Just at the end of arati came the announcement that everyone was asked to join in doing seva across the backwater river over at the birthday program site after dinner. Within 30 minutes the first group began crossing over the Amrita Setu bridge over the river under the full moon. We couldn’t help remembering the old days when Amma herself came and helped with this kind of seva. Now she has too many other responsibilities and we have to be her feet and hands.

It was an amazing scene that evening at the site. Hundreds of people were there: ashramites, visitors from every state in India, visitors from Japan, Russia, South America, Africa, Europe, USA, Japan, the Mideast… And all were teaming up to carry baskets of sand to cover the red muck that soon need to be covered with thousands of chairs. Don’t think the teams were made up of matching partners from the same places. No! Indians with Internationals. French with Germans. Japanese with Americans. There was every combination of nationality, language, race and age! The elderly pointed out with sticks where the fresh sand should go and little kids carried tiny buckets. It was a shifting kaleidoscope of colour and sound. The huge piles of sand dissolved in a couple of hours and everyone was in high spirits. You simply won’t see this anywhere else. Only around Amma is there this level of unity, cooperation and enthusiasm for any kind of work, done with anyone who happens to be there. In this world of division, this is one of Amma’s greatest miracles.
Rta
Amritapuri