart swells with gratitude. How can I thank Her who has given me a life that's truly a miracle? How can I adequately sing peans about someone who is responsible for the mosaic of goodness that I dwell in? How can God Herself, who knows only how to love, be anything but the treasure house of beauty? For in Her rests the innocence of nature and the splendor of the universe. She is the way Creation intended the world to be.
Simple. Beautiful. Uncomplicated. Loving.
Om Amriteswariye namah!
Beauty. Noun. A combination of qualities such as color or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.
A dictionary definition.
Can Amma be described justly in words? Can Amma ever be encapsulated within a manmade framework of beauty? Can we even begin to think that we have finally understood the aura that Amma emanates? It's the same as capturing a rainbow in a bottle. Or the fragrance of jasmine in a closed fist. Or even capturing the soothing sounds of waves within your ears. All these ethereal sensations can't be merely seen, smelt or heard. It has to be "felt" deep within a recess of the heart. That recess which opens up in joyous celebration when you see Amma. That recess which feels a deep stab of undiluted pain when She waves Her goodbye.
How do I give a word or even a generous sentence to the mix of tearful joy, gratitude, thankfulness, elation, relief, calm, anticipation one feels while approaching Amma for darshan? Even if the queue is snaking way behind a pillar or a wall of people, you manage to catch glimpses of Amma. It may just be Her eyes or Her arms but it's enough to wash over us with a deep sense of calm. And the moment when you're three heartbeats away from Amma...!!! What bliss to have the divine opportunity to gaze at that beautiful face and drink it all in. What absolute bliss to be able to look at Her eyes or Her hands...it's been 24 years and yet every time the thought is the same: I've never seen eyes like this before! I've never seen hands so soft and so compassionate. So where and how can I use a simple noun to capture everything universal that Amma stands for? How can I stand in front of a mountain and hope to capture it's magnificence by merely calling it "majestic"?
The closest we can come is through this mantra. Amma truly is the treasure house of beauty. She's a treasure. She's beautiful. Absolutely every thought, every action, every gesture, every look is one of beauty. We owe our happiness to Amma. We owe our present to Her. And as we think about Her, the heart swells with gratitude. How can I thank Her who has given me a life that's truly a miracle? How can I adequately sing peans about someone who is responsible for the mosaic of goodness that I dwell in? How can God Herself, who knows only how to love, be anything but the treasure house of beauty? For in Her rests the innocence of nature and the splendor of the universe. She is the way Creation intended the world to be.
Simple. Beautiful. Uncomplicated. Loving.
Om Amriteswariye namah!
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