Singing with / for Amma

The evening bhajans have been the highlight of both my stays in Amritapuri. When She sings, it seems that Amma reveals a little more of what She truly is and there is an overwhelming sense of being in the presence of the divine. It crossed my mind one day that it would be a great honour to sing bhajans for Amma, as many of Her children do during the long hours she spends giving darshan. I dismissed the idea, since I would only be staying at the ashram for three weeks and in any case, I am not such a wonderful singer. Anyway, I reminded myself, I get to sing bhajans with Amma every evening and that is a huge blessing in itself.

The following day, my roomate, who was about to return to Ireland, told me that she had been asked to translate the bhajan "Where Can I Go" into Irish, so that Amma could sing it at the Ireland programme during her European tour. Since she was about to leave the ashram, she did not have time to record it for Amma. She wondered whether I would be able to do it?

And so it was that I found myself in the Amritapuri recording studio, singing a bhajan for Amma in a language I had not spoken for ten years, while She sat giving darshan in the temple above me. I felt an unmistakable flash of Her love hit my heart as the recording began, leaving me in no doubt that She was there, as always, watching this play unfold. In Amma's presence, there are no chance events or simple coincidences. She shows us again and again that when we surrender at Her feet then all things, even our smallest and most trivial wishes, are taken care of.

Áine, Ireland