My Mother

[Guest guest]

My Mother

 

This story begins when I was a child. I was born poor. Often we

hadn't enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me

her portion of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my

bowl, she would say 'Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry.' This was my

mother's first lie.

 

As I grew, mother gave up her spare time to cultivate vegetables on a

small patch of land near our home. She hoped that she could give me

some nutritious food for my growth. She would make delicious soups

from the best of the seasonal crops she was able to grow.

 

While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat what

was still left in the bowl. My heart was touched when I saw it. Once

I gave her half my share but she immediately refused it and

said, 'Please eat this soup, son! I don't really like soup so much.'

This was my mother's second lie.

 

Then, in order to fund my education, mother went to a match factory

to bring home some used matchboxes, which she filled with fresh

matchsticks. This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One

wintry night, I awoke to find mother filling the matchboxes by

candlelight. So I said, 'Mother, go to sleep; it's late, you can

continue working tomorrow morning.' Mother smiled and said, 'Go to

sleep, son! I'm not tired.' This was my mother's third lie.

 

When I had to sit for my final examination, mother accompanied me.

After dawn, mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the Sun.

When the bell rang, I ran to meet her… Mother embraced me and poured

me a glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not

as strong as my mother's love. Seeing mother covered with

perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too.

Mother said 'Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!' This was my mother's

fourth lie.

 

After my father's death, mother had to play the role of a single

parent. She held on to her former job and somehow had to make ends

meet alone. Our family's status was precarious and many a time we

suffered from starvation. Seeing our family's condition worsening, my

kind Uncle, who lived near my house, offered to help us solve our

problems, big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty

stricken, so they often advised my mother to marry again. But mother

refused to remarry saying, 'I don't need love.' This was my mother's

fifth lie.

 

After I had finished my studies and found a job, it was time for my

old mother to retire, but she carried on going to the market every

morning just to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money, but

she was steadfast and even sent the amount back to me! She said, 'I

have enough money.' That was my mother's sixth lie.

 

I continued my part-time studies for my master's degree. Funded by

the American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my

studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring mother to

enjoy life in America. But mother didn't want to bother her son; she

said to me: `I don't want a comfortable life.' That was my mother's

seventh lie.

 

In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be

hospitalized. Now, living far across the ocean, I went home to visit

mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile,

but I was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble. But mother

said, 'Don't cry, son! I'm not in any pain.' That was my mother's

eighth lie!

 

Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died. Yes, my mother was an

angel!

 

It is for this reason that they define Mother this way –

 

M - O - T - H - E - R

 

'M' is for the Million things she gave me;

'O' means she became Old as she gave her life for me;

'T' is for the Tears she shed to save me;

'H' is for her Heart of gold;

'E' is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them;

`R' means the Righteous and exemplary life she lead.

 

Put them all together, they spell 'MOTHER' - a word that means the

world to me.

 

The author of this story in unknown, but it can be anybody on this

Earth who has had the fortune of being brought up by their mother.

For those, who have been blessed with their mother's presence in

their lives, this story is surely beautiful. For those who aren't so

lucky, this is even more beautiful!

 

Bhagavan Baba has time and gain exhorted everyone to adore their

mother as their first God. During the Ladies Day celebration on

November 19, 1999, Bhagavan started his Divine Discourse with this

moving poem:

 

More fragrant than the sweet-smelling flowers

like the Jasmine and the Champak,

Softer than the cheese and the butter,

More beautiful than eye of the peacock,

More pleasant than the moonlight,

Is the love of the mother!

 

Again, on the occasion of Easwaramma Day on May 6, 2006, He

said, " There is no love greater than mother's love in this world. It

is imbued with immense power... Love your mother. Then you will be

loved by all… It is the foremost duty of children to fulfill the

wishes of their mother and make her happy. "

 

- Heart2Heart Team

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan