Legacy of love and compassion
Nirvan Divas - remembering the 51st anniversary of Maharajji’s Mahasamadhi
Saturday morning Ma takes us all into a moment of silence – being with Ma in the darshan room. While one small group at a time immerses in Ma’s essence, we others sing the Hanuman Chalisa in the Kirtan Hall – in honor of our Satguru Sri Neem Karoli Baba, whose legacy of love and compassion we celebrate with this festive event.
Then, to our great joy, Ma comes out and sings three exhilarating Hanuman Chalisa with us, making our hearts glow.
We take part in a wonderful bhandara and in the afternoon we sing kirtan to Maharajji with all our hearts.
In the evening, Ma stays in her room and sends us a message: Ma is very near and always with us, and asks us to humbly surrender to what is.
We look at pictures of Maharajji surrounded by His chela, hear His voice – special recordings made by Vishnu Digambar, Ma’s spiritual companion and husband, during their time together with Baba in 1973. We are immersed in the sweetness that resonates from the pictures showing Maharajji’s boundless love, reflected in the radiance of the people surrounding Him.
As we later celebrate the aarti to Baba, a wonderful singing fills the room, vibrating with bells, drums and cymbals – everyone can offer the light to Maharajji at the splendidly decorated puja.
On Sunday, Ma gives darshan to all of us together and speaks about what she felt, when she experienced Baba’s passing 51 years ago. Ma’s world fell apart – and yet Baba’s physical death made Ma find the inner resolve not to cling to Maharajji’s outer form, but to try to develop such eyes with which she would see Baba in other forms. Little did Ma know then that she would not only find her beloved Master in EVERY form, but would recognise Him far beyond, in the vastness of the formless – unknown to her at that time – after a long inner journey.
The teaching Ma gave us all in darshan was as follows: If we love something with all our heart and never want to lose it, we have to let it go.
We become aware of how Ma is one with everyone in the room. Ma answers our questions, responds to each of us and takes us to this special place within, filled with the sense of being alive and the joy that arises from it.
One chela says out loud: “Ma, you wrote to me that you will never let go of my hand and it gives me so much strength! Because I know that even if I forget you, you are always with me.”
Thank you, beloved Maharajji, for giving us everything.
Thank you, beloved Ma, for letting us experience Baba through your presence.
