Chennai

The Chennia ashram is the only one of Amma’s Ashrams I’ve been to that lies directly on a main street in the city.  The Ashram itself four stories high with the main hall on the ground floor.   Literally just out front is a bustling street – two lanes in each direction.  The police have blocked off one lane for the Ashram buses to drop off people and for the crowd to form a line.  They stop traffic for people to cross over. There’s a shoe stall and cloak room just next door.  Hundreds of pairs of shoes stacked on makeshift shelves in the entrance way to the upstairs wedding hall where the western men stay.  A furniture store is on the ground floor.  Fully opened with couches and chairs almost spilling out onto the street.  Rickshaws and taxis are directed to a spot about a hundred feet up the road to drop off people.  There is a school just up the road.   When we first arrived and unloaded all our luggage – 250+ bedrolls and suitcases/backpacks onto the sidewalk, the school let out.  Hundreds of children emptied out on to the street.  Many stopped to stare and the strange foreigners who have just arrived.  It’s controlled chaos outside when Amma comes to town.  And with Amma’s Grace, all goes smoothly.

The same goes for inside the program.  I had the opportunity to sit directly behind Amma’s peetham at the start of darshan on the second day.  I was helping with the Prasad.  It’s a postage sized stage – maybe the size of a living room in the west.  This is in contrast to the near tennis court sized stages at the public programmes.

Even before Arati ends, the controlled chaos begins.  Amma’s peetham has to be moved forward. The singers have to move back. The darshan line monitors have to almost jump over the locals who were just doing Arati to get into place. The Prasad rollers and givers rush onto stage. Amma starts giving darshan immediately.  There is no waiting.   Prasad has to be in her hand.  Face wipers line the way equipped with hundreds of neatly folded tissues. .  The locals rush to get in the darshan line.    Some don’t understand the token system even though it’s been announced several times.   In the end everyone’s face is wiped. Everyone gets darshan. Everyone gets Prasad.  And hopefully in the controlled chaos, everyone walks away with a smile on their face.
– Sri Pati