Lessons I have Learnt from My Spiritual Master

This post is very different from my usual writing posts. Today, I will talk about my spiritual master:  Amma or Mata Amritanandmayi Devi as she is known as. I will also share with you all the things I have learnt from my Spiritual Master. Amma is from Kerala. This Divine Saint has made it her mission to uplift humanity and help the poor by constructing free houses for them as well as providing them with basic education, medical care and jobs. Amma’s Ashram runs one of the largest charitable institutes in India.

Though, India has many saints, Amma is different from other saints. Her difference arises from the fact that she is accessible to all her devotees, irrespective of caste, financial background and age.

Amma travels all over the world, meeting people and giving her unique darshans, which consist of a hug, a candy and few holy and loving words whispered in each individual’s ear. It’s not surprising to see young students getting their hall tickets  for exams blessed by Amma, or engineering students getting their projects blessed by Amma or excitedly telling her their exam results.

I met Amma  nearly 19 years back. Amma visits Bangalore every year in February. I eagerly wait for 364 days to spend a few seconds in Amma’s arms and feel that divine bliss and experience that radiant energy.

I have a unique relationship with my Spiritual Master. Amma treats me like a baby. Amma is very encouraging where my writing is concerned. It’s due to her encouragement that I started querying for my MG fiction. She constantly urges me to write more books and not worry about big publishers.

Amma has taught me many things. Patience, something I am not famous for, is Amma’s best known quality, as well as humility. As writers we need both these qualities in abundance. We need truckloads of patience to see a completed Manuscript. As for humility, we are after all taking dictation from a higher source when we write. So, the question of pride just does not arise.

Another thing Amma has taught me is the act of practicing detachment, the ability to stand back and just witness what is happening in one’s life. This is extremely difficult. The moment I started querying exactly one month back, I would check my mail every few hours to see if any agent had replied. From the past few days, I have shed that habit and I am much more at peace now. I have performed my actions (writing the book and querying) and now it’s up to God to do the rest.

Amma constantly urges her followers to embrace the Indian philosophy of karma: performing one’s actions without any expectations. We writers embrace that philosophy in a big way. When we write our books and stories we have no idea of the reaction it will garner from the readers.

Amma is the source of my Inner Strength and it’s because of her Divine Grace that I am able to do all the things I do. I have felt her presence during the most stressful situations in my life.

Today, 27^th September is Amma’s birthday. I wish her a very, very Happy Birthday. I pray that she blesses all of us in every sphere of our lives.

Here is the link to Amma’s website for those who would love to know more about this Divine Saint. 
http://www.amritapuri.org/