I was unsuccessful in locating the photos I took of the School of Biotechnology grounds a few years ago. All I can do is tell you that when I saw it last week, I was astounded by how much some of the shrubs have grown since I saw it back then. The land was beautiful at that time, and it is even more beautiful now. (Click on the gallery to enlarge the photos.)
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
On Wednesday, I wrote about seeing a monkey in a tree eating cereal (Early Morning Fun). He had probably found the cereal in a nearby garbage bin. During lunch, the monkey was in the rafters of the dining hall. He had stolen a towel from someone and was creating quite a sensation carrying it along the outside rails.
Then yesterday (Friday), I attended the afternoon play practice. The cast had divided into two rooms to learn the finale dance. The children were in one room and the adults were in another. All of a sudden the children ran en masse from their room into the adult room, screaming. Their screams were more excited than frightened. The monkey had shown up in their room and they had run away from it.
When the combined practice began in the main room, the monkey decided to visit. Chaitanya did a valiant effort trying to maintain order. She told everyone that the monkey wanted to see the play, so they should let him do that.
He sat high up in the rafters and watched quietly for awhile…
and then began to wander.
Soon, he came down to our level. First, he tried to carry away an electrical box; and then took the loose end of an electrical cord and started scratching himself with it. The cast only were able to use the room for a short time more but it was nearly impossible to keep order when a creature was in the room that would likely steal anything that was left unattended. Besides it was fun and exciting to watch the monkey.
Some of the cast are animals in the play. Eventually, they roared their animal roars at the monkey and he ran away. Luckily there was still enough time left for them to finish learning the finale dance. I imagine it will be a memorable practice for many.
To read the previous Amritapuri posts in this series click here.
Devotees in the Pacific Northwest decided to celebrate Amma’s birthday this year by planting trees. Our goal was to plant 64 trees over a 7 week period but we far exceeded that number. More than 100 people participated in the project and our final count was 309 trees!
The December issue of our PNW GreenFriends newsletter was devoted to sharing stories and photos from the tree planting. Since Amma did not come to North America this fall, some of us decided to create a booklet from the newsletter and give Amma a copy when we were in Amritapuri.
This week there were fourteen devotees in Amritapuri who had participated in the project either by planting trees or by helping with the organization. Tirtha, who came up with the idea of tree planting for Amma’s birthay, was one of those people. I was so glad she was here.
We planned to present Amma the booklet on Thursday December 21st. Finding a time when all of us would be available was quite a feat. We settled on 8 p.m.
The first bump in the road came when darshan was changed from the big auditorium to the small temple. The temple stage is very tiny so there would be no way for us to all be in front of Amma at the same time. The second challenge occurred when Western devotees were asked to come for darshan starting at 2:00 p.m. There was no reasonable way to get all of our people together at that time but we did decide to move the presentation from 8 to 7 and trust that the darshan program wouldn’t end before then.
Tirtha and I needed to find everyone to let them know of the time change. Within five minutes of the decision, almost all of the people involved walked in front of me; I didn’t have to look for any of them. Tirtha found two of the Victoria devotees soon thereafter. There was only one more person to locate. I knew he was doing seva (volunteer work) until 6:30 but I didn’t know what kind of seva it was and I didn’t know what building he was living in. The offices were closed by then so I didn’t know what to do. He was someone who had a lot of desire to participate in this presentation, so I became increasingly frantic about finding him.
Lakshmi, a long time Amritapuri resident who also helps organize and run the darshan line, had agreed to translate for us once we reached Amma. When I saw her in front of the temple in my frantic state, she said, “Karuna, Go with the Flow.” I knew she was right and I also knew that my seeing almost all of the people in the first five minutes was a good example of the flow that happens when something is meant to be.
I believe that letting go is not permission to be passive and assume everything will work out without any effort on my part. I knew, though, that I had put in plenty of effort. Instead of continuing with my frantic search, I decided to go to my room and take a cold shower even though it was 6:45. After a quick shower, I looked at my email. In that moment, a new email arrived. It was from the devotee I had been looking for, saying he was heading to the temple. I was so glad I had decided to trust the flow and had taken the shower. That helped me cool off as well as calm down. And what a good example it was of the benefits of “Going with the Flow.”
By 7:15 everyone had arrived, and we joined the darshan line. It moved much faster than I had expected. Lakshmi had suggested that since we couldn’t come in front of Amma as a group, we should go one after another. I would hand her the booklet and then each person in the group that followed would say “I planted trees” to Amma. Lakshmi even told them how to say those words in Malayalam.
Before long, I was in front of Amma. She looked through the booklet and was clearly happy. Then I was in her arms, my favorite place to be! Afterwards, I sat in an area where I could see each member of our group receive their hug.
I loved how our presentation had turned out and also appreciated the reminder of the importance of “going with the flow.”
If you would like to read the GreenFriends newsletter that became Amma’s booklet click here.
To read the previous Amritapuri posts in this series click here.
I took these photos when I was visiting the Amrita University School of Biotechnology. That part of the university is located in Vallikavu, the town across the backwaters from the ashram.
Can you find the bird?
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
When I was watching a play practice yesterday afternoon, I glanced outside in time to glimpse a monkey jumping onto the roof of the building where the play practice was taking place. I had heard of monkey sighting but hadn’t seen one for years.
Right after Amma built the foot bridge that goes between the mainland and the ashram, a lot of monkeys visited the ashram. It was not uncommon to turn a corner and find a monkey sitting there; an exciting but jolting experience. I knew people who had a monkey walk into their room and take something. If the person tried to intervene, the monkey would bare its teeth, which was enough to make the owner have second thoughts. Some years back, a monkey broke into a room where chocolate candy is produced and stole chocolate. I enjoyed having the opportunity to see just a small part of a monkey yesterday.
Then this morning, I was chatting with my friend Kripa near the recycling area where we bring and sort our trash. At one point, the man standing near me started taking photographs. I looked up to see what he was looking at and saw a small monkey sitting in the tree eating a bag of cereal. The monkey had apparently taken taken the bag out of one of the garbage bins.
What a blessed way to start my day.
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
Yesterday was the first day since I’ve been here that I didn’t take a nap. As I walked back to my room around 9:30 p.m. I noticed something on the wall ahead of me. I had no idea what it was so walked closer to it. In that moment, it flew off, drawn by a nearby light. I realized it was a gigantic moth. It must have had a four inch wing span, or at least that was what it seemed like in the short time I had to observe it. I walked away so I could look at it from a distance. In a minute or so, the moth flew back to the wall. I walked back to take a photo of it.
While I’m curious, I hope to never meet one of these again. I suppose this is one of those situations that I should learn to accept with equanimity but I’m not there!
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
Sick or jet lag or both?
On my second day in Amritapuri, I developed a sore throat and the beginnings of a cold. I was concerned that I was getting sick but that wasn’t the case. I think it was due to a combination of jet lag and natural adjustment to being in a place that is 13 1/2 hours ahead of Seattle, with a different schedule, different climate, different water, different food and all the other differences. I slept a lot the next few days but am beginning to come out of it. I also had an acupuncture appointment on Monday and have felt considerably better since then.
Construction or lack thereof
On my third day, I noticed that something was missing. In all the years I have been coming to Amritapuri, the sound of construction has been constant. There were times in my early years when it lasted all night, although that hasn’t happened for decades.
When I was in Amritapuri in August, it seemed like there was more building construction going on than ever before. What was missing this time was that I hadn’t heard anything but a few minutes of hammering since I had arrived. No sound of rebar being cut. No cement mixer operating. No welding sparks. No construction sites to walk around or through.
I imagine there are probably new buildings going up not far from here but inside the main part of the ashram, the only type of construction I’ve seen so far is decorative, and that is a quiet process. Amazing!
Amma’s Birthday Tree Planting Project
This year the Pacific Northwest devotees planted trees as a birthday gift for Amma. We had planned to plant 64 trees since Amma was turning 64, but ended up planting 309! We devoted the December PNW GreenFriends newsletter to the project. Prior to my trip, I had a copy of the newsletter turned into a booklet. There are 12 devotees who participated in the project in Amritapuri right now. Some of us plan to give Amma the booklet on Thursday the 21st. If you would like to look at the stories and photos in that newsletter click here.
Play practice
Amma and the tour staff didn’t come back from the Europe tour until December 8th. The script and the music for the play had been completed prior to then but by the time everyone had returned to the ashram, there were only two weeks left to gather a cast and for the actors, musicians, dancers, and singers to learn their parts. Also the costumes, backdrops, props, power point slides that show the words in English and the Malayalam, and the sound and lighting plans had to be created. Everything has to happen so fast; it is always like watching a miracle unfold. The performance will take place on Christmas Eve.
I’ve continued going to at least one of the play practices each day. Prior to Tuesday, the cast was rehearsing individual scenes. On Tuesday, they practiced all of Act 1 for the first time. I had seen the adult parts of that Act before but I’d never seen the children’s scenes. I was amazed by their performance.
Saraswati Garden
For part of the time that I was in Amritapuri last December and January, I worked at Saraswati Garden. On the 18th, I decided to visit the garden. As I came close to the entrance, I passed a line of banana palms that I have photographed on my last three trips to the ashram.
December 2016:
August 2017:
December 2017:
I knew that banana palms last only one season, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I walked through the palms this time. The main palm in these photos was at least 15 feet tall and approaching the end of its life cycle.
(Click on any of the galleries below to enlarge the photos.)
After passing the palms, I entered the garden. One of the first things I saw was a very unusual butterfly. I used a cropped version and three different camera effects in a mostly unsuccessful attempt to give you a better view of it. I looked up both Kerala butterflies and moths on the internet but didn’t see any that resembled this one.
(The photo from the top of this post is also from Saraswati Garden, as is the Wordless Wednesday post I put up earlier today.)
Prasad giving and prasad door monitor
One of my favorite activities when I am with Amma is to hand her prasad, the packets of sacred ash wrapped around a piece of candy that she gives to each person who comes to her for a hug. I wasn’t able to do that when I came here in August because I had broken my wrist in July. I felt sad about that loss but was pleased when I was asked to be one of the people to help facilitate the prasad line.
Each prasad giver hands Amma prasad for 3 minutes so it takes a lot of people to keep the line going for the 12 or more hours that Amma gives hugs in a day. The line starts in the auditorium as only six prasad givers are on the stage at a time. My job was to call people from the auditorium line every three minutes so the onstage line stayed full. In addition, I had to train anyone who hadn’t done it before. And, if there were not enough people in the auditorium line, I had to find people to join the line. Managing all of these tasks was challenging and I dealt with feeling incompetent. I felt relieved when, just before I flew back to Seattle, one of my supervisors said they all liked working with me and hoped I would join them again when I returned.
Soon after I arrived at the ashram on the 13th, I was asked if I was willing to be scheduled for the position. I certainly was. I was given a shift on Wednesdays and Saturdays. I missed the first one because I was feeling sick, but very much looked forward to serving in that way.
Not only can I help with the prasad line this time, but now that my splint is gone and my wrist is working I’m also able to hand Amma prasad myself. I did that on my second morning at the ashram. As is usual for me, I had the sense of “home” “home” “home” going through my mind and body as I handed each packet to her.
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
I walked through the ashram yesterday, looking for flowers that were new to me. I was intrigued by this one. I wonder if it is in the same family as a hibiscus. There are both similarities and differences.
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
On Friday morning, December 15th, I decided to go to the roof of my building to practice Tai Chi. I was so drawn by the view in front of me that I soon stopped the Tai Chi and took in the beauty of the land below. I had never seen it look so mystical. Some of the pictures look more like paintings to me than photos.
Whenever I am on the roof, I also watch the majestic eagles soaring overhead. They often fly much closer than these but they pass-by so fast that it is hard to snap a photo and get anything but sky.
To read the previous posts in this series click here.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Ascend
The Art and Craft of Blogging
A collection of discussions on the environmental issues
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” “Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.”-William Shakespeare
...moments of unexpected clarity
Home of Lukas Kondraciuk Photography
Wellness, Support and Mindset
Thoughts on Creativity & Deeper Things
A Blog by Novella Carpenter
Ramblings of an Irish ecologist and gardener
Teaching the art of composition for photography.
Blog from SathyaSaiMemories ~ stories of love in action and the benefits of giving
There are 11,507 stories in Haddonfield; this is one of them.
Perennial gardening and more from the Green Mountains of Vermont
Whatever it will be...
Welcome to my little slice of the blogosphere
Living, Learning and Letting Go 