One evening at the Meera Mandir, Shree Maa and Swamiji conducted a very large satsang. In attendance were many of Shree Maa’s very first devotees and several of Her immediate family members. The hall was large, but the devotees filled it up completely.
The celebratory evening began with a puja to the Divine Mother. Swamiji led the puja and Shree Maa offered the articles of worship.
Several of the devotees in attendance were mesmerized by the worship, as some of them had not seen Shree Maa in over ten years.
After the puja, the entire group of devotees led by Swamiji and Shree Maa joined in the arati. The arati was filled with energy as every single one of the devotees offered the arati light and their love to the Divine Mother.
But this arati was not the ordinary arati. In this arati, both Shree Maa and Swamiji stood up, danced, and went into the crowd! As they did so, their enthusisam became contagious and the entire crowd broke out into dance.
It was a time of unity, of bonding, of just pure worship of the Divine Mother and, that alone made it special.
Shree Maa went person to person, young and old, and personally danced with them.
Swamiji, who noticed that some of Shree Maa’s original devotees standing in the back were not dancing, made his way back into the crowd to encourage them to join in the festivities. He even grabbed the hand of one devotee and escorted him to the small stage where they both danced together.
The arati concluded with enthusiastic shouts of “Chandi Maa Ki Jai!” Swamiji began calling out various divine names at the end of which everyone would shout “Jai!” The gathering of so many devotees filled the room with the power of devotion.
To Shree Maa and Swamiji’s delight, a devotee named Trilochana sang a few songs that he had written for them. Long ago, Swamiji blessed Trilochana with his first musical instrument. Trilochana now is a highly accomplished musician and singer, typically drawing a crowd of 50,000 people or more to his concerts.
Shree Maa took the moment to listen to him sing. She closed Her eyes, sat back silently in bliss, and peacefully enjoyed the music, the lyrics, and Trilochana’s extraordinary voice.
Swamiji too became blissful, but one could tell our beloved sadhu was looking for an opportunity to share this experience with our global family. Sure enough, as soon as the songs ended our Swamiji pulled out his iPad and snapped pictures of the lyrics. He is now in the middle of translating the lyrics, which will be posted on the website soon.
After all of the singing and worship, Shree Maa and Swamiji gave darshan to each and every person. These fortunate devotees received a blessing, a rudraraksha, a tilak, a chauder or a sari, and other special gifts.
Many of these devotees had known Shree Maa and Swamiji for most of their lives. As the evening progressed, several devotees shared their beautiful stories from the “early” years. I was amazed to see the impact that Shree Maa and Swamiji had made on their lives. Though most of them had not seen Shree Maa in years, they were still filled with so much devotion!
After darshan, Shree Maa blessed the food and everyone enjoyed a scrumptious meal. In her motherly way, Shree Maa walked around the room to ensure that everyone ate heartily. Swamiji sat near the altar and consistently gathered a group around him, who were eager to listen to his divine message.
Our two Divine Saints mingled with their family and friends in Kolkata for about two hours. They are always giving to others and thinking of their upliftment. Consistently, in every leg of our trip, they give and give, and then give more. Kolkata was no different.
As the time approached late into the evening, Shree Maa and Swamiji gracefully exited the hall as they blessed everyone in their path. We had to leave early in the morning the next day as we were preparing for our trip back to the United States.
Jai Maa! Jai Swamiji!