[The following is a translation from Telugu, of a part of a conversation that Dr. Sripada Gopala Krishna Murty, Sri Veeramachaneni Prasada Rao (‘Vipra’), another brother had with Amma in the presence of Nannagaru on 17th April, 1976. This is an attempt to present it for the benefit of the non-Telugu devotees/readers. The conversation as recorded and published in the book ‘Ammatho Sambhashanalu’ (Conversations with Amma) in Telugu is taken for the purpose of this translation. Any inconsistencies in this translation are entirely due to the limitations of the translator’s abilities of expression. But an effort is made to present, to the best of the abilities of the translator, without distorting the essential content of the conversation, with the honest intention that this conversation about an incredible event should reach as many devotees/readers as possible through this journal – Translator]
Date: February 2, 1958; Magha Pournami (Full Moon Day of the Lunar month Magham)
Time: Around 3.00 A.M.
Venue: On the banks of river Omkar (A nearby canal referred to by the villagers of Jillellamudi) Event: Manthropadesham (Initiation of Mantra) by Amma to over 1000 people.
It was at the request of Smt. Desiraju Rajamma, a saintly woman of Bapatla that Mother made a promise to her in 1949, that she would undertake to do the Manthropadesham after she attained the age of 33 years. Though Amma always disowned responsibility for whatever happened, she had, in this narration, recalling that event, as a part of the conversation she had with Dr. Sripada Gopala Krishna Murty (hereafter referred as Sripada), Veeramachaneni Prasada Rao (‘Vipra’), another brother in the presence of Amma’s husband (Nannagaru) had thrown sufficient hints to indirectly indicate, without explicitly stating, that Time in fact, did stand still during that period.
When somebody in the group present there on that day (17.04.1976) mentioned that there were about 1000 people present on that occasion, Amma interjected and started the conversation.
The narration/conversation runs as follows:
Amma: There were more people than that. After telling all this to all of them and by the time I reached home, it was six O’clock in the morning.
Vipra: You had to tell the Slokam to each and every one of them, explaining the meaning also; so, it must have taken a lot of time! The credit of ‘shrinking’ the time goes only to you.
Amma: Whatever be the ‘Mantram’, the level [significance] of all of these Mantras is the same. Where is the secrecy in what I told them? I shall tell even now what I told them then:
Gurur Brahma; Gurur Vishnuh; Gurur Devo Maheshwara Guru Sakshat Parabrahma; Tasmai Shri Guravenamah
Telling this Mantram, I told the meaning of this Mantra, ‘So(a) ham Sah: Brahma – Aham: meaning ‘1’; ‘1’ am ‘Brahma’ As to how to do it, through inhalation and exhalation when (the breath) goes up (inside) you think (as) Brahma; and when (the breath) comes down (exhalation), you think (as) ‘I’; this itself has gone up and the same comes down -you are Brahma; you yourself are human.
Vipra: To tell all this, it has taken 80 seconds; it means nearly one-and-half minutes. You said there were one thousand people.
Amma: As soon as I returned home by six O’clock in the morning, Kanthaiah garu (of Reddypalem) was sitting there [waiting for me]. He was at the house only. I went alone and returned. It was 2nd February, and Pournami of (Lunar month) Magham. Soon after seeing me, stretching his hands he said: “Yerra Naayana! and made me lie in his lap. After giving a speech for a short while, he said: “Did you come [after] telling everybody [there] ‘Om!” | thought it is his habit [saying so]. If he had grasped what I told him, he would not have said that, would he? He said loudly “Nayana! Did you teach ‘Shivoham’ within this short duration!” I told him my opinion that ‘So(a)ham’ is in fact a Mantram. My opinion is that the (Telugu) alphabets ‘a, aa, i, ee, u, oo, am, ah’ are the ‘Peethika’ (Preface) for the mantram. There is no mantram apart from this. Everything is contained in this. ‘a, aa; i, ee; u, oo; am, ah;’ and this itself is mantram. You add any number of letters in the middle. Sound (Sabdam) is the basis. Hearing these words, Lakshmikanthaiah garu went on thinking, breaking his head. When he asked me ‘what is the ‘Peethika’ (Preface) for your ‘Mantra Shastra’? I told him the above.
Sripada: “Peethika” mean?
Amma: You call it Introduction?
Sripada: Usually they write ‘Peethika’ in (Telugu) book. So I asked if it has any other technical meaning; it is the same “Peethika”.
[There was a little digression in the conversation at this stage and the conversation was brought back to the topic under consideration by ‘Vipra’ thus:]
Vipra: Even if it had taken one-and-a-half minutes to give Mantropadesam to each one and to do it for a thousand people – it would be very surprising to all if we think of it.
Nannagaru: Starting at 3 O’clock in the night they returned even before six O’clock (in the morning)
Sripada: How do you know that they came at six O’clock? Amma: It was not even dawn.
Vipra: OK. Let us assume that it was even before dawn. Even if you take a lesser number of 300 people and if we assume 300 minutes, it would take 5 hours.
Amma: I said ‘Slokam’. I also told, explaining that the visible Guru him-(her-) self Is ‘Brahma’, that the visible Guru [him/her self] is the physical embodiment of ‘Parabrahma’ and that the one who gave the Mantra would him- (her-) self draw him/her close. I don’t assume that God is somewhere separately beyond the Guru.
Vipra: The explanation itself has taken 15 seconds.
Amma: There was a little mud, probably because it rained.
Vipra: (You) started at (home) at 3 O’clock and went by walking up to the canal. Even if we shrink the number to only 300, it takes 5 hours’ time. What would have happened? Keeping this in mind, I asked at one time if Time expands.
Amma: Yes (you) asked. If I have to tell you about myself, I really do not understand my state. Even in this (instance) I did not think of stopping the Time.
Vipra: But it is true that Time did stop!
Amma: (1) Did not imagine that I was stopping the Time; I did not think that (1) stopped the Time. Perhaps it did not happen with my knowledge! The reason why the subject cropped up is that I mentioned once ‘the word (statement) of today would become the ‘path’ someday later’ The things known these days, unknown those days, our own people; people who have seen, there are those things that even the near and dear think, are not there. There will also be those (incidents/events) believed by others and those which at a later time invite the question whether all these are true at all. There would be events/incidents that raise the question ‘would she have done like this?’
The conversation on this topic may be treated to have ended with a comment by one of the brothers present in the group:
Brother: Amma has been telling all this in response to the question ‘would it have happened like this in the Ramayana?’