Tag: Seva
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Seva on Queens day
30 April 2009 AYUDH Netherlands decided to raise funds for the Vidyamrita scholarship programme. The Dutch youth felt personally very drawn to this cause. And, being Dutch, what better moment to raise funds and awareness than at the national annual Queensday flea market on April the 30th? On Queensday the Dutch celebrate the birthday of queen with a flea market, music, games and shows. On this day everyone is allowed to put stalls outside and sell their (old) stuff, offer games to the public, play music or have parties in the streets. The whole city is decorated in orange on…
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Devoted, Patient crowd at Tanur
It was Amma’s first visit to the city of Tanur, and one could discern the accumulated longing and the enthusiasm of the waiting devotees pouring out on that auspicious occasion. As I was coming out, bleary eyed, early in the morning for my cup of tea, I could barely believe my eyes when I saw the venue already half full, even though the program was to begin only late in the evening. Being a part of the crowd control team, my first reaction was that it was going to be a long and arduous day ahead trying to keep this…
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Mothers grace is not just endless
It was snowing when I left home. I had missed Amma after doing seva around the European programs all summer and fall. Also it seemed that work and other commitments would not allow me to join any of the India tours this winter. The prospect of not seeing Amma until at least summer made me feel sort of empty… Then something came up at work and unexpectedly my boss was sending me to Delhi for a week! Jai ma!…could I combine this with a short trip to Amma? As grace kept flowing Amma planned a tour just in the week…
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South India Tour
The 2009 South Indian Tour caravan is back home. For these three weeks, the six hundreds of us have been whirling around, day in and day out, to unload, reload, pack, unpack, get dirty and wash so many clothes, so many plates. Strangely enough, all these bus rides, all these people, all these places have gradually tended to merge into one common experience. By tearing us apart, by working us out, it has brought us together. Everywhere She was bending forward, welcoming thousands in her lap irrespective of Her own tiredness. Everywhere, our exhausted bodies could not refrain from watching…
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The Art of a Master
Three days before Amma left for the South India tour, She surprised us on a quiet Friday by coming down from her room for an afternoon of rice threshing seva. Apparently the ashram has some farm land and this was the first harvest. I was lucky enough to be there to see her demonstrating and teaching bramarcharinis and western devotees. She stood surrounded by large mounds of hay and many devotees who were lifting the hay and trying to shake and bang it on benches to release the rice grains from the hay. There was a lot of ‘whack, whack,…
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Translation Error
It was one of Amma’s public programs in Mumbai, I was fortunate enough to do ‘Line seva’. I liked that seva because it brought legitimacy for me being nearer Amma and also gave the opportunity to do some thing little useful. I was asking the question to the throngs of people who came to see Amma, what language they spoke. I asked this question in multiple languages. It was around mid-night and I was feeling a little proud of my multi-lingual skills. One old lady came walking slowly and told Amma something in kannada. Amma asked if somebody could translate…