"I'll never let you part, for you're always in my heart...."

Rhode Island, July 26, 2003

After a one-day darshan at Boston, Amma's last stop in the U.S. was at Rhode Island, the smallest state in the country. At the spiritual retreat arranged at Bryant College, Smithfield, people gathered from across the country to spend a few final moments in Amma's blissful presence before she left for India.

Among the crowd, there was a group of devotees, who had traveled from Quebec, Canada to be with Amma. French-speaking Quebec is the latest addition in the ever-increasing list of places around the world that boast of an M.A.Center in their midst. These devotees had traveled all the way to Rhode Island in the hope of a darshan with Amma, carrying with them little else than a song in their hearts - the ever-popular 'Iswar Tumhi', now translated into French.

Amma has an uncanny way of knowing the deepest thoughts and desires of her children. Perhaps in response to an unspoken wish of these devotees, Amma summoned the French translator and asked her to bring all the French-speaking devotees to her. Raising her eyebrows at the sheer number of them, Amma asked for the lyrics of the song. Cradling a very fortunate devotee who had just come up for darshan, she then proceeded to sing the bhajan along with them, in sweet French! It was impossible to say who was in higher ecstacy, Amma's children who witnessed this impromptu blessing, her privileged French children who sang along with her, or the amazed devotee on her lap who staggered away with the darshan-memory of a lifetime....

On the last day of the retreat with Amma, a group of children made their way to her carrying a large, multi-colored rug. Smiling broadly, they handed her a card which read, "This is a birthday present for Amma from her little children on the 2003 U.S. Tour. Starting from Seattle and ending in Rhode Island, this latch-hook rug has been worked upon by children who came for your darshan in every city along the U.S. Tour. Praying that our every action becomes an act of service and an act of worship to you, we offer this rug at your Lotus Feet." Amma was touched at the sincerity and love of her small children. Coming from widely varied families, as different in language, color and religious faith as the multicolored strands of wool they used, these children had come together in Amma's world to create an object of immense beauty. In more ways than one, the simple latch-hook rug seemed to reflect this unity in diversity. Amma blessed the rug, showering it with flower petals and hugged her child-representatives close - sending her blessings to all those, both present and absent, who had joined in its making.

As the night ended and the next day dawned, Amma was still giving darshan to the thousands who had come to say their goodbyes. Although everyone felt the heaviness of parting, every effort was made to lighten the burden; the spell-binding devotional music in a new-age style held attention and invited much applause. Somewhere along the way, some devotees who had accompanied Amma through-out the tour in various capacities as tour-staff, got together to sing a song that they had lovingly made up. As the guitar struck the first few chords to the tune of the title song in 'Free Willie', hands shot up swaying from side to side, and the hall turned into a moving sea of white. Voices joined in,

"Weary, Tell me will you hold me?
When wrong, will you scold me?
When lost, will you find me?....."

.....every child's entreaty, in voices choked over with emotion...................

"I'll never let you part, for you're always in my heart...."

A loving tribute to a loving mother.

Finally, after nearly 17 hours of program, Amma stood up on the stage, still unwilling to leave her children. Raising her folded palms to her head in a salute, Amma took a final look around at her openly crying children and slowly walked out of the hall, touching outstretched hands, kissing a baby's head, smiling and nodding goodbyes along her way, her look and her final words "Come, come, children," suggesting that if there were a way that she could carry them all away with her, she certainly would.....

As the U.S. Summer tour comes to a close, let us all dwell on Amma's words of advice that she imparted along the tour and make every effort to apply them in our everyday life. Amma always reminds us that the barrier of physical distance is only a product of the mind. In reality, she is as close to us as our very life-breath. Let us try to live every moment of our lives wisely, in the awareness that she sees our every thought, word and deed; in the remembrance that in her boundless love there is no place for guilt; and in the faith that she will surely show us the way when we sincerely ask for her divine guidance.