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| Epilogue |
You are the ones
who have to soar high into the vast sky of spirituality. To do that, you
need the wings of selflessness and love. We should be able to do
everything with sincerity and love. The opportunity to serve others
should be considered a rare gift, a blessing from God. We should be
happy and thank God for providing such opportunities.
- Amma
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"This book must be another one of Amma’s
clever ideas to keep Herself alive in the hearts of Her children,"
said a longtime devotee helping with this project. To all of us, over a
hundred of Amma’s children involved in the making of this book, working
on the book was a beautiful journey with Amma and a lovely way of
remaining connected with Her. Please allow us, dear readers, to share a
little from that journey. |
| How the Book Came Together |
| A book like this one, with contributions
representing nearly thirty countries of the world would have been
impossible to conceive even just a decade ago. Our lives have become so
shaped by the omnipresence of computers and email and Internet, that we
take instant worldwide communication for granted today. A person on our
team compared email to telepathy and the Internet to a fantasy land called
Computer Land. If we stop and think about it, these descriptions certainly
seem apt. |
| It was the e-seva or tele-seva of many, many
of Amma’s children that made this book possible. Stories were collected
using a website. Two online discussion
groups devoted to Amma (http://amma.hindunet.org/amma-l and http://groups.yahoo.com/)
became wonderful resources to connect not just with storywriters but also
with many sevites. Over ninety percent of the stories were collected
during the months of January and February 2002. Far more stories were
received than could be used in a single volume of this book. Future
volumes are being planned. |
| A Word
About the Writers |
| While many people worked hard for this book,
the greatest contribution is surely that of the writers who lovingly
contributed their stories. Theirs was the blessed but difficult seva of
sharing Amma’s impact in their lives with the world at large. Without
exception, each one wrote about their shortcomings and their learning with
brutal honesty in order to illustrate how Amma’s love is slowly
transforming them and helping them become better individuals. They did it
as service to their beloved Amma and in the hope that their stories might
help readers understand more about Her. We bow down in front of these
children of Amma who shared so openly and generously. They shine as
examples of true selfless service. |
| Satsang
Coordinators |
| Right alongside the writers’ contribution
is that of the satsang coordinators in the different countries and cities
of the world. They believed in this project and whole-heartedly supported
it. From encouraging devotees in their countries to write, to penning
their own stories, to providing whatever other help was asked of them,
these children of Amma were truly a joy to work with. Many have all but
given up their worldly lives to serve their beloved Mother even while
still living in the world. They work as instruments of Mother to organize
the worldwide programs, the main means for Amma’s children to come to
Her. Their example of service is very inspiring. |
| Other Sevites |
| Many, many people helped contact writers
within specific groups and regions. Stories received in other languages
were translated into English by sevites. Teams made of both Amma’s
devotees and those new to Her read the stories to provide feedback.
Writers most willingly incorporated this feedback to revise their stories
if needed. The stories were then edited. One of Amma’s younger children,
a fourteen-year-old girl suggested titles for many of the stories. A team
searched for Amma’s quotes to go with every story. Many people shared
their collections of Amma’s pictures to be used in the book. Amma’s
children did the book and cover design as seva. |
| It was the dedication and the tireless
efforts of all these people who worked together as one large family that
made possible this offering of love. |
| The Future |
| It is our hope that many more such books are
offered at Amma’s feet in the future. It is our humble request to our
brothers and sisters reading this book to participate in and support this
universal sharing in any manner possible. |
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Om Amriteshwaryai Namah
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