Christmas Eve in Amritapuri

This will be the second of three posts about Christmas Eve in Amritapuri. In the first one I told readers a bit about the story line and shared a video clip from one of the early practices. (To read that post click here.)

It has seemed to me as if there have been fewer people at the ashram than is usual for a holiday season. That changed dramatically on Christmas Eve. Not only was there a big influx of Indian and Western visitors, but that morning was  the beginning of the AYUDH National Leadership Summit. Six hundred youth from 15 to 35 years-of-age participated in that event.

This photo taken during the Christmas Eve program will give you a sense of the size of the crowd. There were additional seats set up in areas that are not visible in this picture.

Amma gave darshan (hugs) until 11:00 pm. The cast set up the stage for the play at the same time, meaning they were putting up equipment and sets all around her.

By 11:30 pm, Amma was sitting in the hall with us and the play began.

Notes:  1) There is a post on Amma’s Facebook Page that shares a detailed description of the play’s story-line.  2) You can click on the gallery below to enlarge the photos.

The play was wonderful, moving the audience to tears, laughter and repeated applause.

After the play we listened to Amma’s Christmas message. I will share the content of that speech if it is posted online later. After the Christmas message was finished, Amma sang Only Love is our Guiding Light and Jai Mata Di Jaykar Bulavo and then blessed the Christmas cake. Soon everyone had a sweet to end the night.

The program finished sometime between 2:00 and 2:30 am. What a beautiful evening it had been.

Notes: 1) The photos on this post come from Amma’s Facebook page and Amritapuri.org  2) I expect to publish the third post about the play later in the week.

To read the previous posts in this series click here.