Embracing Our Center

“She deferred the spotlight to her children, lauding their selfless and tireless efforts to loving and serving the poor and needy” - From Immortal Bliss

 

We are excited to welcome readers to a new recurring section in our MA Center LA newsletter, titled “Embracing Our Center”. 

 

The idea for this topic arose from a casual comment made by a devotee at the Center. Week after week during workday Saturdays during the remodeling of the Center, a small group of plaster-and-paint-covered volunteers sat together on the concrete floor and shared a lunch delivered by other devotees. They talked. They shared. They told about how Amma had impacted their lives.

 

As in any major Amma endeavor, there were so many times in the reconstruction that problems were solved “magically”, reminding everyone who is really in charge. These occurrences were so frequent that most have slipped into that catchall void of “forgotten moments”. The lunches continued on Saturdays even after tables and chairs replaced the board stacks or pallets. The determination to continue group lunches was the insistence of a devotee who made and delivered lunches during reconstruction. On Saturdays, seeing the big salad bowl signals that is time to gather. Usually almost all of our community volunteers have eaten and left. Those remaining are the devotees or the curious who want to know more about Amma.

Those informal lunches were and still are mini-satsangs. Each Saturday the group is a little different. Some have made burritos, some have worked on maintenance, some have just dropped in to say hello. We know that Amma has invited each person. There are no accidents in Amma’s embrace.

 

 

Over and over, we are awed at the stories we hear. Somebody said that even though we have many photos of our Center’s journey, we did not record those stories told at lunches or among small groups working in the kitchen or setting up for satsang or even formally spoken before the microphone at events. No matter where they are told, the vast majority of our LA brothers and sisters do not get to hear them.

 

This featured stories can never replace the many, many stories told among devotees, but perhaps it can at least give a flavor of the amazing experience it is to do seva, serve the public, and be blessed by the sharing of our lives.

 

 

Each of us has an Amma story to tell. Many of these involves visions, dreams, strange meetings with people who said something we heard with that keen attention we give to something important.

 

Stories inspire, they elevate our hope; they often increase our faith. They carry us through hard times as we remind ourselves of this story or that story where somebody faced the same hardship and Amma made it all work out.

 

Stories with photos allow us to get to know and recognize members of our spiritual family. We look forward to coming to the Center and seeing familiar faces. Putting faces with the stories increases our sense of belonging, of spiritual community. We have heard so many people say that they come and don’t know anybody, so they don’t feel they belong. Everyone belongs. The Center is the family home in LA that Amma approved and blessed for us. Her heart is here blessing us and welcoming us. We feel her presence here.

 

We hope readers will share their Amma moments. They can be written or spoken. There is no need to be a writer. Just tell us your story. So often we don’t want to “brag” about how Amma worked in our lives. But is it bragging if we give her the credit and stand in awe of her amazing love? Hopefully not. Amma teaches through stories. The swamis tell stories. We all love stories. We hope you will enjoy the stories your LA sisters and brothers tell.

 

Amma inspires us to come together and serve. We know she will help us in ways we cannot foresee or even imagine. We know she has promised we can do amazing things at our Center. This newsletter stands ready to shine a light on our successes, our journey, our progress, and our family members. With Amma’s blessing and guidance, it will also inspire more ideas, more people, more projects.