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Devi Bhava

Amma - Mata Amritanandamayi

 

This article discusses the importance of attending Devi Bhava and what Amma symbolize through the rituals for us to bring transformation in our life.

About Amma: Amma  means mother who is also known as "Ammachi", the hugging saint, is famous for her unique ability to sit for as long as 22 hours, without  sleep or washroom breaks,  to give hugs of love to anyone who comes to her.  Amma has traveled the world hugging people for 30 years and literally embraced more than 30million people.

Devi Bhava is literally translated as “the expression of the Divine Mother,”.  Devi Bhava is a very special event that celebrates the feminine aspect of  God’s unconditional love and compassion for all humanity. Consciousness is the Purusha or Male and Para sakthi or Energy is the female. The evolution of Energy takes place in a five phenomenal aspect called Pancha Bhootas (Five elements).

The  rituals dramatizes in a nut shell the story of creation , expression and dissolution of the Universe. It is the story of each and every one of us at the micro level and stroy of Cosmic creation at a macro level.  Amma takes us through that journey to remind us the path of fulfillment of life. We discuss here the rituals and the symbolism of Devi Bhava unfolding the mysticism behind it.

The evening commences with an Atma Puja, a ceremony that connects us to our own Divine Self that dwells in all. The Atma Puja includes a spiritual talk by Amma, a powerful ceremony involving the chanting of the names of Devi (the Divine Mother), and prayer for peace and well being for the whole world. Doing this Selfless prayer increases our SAL Energy. The holy water blessed by Amma is distributed to all attendees.

 Around 8.30-8.45 PM, the curtian raises and one one can see the never to be missed invocation rituals. We see her showing light (Arathi)  to a decorated chair with a sari, crown and garland. This throne is the symbolism of the Cosmic Energy, from which all creation unfolds. She bows down to this source and sings an invocation prayer  to invoke the Divine Cosmic Energy in the motherly form.

Ambike Devi Jagannayike Namaskaram
S'armadayike S'ive Santanam Namskaram
Ambike Devi Jagannayike Namaskaram

~O Mother, Goddess of the Universe, I bow before Thee.

 After Amma sings this verse, the silk curtains close again as Amma now adorns Herself with Devi's attire. The curtains are opened again giving us the spectacular glance of the Cosmic Mother in colorful silk Sari and jewel studded crown.

She takes a handful of flower petals and showers on her and the remaining handful she saves it in a basket that is kept till the end of the Devi Bhava.

The flower petals denote the expression of thoughts of divine bliss, which is the very sport of the Cosmic Energy. This is the reason why Amma showers on herself. But a handful of petals in form of desires continues through the whole night. All our desires are fullfiled by the Cosmic Mother. Amma enacts that by her Selfless action of sitting for more than 15 to 22 hours  listening to all the problems and giving solutions to fullfill our desires. 

Sankalpa or desire is the cause of each and every one of our birth in this world. A desire is a conditional state that we want to experience and fulfill.  Some beleive that our birth is just the desire of our parents or genetics expressed in a human body.  The Truth is that, it is the amalgamation of both the parents and the  individual's wish to be born to a particular parent to fulfill desires. There are scientific studies proving how children could remember their past lives.

Amma shows that our desires in life are like that of the immumerable flower petals. These desires make us to be born again and again till we desire for the unconditional state. This unconditional state is our real nature (Atma) from which we started from life Journey (source). Consciously or unconsciously we all have saved the ultimate desire for reaching the unconditional state.  Remember Amma saved flowers in the begining in her left hand.

Through happiness and suffering in life, we fulfill  our desires and drop off the innumerbale desires to basic needs and ready for reaching our own true nature. This  dissolution is beautifully shown by Amma, when she drops flower petals by shaking her hands and slowly stepping back to the Source, pulling all of us to where she started.

Power rituals: These rituals are very powerful that all our Sankalpas or desires that we bring to our awareness at that moment are fulfilled.  However the wise Sankalpa is to bring into our Awareness for higher Spiritual knowledge to understand the reality of this Universe and avoid suffering in life. So while the singing of AMMA AMMA thaye continues, bring to our awareness the desire to be fulfilled which could liberate you from an conditioned to an unconditioned state.

Amma's whispers into our ears: During her hugs, she whispers, my sweet child or darling child in English or in some local languages. The ears are the first sensory organ to develop brain connections. Mantras are sound energy that bridges Soul-Awareness to the body. Amma gives the "Seed" Energy through that whisper that will transform us to get connected to the very Source of Cosmic Energy. Pay attention during the hug to listen and carry it in your memory. Recollect the sound every day at the begining of our meditation and remind of your connection to the Cosmic Source through Amma's unconditional love. That Sound energy will sprout and help us grow giving the fruits of fullfillment of your desires in life.

Life Events: After Devi has embraced everyone who came up for darshan, She then will perform specific ceremonies. These ceremonies include all our life events in which we seek completeness in worldly life: First feedings for infants, writing ceremony to initiate children education, wedding ceremonies. Apart from these ceremonies she also initiates us into Spiritual fulfillment that helps us to walk through the path in the Journey to the Source. These are initiation to Brahmachari, mantra Deeksha and also the sacred thread ceremony for children to begin actions of Self-Realization. 

Awakening: Finally after the ceremonies are finished, Amma gets up from the chair, which gives us another glance of the awakening energy in us. She comes to the front of the stage and starts showering flower petals to all the people who gather in front of the stage singing Amma Amma Thaye , Akilandeswari Neeyae (O mother, you are the mother of Universe).

Divine glance: Remember these flower petals were saved in a basket at the begining of the Devi Bhava. After the petals showering on everyone is complete, Devi stands at the end of the stage, beaming with such divine radiance, looking at each and everyone who have gathered in fron of her.  Amma does a 180 degree complete glancing rotation from her right to the compelte left, not missing any one. It is one of the most amazing event to witness.  Her glance is the glance of the Cosmic mother to help fulfil the wishes of the children. This is the moment for us to bring to our Awareness the Sankalpa or desire we made in the begining of the Devi Bhava.

While Amma stands there as radiant as the sun, She takes a handful of petals and shakes her hands as some of the petals drop to the floor. She does this a few times and closes Her eyes a few times and walks back to the source. In that moment the silk curtains close one last time and Amritesvari mangalam is chanted.

This symbolizes that the Cosmic Mother draws her children back to the Source while withering all the desires, like Amma let go the flower petals. Only remaining is the desire to go back to the source. Completely connecting to Amma surely transforms our lives by change in our Awareness. Truly Devi Bhava is a blessing for us to witness and never to  be missed. It is a life time oppurtunity to witness this story of creation , expression and dissolution of the Universe through Amma.

 Please also read the five types of Guru's or five reasons for meeting a Guru.  This may help us to be Aware of our own actions.

Note: This interpretation is our own understanding based on the Universal Self pattern and not anyone from the MA center. If you consider that this makes sense, please pass it on to others.

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 For seeing the highlights of Devi Bhava watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCJB4gRp_jU 
 

Reference Source:

1.Journey to the Source - Published 2004

2.Universal Self Pattern - to be published in Dec 2012.

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