posters are being put up everywhere. mata amritanandamayi or ammachi, is in mumbai again.

two years ago, i was so curious to know more about her, that i left office early one evening for the satsang in powai. even 20 minutes before i really left from office, i had no idea i would go to meet her. my parents did not know about it till 1:00 am that night (er, morning), when i managed to get out of the 4,500-plus-packed ground to call home and inform them of my whereabouts.

i could see the longing to be happy, to be at peace in everyone’s eyes, tears too, while she hugged each one of them warmly, whispering something into every ear. the magic worked on me too! i had come all alone, and when i finally got to see her, it was 3:30 am. i wondered how i would ever get back home (my father refused to even talk to me, and i deserved it). even as the excitement of meeting her slowly faded into reality of how i would go home, a baby’s high-pitched cries jolted me out of my senses. i turn behind, and there! it was saroj, one of my friends from college, and all three generations of her family! i was seeing her after almost three years, and what a place to meet! i almost believed in god that night.

this year, sanjeev’s mother said she would come to stay over at my place during ammachi’s visit to nerul. aunty said she visits her every year, like the several other thousands who do.

hmmmm, what is it that draws people to her? why does the calm in a temple (or a church) overwhelm us?

crowds never cease to amaze me, just like the human mind, which has thousands of things running through at the same time. imagine what it must look like if you are detached from it all. suppose ‘thoughts’ were streaks of bright red, and you are at a railway platform, or a train:

one person = one mind = 100 bombarding thoughts (at the same time)
100 people = 100 minds = 10,000 bombarding thoughts (at the same time!!)

now, what happens when the 100 minds are forced to think of the same thing…even if it has to be a pink elephant(!?)
(boy, i can have a wild sense of imagination, not to forget my ability to visualise even as a person speaks, which has landed me in embarrassing times so often 🙂

today, a dotcom that reported news, views, and all the juice claimed to have uncovered some of the country’s dirty juicy defence secrets. the news has rocked the parliament, and the entire country. buses, trains, elevators, everywhere people are enraged, ashamed of the government they voted for.

would the indian defence ministry really be so corrupt? has the dotcom found a unique way to get itself funded? whatever the truth, the deed has been done. without giving fair time to justify their claims, we let a pair of investigators brainwash our minds, and lead india to this mess.

strange, what brings us peace, can also cause a tehelka.