Chhindwara
Going to Chhindwara, little did I realise that the event coming up was quite cosmic in proportions – Good Friday, Persian New Year, Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday and, of course, Shri Mataji’s 85th birthday.
The celebration of Holi was expected on the day after Birthday Puja [celebration], so we dressed in our silks and other finest for the Puja, leaving “holi clothes” for the next day. Little did we realise that we were going to break into spontaneous Holi colour-smearing right after Puja.
Shri Mataji’s daughters, Sadhana Didi and Kalpana Didi, decided to play Holi with Shri Mataji right there after the birthday cake was cut. More Gulal (red powder for smearing on each other) was vibrated by Shri Mataji. The Indian yogis spared no time mixing the vibrated red powder with tons more, making packets and distributing it right away to a rapturous crowd of more than 20,000.
A new movie on Shri Mataji’s childhood was premiered just before the Puja. In February this year, Shri Mataji gave a 3-hour interview, reminiscing about her childhood and the house in Chhindwara where she was born. The house is a shrine restored without replacing most of its vibrated elements: the floor on which Mother took Her first steps, etc.
The house was a hospital for a long time. During this time, many years ago, Baba Mama [Shri Mataji’s youngest brother] took Sahaja Yogis to the building and asked them to check vibrations in various rooms to find the room where Shri Mataji was born. This Sahaja Yogi recollected that they passed many rooms before coming to a small, abandoned room which was quite cobwebbed. It gave vibrational evidence that Baba Mama confirmed as the birth place of Shri Mataji.
After the puja, Holi celebrations resumed with the folksy charm of Mukhiraam and Dr. Rajesh’s songs about Holi. It was quite a coincidence to celebrate Holi in the state of India where Holi is celebrated quite intensely: Madhya Pradesh.
The highlight of Birthday Puja was Shri Mataji’s power of transforming the remote puja site in Linga village near Chhindwara, into a hospitable place for thousands in a matter of weeks.
Ruthvick