Dear Brothers and Sisters:
We wanted to share with you some details and photographs of the joyous
arrival of our Holy Mother in New York.
Tuesday, July 5th
Shri Mataji’s arrival was very joyous and unexpected, as most of the
collective only learned of Her plans the night before. So many of us had
the wonderful surprise of checking our email on Monday night to learn that
our Mother would be arriving in our city less than 24 hours later.
In that mood, Tuesday brought hurried, joyous final preparations, as the
collective descended on Her house in New Jersey to do the final cleaning,
flower arrangements and all other loving details in order to make the stay
of Her and Sir C.P. a very pleasant one.
Then it was off to the airport, in the usual last-minute rush. As Her
flight turned out to be delayed by about two hours, we were able to observe
the divine plan in action--we clearly needed that additional time to
prepare.
At the airport, five of us, together with Anand, Shri Mataji’s grandson,
were escorted by the airport VIP welcome officer to the gate to welcome our
Mother the moment She stepped from the plane onto American soil. On our
way to the gate, one of the customs agents asked who we were going to meet.
When we explained about Shri Mataji’s arrival, we were all quite surprised
to find out that he had been a great admirer of Shri Mataji for the last
twenty-five years. He then requested that we bring Her to his booth so that
he could welcome Her to the country and speed Her through the customs
clearance. It was an important reminder to us of how many yogi brothers and
sisters are out there that may be completely unknown to us.
Shri Mataji’s appearance at the door of the plane, followed by Sir C.P. and
all of the accompanying yogis, was a moment of great joy. As we offered Her
our flowers, it was the reuniting of a Mother with Her children. There, in
the narrow jetway, everything stopped while the devotees of Adi Shakti
offered Her their flowers and performed namaskar. Jai Shri Mataji! Our
Holy Mother was once more in the land of Shri Krishna!
Both She and Sir C.P. seemed quite fresh and in good spirits, despite the
long flight. As we made our way through the baggage area and customs, we
had an opportunity to speak with Her and Sir C.P. about the trip. She told
us that it had been a good flight and that they had been well looked after.
We congratulated them on the wonderful news of the birth of their great
grandson Sumant only days before, and thanked Her for the great blessing
that he was born here in America. Shri Mataji, like any great-grandmother,
was looking forward to seeing the latest soul to be born into Her family.
We were also able to present Her with a plaque proclaiming July 5, 2005 as
"Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Day" in one of the local counties. Both She and
Sir C.P. were very pleased at the presentation.
Outside, waiting patiently in the reception area, were about 200 yogis from
all over North America. Among them were four intrepid souls that had driven
her van straight across the country from California starting last Friday
when the word was first received of Her planned arrival. Others came down
from Canada. And there were scores upon scores from up and down the East
Coast. Everyone waited, cheerfully chatting to each other or standing in
silence, quietly thanking Shri Mataji and praying that they would be able to
receive Her in pure thoughtless awareness.
It was close to 9:00 p.m. when the doors opened and suddenly She and Sir
C.P. emerged, quickly surrounded by the throngs of devoted yogis. A flood of
emotion swept through all of us. The heart was filled with gratitude and
pure divine love. Although everyone bore flowers as tokens of their love
and their joy, we offered them in our hearts, refraining from individual
offerings in order for our Mother to make Her way to Her van as quickly and
comfortably as possible. As She made Her way through the crowd, the
children offered a song to welcome their Mother.
As She was wheeled quickly outside, all of the yogis followed Her and
surrounded Her van. First She entered the van, then Sir C.P. After a short
wait, a very loud and very joyous "Bolo Jagan Mata Shri Nirmala Devi Ki JAI!
Ki JAI! Ki JAI!" boomed out from all of us as Her van pulled away from the
curb and sped to Her house.
Upon Her arrival at Her house, a similar joyous scene was repeated, as
those who had stayed behind to make the house ready had their first glimpse
of their Mother’s arrival. After such a large turnout at the airport, it
was surprising to see still so many waiting at the house. Children with
their flowers, so many sisters making up all the colors of the rainbow in
their brilliant saris, all gathered to pay homage to Shri Adi Shakti.
Upon the entry of Shri Mataji and Sir C.P. into their house, we asked Her if
She wanted to go into Her bedroom and She replied that She would rather sit
in the living room. She then spent almost a full hour greeting Sahaja Yogis.
As some children came to give Her flowers, She asked, "Where are these
children from?" She was very happy to learn that they were from the
Canajoharie school. One by one, from the largest to the smallest, they each
came forward to hand her a flower. As we sat before Her, a garland was
offered and aarti performed. We all sat on the floor around Her enjoying
the vibrations, silently offering thanks to our Mother for once again
gracing us with Her darshan.
As they had tea, Shri Mataji kept admiring the house and asked several
questions about the various decorative items. She looked out over the yogis
gathered in attendance, catching so many of us in Her gaze, filling each of
us with awe at the majesty of Her presence.
Despite the long journey, Shri Mataji had her dinner and stayed with the
yogis for a couple of hours in all. As She retired for the evening we
offered prayers that She would find Her stay in America very comfortable and
joyous and that we would be able to fully absorb the blessings showering
down upon us and let Her visit carry us much closer to the fulfillment of
Her divine vision.
Wednesday, July 6th
Having had an opportunity to rest from the flight, Shri Mataji looked more
relaxed and was feeling more talkative than the day before. As soon as
yogis entered Her bedroom, She commented, "There were so many Sahaja Yogis
at the airport yesterday," and Her heart was bubbling with joy (in
Hindi--gadh gadh). Then we mentioned to Her that we still had been unable
to confirm a hotel for Guru Puja, and She said, “It will work out.” She
also mentioned to us that America should help with the Guru Puja, together
with the other hosting countries. We all feel that it is such a great
blessing for America to have its first opportunity ever to co-host the Guru
Puja.
Although many of us around the world have been concerned about Her health,
we want to share one incident. We were sitting with Shri Mataji watching
CNN and then Sir C.P. began to get up out of his chair. We were so engaged
in watching the news that we didn’t notice that he needed help. It was Shri
Mataji who showed us the alertness we should have had. Observing that Sir
C.P. was having difficulties, She commented to Paul, "Help him, he needs to
go to his room."
Shri Mataji, we are so blessed to have You here and we are looking forward
to hosting many of our international brothers and sisters as they join us to
worship You in the form of Adi Guru.
Bolo Shri Adi Shakti Americashwari, Shri Nirmala Devi, Ki Jai!!
With Love and Respect,
Manoj, Paul, Vasu and Mark
For more pictures, please click here | 
