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 |   As the first blog entry got exhausted. My second book |
| Evolution of Love Part 2 |
| 🌺🍀🌺 JAI MA ANANDAMAYI 🌺🍀🌺 MA was in resting during the first fortnight of January at the Bhimpura Ashram. She kept herself confined to her small room and came out on rare occasions. She blessed the devotees who came for her darshan sitting by the window in the afternoons. For the next three weeks she was in Poona and attended a few religious functions, two of which were organised by Bhaiya and the Maharaja of Bhavnagar. For a week from the 10th of February MA was in Vrindavan and then reached Kankhal via Delhi. Shivaratri was celebrated at Kankhal after which MA moved to Naimisharanya. She went back to Vrindavan in the middle of March for the Holi festival which was marked by the presence of a group of 108 Kirtan singers from West Bengal complete with ‘Shrikhol’ (a two-way percussion instrument hung from the neck). The singing and dancing continued for three days and nights. On the concluding day, women devotees, led by Chhabi Bandopadhya sang Kirtans. MA joined the singers for some time after midnight, moving in circles along with the group singers. Sitaramdas Onkarnath spent a night at the Ashram during the Holi festival. From Vrindavan, MA went to Vindhyachal to take rest for a few days before leaving for Kashi in early April for the Basanti Puja at the Kashi Ashram. Ten days later, MA went to Kankhal to attend the Silver Jubilee of the Vedanta Conference at Krishna Niwas Ashram. She was specially requested to be present by Mahamandaleshwar, Swami Purnanand, who presided over the conference. In the fourth week of April, she was in Delhi for the opening of a Kali temple and a Temple devoted to Didima. On May 1, MA left for Secunderabad to begin her fifth tour of South India.. At Secunderabad station she was received by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr.M. Chenna Reddy who took her to a hut, especially built for MA’s use, at his farm house. A group of Brahmin scholars uttered the Ved-Mantras to greet her there. She was worshipped before she set her foot inside the hut. A Hanuman temple was opened at the farm house during her two-day stay. Her next stop was at Bangalore. Her birth anniversary celebrations had been planned to be held at Bangalore under the patronage of the Governor of Karnataka, Govind Narain and the Travancore royal family. At Bangalore station, a grand reception was accorded to MA by the Governor who later took her to the farm house of the Travancore royal family, where special arrangements had been made for the stay of MA and her companions. Elaborate arrangements had been made by the devotees in Bangalore to celebrate her birth anniversary. A huge pandal had been erected at the courtyard of the Gondal Palace which could easily accommodate a few thousand devotees. The main celebrations were inaugurated on May 8 by the Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeeth. Numerous functions were arranged for the next 8 days. Mahamandaleshwars and other holy men spoke at religious gatherings. Devotional songs were presented by such artists as Subhalakshmi, her daughter Radha, Chhabi Bandopadhya and others. MA met the devotees every day and answered their queries. A Nam Yagna was sponsored by a group of Kirtan singers from May 16. In the afternoon of the next day, MA suddenly passed into a divine state. She was sitting with children and enjoying the proceedings, when she suddenly stood up and started dancing and singing with her arms raised in the manner of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. She was visibly under a divine spell. Her body was in a flow. The wonder was that she was indisposed and had to be carried in a chair to the pandal to be present at the function. But there was no trace of illness when she started dancing and singing. She had defied her years to look fresh and young. Her actions so inspired the assemblage that even the revered Governor and the Swamijis followed her to join in the singing. The same night MA left for Madras at the invitation of the State Governor, Prabhudas Patwari. He came to the railway station to receive MA and took her to a dwelling in the Raj Bhavan compound which had been reserved for her. On May 21, MA reached Bhubaneshwar from Madras. It was late in the night but a large number of people led by the State Governor Bhagwat Dayal Sharma were present at the station to receive her. The next afternoon, MA left for Pun where she stayed till the 27th of next month, mostly in seclusion. Moving from Pun, MA travelled to Jamshedpur, Kashi and then to Kankhal for a three-week stay. During this period, Guru Purnima was celebrated at the Ashram on July 9. At Hardwar, a small house had been built for Ashu, nephew of Bholanath, for whom MA had a great affection. The house was formally opened in her presence. In the fourth week of July, MA moved to Naimisharanya. A Seminar was held there under the auspices of the Institute for Puranid and Vedic Studies and Research. Speaking to devotees at Naimisharanya one day, MA observed: “Mercy comes from three sources—Mercy of the Guru, Mercy of God and Mercy from within. The first two are easy to get; the Guru is ever merciful to the disciple showing him the way. God is the ultimate goal and his other name is Mercy. But if there is no mercy from within - Mercy from the self - Mercy of the Guru and God will be of little value. Mercy of the elf means being merciful to yourself. This requires total self-control, patience and tolerance. Towards the end of July MA was at Vrindavan where a Bhagwat Week was held. She was not well and mostly kept herself confined to her room. Yet, she was present during the Jhoolan festival, Raksha Bandhan, Janamashtami and Nandostav for short durations: On September 9, MA was at Kankhal where she stayed for about a month Durga Puja was celebrated with usual enthusiasm drawing a large number of devotees from different parts of the country After Lakshmi Puja she travelled to Delhi and on to Bhimpura Ashram via Baroda to take rest for a few days till the quiet solitude of the Ashraam by the Narmath river. She was on the move again on the 17th, reaching Nadiad via Baroda. She stayed for a few hours only at the Ashram of Mahant Jarayandas and visited the Samadhi temple of the first Guru of the Ashram, Santram. During Kalipuja on October 20, she was at Gondal at the invitation of the Maharaja. Annakoot was also celebrated there. The Maharaja and Maharani accompanied MA to Rajkot on the 24th where she was taken to a National Monument bearing memories of Gándhiji. A relation of the Mahatma Purushottam Das showed her the room where Gandhiji was on a fast and also the prayer room where Gandhiji held religious discourses. The 30th Sanyam Mahabrat was organised at Kurukshetra from October 28 at the initiative of Gulzarilal Nanda. MA reached Kurukshetra three days earlier to a memorable reception She was seated on a flower-bedecked throne in an open jeep like an Empress. There was a canopy of flowers over her head; She was taken in a procession to the Ashram of Mahamandaleshwar Ganeshanandji At the end of the Sanyam Week, shVwason the move again reaching Hoshiarpur, Jallandhar, Kashi, Naimisharanya and then Vrindavan to ttena Bhagwat Week from November 20. On the conclusion of the Bhagwat Week, MA moved to Delhi and then to Modinagar to attend a three-day religious conference held at the Lakshmi Narayàn temple. MA was not well but she attended the function ignoring the advice of her followers as she had earlier promised the organisers. From Modinagar, MA moved to Biharghàt to visit a new Ashram of Vishnu Ashramji of Suktal. Then she went back to Bhimpura Ashram via Delh and Baroda to rest and recuperate. As usual, she would not listen-to the advice of the physicians. There was Dr. Seth from Bombay and Dr. Vijayanand from Kankbal in addition to the local doctor. Her health improved according to her own mood. On the Christmas day of December 25, she came out to give darshan to the assembled devotees. |
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Thanks for sharing.