Category: Interviews

interviews with diff personalities

Hundreds of tabla players finding rhythm

Tabla is relatively new as a musical instrument in India. Traces of its first origin go back to just 300 to 400 years. Since then, going through a continuous evolution in the shape of the instrument and its tuning and usage, it has become an essential instrument in the Hindustan traditional classical music. Tabla is prevalent in spiritual bhajans and the romantic ghazal songs.

In the early days, as Amma was singing devotional songs with her first disciples, tabla was one of the musical instruments that were part of the instruments used by the group of musicians singing with her. Swami Pranavamritananda, for instance, was the first specialist in playing the tabla.

In the last few years, Amritapuri’s experienced tabla players gave classes to those who showed interest in learning this skill. The students included a few brahmacharis, ashram kids and a few of Amma’s international devotees.

Last year in May, as Amma was about to leave on her 2017 American tour, she asked the brahmacharinis if any of them had the desire to learn to play the tabla. Most of them would be going to hold programs in various parts of India for the next two months, and Amma wanted them to be independent without depending on finding a local tabla player to accompany their singing during the bhajan sessions. Some expressed an interest, but things were not organised and classes were not set.

After she was back from the tour, Amma called brahmachari Hari, who is one of the experienced tabla players and instructed him to start classes for the brahmacharinis. She asked those interested to put their names on a list, and very quickly there were 80 candidates!

Hari tells us the rest of the story:
“Originally there were about 10 westerners participating in classes held twice a week. And a few kids also had their classes. When all those brahmacharinis showed the interest, Amma instructed that we divide them in 4 groups, with each of the groups attending one class per week. At the same time, due to the encouragement that Amma was putting behind this, almost all the children living in Amritapuri asked to have their classes too, in addition to more international residents and visitors. And later even older married women living in the ashram wanted their own class also…”

He continued:
“A big event took place in the main hall on the Vijayadashami day last September. While Amma was giving darshan, about 100 of the tabla students who had been attending classes for just over 2 months gave a group performance. Most of the participants were brahmacharinis, and the synchronicity was truly magical. A similar performance took place again last April on Vishu day. This time the performance was more sophisticated with an even larger number of participants: brahmacharinis, brahmacharis, children, international devotees and visitors, and older Indian ladies living at the ashram.”

He added:
“At present, there are 12 different groups attending weekly classes! Five groups of brahmacharinis (each consisting of 15 to 20 students), one group of brahmacharis, three groups of ashram children, one group of international residents, one of the international visitors, and one of the older Indian ashram lady residents…”

We interviewed a few tabla students from the various classes, and here is what they had to say:

Amritavarshini, Indian resident at Amritapuri, 11 years old:

“I started coming to tabla classes when I was 7. I was always fascinated to learn it so that I can follow the bhajans better. I am not playing for bhajans sessions yet, but I already played in front of Amma one time! I am confident that I will be a good tabla player because I know that Amma will give the strength to learn well.”

Brahmacharini Gowri:

“I joined the tabla classes because Amma encouraged us to do so. The world of tabla-learning is as big as a large ocean, so I am still a beginner. I can play simple bhajans now.”

Brahmachari Karthik
“I started taking part in the classes when Amma encouraged the brahmacharis to learn this skill. I believe that learning any new skill could be eventually useful in my service for Amma at any time. I come to the classes every time unless I am sent by Amma to do work outside of the ashram. And when I am back, I try to catch up with the classes.

Now, after learning the tabla beats, I can enjoy the bhajans even more, as I can follow the beats…”

Deenanath, German, 66 years old:

“I started learning to play the tabla 9 years ago in Berlin. My first classes at Amritapuri were 6 years ago during one of my visits. Every time I am at Amritapuri, I attend the classes to improve my skills. This time, I am here for 3 weeks, taking 2 classes per week. I like the teacher Hari very much, and I enjoy being with my tabla right next to Amma.”

Divya, a research associate at Amrita University, 30 years old:

“This is just my 5th class. So, I am very new to this. I wanted to learn it in order to be able to play for the bhajans. A few of us from the university had the interest, so Hari spoke to Amma, and she agreed that we join the ashram lady-residents classes. I still need much practice before playing in public!”

[Show picture list]

Tulsi

22 Sep 2018
Anju against all odds

‘Being a woman in a man’s world is never easy.’ This refrain is heard time and again. The story of Anju Singh bears testimony to this statement. With Amma’s grace, by taking part in the AmritaSeRVE program, she has been able to overcome all odds and transform not only her own life, but those of others in her village as well. Anju has taken tremendous efforts to coach children who dropped out of school in Alirajpur village, Juna Kathiwada district, Madhya Pradesh.

Anju was not a ‘born’ social worker. Hardships – both economic and social – forced her to discontinue her studies at an early age. It was through the support of an NGO that she managed to complete her matriculation. This support proved transformative for her and she spent the next three years working with an NGO in Bhopal towards the welfare of domestic workers. She was sensitized to the appalling conditions they had to put up with, risking both their safety and that of their children all for lowly wages and exploitation at the hands of their employers. Being a woman, she faced constant opposition from her family as well as society throughout this period.

Nevertheless she always wondered if she could work toward the betterment of her village in some way. It was around this time she was introduced to Amma by an acquaintance of hers. This friend told her about AmritaSeRVE and that Alirajpur, a village 800 km from her own, has been adopted by Amma. She journeyed to Amritapuri to attend Amma’s 62nd birthday celebrations and joined the fellowship, working in Alirajpur.

The village is rife with all types of problems – high dropout rates coupled with low incentives to remain in school, poor health, rampant migration to the cities for work and justified scepticism towards any initiative aimed at improving their conditions. Over the course of the last one year, she has continuously worked on all fronts, getting children to attend school, educating the Adivasi inhabitants about the various schemes they can benefit from, conducting meetings periodically while attempting to convince the residents that there is plenty of opportunity to grow locally and not migrate to cities searching for employment.

“As long as I am working, it does not matter where I am working.”, Anju beamed when asked how she feels about working in a village so far away from her own. She has worked hard thus far to ensure better conditions for the children of today. The positive transformation has not only ignited new hopes for a brighter future for her immediate family members but also for the entire village. She affirms that this wouldn’t be possible without Amma’s guidance and inspiration. She finds it very heart-warming to see Amma’s commitment (‘shraddha’ in her own words) towards the upliftment of India’s villages. Anju is delighted to be working with Amma and hopes and prays that the work being done in Alirajpur meets Amma’s expectations.

-Anagha, Anish, Deepa and Megha

19 Oct 2016
It’s all about working with the right attitude

“Being an atheist, I had never known what values were in their true sense until I met Amma.” Mr. Sairam, Income Generator of Amrita SeRVE greeted us with this strong statement in a freewheeling chat, wherein he conveyed the idea behind AmritaSeRVE and how, through an amazing transformation effected by Amma, he became a part of this program.

This mind-set is the result of a transformational meeting Sairam had with AMMA on 26^th September 2015. Even as a young entrepreneur in Andhra Pradesh, he did not feel entirely satisfied with the line of work he was in and sought answers to myriad questions about life. He came to know about Amma through his friends. In the first darshan, he did not feel anything special in the first darshan and the questions about life remained. He went for darshan a second time upon his friends’ insistence and this time, somehow, he found himself stuck on the stage for 8 hours before his turn came for darshan. When his turn finally came, Amma answered some of his questions even before he could voice them. Later, somebody handed him a card which had answers to his remaining questions! The way AMMA communicates with people from all walks of life amazed him. This experience drove him to quit his existing business and get involved with AMMA’s voluntary services on a full time basis.

When prodded further on this life-changing decision, he has just this to say – “It’s not just about doing work at AmritaSeRVE – it is about working with the right attitude for serving others.” It was undoubtedly Amma’s untiring and selfless nature which endeared her to this disciple of hers, and it is this tenacity that he intends to pursue while exploring his role in AmritaSeRVE.

– Anish, Deepa, Megha and Amal

16 Oct 2016
From basic education to technology, a dream coming true

On this auspicious occasion of our beloved AMMA’s 63rd birthday we got an opportunity to interact with Mr. Subhash who is the coordinator of Amrita SeRVe – Koduru Village, Telangana.
Mr. Subhash described the AmritaSeRVe initiatives going on in his village.
They have constructed a Shiva temple in the village, but he says “Our whole intention was that ‘Shakti’ should come to this village and make this village develop.” And, they felt that Shakti may come through the medium of a good spiritual organization. During that time, Ashram (MAM) was also considering adoption of this village. The initiative started with a tuition center, and they saw progress in the first year itself – dropouts reduced, attendance is more regular, students’ marks have started improving and even the other nearby villagers have begun to say that the Konduru village students are disciplined and well organized. Subhash is positive that the students in his village are much happier than the other village school students.

Later, they started a tailoring center for women. Earlier, the village had none and it was costly for them to learn from outside. Now, learning tailoring has boosted their self-confidence. They operate the machines themselves and insist upon their husbands to buy them the machines. They not only stitch for themselves but for nearby villages too.

Another initiative is a computer center. The students of that village were very sharp and they could learn very quickly. The men and women also developed an interest and started learning. Earlier they did not even know what a computer is, but now they have learnt MS Word, MS Excel etc.

Motivated by such development activities, the villagers decided to have one person (a ‘sarpanch’) from their own village to head such development activities; they elected the person through a voting process.

Additionally, and perhaps more significantly, there have been transformations within the villagers spiritually as well as in their day to day activities.

Mr Subhash concludes by saying that he always used to pray to Lord Shiva that some Shakti should come and transform his village. After Amma has come to this village, this dream has come true.

-Anish and Megha

16 Oct 2016
Gitamritam – Learning by Doing

Most of us are familiar with the Bhagavad Gita as an insightful dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjuna, the valiant and noble warrior faces immense conflict internally as he heads off to battle his Kaurava relatives. It is right then that Lord Krishna guides him, and shows him the purpose of his Dharma Yuddha while revealing to him the ultimate truth of life. However the depth and sheer complexity of the text have not made its teachings readily apparent to everyone. The Gitamritam camp intends to address this issue and a variety of other questions that arise as one goes over the 700 verses. It is spread over seven days, wherein participants learn by example one entire chapter. If the experiences of some of the camp regulars are anything to go by, attending the camp may indeed turn out to be the defining step in the right direction. We met some of those Gitamritam participants during Amritavarsham 63 at the Gitamritam stall.

Naveen, a final year student of B. Tech (EIE) from Amrita University Bangalore always sought the answer to the deceptively simple question, “Who am I?” Amma’s teachings provided an impetus in that direction, but it was indeed the Gitamritam camp which accelerated the process. It is indeed the Gita which provided him with answers to the difficult questions of life and managed to completely turn his life around. He recalls his first meeting with Amma, wherein he managed to pinch her cheeks and got a disarming smile from Amma in turn. It is the Gita which made him realise that the innocence of such a smile was true only for newborn babies, and for the one who has realized all of life’s truths (“Mahatma” in his words) referring to Amma.

Devanand, a second year student of B. Tech (Mechanical) hails from a spiritual family and had been aware of the Gita as a holy book, or one which contained the guidelines for living right. Attending the Gitamritam camp enabled him to think deeper about life, and spurred him to set clear goals. The experiential nature of the camp is indeed what sets it apart from a satsang on the Bhagavad Gita. He narrated his experience of modelling with clay to make beautiful figurines, only to destroy them once made. This exercise aimed at teaching the concept of letting go of all attachment.

Krishnasree Sudhan, pursuing her M. Sc. In Biotechnology from Calicut University is all praise for the camp. She beams with new-found confidence in her ability to hold a conversation with any stranger, and her ability to sing. Krishnasree had learnt slokas of the Gita as a first-grader in Amrita Vidyalayam, even as she first came face-to-face with the greatness that is Amma. Back then, she was proud of her grasp of the slokas as well as ability to recite any sloka at moment’s notice. But as years passed and time tested her ability to withstand the harsh realities of life, she believes it is nothing but Amma’s grace and divine intervention that got her to attend the camp. Her initial apprehensions about the idea of a seven-day camp making any sort of change in her life were allayed. She declares that she now takes any decision considering both Amma’s teachings as well as those laid out by the Bhagavad Gita.

Pavithra, a 11th grader with Amrita Vidyalayam too has an intimate bond with Amma which was strengthened by the camp. Amma’s guidance helped her find a way out of it and enabled her to face all her inhibitions – be it her restlessness, or her inability to articulate her ideas; she was able to face them head-on once she attended the camp.

For Tarun, a final year CSE student at Amrita Bangalore, Amma had always been his spiritual guru and the biggest takeway for him is the balance in his mindset and behaviour. He emphasises on the role of the Gita in recognising that true happiness stands to be gained from a detachment to the material pleasures of life.

-Anagha and Megha, during Amritavarsham 63, Sep 2016

14 Oct 2016
We are here to kidnap Amma

Vaishnavi and Valsala are twin sisters. They are from Amrita Vidyalayam, Davengere (Karnataka). They came as part of a group from their school to visit Amritapuri and get Amma’s blessings. It was their first meeting with Amma. The meeting just blew them away… “There is so much energy, so much love, I feel like crying, I don’t know what’s happening” said Valsala.

But it seems that just meeting Amma was not enough for these two bold sisters… They wanted to keep Amma with them! Therefore, they came up with a plan and unveiled it when they came back to Amma. In an intransigent tone, they spoke to Amma: “Amma, we are here to kidnap you!! …”

Amma enjoyed the innocence and love of these two girls, meeting her for the first time. They are in the 10th grade and have all the enthusiastic ambition of 15 years old teenagers. Witnessing their darshan last night was special as Amma enjoyed interacting with them with laughter and love. Today, we had this chat with them:
? Is it true, you came here with a plan to kidnap Amma?
– Yes, we do! We are here to kidnap Amma and make her our own…
? But, how is this possible? How can you kidnap Amma?
– We will do so by entering her heart and then she will become ours!
? How do you do that?
– Now we have a mantra, last night she gave us. With that we will take her.
? Why do you want to kidnap her?
– Because we want her to stay with us all the time!

Ganesh
11 Aug 2016, Amritapuri

12 Aug 2016
Manju’s Story

I came to the ashram in 1991 with my parents and sister, when I was 3 years old. I had met Amma when I was 2 in the US. We lived in Amritapuri for 7 years and I did home school. When I was 10 Amma said we should go back for my and my sister’s education.
During my first visit back to the ashram (2005) Amma told me to be a doctor and in my second visit people suggested I study at the AMRITA Medical School (AIMS). I went to visit it and fell in love with it. The first thing I saw was the atrium with all the statues and I was hooked. Also, the fact that they play bhajans throughout the hospital twice a day had a big effect. When I asked Amma about studying there, she said “AIMS, yes!”. I started in 2010. It was definitely a big adjustment but Amma helped me throughout. Especially in the beginning, when I would come to the ashram every weekend – after challenging times in my studies and life-style at the Campus. But Amma would always know what was bothering me and give me the perfect advice. My first year was very interesting because I loved anatomy and had many chances to do dissection. At one point, when I was feeling down Amma told a story of someone who fainted when they went to the dissection hall and said “…but you’re not like that!” I also met some wonderful people from different years and different courses who really supported me. It was particularly nice to be with people who loved bhajans as much as I do. School in general is much more strict than what I was used to in the US, but having daily prayers and support from Amma made it worth it.
I finished my exams last year and now completed a 1 year internship. I received today, along with my 90 classmates, my graduation certificate from Amma. A very special moment for all of us!
Soon I will be going to the US to continue my higher education, and my plan and desire is to come back and work at the AMRITA Hospital.

Manju (Larissa Herke), Canada

10 Feb 2016
Spiritual education is more important than my regular education

Marco Gabriel Reyes Grieves is currently visiting Amritapuri ashram for a period of 14 weeks with his parents – his father is Mexican and his mother is American. Marco is from Mexico where he lives in a small village right next to one of Mexico’s most famous archeological sites, the ancient city of Teotihuacan with its 2000 year old pyramids, temples and altars.

The family decided to visit India after hearing many stories from friends who had visited the country and had had positive life changing experiences. Marco’s father had a longtime wish to stay in an ashram, and when they investigated ashrams in India where children were welcome, Amritapuri was at the top of the list. Marco’s mother had met AMMA and received darshan at the San Ramon, California, ashram about 13 years. Aware of the implications of missing school (3rd grade) for an extended period of time, Marco’s parents asked him how he felt about it and he replied “My spiritual education is more important to me than my regular education.”

Marco just turned 8 years old and celebrated his birthday at the ashram. What he most wanted for his birthday was to plant a tree at the ashram. On October 30th, his birthday, Marco was able to plant a carob tree, supported by family and friends, in a small ceremony in which he decorated the tiny seedling tree with flowers and garlands and made prayers with all his heart for our planet and for light in the lives of all beings. He gave an example to the adults present about a true heartfelt way to celebrate a birthday – giving gratitude for the blessings of our existence!

Marco’s thoughts on some different themes, taken both from his writing and from speaking with him:
Receiving Darshan:
‘Before receiving darshan for the first time from AMMA, I was very excited, because I knew that I was about to receive a hug from a great person with a great heart. When my heart opened, energy flowed through my heart and I felt a change in my consciousness. This was one of the hundreds and hundreds of types of Divine Energy that exist. I am happy with all the darshan I received, but if there is an opportunity to receive it again, I will be very happy also.’

Spirituality:
‘Spirituality for me is the practice of consciousness, the practice of love, the practice of values, and the practice of opening the heart. Examples of spiritual practices can be something as simple as saying “hello,” “please,” and “thank you.” But it also includes meditation, prayers, pujas, darshan, and following good values in your life. These practices take me to Divine Energy. Om Namah Shivaya – it is a path to the Divine Energy, to God. Your Guru is someone who helps you arrive to God. Amma wants to teach us. She wants to help us, like a teacher in a classroom. She is an incarnation of Devi.

Everything is an illusion. Pain is an illusion, we are an illusion. The only thing that is not illusion is our soul. But our souls are not different consciousnesses. Our souls are all part one Consciousness of one Divine Being. We are all part of the same Divine Being. In fact, we are The Divine Being. The one consciousness is the Divine Being.
One could say that AMMA has thousands of bodies in thousands of worlds, and they are all illusion also, but only one body is not illusion; it is real and that body is Her soul. The soul is the only body that knows that everything else is illusion. You think and speak to your own mind, even though the mind is also an illusion, and you can learn to dominate it. You speak to the mind and it will pay attention to you. You learn to control your mind. Those who know how to dominate their minds do so easily, but those who don’t know yet can follow a simple technique of bringing energy from the head to the heart, placing one hand on the forehead, one hand on the heart, then bringing energy from the head down to the heart by placing both hands on the heart.

Seva:
I want to help people who are suffering. For me, seva is selfless service in which you feel proud and grateful to yourself, and in which you connect to your Guru in such a way that you feel that you are maintaining Her household. You are doing seva for Her, in service to your Guru. I like to do seva in Matruvani (AMMA’s magazine) because it’s a seva where you can forget about all your pain and all your thoughts. You repeat actions like folding paper. I also like to sweep the patio because it’s relaxing and it feels like you are sweeping AMMA’s house. I like to do seva in the laundry because there are no interruptions and you work in communion with the other sevites. I want to do seva in a garden, so I can also help the Earth. It’s important to help the Earth because the Earth also is part of the Absolute. ‘

Mantra:
‘The mantra for me signifies peace. It is the energy of your deity, the energy of your Guru. When I chant my mantra, I feel full of happiness, joy, and energy. I wanted a mantra to know a bit more about how to control my mind. When I received my mantra, I received the knowledge of how to control my mind. In the moment of receiving my mantra, I felt like one of the incarnations of the Absolute who is an incarnation of Devi was in front of me transmitting energy to me. I felt as if the wisdom of this incarnation of the Absolute went directly into my heart. I use my mantra all the time.’

– Prashant and Megha

15 Nov 2015
Everything is One

26 Sep 2015, Amritapuri

Mrs. Bexci P. Britto, Assistant Professor at Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, who was at the ashram for the first time, shared her experience about meeting Amma.

“A few things are inexpressible in life and they go by the term “zing factor”. I had such an experience here today. It was a fulfilling experience.

Amma spends hours at a stretch meeting her children, yet makes it seem like an effortless job. I have neither heard of nor seen any other god-men or god-women doing the same. Witnessing this here today directly, right in front of my eyes, had a great effect on me. I do hope that the effect grows within more and more, bringing about positive transformation in me. I consider everything here to be an embodiment of Amma. The banyan tree, the birds, animals – everything is Amma. A cat was looking at me and I felt it was Amma looking at me through its eyes. Everything here is One – it’s oneness and complete in itself”

In my mind, I have accepted Amma as my Guru. I pray to Amma that I should be able to receive all the blessings and positive energy from Amma wherever I may be.

– Prashant

14 Oct 2015