(The following is a continuation and concluding part of this article that appeared in the three previous issues of this journal and is a translation of the original article in Telugu by Peeyusha, rendered into English by Prof. M. Sivaramakrishna to whom the Editors once again express their grateful thanks)
The Significance And Uniqueness Of The Ideal Of Motherhood:
The limitless Motherhood evident in the Mother is an ideal that brings about transformation in a heightened way to entire humanity and all the living beings that inhabit the universe. It blends with this ideal. Even the one who denies divinity cannot negate Motherhood. The person who rejects mother and motherhood is not a human being at all. There is no creation sans mother. Mother explained that mother means the place of birth.. The infinite Power that is the origin and basis of the creation of the universe is itself the mother. That is itself motherhood. Motherhood is the shakti, the Power, that bears the weight of the universe. Though there is variation in the terminology of explanation, even the materialist cannot negate this fact. Therefore the Mother’s motherhood is something which synthesizes with the science of the universe, humanity and all the living beings. In Mother’s love, dedicated service, sacrifice, the strength and power of the warrior and disinterested action occur spontaneously. In one in whom pure affection is brimful, puerile desires and attractions break, concentration is heightened and they become the sustaining bases for the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom. Since this wisdom is allied with pure love, it generates the necessary volition and energy to render service to society with a view to solve the problems that arise therein. In this way the unsullied Motherhood of Amma heightens the volitional, the cerebral and the active powers embedded in us which became the basis for collective social well being. If this power and principle embodied in the Mother and Motherhood are not recognized properly, though they work tentatively, eventually one is enslaved by natural propensities and circumstances and the ideal of commitment may not sustain itself enduringly. Therefore, there is need for constant, un interrupted remembrance of the divine Form, Name and Essence of the Mother. If this is done individually and collectively, the commitment to the ideal is not blocked or obscured by the factors explained earlier. It becomes a permanent ideal of commitment lasting the entire life span. When this is done collectively, along with faith, joy is accelerated and the inner being blossoms in its increasing awareness of the essence, the principle (of Motherhood). The significance of Motherhood is the ideal for all. Adoring the Divine Power Divya Shakti in the Form of the Divine Mother of All is the cherished ideal for the believer. For the skeptic too, the ideal is Motherhood. Mother taught that service to the Divine and service to the country are not two different things. “Mother and Motherland are superior even to heave” is the ideal of the patriot and nationalist. For such a one the adorable ideal is Mother. “When the earth itself is the Mother, isn’t it true that any land is Mother herself!” says Mother who, taking children from abroad into her lap, remains an adorable ideal for internationalism. This is what the ancients meant when they affirmed that “this earth itself is my mother. The entire world is one family “This is the spirit of oneness, of internationalism that they propagated. Some others went a step further. They declared: “we shall mold this universe as the supreme (of all worlds)”. The same ideal Mother declared and affirmed when She said. “This universe itself is Mother, creation itself is God, for me”. Thus Mother is the ideal for all those who propagate the oneness of all mankind, and as such adorable. Mother who merged herself in all living creatures and declared that She is the Mother of All is an ideal fit to be worshiped for those who propagate the philosophy of compassion to all. It is said that Mother means One who is endless. One who brooks no obstacle, who is the support of all. This is an adorable ideal for all Brahmavadins. It is this Truth that the Aryans declared when they said: “Brahma Tattva, the quintessence of Brahman, is that which holds the universe as one of its elements and is three times more than this.” In Her own way Mother declared this Truth: “Mother means the One who is three times more than the endless universe and is its support. In this manner, the uniqueness of the motherhood in the Mother radiates as the integrating principle, the immortal bridge that connects all social and spiritual traditions, and institutions.
Experience Transcending All Physical Identity:
Since Mother’s is the experience of the heart’s fullness, we also get an experience that goes beyond everything that is connected with. give and take, with Her life-style. When Poondla Manikyamma came to have darshan of Mother for the first time She was in the cottage. Mother asked her: “what is it that is here expecting which you came all the way?” Manikyamma said: “I feel this is Vaikuntha itself and you are Adilakshmi Herself” And this experience is not reachable through physical sight. Ramana Maharshi says: “One has to search for pleasure but not for Bliss” Since Mother Herself is the embodiment and repository of Bliss, in her presence we experience transcendental, ineffable Bliss and radiant divine affection and love of a Mother in Her acts. Once in a while we also experience this through Her silence that is beyond all words and deeds. Indeed, Her very presence bestows Bliss. This is explained in this way: “A Yogi impacts us not by what he/she says, but by his/her awareness. This incarnation became necessary, indeed imperative, to make known and manifest that which language cannot reach. “What Mother gives or feeds us with is not the thing which matters. The impact of the fullness of Mother’s divinity gives us an experience of the divine. She declared: “Whatever I say, I say it from experience and what is said. is experience and where it stems from is experience”. Since whatever is said is shot through with the fullness of experience, we get this kind of (blissful) experience. Like sugar candy and its sweetness the Divine Mother’s Form and the Divine Mother’s Motherhood are not separate or separable. It is for this reason that we experience divine Motherhood in Her presence.
Mother Manifest And Unmanifest: Similarities And Contrasts
In Lalitha Sahasranama we read vyaktavyakta swarupinyai namah. Mother said “That is what is between the fingers and the fingers. themselves”. That is, it is both with form and formless. The Mother’s Divine Body which is in the form of a Person in the Temple of love and affection, is in its unmanifest state in the earth home of the Anausyeswara temple. If we consider the manifest form, while She appears as an image in the temple, in Vatsalya Ayam (the temple or Abode of Love and Affection) She appears in the form of a picture. In the Meditation Hall Dhyanamandiram She appears in the form of a marble image. She is both manifest and unmanifest, and appears with Form and without Form. In reality, then or now, there are, for Mother, neither similarities. nor contrasts. Ekam sa!: That one is always One. When She remained as Incarnation in the form of a person then and is unmanifest now, we have to think only of the difference in the Physical structure and contemplate deeply on the implications. We have to study this phenomenon in-depth. Paramahamsa says that ‘the advent of an Incarnation is like a flood”. In the same way, so long as the Mother was in the physical form as an individual, people used to come to participate in the physical activities. There are many and varied experiences that the Mother blessed the devotees with and these are of different kinds. Mahasiddhi left the physical form on June 12, 1985. On May 5, 1987, the installation of the Divine Image took place in the Visweswara temple.
Some positive changes, however, are coming about in other places. For example, in Mannava, the Mother’s birth place, a temple consecrated to Her has come into being. Land was acquired in Hyderabad with plans to construct a temple for Her. Many functions such as Mother’s Birthday, Amma Kalyanam, Amma Aradhana on 12th June, Anniversary of Annapurnalayam (Kitchen & Dining Hall) on 15th August, Birthday of Hyma and Nannagari Aradhana on 17th February every year are celebrated in Hyderabad.