(Continued from the Previous Issue)
Quintessence of experience Inspiration for songs The details
My first song was “What a benevolent mother you are!” (Yenta Manchidaanavoyamma!) I wrote it on the 15-2-1956. A song from the movie “Kannatalli” was the source of inspiration for me to write this song.
The setting of the song was A mother, an embodiment of – sacrifice, takes on the responsibility of a murder committed by her son and she is being taken in a police jeep to be hanged to death for the crime perpetuated not by her. Her sons run behind the jeep weeping in the most heart rendering manner with the song “What a kind mother you are Amma!” as the background score.
Right from the beginning I felt that Mother has been living for our sake (all her children). In her words and deeds I was totally convinced and felt “She is the mother and the whole creation is her progeny. Progeny does not mean only human beings, but also birds and beasts, the movable and immovable (animate and inanimate) objects.” I gave birth to you all and gave you all for adoption”, these words of Mother were not known (heard) then. Nobody, not even Mother knew that I was composing a song. After I completed the song I read it out to her.
Your heart is the pot that is full to the brim
Your patience is the patience of mother earth
You are unique unto yourself Mother
You are unique unto yourself Mother
“How benevolent you are Mother” the burden of the song is a great composition of the poet and Ghantasala Venkateswara Rao sang the lyric in the most exquisite manner.
“Not able to find the path”, “the downtrodden humanity that has been afflicted by agony” – these verses express my deep feelings and are an outcome of my experience. In those days not more than ten to fifteen people would visit Jillellamudi. The hundreds and thousands of people that come now were not there then. The song “To the downtrodden humanity you are the Ganga”. This lamentation and inspiration is due to Mother’s grace.
I wrote my second song “the priceless story of yours” (Velaleni nee gaadha) on 5-8-1956, The whole universe will shine as your form. The whole universe will become an atom, this atom like universe is yourself “the priceless story of yours”.
This is one verse: “Space is the opening for an opportunity” said Mother. The veda declares, the space has emerged out of the self (“Atmanaha Akasha sambhootaha”). The infinite number of milkyways, the constellations of stars owe their very existence and life to the space that accommodates them. That is sky.
Mother lived in a small thatched hut. A ray of the Sun comes through a chink in the roof and the light falls on the wall. We see a whole lot of particles of dust, which we normally cannot see with our naked eye, float in this light. Mother said that she sees the group of planets and a number of solar systems in the creation as we see these small particles of dust.
Wonder of wonders! It is perhaps because of the meritorious deeds done in the past and Mother’s infinite grace that I was fortunate to have this universal vision when she was describing it. I was not a mere listener. I saw the whole creation as Mother and I was a part of that creation. When mother was viewing the whole creation, I was beside her, I was a part of her body. witness I had the rich experience. I am more fortunate than Yashoda and Arjuna. Words fail in describing this unique and other-worldly vision. The inspiration, the idea and the poetic composition are all the grace of Mother.
My vision about ‘The atom-like Universe as yourself,’ needs a little explanation. Suppose there is a lump of clay. Out of the major portion of the clay I carved a statue of Mother. The statue is Mother chiseled and the remaining chipped off material is not Mother. If you gather all the chiseled out matter, make a lump and create another idol of Mother, there will be some more clay left, which is not the idol of Mother. So each time there is material which is Mother and clay which is not Mother. Ultimately after many efforts only one atom (of clay) is left and I am unable to make the idol of Mother with it. But even in that (atom) there is Mother and stuff that is not Mother.
Creation and the smallest and the minutest particle of the atom which is the cause and support for creation both are Mother.
Mother is present in everything
Mother is everything
Everything is present in Mother this is my vision.
The orbit, size and influence of creation are beyond the ken of human thought. We think that an ant or a fly is a useless creature. But every creature is ordained to perform some task, we may not be aware of it. We are like frogs in the well. What is the range of our knowledge? On one occasion glorious Mother said “Nothing in creation can be considered a waste product”. We cannot decide what is useful and what is useless, after all what is the range of the vision, thought process and study of a man?
“Your word and mine are the same” i.e., what I have written is what Mother has said and shown. When I say “Your word is the song I sung” it means my song is Mother’s words. ‘Your song will reverberate in the Universe’ is myself eulogy; my intense – longing.
“Your mind and my mind are one” i.e., I exist as a limb of Mother. I said “I shall proclaim your tale all over the world”. But I cannot disclose everything. It is human nature to pick holes and search for shortcomings. Mother’s establishment has not amassed lakhs of rupees. But lakhs of people have eaten food as Mother’s Prasadam. And this has been a continuous process. Mother has supported many a broken family and gave them a new life. People enquire – how does the money come? How do you manage? The truth the world is not aware of is, when Mother left her body the organization was in deep debt mounting to lakhs of rupees. Mother’s only longing was about feeding all those who came. It is everyone’s home the universal home. Any matter of family has to be kept a secret like a closed fist. Once you open the fist there is nothing to hide. In today’s society everything need not be openly proclaimed to one and all.
Liberation of Gajendra, the story of Kuchela, the marriage of Rukmini (Rukmini Kalyanam), life story of Ramadas and Sakkubai the essential benevolent nature and spontaneous act of the divine, coming to the rescue of the devotee or aspirant, who is in distress is to be found in every gesture of Mother time and again. These acts are a part of her routine. It is enough even if one such miraculous incident is understood in its depth instead of listening to a million things and forgetting them promptly. –
Besides, spiritual mysteries have to be concealed. They cannot be shared with all and sundry. They are preserved in the hearts of the devotee as treasures. It is wonderful, invaluable, great personal property. This concept may not appeal to one who has not reached that state of understanding.
(To be continued)