Divine Mother Easwarammba Day - 06th May 2007 ( Part 1/03 )

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EASWARAMMBA DAY – 06th May 2007

 

" Easwaramma was the chosen one. I chose her to be My mother. That is

the intimate relationship between Mother Easwaramma and Myself. "

 

That was the emphatic declaration of Bhagavan on the most auspicious

Easwaramma Day, the 6th of May, 2001. In no uncertain terms Swami

communicated how lofty, grand and glorious is the stature of Mother

Easwaramma. The thronging crowd in Sai Ramesh Hall exploded into loud

applause that evening as they heard these Divine words from Bhagavan.

 

Easwaramma - Mother Divine

 

Mother Easwaramma, truly, was a divine effulgence which graced mother

Earth with a sacred mission and purpose by the inscrutable will of

the Divine just like Kaushalya, (Mother of Sri Rama), Devaki (Mother

of Sri Krishna) or Mary (Christ's Mother). She underwent similar

agonies and ecstasies, fears and dilemmas, trials and triumphs, and

ultimately bliss and beatitude that the Divine Mothers of yore passed

through.

 

Like Krishna, Swami was the eighth child of Mother Easwaramma and the

turbulent times she went through before he took birth were akin to

what Devaki experienced before Krishna graced her lap. None of

Mother Devaki's previous seven children could escape from the heinous

designs of the demon Kamsa. Easwaramma too suffered at the hands of

cruel fate. She had four miscarriages in a row before the Light of

the World descended as her Son.

 

The Mother performs Padapuja to The Lord

" Easwaramma " – The Name

Said It All

 

It was not as if it was totally unannounced, for Kondama Raju, father-

in-law of Easwaramma, had dreams of the family preceptor Venka

Avadhootha instructing him to be prepared, though for what he was not

told. As Swami explained:

 

Kondama Raju, the grandfather of this physical body, being a jnani

(one of wisdom), was blessed with a vision of the future. One day he

called his son, Pedda Venkama Raju, and told him to change his wife's

name to Easwaramma. He told this because he felt the divine

vibrations originating from within. His intention was to convey that

she was the mother of Easwara, God Himself. But Pedda Venkama Raju

was not aware of the inner meaning of this name. He implicitly obeyed

the command of his father and changed the name of his wife to

Easwaramma. Easwaramma was first christened as Namagiriamma at the

time of birth.

 

So long before Swami was born, Namagiriamma became Easwaramma,

meaning the Mother of Easwara, or God, and in his own inimitable way

the Divine Lord announced his coming advent.

 

The precursor to the Divine Descent Many years later, a Pundit well

versed in the Puranas asked Swami, " Was your Incarnation a Pravesa

(an Entrance) or a Prasava (Enceinte)? " Turning to Easwaramma

seated in front, he said, " Tell what happened that day near the well

after your mother-in-law had warned you. "

 

The Mother said: She had dreamt of Sathyanarayana Deva and she

cautioned me that I should not be frightened if something happens to

me through the will of God. That morning when I was at the well

drawing water, a big ball of blue light came rolling towards me and I

fainted and fell. I felt it glide into me.

 

" There you have the answer! " Swami said, " I was not begotten. It was

Pravesa, not Prasava. "

 

The First Miracle

 

So it was the Divine had decided to descend and had chosen the womb

of Mother Easwarammba as his temporary abode. When the sacred moment

arrived in the early hours of the morning on that holy Monday, the

day dedicated to Lord Shiva, on the 23rd of November 1926, the Chosen

Mother had just consumed prasad (consecrated food) given to her by

her mother-in-law after the hour-long Sathyanarayana Puja.

 

She accepted and relished the sanctified food and before the sun had

spread its morning light on the Rathnakaram home the house was bright

with jubilation, joy and gaiety – the long awaited son was born. Those

present were blessed to witness the first miracle of the Divine

Personality, described by Prof. N. Kasturi, Baba's biographer: A mat

covered with a thick bedspread had been placed in a corner of the

room, when the labor had begun, and now the baby was placed on it by

the grandmother. Suddenly they found the bedspread rising up and

falling down on either side of the baby. She grasped the child and

held it close. A serpent was coiled beneath! Of course, snakes there

were in plenty at Puttaparthi, creeping through crevices, crawling

along the walls, and hiding in holes. But a serpent in the lying-in

room pretending to be a bed – it was the role of Adisesha for the

Vishnu who rested on its coils. This was the Incarnation's first

miracle. When Easwaramma was asked about this epic event, she

confessed she had been so filled with joy at the birth of a son she

had never even noticed the agitation all around.

 

 

Seshashailavasa Narayana...

 

....Sathya's Attitude Baffles Easwaramma

 

Yes, the " Rathnakaram " family, meaning " a treasure chest of gems, "

now had its most precious jewel and the home was a hive of activity.

With his bewitching looks and captivating smiles, little Sathya

(Swami's childhood name) instantly become the cynosure of the

village. Later, his prodigious talents in music, dance and poetry,

and his divine leelas enacted right from early childhood on would

bring joy to many. As for Easwaramma, she was the one who fretted

over Swami every moment and suffered the most from his indifferent-to-

this-world attitude. In her own words:

 

" I Do Not Need Anything " - Sathya

 

He [sathya] never asked for any particular food or clothes. A bundle

of clothes would be brought from Hindupur or Anantapur and one of the

grownups, father or grandfather, would call the boys in the family

asking each one to choose for himself. But Sathya always sat aloof

until the others had made their choice and then he would take

whatever was left behind, rejected by the others. He never seemed to

have any desire or wish of his own, but his face would light up with

a beam when he saw the other children happy. When we asked him what

he wanted, a smile was the only reply. I would hug him close and try

to get him to confide his wish to me.

 

`Sathya, tell me what you want. I will give it to you,' I would say.

`I do not need anything' was his only answer. `Whatever you give me,

I will accept. That is enough for me. I will not choose.'

 

 

Sathya used to play with other children and sing bhajans for hours on

end. Her daughters reported that he performed a very intricate dance

a child artiste demonstrated during a drama in Bukkapatnam even

better than the original. But Sathya's solemnity inside the house

disturbed his mother beyond measure. Years later Easwaramma would

recount:

 

This was something I could not understand. How were we different?

What made him so deeply sober and serious? I began at last to wonder

whether the label Brahmajnan [a realized soul] the village elders had

stuck on him and which I had thought a mockery was indeed a tribute

after all.

 

Then Yashoda,.......Now Easwarammba

 

Like Yashoda, Sri Krishna's foster Mother, Easwarammba would often

pray for Divine intervention for Sathya to turn into a normal

Puttaparthi boy. Still, Easwaramma could see in him the potentials of

a poet, a singer, a dancer, a playwright and a director and she hoped

he would blossom in these fields. In fact, such were Sathya's

theatrical skills and such was Easwaramma's simplicity that whenever

she saw him being " tortured " in a drama he acted in, she wept aloud

and even tried to protect her Sathya!

 

And again like Mother Yashoda, who was troubled and torn by instances

of demons vying for the life of her sweet darling child, Mother

Easwaramma too faced agonizing and abnormal experiences. After every

display of Sathya's supernatural powers her worries only increased.

Here is what she experienced told in Swami's own words: When Swami

was staying in the Old Mandir, one day there was an unusual crowd.

Sensing danger, Easwaramma came to Me and said, `Swami, these people

seem to be having some ulterior motive. I am afraid they may try to

harm You. I am unable to sleep peacefully.' I infused courage in her,

saying, `Be fearless. The body is bound to perish one day or the

other. So, give up body attachment.'

 

Those days I used to sleep all alone in a thatched hut. That night,

as Easwarammba feared, some evil-minded people set the hut on fire

from all four sides. There were raging flames all around. Seeing

this, Subbamma and Easwaramma came running. When they reached the

spot, they found to their utter amazement there was a heavy downpour

on the hut. However, there was absolutely no rain in the surrounding

area. When I came out of the hut, both of them were overjoyed to

see Me safe and sound.

 

Similarly, on another occasion Swami shared: One day, somebody

invited Me to their house for food. Actually their intention was to

poison Me. They were feeling jealous of My growing popularity and

prosperity. In those days I used to relish vadas made of Alasanda

grains. Hence, they mixed poison in vadas and offered them to Me.

Before going there, I had told Easwarammba and Subbamma not to be

afraid if any untoward incident was to happen. When I returned from

there, My entire body turned blue and My mouth started frothing. I

told Easwaramma to wave her hand in a circle. She did accordingly,

and to her utter amazement there appeared vibhuti in her hand. She

mixed it in water and gave it to Me. Instantly, I became normal. She

wondered, `Swami can create vibhuti with a wave of his hand. But how

is it that vibhuti appeared in My hand?' In fact, I had given her that

power for that moment.

 

 

Continued....on 05th & 06th May 2007