"You Showed Me the Path"
Bharata Yatra 2004
Monday, 15 March 2004 — Raj Bhavan, Jaipur,
Rajasthan
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There are things that should not happen in
this world, but they do: a child set on fire,
a girl thrown down a well. Are there words to
comfort someone who has survived such a thing? What
do you say to a seven-year-old boy who now has
no face?
When such people come to Amma, most often She
does not speak. She cries. She cries their pain.
She cries the pain of their families. She cries
the pain wrought by the horror this world can
hold. |
This is what happened as Amma gave what comfort She
could to the people gathered at the Governor of Rajasthan's
home in Jaipur. With money drawn from the Governor's
Fund, His Excellency Shri. Madanlal Khurana gives 250,000
rupees every week to Rajasthan's poorest of the poor—some
of who have fallen victim to unspeakable abuse. Monday,
he invited Amma to Rajasthan's Raj Bhavan to help him
distribute checks on Her way out of Jaipur. After all,
he said to Amma, "You showed me the path."
No one in Amma's small entourage really knew what
to expect, but when Amma arrived at the mansion, some
800 people were waiting—with papers in hand—ready
to plead their cases for relief. Some were standing,
some were sitting in wheelchairs, several were lying
on their sides.
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One such person unable to sit or stand was
a girl of about 18 named Ankita. Except for a
space left open for her to pass urine, her entire
body below her chest was in a cast. When her
new husband's family realised her parents were
unable to pay the stipulated dowry, they threw
her down a well and she broke her legs and her
back. As Amma knelt by the girl's side
and was told her story, the tears came—to
the girl, to the girl's father, to her brother
and to Amma. Amma touched the girl's arms gently.
She stoked her hair. With wet eyes, the girl
did what she could to lift her arms in pranam. |
The case has not yet been confirmed. But Amma told
the governor to get Her all the girl's papers, all
her medical records. Amma said She wants the girl brought
to AIMS, Her hospital in Cochin, for free treatment.
 |
Next was the seven-year-old boy, Adarsh, who
caught fire when someone torched his parent's
hut in a property dispute. He has no eyes anymore.
No ears. Just a button-size hole where his nose
used to be. Amma tried to comfort him as much
as She could, but his pink body was really too
tender to caress. With incredible care, She lifted
him, kissed the side of that featureless face
and set him down again. With tears in her eyes,
Amma said, "When someone dies, Amma does
not worry so much—it's just the body that
is gone, the Atman never dies. But when they
have to live like this—in such pain and
suffering—it is almost impossible for Amma
to bear." |
As Amma spoke with the people assembled at the Governor's
mansion, the Governor repeatedly told Her how it was
Amma who'd inspired him to begin serving the poor in
this way. His Excellency first met Amma in the mid-1990s
in Delhi, when he was the state's Chief Minister, and
has been a devotee ever since. As they spoke, Amma
told him She wants to help anyway She can—be
it through the building of free Amritakuteeram houses
or through the allotment of more free Amritanidhi pensions.
When it was time for Amma to get back into Her camper
for the drive to Delhi, the Governor prayed to Her,
saying for a third time, "Amma it was You who
showed me the path. Please grant me the strength and
courage to continue."
—Sakshi
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