We have now reached Question 54!
54 is a very auspicious number, as it is Amma’s age, as well as being half of 108.
Our aim is to keep this section running till we reach the 108 Question Milestone!
Today, we are happy to share with you that Amma is sometimes told about the questions posted here, and that a couple of times, She asked what were the answers that the devotees came up with!
To celebrate this ‘Milestone 54‘, we are offering you the chance to enjoy a quick review on the 54 questions posted so far, as well as the answers that have been provided. Below is a first list containing questions 1 to 27:

Q1- What is the first thing that you would do if you became God?
Q2- What is the first thing that you think about when you wake up?
Q3- Are there big egos and small egos, or are all egos the same?
Q4- What is your earliest memory from this life?
Q5- If someone was able to tell you now the exact date of your death, would you be ready to hear it?
Q6- What is the most precious gift you would like to offer to Amma on Her Birthday?
Q7- Would you accept to be cloned? Why?
Q8- What is your favorite animal? Why? What qualities do you see in it?
Q9- Should we listen to God more, or should we make Him listen to our heart’s prayers more?
Q10- What is your favorite flower? Why? What does it symbolize for you?
Q11- What are circumstances in which you get angry? Why?
Q12- What is your favorite color? Why? What does it symbolize for you?
Q13- Why do we watch movies with excitement, even though we know it is just acting?
Q14- What are the qualities that you like the most in babies?
Q15- Are men and women essentially different, or does each individual simply have his/her own nature and character?
Q16- When did you get Amma’s darshan for the first time? (Place, date and very brief description)
Q17- How do you usually deal with dangerous (or bothering) insects? Is it Ok to kill them?
Q18- What is your favorite Amma bhajan? Why?
Q19- Do you have a habit that you would like to change? Why not start today?
Q20- What is your favorite parable/story told by Amma? How has it inspired and helped you?
Q21- What is your favorite activity of the day? Why?
Q22- Why do we like chocolates and ice-cream?
Q23- What is the kindest action you have been able to perform recently?
Q24- How often do you watch the moon and stars at night? Describe your experience briefly.
Q25- How would you describe what Amma is, in just 3 words?
Q26- How much time do you spend in touch with trees, plants and flowers? Describe briefly…
Q27- what is your favorite Devi Bhava sari color? Why?

Click here for a list of questions 28 to 54.

Question 54:

“Why do you actually read and answer the questions posted here? Do you think that you have spiritually benefited from this section?”

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To post your answer, click on ‘Add Comment’.
Please, contemplate on the question first, and make your answer clear.

What an extraordinary time! It was under two weeks before Amma’s tour was to begin. Amidst the anticipation and all the ups and downs that inevitably occur before Amma’s arrival, we received a call that my father-in-law was ill. He had been in a nursing home for the past 4 years with dementia and increasing frailness of the body. Until now, his condition was relatively stable. Upon receiving the news, I was concerned about what was going to happen. Would we be able to go on tour, what was going to happen to my father-in-law , and so on. I prayed to Amma and poured out everything that was in my heart, praying to help me surrender to her will.

Soon, we received news that my father-in-law’s condition had deteriorated and he was nearing his end. We were informed that he could go in hours or days. So we cancelled satsang that was to be held in our home that evening and rushed to his bedside (a three hour drive from where we live.)

He was lying unconscious, apparently unresponsive to sound or touch. His breathing was rapid, shallow and it was clear that it would not be long before his soul would leave the body.

My husband and I spent the day with him, performing archana, meditating, praying. Many thoughts and emotions kept arising the whole time Amma’s grace was evident. The nursing staff were loving and caring, and increasingly so as the day wore on. We were able to simply sit and watch. We watched everything around us in that room – our own thoughts, our own reactions within. We had no choice but to stay present and accept Amma’s will. Her loving and calming presence was strong.

The next day – Easter Monday – he passed away. The remainder of the week was hectic, attending to funeral arrangements, which included looking after the needs of relatives who were arriving from interstate. All the way, Amma guided us, providing whatever we needed. The funeral was sacred by Her grace.

Amma gave us so much strength (emotional and physical) to attend to everything, and in the end, we were able to meet her at the airport upon her arrival in Melbourne for the first programmes in Australia. She even made sure that we could finally join the tour as planned.

The day after the funeral, we were exhausted and numb. That evening, we decided to help in the kitchen. In the process of dealing with boiling water, I burned my hand quite badly. I attended to it quickly, very annoyed with myself for my lack of attention. I went to the puja room, placed my hand on Amma’s photo, asking her to kiss it and make it better and to forgive my inattentiveness.

I awoke the next morning, absolutely stunned that there was no sign of the burn – no pain, no blisters. Surely, the only explanation for that could be Amma’s ever present grace.

Beloved Amma, I bow down in gratitude for showering your blessings in so many ways. May thy will be done!

Veena, Australia

10 April 2008

This past Thursday, Amma’s divine presence soaked deep into our hearts as we sat outside at her feet for the first time in the Australian Ashram in Melbourne.  We had all been longing for this moment since Guru Purnima 2006 when we were given approval to purchase the property.

The gathering began at 1:30pm in the afternoon.  Devi Bhava had finished earlier that morning – around 6am.   As Amma sat outside facing the east, the hot sun shone brightly and soon the cooling clouds came to shade us all.

Then Amma served us a plate of Prasad lunch, chai and payasam as beautiful native wattle birds flew overhead.

After lunch, Amma sang ‘Hari Bol’ followed by ‘Om Namah Sivayah’  Amma then rose from her seat and went for a walk around the gardens, gracing the trees, plants and flowers with her tender touch.  The horses and cows on the other side of the Ashram’s boundary fence were next in line for Amma’s grace to befall on them.

Amma then looked at the beehives situated on the edge of the property and on her way back to the house, a devotee brought her two olive tree branches, one with black olives, the other with green olives.  The devotee only wanted to show Amma the beautiful fruits.  Instead, Amma picked off a black olive and took a little bite of it.  (If you have ever tasted a raw olive, you will never forget it!).  The piece of olive flew out of Amma’s mouth as she expressed beautifully how bad raw olives taste!

This blessed day of Amma’s first visit to the Ashram will be forever cherished in our hearts.

Sita
Melbourne

Question 53:
“Who do you find more affinity with: poets, philosophers or scientists? Why?”
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To post your answer, click on ‘Add Comment’.
Please, contemplate on the question first, and make your answer clear.

Towards the end of the morning program on the first day of retreat, Amma said that she would dance after darshan.  Eager devotees gathered around as the last person came to receive Amma’s hug.  Then, a circle was formed, and Amma stood up to dance.  But the musicians didn’t know what bhajan to play.  Then…..apparently, people in the crowd started to call out ‘Mata Rani’…. And so it was.   The musicians started to play, and Amma gracefully began to dance – making a full circle around the crowd of gazing devotees.   When the time came for ‘Mata Rani Ki….’   Amma stopped in her tracks, threw up her hands, and shouted it out – which of course was followed by a rousing ‘Jai!’

Having made full circle, Amma stood near the peetham, and continued to sing along with the crowd.  This time, when Amma shouted out ‘Mata Rani Ki… Jai’ and her hands went up, it seemed that she literally jumped in the air – her feet appeared to leave the floor for a brief imperceptible moment.  I thought she would start soaring upwards to the ceiling and even through the roof.

Mata Rani continued for sometime to the delight of her Australian children.  And then, just when one thought it was finished, Amma began singing ‘Narayana Narayana Jai Govinda Hare, Narayana Narayana Jai Gopala Hare.’  I don’t think anyone here can recall when Amma last sang two bhajans while dancing on retreats!   The bhajan, which consists of those two simple lines, continued for some time, increasing in speed and in intensity.    It was devotion and bhakti to the max – voices thundering in unison, Amma’s face lit up in divine union with her children down under.

Gopal

7 April 2008, Melbourne

Amma arrived at Melbourne international Airport on April 3^rd around 1pm after holding programmes in Singapore and Malaysia.

A hundred or so people were on hand at the airport gate to greet Amma – an unusual scene for this American – where only ticket holders are allowed past security and to the gate.   Amma was garlanded, a small pada puja was performed, and then Amma gave everyone brief darshan in the form of a kiss.  Amma  then walked through the terminal to the sidewalk where her car was waiting to take her  to the home where she would rest before the Melbourne programmes would start the next day.

The Melbourne programmes and retreat are being held at the Sandown Race Track in a room just next to the race track.   Glass windows along one side of the hall give a full view of the track – an even better view can be had from the dining hall just upstairs.  Being a race track with legalized betting, the hall is filled with dozens of TV screens which were happily connected to Amrita TV’s cameras so that darshan could be viewed on each screen.    Dozens of images of Amma giving darshan were Amma was literally everywhere in the hall!

During the second morning of programmes, race cars were practicing on the track outside – zooming along at breakneck speeds – the roar of their engines filtering into the room as they passed by the hall where Amma was giving darshan. While walking outside, she stopped and watched the cars race by.  Round and round they were going in circles.   Racing along their own ‘razor’s edge’  - perhaps  unaware that the woman just inside the hall they were passing was guiding everyone along their own path…..

 - Sri Pati

4-5 April, 2008, Sandown Racecourse, Springvale, Melbourne, Australia