Oh! AMMA, ever sweet THY saga sung by us, one and all,
The ache that lingers within, continually longing for YOU,
Though veils the pain that looms within, that is ever mindful
Such that we cannot forget yet, pass through the same always.
In this duality ridden order. THY prop is all over invisible,
Seeming to be of no crutch and without the prop overly,
The earth on which we are perched, sustains all, nurtures
All, yet has patches of barren soil that are of little avail.
The mountains are steep, seeking lofty dignity, that is
Seemingly inaccessible; the oceans ever deep and
Unfathomed, contain the volcanic tremor and fire unseen,
Ocean bed covers the precious gems, fuses with all the rivers.
Rivers rushing and longing to fuse with the ocean, its deep
Waters: despite all these rare contents, its well known
Calm unfathomed depths, the seas get ruffled, agitated
In times of the storms and roaring tempests inevitable.
This world being a kaleidoscope of light and darkness, that
Sustain each other, ever alternating. The rousing fire that
Consumes and purges all matter and substance in its
Fury cannot escape the inevitable ash that covers its glow.
The element of air emanating from the vacant space,
Yields the life supporting oxygen in its core seemingly
Without support, yet sustains the entire living order,
Even so, cannot escape the ambient bad odor arising.
The space seeming apparently vacant, yields the sky
In its evolution, harboring the multiple galaxies, and
Constellations covered in the vacuum, ever deemed
Boundless and limitless; yet offers the infinite opportunity
For the extant, as also the emanating continual order ever.
Evidently, apparently neither the elements, nor the
Resultant, creation that is ceaseless appear incapable
Of incessant rise, growth, or ascent, each always finding
Its limit, and restraint spelt in this order of inevitable duality.
AMMA’S saga ever sweet and shall be sung always in its mellifluous melancholy. Despite the glorious aura and radiance limitless AMMA too had HER share of pain and hardship; struggle and toil that are unseen by most and unknown to the loving devotee children hovering around AMMA always. While undergoing all the struggles and hardships for our sake, AMMA apparently appears unruffled, calm, and serene, blessing us, caring us and comforting us in HER ever boundless grace.
All divine manifestations that made their advent in human form had their share of struggle and suffering in their days of form which they have undergone with tremendous forbearance, forgiving the erring, troubled mankind. They graciously accepted such vicarious suffering for the larger comfort and overall welfare of mankind and the living order of the times.
Despite such mega redeeming role, AMMA appears to be without any prop. Yet the true prop of AMMA, the cosmic force that is infinite is never seen though apparently the prop is invested and identified for the general masses at large. The true prop is the ceaseless life force and the cosmic infinite. That could be named the BRAHMAN, PARAMATHMAN, CHAITHANYA and so on which are truly infinite invisible to the naked eyes, and imperceptible by the very limited human sensory apparatus.
Even the evolving five elements that emanated and contributed to this limitless creation tend to be with limits and are restrained in their own modes, that are well contained.
For instance, the mother earth sustains all the living species and the existence. It feeds, provides, and makes the species thrive. All food, riches are only yielded by the mother earth. But for the generous, verily yielding and sourcing by this forgiving, forbearing earth, virtually life and living become impossible. Even so, with all its generous and abounding nature, the earth cannot escape its intermittent patches of barren soil not fruitful and unyielding.
Likewise, the mountains are steep with their peaks rising towards the sky in their lofty dignity. Even so, they cannot escape the lows, troughs in between or even the mountain rock slides in times of heavy rain and thunder. It’s very lofty, inaccessible heights harbor the lows too that are inevitable.
The oceans are deep and unfathomed. All the rivers rush in their flows towards the ocean to meet and fuse. The oceans too are ordinarily calm and unruffled in their still depths. The seas are disturbed by the rising hurricanes and roaring tempests, that toss their waves and agitate their surface. Besides the sea bottom contains the volcanoes and subject to their eruptions and raging fire swelling their waters.
This world, this creation is ever subject to the dualities of darkness and light. Darkness and light alternate and mutually sustain each other. Light and darkness support each other and in a way cause and define each other. AMMA inimitably pronounced “Darkness sources light”. (“Cheekate Velthuruki Adharam”)
The element of fire is said to consume everything in its flames. It purges and purifies anything in its flames and heat of the fire. This is presumably the reason that fire is designated as the carrier in all sacrificial fires and rituals. Despite such exalted role, stature, the fire cannot escape the ashes that cover its glow, making it smolder.
The element of air carries the precious oxygen that is life sustaining. But for this, life cannot endure and thrive on this earth. In the evolution and creation, air only supports and makes the beings thrive. Truly air very crucial, significant, and integral; yet the air cannot but contain the ambient bad odor that it comes across or passes through.
The space is never ending infinite. Prevails all over, contains all in its limitless, ever looming horizon. In the order of evolution, space is primary. Space causes the sky, from where the air emanates, fire arises, followed by water and condensed matter that is earth.
AMMA captured this essential truth in a succinct aphorism, “Space is an opportunity”. (“Akasame Avakasam”) Here to clarify space is deemed with the sky as both are mutually containing and truly inseparable. They are mutually coexistent, contain each other. Even such distant, remote, inaccessible, uncontainable space, the skies have their falling meteors, fleeting comets and the colliding asteroids that are calamitous if a planet is struck in its way or falls into its path unwittingly, unknowingly without choice. As we are aware, our slender earth escaped such asteroids, and stellar collisions or streaking hits from the unpredictable astronomic bodies. Yet the earth and this living order survived mercifully, saved by some unknown grace.
When we verify this extant order, the limitless universe, as also the incessant creation, there is no entity without its restraint and limits. All life, creation, is contained in the infinite cosmic force, which sets the limits for all the five elements, their interplay and expression in varied aspects and multiple dimensions. Thus, life is enabled. While yet the limits are set, and curbs imposed.
To sum up, in this world of duality limits, restraints and constrains are inevitable. Granting this truth, the human shall live in his own humble mode. While divine advents, manifestations like AMMA grace us bounteously accepting our onus and frailties, causing our destinies and eventual redemption.
(Adapted from the Song. No. 15. ‘Teeyani, Teeyani Gadha Le’ Page No.17, from the work ‘ANUBHAVA SARAM’ by Brother Mannava Butchi Raju Sarma. Also acknowledge the work ‘LO CHOOPU’ by Brother A.V.R. Subrahmanyam and Brother Ravuri Prasad)