What a sweet story! I was mesmerized by the loving interactions between the robins and Gurumayi. It reminded me of an experience of my own with some surprisingly attentive birds.
One time, when I was hiking, some sweet chickadees were following me by hopping along a wire fence. I was convinced they were there to show their love and to help me. Their sweet songs were so uplifting! It felt like their music was raising my soul to a higher level.
I love nature and always feel so unconditionally welcomed by her.
Washington, United States
“The Song of the Followers” touched my heart. I remembered the story this morning when I was out walking in my neighborhood. I suddenly heard the most exquisite birdsong coming from above. I looked up and saw a Northern Mockingbird perched atop a telephone pole ahead of me. He sang one glorious song after another. I stopped and listened, completely transfixed by the beauty of his songs. Remembering Gurumayi’s loving interactions with the robins, I offered the bird my deepest gratitude and love for the gift of his song.
It seemed as if the bird felt my love because he left his perch, flew to the top of a pole near me, and once again began his magnificent concert.
I am grateful to Gurumayi for teaching us how to be in nature.
Massachusetts, United States
I was so still and peaceful after reading this story about Gurumayi, Mamaroo, and Paparoo that I was drawn to take a
japa walk in the cool of the evening. That is when a bird began to sing and sing and sing and sing. Because of the dense leaves I could not manage to catch sight of the bird for a long time, until at home I looked up and at the very top of a huge pine tree, I saw it was a robin singing!
New Mexico, United States
There’s a beautiful weeping crabapple tree in our backyard. I love its pretty pink flowers in the spring and the little red crabapples in the fall.
One day, as it was getting colder and closer to winter, I saw a bird pick one of the crabapples. With the crabapple in its beak, the bird looked right at me through our window. It then put the apple down on the branch and lovingly looked directly at me again. I felt it was saying, “Thank you!” I bowed my head with love in return. The bird then picked up the apple again, looked at me lovingly, and flew away with the little red crabapple in its beak.
I am grateful for Gurumayi’s teachings, which opened my heart to such a sweet, loving communication with a bird.
New York, United States
I was speechless as I read this well-articulated story, because it ties in so well to my new environment. I recently relocated to a neighborhood where I am surrounded by trees filled with cardinals, robins, and other birds. Three turtles have also made their home by digging into the earth opposite my meditation room. Each morning after meditation I greet the turtles with a big smile and something for them to eat. Then the cardinals and robins flit from tree to tree while the crows sing in the distance. I feel they are welcoming me to my new home.
I was delighted to read in this story how Gurumayi lovingly cares for the robins in Shree Muktananda Ashram. It taught me to see God in the trees, birds, turtles, and all of nature around me.
Florida, United States
I was really moved by the beautiful exchange of love between the robins and Gurumayi. What touched me the most was when, seven years after Gurumayi had last seen Mamaroo and Paparoo, a new robin arrived who followed Gurumayi around and sang to her. Gurumayi said, “She must belong to Mamaroo and Paparoo’s lineage—another generation.”
I learned from this that the blessings I receive from my Guru are not just for me and my family today, but for the generations to come as well. As the immensity of this truth sunk in, a deep sense of peace and protection enveloped me.
Hosur, India
Last year, I discovered in my garden a small purple flower called
Vicia villosa and noticed that a bumblebee came to it every day to collect nectar. This year in the spring, I sowed this flower across my entire garden bed to offer the bumblebee lots of nectar.
After reading the story of Gurumayi and the two birds, I went to my garden to see if the bumblebee had also returned. With overflowing love and joy, I counted over twenty bumblebees drinking nectar from the
Vicia villosa. The bumblebee had come back and brought many friends along!
Unterlangenegg, Switzerland
I went outside to be in nature and enjoy this story. When I go outside to sit, it’s often very quiet. As I started to read the story, I could hear birds chirping quietly some distance away. As I read and embraced the beauty of the story, the birds singing became louder and louder and closer and closer. The serenading birds continued their song for the entire length of the story. When I finished, the birds quietly ended their beautiful accompaniment.
I recognized that the singing birds were actually robins. I felt my singing friends help the story come alive in the present moment, reminding me that my heart is the place to return to over and over again to find the true abode of my Guru’s love.
New York, United States
This story reminded me of the time in 1989 when Gurumayi came to the Siddha Yoga Meditation Center in Munich to hold a
satsang and to give
darshan after her longer visit to Heidelberg. After she left, the center remained filled with
shakti.
We were just sitting there in an utterly fulfilling and magical atmosphere when suddenly, two big birds—which I think were swans—landed on the very tiny pond in the garden, which had never happened before or since. The whole scene was dreamlike, unreal, and divine. We were convinced that these two birds had been attracted by the
shakti of Gurumayi’s visit.
Cologne, Germany
I met Gurumayi more than three decades ago and there hasn’t been one day since then when I have not experienced her presence with me—guiding me, advising me, and most of all, always answering my prayers.
So I am not at all surprised that the robins Mamaroo and Paparoo felt so cherished and welcomed by Gurumayi that they—and their descendants—kept returning to be with her. I am sure even other things in nature that we are not able to catch with our sensory perception are responding to Gurumayi’s divine presence and her sublime love.
Porto, Portugal
I am most fortunate to live near a retreat center called Blue Bird Village in the majestic Rocky Mountains. This morning, at the moment I finished reciting Shri Guru Gita, I looked up and saw a beautiful, sweet bluebird flying by, directly in front of my window. I felt Gurumayi’s presence as if she were saying good morning to me.
And just now, to my delight, I opened the Siddha Yoga path website and read this enchanting and powerful share by Chandramukhi, which reminded me that the Guru is always with me.
Colorado, United States
In reading this story, I found myself shedding tears of deep love for the Guru. I felt at home and knew that my husband and I will return over and over again to our beloved Guru with increased love, just as Mamaroo and Paparoo did, and that our daughter too will return to this beautiful path again and again in the years to come.
It is such an immeasurable blessing to have Gurumayi’s presence in our lives!
Rome, Italy
I love sitting on my patio early morning as the day begins and the sun rises. As I read this beautiful story, I could visualize the enthusiasm of the robin seeking Gurumayi’s darshan and singing to her. A growing longing arose in my own heart for such a sweet, informal, and natural experience of the Guru’s presence. My heart felt completely tender as I finished reading the story.
When I looked up towards the vista behind my home, I saw a stately red Maryland cardinal sitting atop a tree singing with great exuberance. The chestnut-brown mother bird was flying back and forth nearby, probably close to their nest in another tree. And so I was given that sweet, informal, and natural experience right in my own backyard.
Grace is everywhere.
Maryland, United States
In May, Baba’s month, one of the local Siddha Yoga meditation centers was reopened in Mexico City, after being on a long pause due to the global pandemic situation.
That day, even though I was not feeling strong, I decided to attend satsang. My heart longed to do the Siddha Yoga practices in community. The satsang was a recitation of Shri Guru Gita.
Gurumayi says of the robins in this story, “They always come back to see their people again.” I too had left for a time but, like the robins, I always come back to see my people again.
Mexico City, Mexico
What a sweet and crystal-clear relationship these robins had with Gurumayi! I am not surprised by the behavior of Mamaroo and Paparoo with Gurumayi. I had often heard from my parents that animals and birds know when there’s something unusual in the environment; in the same way they also respond to the unusual vibration around Siddhas.
When I read this story, I loved the way these birds knew how to greet Gurumayi ji. I was so happy to be reminded of the power of the presence of a great Siddha, especially in this month of June, when we celebrate Birthday Bliss.
Bhandara, India
I so love reading this story about Gurumayi’s interactions with the natural world. I have seen in my own home the response of my kitty cat when I am chanting or meditating. She scratches at the door of my meditation room almost without fail; I am sure she feels the Guru’s energy. Often when I am chanting or participating in a Siddha Yoga event online, she will curl up next to the computer and peacefully fall asleep in a circle of light.
This story is a wonderful reminder for me of the harmony that radiates out from Gurumayi wherever she goes.
Virginia, United States