At five in the morning, a small group armed with flashlights to light her way, waited to greet Amma at her ashram in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Amma hadn’t been here for many years. The programs had outgrown the tent on the land and had moved to urban hotels. For the last years the programs […]
A couple of years ago, I attended Amma’s Japan programs. After Amma’s program in Tokyo, I went to see the local temples. I went to the Sensō-ji temple, which is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. It is Tokyo’s oldest temple, and one of its most significant. The temple is dedicated to […]
A survivor of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake shares her experience My name is Laxmi. As a child, I lived with my family in Gujarat. On January 26, 2001, an earthquake hit our lives. I saw our apartment collapse right before my eyes. I could only see dust and debris everywhere. I heard a lot of […]
2 April 2014, Amritapuri Since Thursday evening Bhakti’s mood is changed. When Amma was away on Ernakulam and Trissur tour till then, I saw her in forlorn mood, sitting just anywhere, and only raising brows to look up at anyone who called her, never raising the head. So forlorn! Yesterday evening Amma arrived in the […]
It was a beautiful Tuesday. As a person looking into setting up the audio setups every Tuesday, i had noted so many Amma’s children setting up a meditation spot near Amma’s peedam (seat). I had been tempted to set a position by putting up the meditation mat but had refrained many a times. A few […]
We are building a new double house for Vikram on a steep slope, high above the river level. His house washed away in floods just ten months ago. Vikram, his wife Anita, and their two sons will live in one half while his parents and brother will live in the other half. It is common […]
A wedding is one of the top expressions of Garhwali culture, bringing together large extended families, with good food and festivities. As a cultural experience, the wedding of Harish and Pria was a fascinating day. Yes, the bride was beautiful. However, as I look through the hundreds of photos I took of this event, I […]
I have told you in the past about Shanti Devi, the recipient of our first house, but have said little about her son Harish who will also be living there. He too shares her pain, the loss of a father, brother, and the mules that were the source of his family’s income. Today Harish was […]
07 April 2014 I am here in Batawari, Uttarakhand for the last few days to document the work of the volunteers. today land slide happened right in front of us when me and sudheer were walking with village ladies. it was just 5 meter in front of us! 2 villagers fell down, but they were […]