Re:.and mani's cheap shot

[Guest guest]

Dear KV,

 

 

Sorry to have hurt your sentiments. I am tougher in such things, having lived

now for over 35 years amongst people who laughed at me for believing in God, let

alone their criticizing avatars! I have thus given you the opportunity of

"fighting" for Ammachi, which I am sure she will love; she is probably also

laughing at us both for fighting over her.

 

It is a matter of subjective feelings. From childhood I have had an aversion to

headgear, crowns especially. Say you are the child of an empress. You see her as

mother, play and talk with her. Suddenly she puts on a crown and robes, sits on

a throne surrounded by a lot of solemn people. You are told to bow down to her

or kneel before, are not allowed to rush to her and climb on to her lap. You

ask, "What has happened to my mother? Why is she suddenly unapproachable?" You

feel you have lost her!

 

That is what happens to me. For hours I sit in the hall, watching Ammachi

hugging and blessing. The light in her eyes is pouring out love, I am with my

mother along with my brothers and sisters. Then comes the transformation, the

bhava with the crown - and she becomes remote for me.

 

I don´t have many pictures of Gods, for they all have crowns. There is a picture

of The Great Mother as Arch-Empress, a small version of a big one my father had

on his altar. She has a crown and I wish she did not. But the face is beautiful

and I try not to see the crown. It is a conical crown, which I prefer to see as

a pyramid, collecting cosmic energy. But the royal type puts me off.

 

All my life I have pleaded with people to approach God as parent to love; making

this God a king or emperor creates a distance, a feeling of unapproachability.

 

Do I have to like every saree my mother wears? Can´t I tell her that I find

green does not suit her so well as blue?

 

So these are personal prejudices and cannot be changed. There is no need to

change either. Ammachi wears a crown because people want her to. To give a very

mundane parallel: Elvis Presley was once asked what kind of music he listened to

privately. The reply was Bach and Beethoven. The shocked reporter asked him why

he sang the music that he did. "I give my fans what they ask for! If I get paid

for screaming, why shouldn´t I scream?" Actually this cost Elvis a bit of

populariy for a period till grass grew over it. When he didn´t scream he was a

great singer!

 

An avatar has to reach hearts and can use all harmless and legitimate means to

do so. Each one takes what he or she likes, is not compelled to buy the whole

packet.

 

deep regards

Mani