The Children's Stage

13 - 18 October 2000, Munich and Bonn

After Zurich Amma's next two stops were in Germany. Three days in Munich, and two days in Bonn. It was the turn of Amma's German children to enjoy Her presence and the showers of love and attention that She was offering.

The Munich programmes were a treat for the musical ear. The local satsang group played inspiring music accompanied by the harp, guitar, flute, recorder and, surprisingly, the trumpet. One evening, as the satsang was about to begin, a child clambered onto the stage and right into Amma's lap. She welcomed the child, who was soon followed by at least thirty more children! The whole stage quickly became a sea of adorable, innocent faces completely surrounding Amma. How refreshing it was to see our beloved Amma enjoying the happy crowd of tender admirers. The children sat with Amma during the entire satsang and were well rewarded for their patience: Amma gave each child darshan and prasad before bhajans began.

After the Devi Bhava in Munich, Amma and the bus full of devotees following the tour drove to Bonn. In Bonn, as at all the tour cities, Amma's devotees could be seen working long hours preparing and serving food to all. At every stop in Europe, Amma gives darshan to many long-time devotees as well as to hundreds of people who are meeting Amma for the first time. As Amma sits until she has received the very last person, her programmes have been extremely long. Amma has been taking special care in each city to make sure that no one is excluded from receiving her darshan. Between programmes, after reading the countless letters given to her, Amma is left with hardly any time to rest. Still, often at the end of each evening, Amma makes time for fun, and asks someone to stand and sing a song. Between the impromptu performances and stories told, all are blessed to join our beloved Mother in playfulness and hearty laughter.

During the Devi Bhava darshan in each of the two cities, Amma was beaming like the sun and in a very fresh mood. All those present enjoyed the special blessings of Amma showering flower petals on all at the end of the darshans. In Bonn, Devi Bhava ended at 5 AM. Amma seemed not to want to finish the darshan and leave. After darshan She stayed for a long time in the hall, and helped clean up the place!