With many International devotees arriving early for AV60 and devotees from branch centres all over India arriving to do seva, the population here at Amritapuri is swelling hourly.  Add the crowd arriving to celebrate Onam festivities with Amma and spend their Onam vacation with her, and you have the perfect Amma rainbow flower garden of devotees.  The Ganesh Festival is also going on, so there is even more celebration, as well as extra pujas and  bhajans.

Every night after dinner, led by the Amrita University students, and joined by all interested, there are bhajans and arathi conducted in front of the handsome Ganesh murti, installed opposite the kalari.  These enthusiastic singers have no need of a sound system.  Their joy spreads far and wide.  Last night some of us watched from the balcony as the bhajans soared.  Directly in front of Ganesh, several children had gathered hailing from India, Spain, Germany and Japan.  To the side, a tiny French boy danced in perfect rhythm.  The lights flickered on the faces of the innocent smiling children.  Behind them the faces of the Indian students and International visitors of all ages were glowing with joy and devotion.  Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, had clearly removed all barriers of nationality, age, religion and race in this transcendent experience!

Everywhere one looks, people are greeting each other enthusiastically.  The number of languages being spoken simultaneously these days at Amritapuri rivals the United Nations.  Yet, the focus remains on one tiny glowing figure, projected on the big screen in the bhajan hall as She gives darshan hour after hour.  She is the reason we have all converged here.  She is the reason that we are joining together to help create the mega event of Amritavarsham60 in unity and harmony.  Phone calls and mails from friends around the world show that Amma’s devotees everywhere are also focused on that radiant embodiment of love, and searching for every scrap of news about the events here.   We can feel them even half the way across the world.  Amma keeps telling us that love has no distance and slowly we are getting this experience ourselves.

Rta

Amritapuri