Category: AshramDiary
life at the Amritapuri ashram
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be ready to get up
14 jan 2007, amritapuri it is well past midnight. amma is continuing her marathon meet of hugging people. swamiji is singing in the hall. amma is on the stage. stage is full with her children from all around the world looking at her. suddenly amma turns around throws one piece of candy at one brahmachari who is falling asleep. (name? i wont tell. it wasn’t me.) he might have been working all day and now coming to find some time to sit near amma or to meditate. i dont know. now, with amusement he looks at amma. the whole stage…
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What is Amma Doing
What is Amma Doing, Where…? The other day an acquaintance called me to ask what Amma has been doing of late. Well, what should my answer be? Here in the Ashram on darshan days Amma is available for Her children 12 to 16 hours a day. During darshan we see Her in full action, with the Compassion button ‘on’. It expresses as bliss, as tears, as laughter, as anxiousness, as a soft embrace, as a kiss, as sweet words in the ear, as toffee, as sacred ash, as Matarani, and as many more things. But in other ways, and in…
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Flashback
9 Jan 2008, Amritapuri Amma was giving darshan today in the Temple instead of the Main Hall. At around 5:30, while meditating on the roof of the ‘S’ flats, I suddenly heard then ‘Sneha Sudhamini’ coming over the Ashram speakers. It was Swami Amritaswarupananda singing which was quite unusual. Generally, Ashram residents, International visitors, or Brahmacharinis sing until about 6:30, after which Swami Amritatmananda begins singing on the stage in the main hall. Something was up…. When I made it to the Temple, it was packed with people. Everyone had come to hear Swamiji sing. None of us could remember…
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Bhajans with Amma
8 Jan 2007, Amritapuri The previous bhajans with Amma were as follows: Narayana Hari Tapta Manasam En Mahadevi Teri Kripa Se Om Namah Shivaya Kannunirkondu Nin Chamundaye Vishwanath
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We Are All Beads
Someone requested the lyrics to the song ‘We Are All Beads’ so here they are: We are all beads Strung on the same thread Each one is different Yet all are the same Love is the thread That joins us together Love is the essence of God in us all Give your smile to someone lonely See it light their face In the heart of deepest sorrow God will shine His grace Hold the hand of someone crying Shy not from your fear Share the burdens of their heart Let them know you hear… Truth can have no country Love…
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Trying to remember
6 January 2008, Amritapuri Yesterday, my family and I went onto the stage where Amma was hugging the thousands of people who had come to see her. Our 2-1/2 year old son Ravi occasionally pointed to Amma and exclaimed, ‘Amma!’ When we changed our position on the stage, Ravi also saw a big photo of Amma and also exclaimed ‘Amma!’. And again while looking at Amma, ‘Amma!’ This went on for a while, until he looked around at all the people on the stage. And with a sweeping motion of his arm as if to include everyone, cried out ‘Amma!’.…
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Shakti De Bhakti De
4 Jan 2008, Amritapuri I Apologize for not posting the list of bhajans that Amma sings, for some time. It has been a very busy season with the International accommodation, with a record number of almost 1100 foreign passport holders checking in. Amma’s message is spreading more and more rapidly around the world and that reflects here also with more and more people wanting to come and see the heart of Amma’s global mission for themselves. It is a great opportunity to be able to serve so many devotees. Amma sang for a long time last night, and the songs she…
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Celebrating Eternity with Amma
2 Jan 2008, Amritapuri While most of the rest of the ‘world’ would have looked for ‘different’ ways of celebrating the New Year, many of Amma’s children chose and sought Amma’s company. That nothing is really different just because a few numbers change has already been made known to Amma’s children – even at the turn of the millennium. Then why did we still have a New Year’s celebration? One may ask. Amma is always for celebration, for happiness, for joy. Whenever She sees Her children, especially in such big numbers, Amma goes out long lengths giving joy and more…
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Mata Rani New Year
1 Jan 2008, Amritapuri People filled the hall in Amritapuri for the New Year’s Cultural Performance. Amma sat in the middle of the hall facing the stage. At first, no one expected Her to sing. But after the cultural performances, and satsang, Amma suddenly called for the musicians to come close to Her. A scramble for the tablas and harmonium ensued, and room was made for them to sit. Then it began. While this was probably the hundredth time Amma has sang Mata Rani in the past year, there was absolutely no sign of it being old. Like a child who never tires…