6 Sept 2007 – Amritapuri

The crew arrived, ready for duty at 9pm.  There were 15 courageous men and women among us, carrying shovels and buckets in our hands and more than a little trepidation in our hearts.  Since there were 10,000 hungry Tulasi plants waiting to be fed in a field about 2km north of the Ashram, we found ourselves gathered at the cowshed to serve up a pile of ‘Tulasi food’ that filled a 100 sq. ft tank to a depth of three feet.  All too soon, (for some of us), the empty dump truck pulled up, ready for filling. One cavalier young man recalled stories of Amma from the olden days, when she was the first to jump in and clean the septic tank.  And so with that little bit of inspiration, our moonlight manure tour began.

And so with five people standing on the containment wall shovelling, the rest ferried full buckets to the truck, up and over the sides, and back down to be refilled. It was a messy affair, filled with groans and bad jokes, since ‘it’ was literally flying everywhere.  Even though I’m a great fan of Tulasi, I shuttered when some of ‘it’ hit me.

Then it started to rain.  Someone laughing said, “It can’t get much worse than this.”  I flinched, knowing what was coming.  Almost on cue, a torrential downpour ensued. We kept on shovelling. And then, an almost magical shift in consciousness seemed to happen.  Suddenly it was as if Tulasi Devi had come to wash away her dirty children. Not only were the splotches and splatters washed away, so too were the negative thoughts.

Suddenly we were singing bhajans. Smiles were seen all around. And the pace quickened incredibly. Soon, the rain subsided, and the pile slowly sank before our eyes.  We worked with efficiency and happiness…. until all came to a sudden halt. It was time for someone to jump into the truck bed and spread the manure – meaning a waste-high wade through the pile.   All the guys, myself included, got very quiet.  As we stared at our shoes, two ladies jumped up and actually began to argue over who was going to be the first to get to do it.    Entering the truck bed together, they were literally dancing in the muck as if it were a bed of roses.

It seemed to happen so fast.  The truck was absolutely filled to the rim when we stopped.   We slowly rumbled down the road to the Tulasi field under the cover of darkness.  We dropped the load of Tulasi food right next to our field, creating what must have been the largest cowpie the locals have ever seen.

Adam – USA