When the Heavenly Stars Descended
Devyani Chamria
London (U.K)
After a long awaited 3 years we were blessed with Maa’s visit to London. This time even Chaitanya ji (Manish ji) was able to accompany her. It had been 12 long years since the kids had spent quality time with their Manish Mama!
After a few days my son Raj was happily playing cricket with him, and Manish ji had to brush up his bowling skills …
The whole house seemed vibrant with Maa’s presence. Flowers brought in by devotees adorned every room, and there was an inexplicable aura already pervading our humble abode.
We had recently moved to a new house and Raj was turning thirteen that same week Maa came. For that, we performed a Gayatri Hawan in the garden under the guidance of Maa and help from Chaitanya ji. It was an exhilarating experience and even the kids participated with keenness and diligence.
The Hawan was followed by a talk by Maa on the ‘Significance of Rituals’ and she also addressed the youth separately. The crux of her message was to be vigilant, aware of one’s culture and upbringing, and to not fall prey to the many temptations and bad habits that one would encounter on their journey from adolescence to adulthood.
We visited with Maa the lovely home of Premaji and Pradeepji and their two talented and adorable children. Maa talked to us about the Purpose of Life. How to get back to our True Nature and Self.
The next day we had an enlightening talk on ‘Navigating the Challenges of Mid-Life’ attended by my friends and peers followed by an engaging Q & A which was food for thought for all of us.
I would like to add the experiences and learnings from few of the attendees:-
“First of all, thank you for including us in this journey of wisdom.
Maa to me is a very practical person, who comes up with spiritual answers for day to day situations. She can read our minds, and comprehend what we are actually looking for! I feel blessed that we belong to such a culture where we have such a great evolved soul to guide us.”
-Akshi
”Listening to Maa Purnananda was a healing and containing experience. The idea of seeing life in totality and not as broken up experiences in isolation was an important lesson. Linked closely to this, my greatest learning from Maa was that if we align ourselves with the Divine, we need not try to correct ourselves in separate facets of our life. Thank you Maa for sharing your wisdom and advice. It was an enlightening experience.”
-Dhanashree
We also had the pleasure of enjoying some cultural experiences with Maa and Manishji. The Broadway Musical Lion King was an amazing production displaying human talent in all walks of life! Acting, dancing, production, music, costumes and scenery. We were grateful that we were able to enjoy this in Maa’s presence as She gave a beautiful perspective to it.
On the last night of her visit we sat down with Maa as a family. She talked to us about how and what spiritual practices we should incorporate in our daily lives.
We are truly grateful and feel blessed to have Maa and Manishji in our lives, who gently hold our hands to guide us through the journey of life and help us navigate through the ups and downs with equanimity.
Hari Aum!