The Place Where Speech Ends

12 April 2005 – en route to Amritapuri from Trissur

In this land of caste rivalries,
Where caste is worshipped and the worshippers reap the thorns of sorrow,
Even today when people revel in the thorns reaped from castes,
My Amma is that love which transcends all these boundaries.

Amma says the heart is the needle that sews the world together. Such is the thread of Amma's love. It cares nothing for caste, creed, social status or politics… It simply comes like the monsoon—nothing can escape it.

During the Trissur Brahmasthanam Festival, Amma was invited by two of Kerala's communities to bless them on Her return to Amritapuri—the Nambootiri Brahmins of the Brahmasvam Math and the Ezhavas who come together under the Math of Sri Narayana Guru. In one way it was nothing new, but in another was the perfect illustration of the enormity of Amma's embrace.

Once they've fallen into Amma's arms, who doesn't feel Her to be the Mother? Amma has devotees in virtually every country in the world. People of all political parties sing her praise. Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Muslims—all can be found at Her Ashram. Recently in Sri Lanka, soldiers of two warring armies came for Her darshan, peacefully side by side. "It is difficult for Amma to speak something to you who are at the place where speech ends," Amma said that day to the Brahmins at the Brahmasvam Math.

It is hard to say the exact meaning of Amma's words. But clearly She was making a reference to the Vedic rks that are taught and chanted within the math's walls—the beginning less-endless cosmic vibrations perceived and given voice by the Rishis millennia ago.

The Vedas point to that which is beyond sound, that which is beyond space, beyond creation. They point to the centre of existence, the place where the Master is ever established, the place where the flimsy differences that comprise this world fail to effect a ripple. This is what people of all castes, creeds, faiths, political parties and countries touch during their moments in Amma's arms. And this is why all are able to come together as Her children.

As the final suktam of Rg Veda says: "May mankind be of one mind. May it have a common goal. May all hearts be united in love. And with the mind and the goal being one, may all of us live in happiness."

—Kannadi