Only if plants could talk – what would they say? I am not sure exactly, but I am confident that they would certainly say “Jayaho Mata…….” Here is a small incident that spread the fragrance of a lifetime in our lives.
It happened this way. At that time we were living in Ohio – a Midwestern state where winters last until the end of April. So, to protect our tropical plants we always moved them indoors around September/October and kept them there until the end of April or early May. That year we also moved our plants indoors. To take advantage of the abundance of sunlight in the upstairs rooms, we moved two of the Jasmine plants in the extension of our master bedroom where we also had our prayer space with the images of all deities. That is where we do our morning prayers.
If my memory serves right, I believe that was March 2005 – still in the middle of the winter. It was not snowing as much but the weather was still chilly with temperatures in single digit Celsius (low 30s in Fahrenheit). One Tuesday, I planned to stay home to catch up on my research projects. That day I was all alone at the dining table reading a book on AMMA before going to my study room upstairs. All of a sudden – there was that inner voice asking me to send a check for a certain large amount to Sri Racharla annayya (I prefer not to reveal the amount as it is not important). I did not know Racharla annayya that well at that time. I spoke to him a few times before that when he visited the US and also after he went back. In all our conversations, he never asked me for any money on behalf of Jillellamudi or anyone else. I was aware that construction of a temple for ‘Nanna Garu’ undertaken by Racharla annayya was in progress and I could not contribute anything to that temple. But still I was puzzled by the strange command from AMMA asking me to send this money specifically to Racharla annayya (instead of Sri ViswaJanani Parishat or someone else). Normally I used to send small amounts to Sri ViswaJanani Parishat, but never to any individuals. But the instructions I received from AMMA were very clear and brief – ‘send this specific amount to this specific person (Racharla annayya)’ – the end.
I quickly went upstairs to get a check, stamps and an envelope. In my rush to follow AMMA’s instructions, I hurriedly sent the check to Racharla annayya to Jillellamudi address, as I did not have his Guntur address, but I was confident that it would reach him eventually. In fact, I should have contacted him in India first and ascertained his correct mailing address. That would have been the right thing to do but I did not do that. I mailed the check immediately. Funny part is (not so funny, really) – I did not have that much money in my bank account. The fact of lack of funds did not faze me. I did not even think about the possibility of check bouncing. I simply reacted and posted the check without even thinking about the consequences.
Soon after mailing the check, I contacted Sri Racharla Rahi in New Jersey and let him know that his father should be receiving a check soon. I did not tell Rahi the reason for sending money to Sri Racharla Annayya. All he knew was that some money was sent to his father. He promised me to follow it up.
A week has passed. The following Tuesday, I called Rahi enquiring about the check in India. He mentioned that his father did not receive the check. I was puzzled because that morning I received a message (the inner voice, again) that “the check arrived” and AMMA’s message can’t be wrong. I prayed to AMMA before going to bed on Tuesday night. During the wee hours of Wednesday (around 5.00am) morning I received the message again – “the check has arrived”. Now I felt confident that the check in fact did arrive. Again, during the early hours of Thursday morning I received the same message “the check has arrived”. Now that AMMA told me three days in a row, I confidently called Sri Racharia Annayya about the check. I called him directly on his cell phone this time instead of going through Rahi. This time, Annayya was in Jillellamudi taking care of temple matters. I was relieved to learn that Annayya had in fact received the check which had arrived on Tuesday itself in Jillellamudi and was waiting for him.
We all know the AMMA’s words ‘tolu noru kadu – talu mata radu.” So, AMMA’s words came true and the check had arrived on Tuesday as AMMA conveyed – Jaya Ho Mata.
I thanked AMMA for making it happen and confirming the arrival of the check. I was still not thinking about the bank balance and how to find funds to cover the check. That is AMMA’s problem, not mine, I thought. I left it to AMMA and I did not even think about it. By late April, the check was deposited into my account. Incidentally and to my great relief, we just then received tax returns from the US government and we were able to cover the check.
AMMA communicated with us not only through the inner voice and morning messages but she also found a new medium to talk with us that week. Do you recall I mentioned the Jasmine plant in the extension of our bedroom. There were two plants in that room – one at each window. Middle of the winter and single digit temperature Celsius are absolutely horrible things for Jasmine plants to survive, let alone bloom. With AMMA’s blessings, surprisingly, one of the plants in our bedroom extension started to bloom with several buds and flowers all that week. My wife Daya and I were surprised and shocked to observe this occurrence. Then I told her the whole story of the letter and AMMA’s message. She offered her prayers to AMMA.
Later, Annayya confirmed that he was praying to AMMA for additional funds so that he could start a flower garden near the new temple. He did not ask any individual for help, and he never ever asked me for any help before that or ever since. Whenever we talked, our conversations were always about AMMA and how to serve AMMA. I think it is the greatest blessing to be an instrument of AMMA’s plans. AMMA could have suggested it to anyone else but she chose me. I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve HER, though in a small way.
Yes, if plants could talk they would also be singing the praises of AMMA. They would also be pining for the opportunity to bear flowers and fruits which could be placed at the lotus feet of AMMA.