2 Dec 2013, Amritapuri Archana was chanted an hour early at 4am. By shortly after 5am the whole ashram was lined up from the gate to Amma’s room for her expected arrival at 6-6:30am. Even people who will not normally spend 2 minutes in a Q without complaining or cutting it, patiently waited, even chanting […]
Back at Amritapuri, the Europe tour now becomes a beautiful memory and not a day to day adventure. Other lucky people are still on tour with Amma in the USA. However, it is also lucky to be at Amma’s ashram where there is construction everywhere for new housing. Looks like a lot more people are […]
A westerner living in Amritapuri commonly has the chance to leave India for Amma’s various Western tours at least once or twice a year. After living consecutively in Amritapuri for four years I found myself in Europe for the first time ever, tears streaming from my heart and down my eyes at the sight, sense, […]
After the massive Toulon program, Amma drove to her ashram near the historic town Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume where Mary Magdelene is said to be buried. The ashram building was once an old mill and a river flows behind it and a stream under it, which once powered the mill wheel. A small waterfall is within view down […]
Normally one would not write a post about bathrooms. But then, we aren’t usually talking about “Amma” bathrooms! The facilities at Amma’s programs are amazingly decorated. It is a joy to enter them. Each city and country has a different flavor. In Switzerland, the decorations were vines and autumn flowers. In Berlin, lovely paper hearts, […]
During Devi Bhava in Berlin a devotee brought Amma a traditional Indian sweet, kozhakatta. It is a healthy sweet made of steamed rice flour with coconut and sweetening inside. (Many of us were first introduced to this sweet in Calcutta, when Amma spontaneously made them herself for the tour group and local volunteers.) Amma showed […]
It was a nice evening at Berlin and many devotees had queued in for the second program of the day. There were claps after every Bhajan and a pin drop silence during the guided meditation. Amma’s Darshan had started and lines were not very small. The hall was the Velodrome, a big arena with a […]
Amma’s Munich children welcomed Her for a three day program on October 12, which marked Amma’s 26th visit to the city. Munich, the capital of Bavaria and the third largest city in Germany, derives its name from the Old High German place name of ‘Munichen,’ which means ‘By the monks’ place.’ Amma’s entrance to the […]
Amma’s London program was held at the Alexandra Palace. High above the city, on a landscaped hill, the Palace is one of the most unique venues on the Europe tour. First opened as “The People’s Palace” in 1873, Alexandra Palace provided the Victorians with a beautiful event centre for entertainment, education and recreation. For Amma’s […]