I am now at Amma's ashram in Kerala. Kerala is the state or province. The nearest city is Kollam.
Amma's official name is Mata Amritananadamayi. The long name of this ashram is Mata Amritananadamayi Math and Mission Trust. The short name is Amritapuri.
mata = mother (sanskrit)
amrita = immortal (sanskrit)
ananda = bliss (sanskrit)
mayi = myself (sanskrit)
math = a Hindu monastic institution
mission = as in missionary station
trust = in India, a non-profit organization
puri = city (sanskrit)
This is Amma's childhood home, now expanded to house thousands of people. Amma is not here right now. She tours the world nine months out of the year. I believe she also has an ashram near San Francisco. Many of my SoCal friends have seen her. I have never seen her, but I have learned so much about her now that I think I am going to change my itinerary and stay here long enough to meet her. She arrives in December.
Amma's charitable programs are quite impressive. Here near the ashram she has built AIMS hospital, one of the largest in India, and also several schools and universities including a business school, an engineering school and a medical school. Her groups respond to hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes and have built more than 20,000 homes for disaster victims.
I have been here not quite a week. It took about five days to acclimate so that I could appreciate the beauty. My room, shared with two others, is on the 12th floor. The Arabian Sea spreads out to the west, and in other directions I look out across a sea of palm trees as far as I can see. On the east is what they call the backwater. In the US we would call it an inland coastal waterway. I see a half-dozen colorful merchant boats, a high pedestrian bridge connecting our strip of land to the mainland, and a man poling a boat across with one passenger who was too lazy to walk across the bridge.
The ashram costs $5 per day for the shared room, including three meals. There is also a juice bar, an Indian cafe, and a western cafe where I can buy spaghetti or a peanut butter cookie. In addition to the $5, I'm expected to work one or two hours every day. My chore is flat-cleaning, like a maid, after people have checked out. And I also do some gardening at the Ecology Center.
From her Biography:
Dedicate everything to god and he will look after you.
An aspirant should not take part in marriage ceremonies or funerals. At the former, everyone will be thinking of the marriage, which is bondage. At the later, the grief is about the loss of a mortal being. In both cases, the participants are dwelling on the non-eternal. These thought waves will be harmful to a seeker. The worldly vibrations will enter the subconscious mind. The seeker will become restless for unreal things.
Ganga: Devotion is not at all intellectually satisfying. To follow the path of devotion shows a certain weakness. Why all these emotional expressions like weeping and singing? I cannot do that. Sri Ramana never prescribed the path of devotion. He would only prescribe the Path of Knowledge. I prefer the Path of Knowledge as it appeals to the intellect. It is more convincing.
Amma: Did you read all the writings by and about Sri Ramana? If not, then please do so, for there are many works which are full of devotion. In fact, he himself was an embodiment of devotion to Lord Arunachala. Even the mere mention of that name would bring tears of divine love to his eyes. Devotion is not an indication of mental weakness as you seem to think. It is perceiving god in all beings equally; it is pure love of selfless existence. Son, you should cultivate love within yourself.
From Awaken Children Vol 2:
The lost harmony of the human mind can be restored only through a selfless attitude supported by prayer, meditation and chanting of mantras. First, the human mind should be harmonized, then the harmony of nature will spontaneously take place. Where there is concentration, there is harmony.
Amma's official name is Mata Amritananadamayi. The long name of this ashram is Mata Amritananadamayi Math and Mission Trust. The short name is Amritapuri.
mata = mother (sanskrit)
amrita = immortal (sanskrit)
ananda = bliss (sanskrit)
mayi = myself (sanskrit)
math = a Hindu monastic institution
mission = as in missionary station
trust = in India, a non-profit organization
puri = city (sanskrit)
This is Amma's childhood home, now expanded to house thousands of people. Amma is not here right now. She tours the world nine months out of the year. I believe she also has an ashram near San Francisco. Many of my SoCal friends have seen her. I have never seen her, but I have learned so much about her now that I think I am going to change my itinerary and stay here long enough to meet her. She arrives in December.
Amma's charitable programs are quite impressive. Here near the ashram she has built AIMS hospital, one of the largest in India, and also several schools and universities including a business school, an engineering school and a medical school. Her groups respond to hurricanes and tsunamis and earthquakes and have built more than 20,000 homes for disaster victims.
I have been here not quite a week. It took about five days to acclimate so that I could appreciate the beauty. My room, shared with two others, is on the 12th floor. The Arabian Sea spreads out to the west, and in other directions I look out across a sea of palm trees as far as I can see. On the east is what they call the backwater. In the US we would call it an inland coastal waterway. I see a half-dozen colorful merchant boats, a high pedestrian bridge connecting our strip of land to the mainland, and a man poling a boat across with one passenger who was too lazy to walk across the bridge.
The ashram costs $5 per day for the shared room, including three meals. There is also a juice bar, an Indian cafe, and a western cafe where I can buy spaghetti or a peanut butter cookie. In addition to the $5, I'm expected to work one or two hours every day. My chore is flat-cleaning, like a maid, after people have checked out. And I also do some gardening at the Ecology Center.
From her Biography:
Dedicate everything to god and he will look after you.
An aspirant should not take part in marriage ceremonies or funerals. At the former, everyone will be thinking of the marriage, which is bondage. At the later, the grief is about the loss of a mortal being. In both cases, the participants are dwelling on the non-eternal. These thought waves will be harmful to a seeker. The worldly vibrations will enter the subconscious mind. The seeker will become restless for unreal things.
Ganga: Devotion is not at all intellectually satisfying. To follow the path of devotion shows a certain weakness. Why all these emotional expressions like weeping and singing? I cannot do that. Sri Ramana never prescribed the path of devotion. He would only prescribe the Path of Knowledge. I prefer the Path of Knowledge as it appeals to the intellect. It is more convincing.
Amma: Did you read all the writings by and about Sri Ramana? If not, then please do so, for there are many works which are full of devotion. In fact, he himself was an embodiment of devotion to Lord Arunachala. Even the mere mention of that name would bring tears of divine love to his eyes. Devotion is not an indication of mental weakness as you seem to think. It is perceiving god in all beings equally; it is pure love of selfless existence. Son, you should cultivate love within yourself.
From Awaken Children Vol 2:
The lost harmony of the human mind can be restored only through a selfless attitude supported by prayer, meditation and chanting of mantras. First, the human mind should be harmonized, then the harmony of nature will spontaneously take place. Where there is concentration, there is harmony.
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