The New Year Day brings back the memorable joyous celebrations of the New Year Day, year after year, at the holy feet of Mother at Jillellamudi. Mother would inaugurate the New Year at the exact time, exactly to the second, without looking at any watch. Then she would cut the cakes brought by a number of devotees and all the children would share the cake, Rusks (leaves of bread) and tea as prasadam, under the well-decorated roof in front of “Annapurnalyam”. A large number of devotees would participate in the celebrations, traveling from far off and nearby places. Some devotees would get their account books opened by Her, some others receive books on Mother, with Her autograph. We were all transported into a new world where “The weariness, the fever and the fret of the modern world could not enter.
On one such occasion, senior members of the Organisation sat up to discuss the ways and means of raising funds to meet the ever growing needs of the organization. They could not decide the matter by themselves and finally agreed to shift the problem gently into the lap of Mother. She listened to them patiently as usual and asked them to enter every hut and house to explain the various humanitarian services rendered at Jillellamudi, including “Annapurnalayam” Matrusri Oriental College, Matrusri Medical Centre, looking after the old with all love and care etc. The devotees should give Her photo, calendar and packets of “kumkum (vermillion)”. Then they should accept whatever was happily offered as donation by the inmates of the house. She made it very clear that it was not the amount of money that mattered, but the involvement of the people in the services at Jillellamudi was the main consideration. No good work ever stops for want of money. When the discussion was over, it was already a bright morning. Mother did not have a wink of sleep nor did she look tired in the least. She was all smiles and radiant. Now, we all eagerly ask Her, “Here was a unique celebration; when comes such another?” Her divine voice assures us, “very soon, very soon”.
I had another memorable experience on the eve of New Year’s Day. I started with the members of my family for Jillellamudi by car from Chirala in the evening of 31st December one year, to receive Her blessings on the eve of New Year Day. We were approaching the bridge. on the Nallamada Drain, when it was getting dark. The drain was on our left side and the low-lying land was on the right side. A buffalo came in our way. The driver drove to the right side, when the car got into the low lying land on the right side and stopped. With a sigh of relief, the driver told us that the steering of the car failed and luckily a major accident was averted. It would have been entirely different, had he driven it to the left side, which meant falling into the Nallamada Drain. We heartily thanked Mother and were dragging our tired feet on the road leading to Jillellamudi. It was dark and the path was full of thorns at that time. After a few minutes the headlights of a car coming from the 7th mile kindled a ray of hope for a lift. It was a wonder to see the vehicle stopping by our side and the then Secretary Sri Adharapurapu Seshagiri Rao garu gave us a lift, we went straight to Mother who asked me whether we all traveled together. I told Her how the steering of the car failed and how She saved us graciously. She casually said “the brakes are there”. I thought that she was asking me if the vehicle had brakes and I told her, “Yes, the brakes are there”. She smiled and said that “the brakes are here”, with the emphasis on the word “here”, which meant the brakes were with her. What more could I offer except tears of joy at her assurance? This assurance, with similar others, gives me Himalayan strength to carry on my sacred work every day. It is my hope, belief and prayer that Mother releases the partly applied brakes to Her own organization and accelerates the excellent smooth functioning of the main organization at Jillellamudi, so that we can again enjoy the glorious celebrations on all occasions.
Jayaho Mata.