Evolution of Love 2

THE BLOSSOMING YEARS

1900-1908

The childhood years of MA Anandamayee were full of beauty, grace and wonder. The period was marked by the manifestation of her supernatural powers or her breaking away from traditional norms and customs and at times by the display of purity and sublime serenity.
MA frequently went into a trance as a child. Somewhere at a distance, a Kirtan session is on and Nirmala Sundari, listening from her bed, is transformed. The room is dark, her state unknown to family mem­bers.
Of course, there were indications. She is usu­ally absent-minded - remains lost in thought even while eating. She probably has visions as she looks up. Grandma gets annoyed but it fails to get a re­sponse from the child. Explaining later MA said - used to see a procession of Gods and Goddesses floating by”.
Strange was the incident of visiting the Mad Shiva at Chalna, where she had gone as a child, ac­companying a great grandmother. She left MA at the temple premises and went on a round with her com­panions. Returning after some time she found MA sitting at the same spot in the same posture without a movement. Nirmala is said to have seen Lord Shiva on that occasion. She saw the Mad Shiva of the temple walking out on to a pond and frolicking in the water. Well, is this the way that an embodiment of the Brahman visualises its own self - a mirror image in the early years? Who knows?
Perhaps it is a divine sport - to see one’s own self without revealing it to others. It was Durga Puja at her maternal uncle’s place in Sultanpur. She was six or seven. As she watched the ritual in progress, she underwent a change. She starts chanting - un­clear words, incomprehensible mantras. An uncle standing near is a witness but he fails to realise the significance.
Once at Kheora, a distantly related grandfather splashed water on her in jest. The grand-daughter joined the fun and ran away to fetch some water. The little girl splashed a fistful of water from a considerable distance on a bewildered grandpa. From where did she get the strength to throw from such a distance!
MA’s childhood did not follow the usual pattern. She would not allow her mother to cry even when she felt like crying in her bereavement. MA would cry out loudly herself to force her mother to forget her grief.
She was full of whims. Once, under a blazing sun she started digging sand to build a circular mound, getting drenched in sweat. What is she doing, Mokhshada wonders, and gets a baffling reply: her daughter is watching the Gods and Goddesses, all those who are installed in people’s homes. Krishna, Radha, Ram, Narayan, you name it and you find it in the sand. The mother becomes speechless - is she getting glimpses of the eternal truth from the utter­ances of a mere child?
The daughter, however, gets little schooling. The first school was at the maternal uncle’s village. To the amazement of the teacher, the little girl learnt the Bengali alphabets in a day - both vowels and conso­nants. There was some irregular schooling at Kheora too. But she proved herself during tests - the ques­tions somehow always came from the limited number of lessons studied by her. Once she memorised a poem in preparation for a School Inspector’s visit. He came, asked her to recite the same very piece and was highly pleased with the performance. In fact, she could learn the lessons without much effort, even if she had to catch up with regular classes. The teacher naturally was all praise and promoted the child from alphabet learning class to the lower primary class.
But routine education failed to attract MA. There was no proper atmosphere for studies. Her mind re­mained enthralled with the communion with the Abso­lute. Once, two European ladies came to Sultanpur to preach Christianity and a delightful MA would not leave their company. She took money from mother to buy a booklet on Christianity. In the evening, she would run out of the village to be with these ladies resting in their tent.