Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 27, 2014 to Jan 4, 2015

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve is always an evening of festivities. It was different than normal this year in that the day fell on a public darshan day. The crowds were big so even though she was moving fast, Amma didn’t finishing giving hugs until just before midnight. That meant the evening entertainment program started around midnight. There was a play that was mostly in Malayalam and some other entertainers as well. Then Amma gave a New Year’s talk and led several high energy songs.

I want to give particular emphasis to her New Year’s message. She talked about how to deal with all of the suffering we are witnessing in the world and also identified five things to keep in mind if we want to live meaningful lives. I have no doubt I will be reading this talk multiple times after I get home. To read the speech go to.

It was a tough evening for me because I was so tired, and my back problems make it hard for me to sit for long periods of time. I knew I couldn’t sit in a regular chair for so long, so I decided to sit on the side portion of the auditorium. Many of the brahmacharinis (female monks) were sitting on top of tables there. I sat behind them so I could get up as frequently as I needed to. I moved several times over the next hour trying to get a better view. Continue reading “Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 27, 2014 to Jan 4, 2015” →

Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 24, 2014

Play

I have been spending most of my time on play related activities. As most of you know, I worked on sewing the costumes for a while and then switched to backdrops. I did not attend many play practices early on because there were so many different groups rehearsing throughout the day. I eventually asked Chaitanya which would be the best ones for me to attend. I went often enough to know that it was a powerful play, one that brought up so many emotions in me, mostly tears of one sort or another but also plenty of laughter. During one practice, I was crying and looked to the right and left of me and saw that all of the people nearby were crying as well. This play hits deep. (For those of you who don’t know, it is about the life of St. Francis of Assisi.) Continue reading “Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 24, 2014” →

Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 7-9, 2014

Sunday December 7

Today was a public darshan day. Amma’s form of giving a blessing to those who come to her is to give them a hug. The crowds were larger than normal as she had been gone from the ashram since the beginning of October.

Amma started giving hugs at 11 a.m. and continued until 2:30 a.m. on Monday. Many groups sang bhajans during that time; it is quite a festive occasion. During the public darshan programs, those of us who are staying here have the opportunity to hand Amma prasad for a short period of time. The prasad that Amma gives those who come to her is a packet of sacred ash and a piece of candy. The prasad packets are bundled in groups of three and the prasad giver hands Amma the bundle. It is a good opportunity to practice concentration since Amma may need the prasad at any time; the range is probably between 10 seconds and 2 minutes. I do my best to never take my eyes off of her hand. I love this seva (volunteer work). Several years ago, my inner voice started spontaneously saying “home” every time I handed the prasad to her…..home, home, home. To me serving Amma in this way is home. Continue reading “Living and Learning in Amritapuri- Dec 7-9, 2014” →

भारतं गमिष्यामि

One of the things I am passionate about is learning Sanskrit. There is a meditative verse that is often sung at Sanskrit events. In this song, students pledge dedication to their Sanskrit studies. I am going to begin this post by singing that verse. Please forgive any mispronunciation; some Sanskrit letters are still difficult for me to say correctly.

शुक्रवासरे अष्टाविंशत्-दिनांके -November-मासे भारतं गमिष्यामि
On Friday November 28, I will go to India.

द्विवादने विमानपत्तनं चालिष्यामि
At 2:00 I will drive to the airport. Continue reading “भारतं गमिष्यामि” →

Quote of the Week: Pir Vilayat Khan

Sufi teacher Pir Vilayat Khan asks us to view pain in this way:

Overcome any bitterness that may have come because you were not up to the magnitude of pain that was entrusted to you. Like the mother of the world who carries the pain of the world in her heart, each one of us is part of her heart, and therefore endowed with a certain measure of cosmic pain. You are sharing in the totality of that pain. You are called upon to meet it in joy instead of self-pity.

What is your reaction to his suggestion?

From: Pir Vilayat, Khan, Introducing Spirituality in Counseling and Therapy (New York: Omega Press, 1982).

मम बहु विविधाः अन्तरः भावाः सन्ति

मम बहु-विधाः अन्तर्-भावाः सन्ति
mama bahu-vidhaaha antar-bhaavaaha santi

I have many different feelings Continue reading “मम बहु विविधाः अन्तरः भावाः सन्ति” →

Negotiating the Supermarket of the Mind

Question from someone at Amma’s 2014 San Ramon Retreat:

I have a question about negative thoughts and emotions. I find myself wondering what the right attitude is and how to prevent negative thoughts and emotions from affecting my life and affecting others. Continue reading “Negotiating the Supermarket of the Mind” →

Overcoming Myself

Last Thursday morning brought another challenging prompt from Sreejit at The Seeker’s Dungeon. This time the prompt was to answer the following question: “Tell us about your experiences with overcoming yourself.” I knew immediately what I would write about.

My post will actually contain three different stories. The first two are very different from each other and in the third the two come together, addressing a way I am working to “overcome myself.” Continue reading “Overcoming Myself” →

संस्कृतभारतीशिबिरम्

Last week I went to Sanskrita Bharati camp for three days.
गतसप्ताहे दिनत्रयम् अहं संस्कृत- भारती-शिबिरम् अगच्छम्

I did not tell my Sanskrit teacher.
मम संस्कृत-अध्यापिकां न अवदम् |

I desired to make her surprised.
अहं तां विस्मयं कर्तुं इष्टवती |

The people in the camp were wonderful.
जनाः शिबिरे अद्भुताः आसन् |

All the classes were only in Sanskrit, no English
सर्वे वर्गा: संस्कृते एव, न आङ्ग्ले |

My teachers were Padmakumar from NYC and Nitish from Portland.
द्वौ अद्यापकौ पद्मकुमर: New York-नगरतः नितीषः Portland-नगरतः च आस्ताम् |

I understood more Sanskrit than last year.
अहं गतवर्षस्य अपेक्षया इतोपि संस्कृतं आवगच्छम् |

In the camp, I learned a lot more Sanskrit.
शिबिरे अहं बहु संस्कृतं अपठम् |

I am very happy
मम बहु सन्तोषः अस्ति

Your Worth

Many of my clients struggle so much with self doubt and feeling unworthy. This blog post by Owl McCloud addresses that issue using a metaphor that I think is very powerful. I hope you find it valuable too.

The House of Wolves

We all know how much we are worth in this world. We been told our whole lives about our place on this planet. Told that we’re too old, too slow, too skinny, too fat, too boring, not fun enough, not sexy enough or stupid and worthless all together. When we hear this all thorough out our lives we sadly sometimes start to believe it. Lets play a quick game for some money, a man made valued item. How many of you reading this would love a free Twenty dollar bill$? I’m sure a few of you would but with if I balled it up, now who still wants ? Now what if I took that same balled up twenty and throw it on the floor and stepped on it, who still wants it? I’m betting the number of you that said you would take it in the beginning would still…

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