The handbag of Shri Mataji is always with Her when She leaves the house. To carry it, to look after it, and to open it and search for something, Shri Mataji has asked for, will always remain a special memory to those who have had the experience. The content of the bag is manifold, and looking for something specific, always feels like the churning of
The Ocean of Milk
Why are the heavens deserted and empty,
Why are the cities celestial so silent and plain,
Why have the colours gone from the gardens of Indra,
And why lies a veil of grief over the habitats divine?
Why has the shining in the crown of Sakhsi Devi faded away,
Why have the sparkles disappeared from the eyes of Her Lord,
Why are the chants of Brihaspathi devoid of joy and conviction,
And why are the Devas so tired and pale?
Where is Parijata, the celestial wishing tree,
Charging the atmosphere of Indraloka with his exquisite fragrance,
Granting boons to the sick and deserving?
And where is Surabhi the cow of plenty,
Mother of Nandi the white bull of Shiva,
Feeding the heavens with her patient and gentle heart,
And nourishing the countless pujas offered to the Devi?
And look!
The shores of the milky sea lay dry and barren,
The infinite ocean of abundance has ceased to flow.
Whatever was brought forth by the process of churning
Has disappeared,
As if the Giver of wealth and fortune
Had withdrawn Her horn of plenty.
Let us go to Shri Brahmadeva,
The Knower of the wheel of time.
Let us praise His wisdom
And let us ask Him,
What ill-fate has befallen the dwellers of heaven.
Comforting and revealing are the Lord’s words to the anxious:
“You feel strangely abandoned,
disconnected and frail.
You feel like children being deprived of the Mothers love.
You are sensing the loss of something you can’t name.
And right your are.”
“Lo and behold, the Queen of creation,
The eternal source of All and One.
The Mistress of Mani Dvipa
Has gathered Her court
To settle on earth
For a moment in time.
Covered by Her exquisite Maya,
Hiding Her nature in human disguise.
Her equipment of powers behind camouflage so sweet,
She has taken with Her the paraphernalia of supreme Motherhood
To install and manifest
An incarnation complete.
So rejoice and take delight
In the Leela of the three folded Mother.
Surrender your worries to the Maha Maya
And marvel at Her powers of illusion.
In Her hands She carries Moon and Sun
And when you open her handbag………
You will hear the sound of the rushing sea”