-
On the Beach
As the South Indian Tour progressed through Tamil Nadu towards KanyaKumari, finally ending up in Trivandrum, two questions many people on tour asked were ‘Where are our accommodations?’ and ‘Where is the programme site?’ For Brahmastanam Festivals, the programme would always be at the Ashram, and we would stay at Amma’s school. For Public Programmes, the programme would be on a huge field, and we would stay at some wedding hall. So many of us were intrigued when we were told that the Trivandrum programme would be held ‘Near the airport, next to the beach.’ So I figured that there…
-
Blessed Catch
As darshan extended to the morning hours, all along the beach, local fishermen were extending their nets into the ocean just next to the programme site. The net made a semi circle which went out about 1 km into the waters. There were two lines of men tugging on the net – pulling it back to shore – about 30 men in all. Old and young. I asked how long it would be before the catch would come in. They said it would be about an hour. I headed back to the stage, and after about one hour, I eagerly…
-
Transforming Darshan
At the Chennai Public Programmes, shortly after bhajans and meditation, I was working Security and Crowd Control – checking tokens near the corner of the stage on the men’s side. The tokens were to be taken a little further up the line. The crowd is mostly Indian, but there is an occasional Westerner. I was amazed at the sweetness and patience of the people in line. Once I learned to say ‘Token” in Tamil, (which is simple ‘Token” except with the appropriate accent!), pretty much everyone smiled, searched for the token, and showed it to me. It was as though…
-
What Happened to the Bat?
The other week, towards the end of the Trichy public programme, Amma showered her blessings on a very small being. I had been sitting on stage, fighting (once more) against falling asleep after a long night, when suddenly a bunch of devotees rushed towards Amma. I normally don’t feel like jumping in the crowd, but this time, I wanted to see why everyone had a sweet smile on their face, so I stepped forward. I saw a tiny black baby bat lying in Amma’s right plam. She caressed it most tenderly with one finger, looking at it with so much…
-
My Mother has come
Amma arrived back from Her tour yesterday. As I stayed here for those three weeks it was really sweet to see Her again. She always looks so mysterious and beautiful and you can never get tired of her beauty and grace, but there is even more receptiveness in the mind after being separated for some time. Anyway, everyone knows what I’m talking about so no need for me to go on about it. The bhajans were sweet. At one point a little girl walked up the ramp towards Mother holding her hands over her ears. Maybe it was too loud…
-
fuels life of selfless service
. . . . . . .. Last year, he went to India as a volunteer, taking along his wife, Ayako, a black belt in her own right. He was invited by Shantamrita Chaitanya (American Brandon Smith). He is director of the Mata Amritanandamayi Center Japan and the nonprofit organization Amrita Heart, which serve Japan on behalf of Mata Amritanandamyi, nicknamed Amma, and known worldwide as the hugging saint. (Last in Tokyo, she hugged 8,500 people in three days and still had energy to spare. She’ll be here in spring for four days of programs — May 25-26 in Kobe,…
-
Return to Nagapattinam
When the dates and cities were first announced for the South Indian Tour, I was silently thrilled. The tour included two cities I had hoped to visit – Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari. It also included Nagapattanam – the epicenter of Amma’s tsunami relief efforts – where almost 2000 homes have been built. Amma had been here twice before – less than two months after the tsunami struck, and again about a year later – for a public programme. In the first visit, I saw first-hand, the devastation that struck a small fishing village. During the second visit, I went to see…
-
Amma in Ramanathapuram
After the programme in Madurai, Amma reached ramanathapuram by 8 .p.m (5 feb). One of the priest of the Rameswaram temple was there to receive Amma upon arrival. This is Amma’s first visit to the city. Ramanathapuram is located 50 km away from the holy place – Rameswaram. the yatra has been so hectic, could not post any thing here in the last few days. namah sivaya Dhyanamrita
-
Sugar story
Nine buses were parked on the side of the road for a bathroom stop on the way from Nagapattanam to Madurai. We were about 300 people scattered along the roadside in the middle of nowhere. Open pastures, farmland and trees were around us. I was talking with a fellow devotee, recalling on how during the North Indian Tour last year, I had discovered the bliss of raw sugarcane. At that moment, I turned around and saw a few Brahmacharies scampering off the road up ahead. There was a field of sugarcane right there! I spotted one holding a three foot…
