118. Om bhakti priyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is fond of (and pleased by) devotion
One of the things that struck me and stuck with me early on was the fact that Amma never asks us to worship Her. For Her, devotion isn't about praying to Her. It's believing in the power of an almighty. It doesn't matter which, so long as we acknowledge there is a higher power and are able to increase and improve our spiritual quest. Even when we queue up for mantras, the first question they ask us is who our ishta devata (preferred/desired God) is. It's never about imposing Herself on us. In fact, Amma never ever sees Herself as God; She considers Herself a Guru, who helps us reach God. It's a different matter that for us, the search for God does not travel further than Amma. For She is God. Godliness. Divinity.
She of course sees the Higher power. Before Devi bhava, the wonderful bhajans sung by Her are heart wrenching. One can feel the presence of the Higher being. Of Devi. It's the way Amma reaches out. Unrelenting. Single minded. Devotion in its purest form. Which is eventually how we should pray to Amma. This Guru of ours who we are blessed to know; who has endowed us with enough good karma to even be in Her presence, should be worshipped with a single minded devotion. An unwavering devotion that does justice to the spiritual world that Amma cleanses for us; for all that gratitude that is due to this amazing Guru; for all the love She bestows on us.
But faith is the demanding partner of devotion. So while we may bandy words like devotion rather loosely, faith is a different genre altogether when it comes to true commitment. It requires and asks of complete trust. There can be no ifs or buts. It's s synonym for 'surrender'. And when this is practiced to its true essence, that is when real devotion gets churned up. That's when real devotion is born. And that's when Amma will smile, pleased that we, Her children, have finally connected with the Higher realm.
Om Amriteswariye namah!
One of the things that struck me and stuck with me early on was the fact that Amma never asks us to worship Her. For Her, devotion isn't about praying to Her. It's believing in the power of an almighty. It doesn't matter which, so long as we acknowledge there is a higher power and are able to increase and improve our spiritual quest. Even when we queue up for mantras, the first question they ask us is who our ishta devata (preferred/desired God) is. It's never about imposing Herself on us. In fact, Amma never ever sees Herself as God; She considers Herself a Guru, who helps us reach God. It's a different matter that for us, the search for God does not travel further than Amma. For She is God. Godliness. Divinity.
She of course sees the Higher power. Before Devi bhava, the wonderful bhajans sung by Her are heart wrenching. One can feel the presence of the Higher being. Of Devi. It's the way Amma reaches out. Unrelenting. Single minded. Devotion in its purest form. Which is eventually how we should pray to Amma. This Guru of ours who we are blessed to know; who has endowed us with enough good karma to even be in Her presence, should be worshipped with a single minded devotion. An unwavering devotion that does justice to the spiritual world that Amma cleanses for us; for all that gratitude that is due to this amazing Guru; for all the love She bestows on us.
But faith is the demanding partner of devotion. So while we may bandy words like devotion rather loosely, faith is a different genre altogether when it comes to true commitment. It requires and asks of complete trust. There can be no ifs or buts. It's s synonym for 'surrender'. And when this is practiced to its true essence, that is when real devotion gets churned up. That's when real devotion is born. And that's when Amma will smile, pleased that we, Her children, have finally connected with the Higher realm.
Om Amriteswariye namah!
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