– Sri K.R.Raghavan Pillai, Vakil
It was the 26th January 1955. Auspicious in itself, as the anniversary of the great and peaceful revolution that has come over this sacred land, it is the most memorable day of my life, the beginning of a great inner revolution. It was on that day, that I had the good fortune to have the darsan of Sri Rama Devi at the Meenakshi Mandir, Trivandrum. It was a thrilling experience. Although indifferent towards the order of Sanyasa, there was something that drew me to the great name and the desire to have a darsan of the Mother was kindled in me as early as December 1953. The chance came two years later.
I was very timid to go to the Mother’s presence and wanted only to have a distant darsan. But in a few seconds, the whole atmosphere cleared and looked welcoming me. At about 6 P.M. I was introduced to Mother who greeted me with her radiant inimitable smile. I sat in front of Mother. She suddenly went into samadhi. It did not last long as expected and the Mother opened her eyes after a minute or two. I prayed for her blessings. She gave me Ram Nam smarana making me repeat ‘ Sree Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram ’ thrice. She asked me to attend the Akhanda Ram Nam yajna the next Sunday which I did. The chanting of Tharaka Mantra in four different tunes from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M., then Sankirthan and the Mother’s discourse, were solemn beyond words and it all elevated me to the regions of the true, the good, and the beautiful.
The seed thus sowed in my heart began rapidly to grow and as a result almost all members of my big family became Mother’s disciples.
We had the second darsan of the Mother in 1956 which gave us the initiative to start a Bhajan Mandir at the residence of Sri T. P. K. Nair at Haripad. When he, a Government officer, was transferred to Quilon, the Bhajan , Mandir was shifted to an out-house at my residence. Poojas and arathi are conducted there twice daily.
On the 4th March 1958, I had darsan of the Mother at the Trichur Mandali on the occasion of the installation of the idols of Sree Rama and Sree Krishna. At the Daridra Narayana Pooja, the Mother sat amidst of hundreds of people and partook of the dishes.
In 1959 on Her way to Kayamkulam, Mother gave us a darsan and graced our Bhajan Mandir with her presence. People from far and near had assembled. As the bhajan proceeded Samadhi set in and when the Mother opened her eyes she gave a discourse in Malayalam.
The ecstasy of Sri Ramakrishna, the exalted eloquence of Sri Vivekananda, and the wisdom of Pathanjali were all there. The members of the audience were appreciably moved and when they left they carried a rare enlightenment and consolation. The influence was immense.
Some months later, we had the good fortune to visit the Mother at Her home in Mangalore when we had the opportunity to have glimpses of Her domestic life. We had glimpses of the simple and austere life of Mother. She was an ideal mother and ideal hostess to us. She personally supervised the arrangements for our comfortable stay. Her daily routine of duties showed that she scrupulously observed what she was teaching. The simplicity of Her home, the calm and the divine atmosphere all round, the sincerity, the punctuality and hospitality of the members all deeply impressed us.
On 7-3-1959 the Sivarathri day, Mother performed Sivalinga Abhisheka with Ganga Theertham and poojas at the Bhajan Mandir at Trivandrum at the request of Swami Sivayogi Sidhananda.
In June 1960, I attended the Mother’s discourses in the Sadhana Mandir sessions at Mangalore, a place of bliss and peace.
The experiences have transformed me like hundreds of others. They have raised a wave of spiritual awakening in me and it is rolling incessantly.