For 21 years, Amritapuri.org’s mission has been to reach all of Amma’s children around the world and inspire you with frequent updates on Amma’s activities and her teachings. Just like our body and mind constantly change while our true Self remains the same, this website has gone through many stages, while staying true to its mission: “Be online with Amma”.

Many of you will remember these earlier versions

Exactly one year ago, in time for Maha Shivaratri 2020 {news}, Amritapuri.org was relaunched using a mobile-first approach. Prioritizing the display on mobile phones, the design was simplified and the pages are now loading much faster.
And while the top priority is to make the website work well on mobile devices, we made sure that it looks great on the big screen of your laptop or desktop computer as well.

Little did we know that mere days after the relaunch, a global pandemic would hit the world, making online communication perhaps more important than ever before. So even though you can not visit Amritapuri ashram at this time due to the global lockdowns, you can always visit Amritapuri.org and be online with Amma 24/7 wherever you may be!
While the site has been growing constantly, all of the original articles are still there for you to explore and read again – building an enormous archive of Amma’s activities all around the world.

One day in February last year, Swami Dhyanamritananda suggested we should give the website a facelift. He remarked that to continue serving Amma’s devotees, we have to make the site more efficient, with a clear focus on fast page load times on mobile devices. The vast majority of you now visit Amritapuri.org on your phones!

So, Dhyanji and myself started a spring-cleaning project. We questioned everything, and nothing was off-limits. How do people navigate the site? What should be featured on the home page? And perhaps most exciting was the simplification of the layout and the design. It was a great opportunity to reimagine everything!
Priyan wrote a beautiful article about the creation of the very first “Mother Page” in the year 2000 here. It includes visuals of the very first versions up until 2007. A lot of content has been added since then. Amritapuri.org now consists of more than 5,000 pages!

In the computer room, every night is Shivaratri

Most of the website seva is done during the night, when everything is quiet. Once most of the ashram residents and visitors have gone to bed, there are no more phone calls, no messages, emails, or other external distractions. And most importantly, no photo assignments for Dhyanji. Finally, we get a few hours of uninterrupted focus!
Once people disappear into the buildings, and everything becomes quiet, other ashram residents start appearing. For example, one gets to meet tiny owls sitting and observing, with their entire body absolutely still. Only its eyes move, fixed on you without blinking as you walk past them. They are wide awake!
In the still of the night
from the darkness comes a light
and I know in my heart it is you

When the fire in my soul
Burns with longing for the goal
Then I know in my heart it is you

When the truth is revealed
All the sorrows will be healed
and I’ll know in my heart it is you

Jai Ma…..

Doing seva throughout the night comes with its own challenge, of course: sleepiness. It has always been hard for me to forego sleep. So, I get my chance to contribute to the website and to serve Amma’s devotees. At the same time, I also get the chance to practice giving physical comfort the secondary place it deserves. And sometimes, just when we get sleepy, Dhyanji offers some snacks or one of our brothers brings tea. This keeps us going for some more time. Sometimes until the sun starts rising. Everything is taken care of!

In this fast-moving, mobile-first world, let us hold still from time to time and remember Amma’s gentle touch, her loving smile, and her soothing voice. May her profound, life-changing teachings help us to discover our true self amidst all the daily activities. May Amma’s perfect example of boundless love and self-sacrifice give every one of us the necessary strength to withstand the ups and downs of life.

“Love can happen anywhere at any time.” – Amma
– Abhilash