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She Doesn’t Rest…
The 2-week tour to Mangalore and Kerala ended with the Trivandrum darshans on the night of 25th/26th Feb. Coming to the stage at 11am on 25th, Amma gave darshan till 2:30am. Wanting to reach back Amritapuri at the earliest and avoid the hot day-time driving, we had planned to load the bags at 1am and be ready to board the buses and head back home as soon as Amma finishes darshan. The 13 tour buses started at 3:15am and reached Amritapuri around 5:30am. Amma joined us at 8am. 3 more buses transported the additional people who had come from Amritapuri for…
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Radiant One
O radiant one, your face is ever etched inside my heart and never fades away; it’s always fresh and never fails to fetch my mind from places it might tend to stray, but were it not for your beguiling grace. Your lustrous eyes have mesmerized my soul. A gesture of your hand–my sight will trace and adulate–your movements make me whole. Your incandescent smile’s my sword and shield against all force of doubt or cynicism in battle to compel my soul to yield to apathy, conceding inner schism. As incense wafts my prayers to the skies, with love, my spirit…
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Lead me
I am silent and still, trying to listen to you… Hoping to hear you speak to my heart… Wishing I was flawless, perfect and pure, Wondering what life trials I’m destined to endure. Constant effort… Constant thirst… Constantly striving to put you first. Feeling unsettled, like something is not right, It is a spiritual war and I’m ready to fight. Calm my spirit Lord, point to me the right direction, Hold me in your hands Lord, so to you I remain true, Clean me, hold me, Lead me away from the darkness of death. by Anagha Sharan
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Batwadi Bhajans
After a full day of carrying sand and stones up the hill to the village pipal tree, our Japanese students postponed their bath and dinner to climb the hill once more for bhajans with our local ladies. The only word to describe the Batwadi Bhajan Band is “ecstatic”. They love any excuse to sing and welcome anyone to join in. I will devote a separate post to them in the future, tonight was all about the Japanese. To my surprise, the students came prepared to lead several bhajans, probably practiced on the long bus ride here. The sang Amma Amma…
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Child’s Play
Today is Sunday. On Sunday children around the world usually like to enjoy their day off from school and relax…but not the children of Batwadi Sonar. As soon as the Japanese students showed up to do seva this morning, all the village kids were waiting for them. Most of the kids got to help a bit yesterday after school, but today they wanted to be there right from the start. The kids jumped right in and began carrying sacks of sand, running and laughing up the hill to their village. Those too little to carry a sack on their own…
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I bow at your feet
O Divine Mother, whose grace guides my steps, I bow at your feet O Divine Mother, whose blessings are showering upon me, I bow at your feet O Divine Mother, whose teachings bring me up, I bow at your feet O Divine Mother, who erases the dust that covers my eyes, I bow at your feet O Divine Mother, whose gracious smile caresses my heart, I bow at your feet O Divine Mother, whose sun lightens the darkness in my soul, I bow at your feet O Divine Mother, whose compassion makes my life worth to be lived, I bow…
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The chain gang
Today was the Japanese students’ first full day of seva in Uttarakhand and the task of the day was getting rocks and sand from the riverbed up to the village of Batwadi Sonar in preparation for building them a community hall. Sand and rocks are some of the main raw materials used for building new houses and fortunately they are readily available in the riverbed. The only hard part is that they needed to be delivered about 500 meters up a very steep switchback trail to the construction site. When the work began in the morning, each person…
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Everyone loves a parade
The single road in Chandrapuri is crowded on a normal day. Add three bus loads of Japanese students, every school age child, banners, drums, trumpets, garlands, and you have true chaos. Soon the local children started to slip through a narrow lane between buildings. The parade began, up the steep path to the secondary school. The largest assembly ground in town was filled to overflowing. Speeches, songs, and the most wonderful welcome signs in the hands of the students. Back down the hill, but the buses did not arrive, so our parade left town, still accompanied by drums and banners,…
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Japanese student volunteers arrives
Last night the Japanese student volunteers arrived in India after a long flight from Tokyo. After a few hours rest in the Delhi Amrita Vidyalayam, began their long journey to Uttarakhand. As soon as they stepped off the train in Dehra Dun they met by the City Magistrate Mr. Girishji, honored as official state guests and given a police escort to meet the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Shri Harish Rawat. The Chief Minister spent some time interacting with all the everyone and expressed his admiration and support for the students’ efforts. When addressing the students the Chief Minister said, “Amma…
