Ambika and I were traveling with Shree Ma and Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Devi Mandir in Napa, Calif.
Shree Ma is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever met. She is a tiny Bengali woman who, when fully wet, hauls about 90 lbs. on a 5 ft. and not many inches frame. Yet she emanates a power that makes her feel like she is a giant.
One time, Shree Ma asked me to give her a foot rub. In Indian spiritual traditions it is considered an honor for the student to massage the teacher’s feet. Regardless of custom, Shree Ma was relatively older, probably in her 60’s, and I loved her a lot, so I was happy to do something to make her feel good.
I got a towel and some nice oil, and she placed her feet on my lap. At that point I was astonished at how petite she was. Her feet were so tiny they looked like they belonged on a little girl. Her ankles were about the size of my wrists, I could practically wrap a hand around them.
I began to massage her feet. She smiled and said, “Rub harder.”
“Sure, Ma,” I answered, and I applied some more pressure.
A minute or two later she said, “Use more force.”
I was concerned with her request, so I said, “Ma, to tell you the truth, I’m afraid I might hurt you.”
In response, she said, “Go like this,” holding up her fist with the knuckle of the middle finger protruding, “and use all your might.”
I asked, “Are you sure?”
“Do it,” she said.
I thought to myself that this was going to be very interesting. I took my knuckle and pushed into her little foot. I kept pushing harder into her flesh, waiting for her to wince. I was eventually using so much strength I began to sweat. Dear reader, if I pushed into your foot that hard with my knuckle, I don’t care how big you are, I promise you would jump! Shree Maa leaned back on her chair, smiled and closed her eyes. “Ah,” she said, “that’s very good.”
