Guru mishap?

[Guest guest]

I am bummed out. Yesterday (Monday), Ammachi was in

Noo Yawk to give darshan, perform a Puja, and take on

her Devi Bhava. I was intending to go, and in

preparation had been eating vegetarian for the last

few days. I read somewhere that Amma said, "I love my

Western devotees, but am upset that so many of them

smell like meat-eaters." I figured a few days of

careful eating would prevent my carnivorous stench :-)

and help raise my consciousness. Monday afternoon I

ordered a lunch of Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce,

which I ate hungrily with lots of white rice. Then,

about an hour before I was supposed to leave home, I

was struck with an intestinal upset of explosive

proportions! Ugh, was I a mess! Naturally, I

cancelled my ride and stayed home near the bathroom.

 

At home and depressed that I would miss this year's

chance to see Amma, I surfed the Web and found an

astrological Panchanga which informed me that Monday

was an Ekadashi day, the eleventh night after the New

Moon, observed as a fasting day by Vaishnavas. Not

only had I NOT fasted, the foods I ate were all

explicitly forbidden to eat on Ekadashi -- rice,

garlic, and eggplant. I am not a Vaishnava, but it

seemed strange that this breaking of dietary

restrictions coincided with my toilet adventure. (A

note said that Lord Brahma put a curse on all rice

grains eaten on Ekadashi, that they would explode in

the devotee's stomach.)

 

Today I spoke to a couple of my Wiccan friends who did

manage to get downtown to see Ammachi on Monday.

Karen's darshan was particularly moving. When Amma

hugged her and blessed a bracelet, she put it on

Karen's wrist, saying in English, "from Mother to

Daughter." At that moment, Karen says she got a vivid

loving image of her own biological mother, dead for

several years, and could smell her mother's perfume

scent.

 

Karen was concerned that I didn't have Amma's

comforting hug, since my father had passed away less

than a month ago. And it occurred to me -- don't some

Hindus avoid performing Pujas or taking darshan of

their Guru for a period (ranging from 11 days to a

whole year) after the death of a parent?

 

I intend to light a candle this Thursday to honor

Ammachi, and celebrate Guru Purnima. For whatever

reason, I was prevented from meeting my Guru this

year, but I still keep her image cherished in my

heart.

 

Om amriteshvariye namaha

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

 

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