Despite being up all night, some of us really wanted to enjoy the magnificent scenery as we crossed the Pyrenees mountains and over the French-Spanish border. We passed the rectangular boxlike farmhouses with their classic red-tiled roofs. They looked like children’s drawings of houses nestled among the autumn vineyards with their vibrant red and yellow leaves. These two story houses were designed to stable the animals below and house the people above. In this way, the animals were safe and the people got the heat from the bodies of the animals.

Tall thin cypress trees bordered the fields and villages, piercing the blue skies. In one area giant windmills joined the trees as the highest things in the sky, slowly whirling their giant silver blades: a wind farm making electricity for the region.

Some of the farmhouses clustered together in walled enclaves, windowless walls forming a barricade against intruders. Most had a three story tower as the last defense at one corner of the edifice and a few also had small chapel. These fortified villages reminded us of the long history of confrontation in these beautiful valleys. All of Europe has been a war zone, off and on, for millennia. In fact, most of us in the bus represent countries that had been at war just half a century ago. Our fathers and grandfathers had fought each other in World War II. Some of our group had parents who fled Europe before the war, some suffered greatly during the war and lost family members, and others had families that were decimated by Holocaust. Yet, there we were, so many counties, cultures and languages that had been in conflict in the past, now travelling peacefully together in the buses.

The European Ayudh group is a beautiful example of this cross-country, cross-cultural unity. They sing wonderfully at every Devi Bhava in each country. One of their most popular songs, “OM Shanti,” which has been translated into all the major languages has a stirring refrain that goes like this: “We pray for social justice. We pray for all those sick and without healthcare. We pray for all the refugees who are victims of war and environmental disaster. We pray for all the homeless, abused and exploited children. We pray for the strength to overcome our weaknesses…We pray above all for PEACE IN THE WORLD.”

Our little bus, travelling over the highways of Europe, with our diverse population of former refugees, of those from different social backgrounds, and countries, working cheerfully and peacefully together to create Amma’s programs, shows that unity and peaceful co-existence is indeed possible-united by Amma’s love and our love for Amma.

Rta
Granollers, Spain
2010 Europe Yatra