Basic Format: Example Story

True Love at Last
...states the month, year and place (and date if available) in the opening paragraph.....	Today is Saturday, March 7, 1998. It’s about 6:30 in the morning. We, that is my parents, my brother, and I are getting ready to leave for the Balaji Temple in Nerul, New Mumbai. Saturday is an auspicious day for worshipping Lord Balaji, and we visit the temple every week on this day.
	We are almost ready to leave when I hear my father saying, "Mata Amritanandamayi Devi arrives in Mumbai today. There will be public programs comprised of discourse, bhajans, and darshan at the Mata Amritanandamayi Math in Nerul." He is reading aloud from the newspaper in front of him.
	"A well-known saint, she is also known as Amma or Mother." He continues to read in silence.
	I stop combing my hair and look at him. "Let us go see her. The Math must be right next to the Temple." I am looking at the newspaper over his shoulder.
	My mother chimes in, "Yes, we have never seen a saint before. Let us all go."
...includes a brief description of spiritual background before meeting Amma in the opening paragraph(s)...	My father nods his head in agreement. We decide to visit the Math after going to the Balaji Temple. I am excited. This is the first time we will be meeting a saint. We all believe in God, but are more inclined towards worshipping Him in a temple. We get ready and leave by 7:00 a.m.
	It takes us almost one hour to reach Nerul. First, we go to the temple and offer our usual prayers and archanas. Then we leave for the Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It is almost 10:00 a.m. as we arrive at the Math.
	Outside is a huge shamiana. There are several stalls selling books, cassettes, key-chains, and pictures of the saint. I look up at the gate and see an emblem. Imprinted on it are the words Tyagenaike Amritatvamanasuh.
	"What does this mean?" I wonder. "It is probably too deep for me to understand."
	We enter the main hall. I am really shocked to see the large number of people. They are seated on mats waiting for their saint to come. I had not thought that there would be such a big crowd to worship a saint, a human being after all. We stand for some time, not knowing what is going to happen. Then we sit down.
	At around 11:00 a.m., everyone starts chanting a mantra. Some call out, "Amma, Amma." Suddenly, I see her. The saint is coming down from an upper floor. Smiling graciously, and walking with a bounce in her steps, she arrives on the stage. She prostrates to the crowd, and then takes her seat.
	I am a little surprised. This saint with such a large following is wearing only a simple, white sari. That’s it. No special clothes, chains, or beads to distinguish her from others. She soon starts speaking. Her speech is in Malayalam and is translated into English by a disciple. After the speech, she looks around and smiles at everyone.
	"Please form a line," the Swami announces. "Our beloved Amma will now start giving darshan."
	"What is special about this darshan?" my father asks a volunteer nearby.
	"Amma will personally bless everyone by hugging," the volunteer replies.
	Hugging? I have not heard of this kind of blessing before.
	We are asked to join the darshan line. I look around. There are perhaps over a thousand people here. What a sight it is! I see old and young, rich and poor all seated next to each other for their Amma. I am a little touched. People are now starting to get into a line. As they approach Amma, she hugs them. And smiles at them.
...is an honest sharing of feelings, fears, emotions, etc. that come from the depths of the writer's heart...	My thoughts go to an old lady beggar I saw yesterday while waiting for my college bus. Her clothes were dirty and tattered and her hair unkempt. She had stretched her hand out to me for money. As I had dropped a one-rupee coin into those wrinkled hands, I had seen her eyes brighten up. She had folded her hands in gratitude and I could only stare back at her skinny body, filled with sorrow for her. "Is there no one to love this poor soul?" I had wondered.
	I was born and raised in a middle class family in Mumbai. I had everything I needed; family, friends, education, and money. But I often felt sad. "Is there no one who loves the poor, the sick, the abandoned? Is love meant only for the rich and the talented? Can I not do anything for the poor?"
	I sometimes felt guilty that I was not able to do much for the unfortunate souls in this world. And would feel helpless seeing the people in the world who simply did not have the heart to help. When someone was going through a bad phase, I watched the love of the world just disappear like mist. This false, deceptive love was a great disappointment indeed.
	Coming back to the present, I continue watching Amma and people receiving hugs from her. "Amma is accepting each and every person in the same way. Young or old, rich or poor, it does not seem to matter to her at all. Every person is receiving the same," I think to myself. I look at the peoples’ faces just after their hugs. Joy is written on these faces. Some are crying. I think, "Is it possible that here is someone at last, who loves everyone equally?"
	I continue watching. I have never before seen so many people so openly expressing their feelings and emotions. Time passes, and it is now noon. The crowd has grown much larger. My parents decide that we should return home and my brother and I agree. Actually, all of us are very tired since we had left home so early this morning. We start making our way towards the gate.
	"Why are you leaving?" a man’s voice asks.
...uses dialog for conversations if possible...	We turn around. It is a devotee who was standing against a pillar near us. He is walking towards us.
	"You should have Amma's darshan before you leave. It is very good to have her darshan, you know."
	We all look at each other. I am tired, and answer, "Look at this crowd. It will take us a long time to get near her. She does not even know us. Perhaps we will try next time." Saying this, we continue walking.
	A lady volunteer stops us next. "Wait," she says. "Have Amma’s darshan before you leave."
	My father asks, "What is so special about darshan? We have seen her. That is enough." And we continue on.
	We are almost at the gate now. A Swami coming into the Math approaches us next.
	"Have you had your personal darshan from Amma? Don’t leave without that," he says and walks away.
...describes the first meeting with Amma in great detail...	We stop and look at each other. Three times we have tried to leave. Three times someone has stopped us. We reluctantly decide to have our personal darshan and join the huge line. There are separate lines for men and women and my mother and I join the ladies line.
	We spend the next several hours in line. It is almost 4:00 p.m. by the time we finally reach close to Amma. I can now see her very well. I am curious. "What makes so many people come to her? She must have a lot of patience to sit there meeting all these people," I think to myself. Since Amma has hugged hundreds of people already, her white sari has become stained. My mother notices reddish brown marks of kumkum and turmeric on Amma's sari near the shoulder.
	Turning back to me, she whispers softly in Tamil, our mother tongue, " I am scared."
	I don’t know what to say to her. By now, we are almost next in line for darshan. It is my mother’s turn first. Amma hugs her close. Then laughingly points to her shoulder and says in Tamil, "What can I do? Everyone asks me to hug them."
...describes honestly and with feeling the first darshan, that is the first hug from Amma...	It is my turn and Amma looks into my eyes and smiles. I look back at her, completely blank, not knowing what I should say or do. Before I know it, my head is resting against Amma's shoulder. She whispers something in Malyalam in my ear. Even though I don’t understand, for some reason, I feel a great joy inside and come out of darshan with a broad smile.
	We join my father and brother. They have already had their darshan. The crowd on the men’s side was much smaller and seeing that my mother and I were still waiting, my father had decided to join the men’s line once again. When he came close to Amma, she had lovingly scolded him. "Son, you are coming for the second time today, isn’t it? Don’t repeat this." Nevertheless, she had hugged him again.
...briefly describes family members' or friends' experiences...	We all laugh at my father. I briefly wonder how she had recognized him in the midst of that huge crowd. She must have hugged hundreds and hundreds of devotees since this morning. I also wonder about how she had known what was on my mother’s mind about her sari being stained. We buy a few books and pictures of Amma from the stalls and return home by 6:00 p.m.
	The next week I keep thinking about Amma. I hang her beautiful picture on the wall and religiously apply the vibhuti she gave on my forehead. My heart tells me that I have experienced something divine. I start reading the books we have bought.
	From the books, I slowly learn that Amma is not an ordinary human being. Amma is one with God. She knows all our desires and our innermost thoughts. Amma is Love Incarnate. She loves all, truly and unconditionally. As I read this, I wonder, "Have I finally found what I have been looking for? Is Amma the answer to my quest?" I don’t know for sure.
	Over the next one year, I experience Amma’s divinity in several ways. As days pass, I get busy with my life, but there is a change in me. I am more peaceful and my mind is calm. I am also slowly learning to let go of so many desires and attachments.
...states journey with Amma over the years...and what She means to one today...	Over time I understand that this change is because of Amma. Looking at her picture I ask her, "Is this possible? Just from one meeting! How can this be?" Sometimes I cry for her. Slowly dawns the realization that Amma is not just another saint spreading the message of God but that She is an incarnation of God. She is the Goddess Herself!
...briefly states the learning that has come from being Amma's child...	In Amma, I found true love at last. Her selfless love has found an expression in the form of so many charitable projects benefiting thousands and thousands of poor, sick, and abandoned souls. Yes, in this world no love may be true and selfless except God’s own love. And I experience that through our own beloved Amma.
...is the the complete story of how one came to Amma, that is how one became Her child...	Priya Sadagopan currently lives in Chicago, USA with her husband Ram. She completed her undergraduate degree in commerce in Mumbai in 1998. For the next several months she worked for a multinational firm. After her marriage in 2001, she moved to Chicago to join her husband. She enjoys reading books, listening to music and traveling to places of natural beauty.