Tag: bhakti
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Is it Rishi back?
“Please don’t pet or feed dogs and animals”. It is a sign that you will see when you visit Amritapuri. Yes, we do love and care for animals, but the ashram is not a place for animal care. By not feeding and petting them we make them understand that it is not a place where they are encouraged to build their needed attachments/family security. But during her childhood and teenage years, Amma did have a best-friend dog, which would stay by her side at all times. A big black and white dog, which would faithfully protect her when she meditated…
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Bhakti is Her Name!
A couple of years ago when Amma called a young female dog ‘Bhakti’, some wondered: how appropriate can such a spiritual poetic name be for a mere stray dog!? ‘Tumban’, the name of the other ashram male dog, was an OK name; Tumban is a comic character in Malayalam lore. Bhakti (or devotion) is a spiritual ideal, a spiritual path Amma prescribes for multitudes round the world, how could a dog assume this as its name!? Some ashramites are given this spiritual name too. Then we reminded ourselves and each other: Amma knows best. And today we understand more clearly:…
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How She Celebrated Her Birthday!
On the morning of Amma’s 59th Birthday tens of thousands of people surged into the great hall that was constructed for the occasion on the Amrita University grounds across from Amritapuri. This outdoor venue consisted of an enormous tin roof the size of two big football fields. Flowers of all colors adorned the length of the hall, and the stage was shining bright with decor and live flowers. Despite the colossal size of the hall there was barely an inch to move. Rivers of humans flowed this way and that way and thousands of plastic chairs were side by side…