Memories of Amma’s first USA Yatra 1987 – First part (Gretchen Kusuma is recollecting how Amma’s first world tour happened in 1987 on this 25th year of Amma’s visit to USA) 25 May 2011, writing from the Denver airport…. We were about twenty renunuciates living with Amma at the Idammanel family compound in April of 1986 […]
19 May 2011, Amritapuri It is that time of the year… when Amma gives room darshan. Before taking off on Her world tour, Amma meets all the ashramites from Amritapuri and all branch ashrams, individually in her room. As one family finishes, she rings a bell and another walks in … one after another… Today […]
The story about the crow who put stones into the pot half filled with water, till the level of water rose enough for it to drink. These are Amma’s satsangs – who likens the story of the water and the crow to that ‘something’ that is already in you but needs effort – the stones […]
7 April 2011 It was the night of the seventh of April, and I had just fallen asleep in our tent. We were camping along with hundreds of other volunteers on the lawn of a local university, which had been transformed into the headquarters for the relief efforts in Ishinomaki. Half an hour before […]
6 April 2011 On the third day, we were asked to aid Otschi-Cho, in the prefecture of Iwate. An IVUSA staff member who is very experienced in disaster relief joined me and two other students. Just like Minami-Sanriku, Otsuchi-Cho seemed to have vanished. When we arrived at Otsuchi-Cho Town Assembly Hall, there were many volunteers […]
5 April, 2011 On the second day, the IVUSA representative, a staff member, two students and I paid a visit to a town called Minami-Sanriku. There, we picked up various required supplies, like soap, shampoo and toothbrushes. We also took 20 cases of vegetable juice and cough drops, as many of the volunteers had developed […]
On the fourth of April, we had returned to Ishinomaki. There were 51 volunteers this time—28 IVUSA (International Volunteer Student Association) members and 20 students from Kokushikan University Sports Medicine Department. After we arrived, we set up a large tent to use as our head office and one for cooking. Next to them, we set […]
I spent most of Friday, April 15th, in collecting all the needed items for the disaster relief work. We bought food, work gloves, and masks to protect against infection and potential radiation. We also had to buy a cheap tent and took a few thin sleeping bags from the Tokyo ashram, as that was all […]
8 April 2011 – Ernakulam The Brahmasthanam area is abuzz with devotees, most of them are young and in uniforms – Amma’s college students from Ernakulam. Whether it is their love for Amma or Amma’s love for them, the scriptures have said in no uncertain terms, “Even a moment’s association with a mahatma can confer […]