ABOUT ANANDAMAYI MA, from memories of Swami Mangalananda
Once, I witnessed an event that might seem insignificant but had a wonderful charm to it. In the dead of night, we were waiting on a railroad platform in a small town in Uttar Pradesh. There was just a small group of us with Ma, and someone brought a chair out and placed it on the platform for Ma to sit on. I saw that sitting right next to the chair was a little village woman, squatting on her luggage. Ma leaned towards her and started a friendly conversation.
I could follow enough to understand they were just discussing their destinations, the weather etc. but the lady was looking up at Ma with such love and joy, not knowing who she was, but experiencing a strange happiness she herself could not describe. After some time, one of the brahmacharis wanted to show Ma something, so a flashlight was brought and shone on the object in Ma’s hand. The light illuminated Ma’s face in the darkness of the night, and I saw the simple woman sitting close to Ma, staring up at her face with reverent awe. I thought to myself: “Only in India, can one have a casual conversation with God while waiting for a train!”