(rendered into English by Dr. Sista Shanta)
(Continued from the Previous Issue)
I composed my 27th Song “Why worry” on 18-11-1957.
“Why worry and why grieve? Why don’t you prostrate before this Mother? (Why don’t you surrender before this Mother?)”
There are so many imposter saints and Gurus who trouble people in the name of God and carry out ignoble and base activities. They cheat and dupe people. Understand and observe the vile, noxious ways of the world and surrender before the true feigning Mother. This is my advice and my appeal.
“Why often worry about the customs at every stage?
Why get perturbed by what scriptures stated?
Why fret about that all your life on earth Is full of thorne and stones?”
This is the first stanza
Two incidents prompted me to write this song. Once when I visited Jillellamudi Mother was sitting all by herself. Hyma said that Mother had her periods and so she was not sitting with others. Therefore I prostrated to Mother from a distance. Mother asked “everyday you touch my feet and prostrate. Why is it that today you are keeping a distance? I said “you are keeping yourself away because of your periods. That is the reason why I kept a distance and did not touch you.” (In olden days orthodox Brahmin women had to live in isolation for three or four days not taking part in any of the routine activities like cooking and performing worship of the Gods etc., during their menstrual cycle.) Then Mother explained about the observance of the menstrual cycle by a woman. “What are periods? What does maintaining a distance mean? Women have a menstrual cycle (every month). This is nature’s arrangement for the discharge of bad blood from the body. This happens for three or four days. During this period women experience discomfort and cannot concentrate on daily chores. Therefore they are asked to take rest. This is all.”.
“Now tell me-an hour ago you touched me. At that point of time my periods have not started. That means, the bad blood is still in my womb. Then you touched me. Now it is no more in my body. So why do you hesitate to touch me now? Isn’t it wrong dear”. I don’t know Mother. This has been the practice and belief” I said. Mother’s statement for this is “That belief itself is wrong. It is observed because a woman feels uneasy and uncomfortable, not because anything untoward will happen.” Actually this is rationalism and real search for truth.
To support this traditional belief there is a mythological story. By killing a Brahmin by name Viswaroopa, the son of Twastha Prajapati, Indra incurred sin. To free himself of this sin he distributed it equally among water, earth, plants and women. As a result women have this menstrual cycle.
Earlier I had narrated another incident. When I came to Jillellamudi for the first time Mother herself cooked the food and served me. She made a vegetable out of snake gourd. I told Mother that if I eat this vegetable, the efficacy of the mantra that is recited when one is bitten by a snake will be lost, Then Mother scolded me for being superstitious and said if the snake gourd had so much power, I should chant the word ‘snake gourd’ instead of the mantra. Mother always supported the truth and not the superstitions.
“Why be under delusion, mistaking the light
Of the fireflies for the Moon Light?
Having a light in your hand, why search for a lamp?”
Why feel anxious that there is no one to guide you on the right path!
This is the second verse. There are so many who give discourses. The knowledge derived from science can never be the knowledge gained through one’s own experience (anubhavam). But one’s experience expresses the essence of scientific knowledge. Listen to Mother’s discourse on practical wisdom once. Take refuge at Mother’s feet. Mother is the embodiment of self effulgence, wisdom light. One cannot discover the brilliant light of the Sun with the help of a torch light. Mother, Father, Guru, God everything is Mother.
I took two days to compose my 28th Song “Oh! Embodiment of compassion” (8-11-1957 and 1-12-1957)
After completing this song I penned another forty songs. But I consider this as the last song. I have a very strong reason for this. It is like a sentiment. had to face certain adverse circumstances and bitter experiences. When I sang this song I did not notice this at the outset.
In 1980 Mother asked Ravuri Prasad to sing this song. And he sang it immediately. After that Mother suffered severe setback in her health, she had lung abscess and was taken to Hyderabad, for treatment. She made us believe that there was nothing wrong with her health, she was perfectly alright and came into our midst with a smile. After this incident I was afraid to sing this song in Mother’s presence.
In June, 1985 Mother called me and Ravuri Prasad to her room and asked us to sing songs from the compilation “Anubhava Saram ”. We started singing, Mother was sitting on the cot and listening to us. She was not well, she looked like a fragile porcelain doll. She continuously shed tears as she listened to the songs. At the end she asked Prasad to sing the song “Embodiment of compassion”. His heart started galloping and he very stubbornly refused to sing the song. Mother looked at me and commanded that I should sing the song. I couldn’t defy Mother but the fear that something untoward might happen haunted me. Gradually I picked up enough courage, focused my eyes on her feet and sang the song. Within a few days Mother left us all permanently.
Mother is the visible God, embodiment of creation. I know that Mother, Mother’s power and Mother’s philosophy are eternal. But I am not able to accept it and be convinced about it. The very fact that I will not be able to see the manifest form of love anymore, makes me shed tears. The heart becomes heavy; I get terribly agitated. I cannot write a commentary on this song. I became tongue tied and my pen refused to move. I consider this as my last song. As this is also Mother’s grace I request all my brethren to accept it with a large heart.
This was the last song that was sung in Mother’s presence. The last person to sing the song was myself. Had I not sung the song, perhaps, Mother might have lived amidst us for some more time.
(to be continued…)