I mentioned in an earlier post that on the second day of our spiritual retreat at Guntur, we engaged a bus and went to Jillellamudi. In this post, I will talk about three important incidents that happened on this visit.
One of the brothers at the ashram office asked us, “What is your program? Where else do you plan to go from here?”
People who come in large groups usually visit Jillellamudi as a part of their pilgrimage to other religious places, which is why he asked so.
I replied, “We are not going anywhere else from here. We will directly go to Guntur. In our view, there is no other place holier than this.”
He nodded his head in contentment.
We arrived at sister V’s place after having Mother’s darshan at the temple. Not all of us could fit in the room, so some of us sat on the porch outside and some under a tree. Only some women sat inside, near sister V and listened to her speak about Mother.
When we were about to return from there, C asked, “Sister! I have heard that, around four to five hundred years ago, a naked yogini with disheveled hair used to wander in this region and that a serpent always guarded her wherever she went. I have heard some say that the yogini was reborn as Mother. Is this true?”
Sister replied, “I have neither heard this story nor did Mother ever mention this. It probably was their imagination or they may have had such a vision. But there is no truth in that. However, there is one thing that comes to my mind. I was beside Mother when someone asked her, ‘Mother, a few years ago, we saw you serving food at Mangalagiri Choultry. Were you there?’ This incident that they were referring to must have taken place either before Mother was born or when she was very young. But there were no records of Mother having served food at that place. How could Mother be seen there before she was born? Perhaps, it was their imagination or their vision of Mother. That’s it!”
Even to this day, a few people claim to have seen Mother and Hyma. They say that Mother is seen wandering around the fields in the night, wearing a white saree and with her hair let loose. I don’t know how much truth there is to these claims. The same thing happened even when Mother was alive. She used to walk so gently, that one could hardly hear the sound of her footsteps. Sometimes, when I was in the kitchen preparing coffee, she would come unannounced and to my surprise, I would find her standing behind me looking at me, when I turned around.
Similarly, some of the students here also say they see Mother watching them silently. Mothers footsteps are not heard, but Hyma is not so. She is like a little child wearing anklets. Even now, some people can hear the sound of anklets at night. Those are the footsteps of Hyma. When Hyma is walking close to us, we can hear the sounds of her anklets. Although she is not visible, the sound can be heard. Both Mother and Hyma are still here protecting this place. Otherwise, what protection do we have here?” said Sister.
When Sister was looking in the cupboard for clothes to present to us, I said, “Sister, please don’t give me clothes. I don’t wear dhotis. I just need four pairs of clothes and I have lived my entire life like that. I like to pursue a minimalist lifestyle. So instead, give me a flower placed at Mother’s feet.
She smiled and gave me some fruits along with the flower and blessed me.
From there we all took off to Brother A’s house, about which I already wrote in the previous post.
During our conversation with him, he said, “The last time you came here and left, Mother reprimanded me - ‘He met with an accident and came here, and you have sent him back empty handed?’ I kept these clothes aside for you and I have been waiting for you since then. So you must accept this now,” he said, placing the clothes in my hand.
Although I tried to refuse him gently he did not listen to me.
“How could I not do it even after Mother herself asked me to? I am answerable to Mother,” he quieted me by saying so.
I remembered Mother and received those clothes with tears in my eyes.
We may not have the power to see in what form Mother is at present. But Mother has been watching even lowly people like us. The fact that we are constantly being watched is understood occasionally in this way, through those who lived very close to Mother for many years. It fills us with renewed energy.
All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Shankar M, which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on September 6, 2018. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.