Living and Learning in Amritapuri, India: August 21-23, 2017

Saraswati Gardens

I’ve stopped by Saraswati Garden twice since I’ve been in Amritapuri. The plants have grown so much since I left the ashram in January. Some of the marigolds are now six feet tall!

(You can click on the galleries to enlarge the photos.)

Fruit bat

As dusk approached on Tuesday, Kumuda and I were walking down the back stairs of the building where we both live. As we looked below us, we saw a group of people gazing up into a tree. There was also a lot of movement in the tree.

We suspected that they were watching fruit bats. Moments later, bats began flying in and out of the tres. The bats coming towards the tree were carrying round objects that were bright yellow or orange. We wondered if those objects were small oranges. Whenever the ashram elephant is brought to the courtyard on darshan days, devotees buy fruit from the juice stall to feed it. Maybe the devotees were buying oranges for the bats. That explanation seemed far fetched but we had no other.

This was our first view of a bat from the stairs. (It is towards the left side in both pictures. It started opening its wings in the second photo.)

Once we reached the ground, we joined the group who had gathered at the bottom of the tree. I watched one of the fruit bats moving through the tree in a way that reminded me of a monkey. It even looked like it had hands. The video below gives some idea of what I saw.

Crows and Pappadams

At one point during the Tuesday prasad lunch (the day when Amma gives everyone lunch), I looked up and saw six crows perched in a line towards the top of the auditorium. The crows were intently watching the activity below. If one saw an opportune moment, it would swoop down and take a pappadam off of someone’s plate. I saw several crows with partial pappadams in their mouths so maybe they were stealing pappadams from each other as well. When I looked up five or ten minutes later, all of the crows were gone. Perhaps they were feasting on their plunder. (The photo of pappadams came from Wikimedia.)

Café

Thursday is opening day for the new café. They closed the cafe about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday and started moving all the equipment to the new building. I imagine the kitchen staff stayed up most or all of the night putting the new place together. I wanted to help but knew my help would be limited by the splint on my injured wrist.

A story about an Indian squirrel that helped build the Rama Setu bridge kept coming to my mind. I blogged about that story last year:

Many years ago, at the the end of the programs in each city on Amma‘s North American tour, there was an announcement that contained a story about a squirrel who contributed to the building of the Rama Setu bridge. The squirrel participated by rolling in the sand and then going to the end of the bridge and shaking the sand off, chanting the name of Lord Rama throughout the process. It completed this process over and over.

Lord Rama rewarded the squirrel by picking him up and stroking his back. From then on, this type of squirrel had three stripes on its back, stripes that went from head to tail. The stripes are seen as Lord Rama’s fingers. At Amma’s programs, this story was used to teach that everything we do to contribute makes a difference.

I remember thinking that what was called a squirrel in the story must be what we call a chipmunk. Since then, I have learned that the squirrel is a palm squirrel and it the same size as a large chipmunk.

I was determined to find a way to support the effort. I saw that the counters and shelves in the new building were covered with a heavy layer of construction dust. I found a small bucket of water and a rag and started washing down the counters with my good hand. Often there were hoses, boards and other construction materials on the counters. I had to wipe around those, but I was helping! I washed the surfaces for a couple of hours and then had dinner. After dinner I came back and did some more.

When I returned, I discovered a lot of the construction materials had been moved so it was now possible to wash many of the surfaces completely. Also, enough of the dust and other debris had been removed by the first cleaning that we were able to use soapy water with the next round. Soon the beautiful counter tops were in full view. I was so happy to have found a way to help.

On Thursday morning there will be a puja to mark the opening of the new cafe. I will share about that in my next “Living and Learning in Amritapuri” post.

Ganesh sculpture

Ganesh’s birthday celebrations begin this Friday. (Ganesh is the aspect of God who removes obstacles.) The Ganesh statue is being sculpted at the ashram this year. I don’t know where that work is occuring, but I found this photo on the Amritapuri Facebook page. There will be 11 days of celebration and then the statue will be carried to the Arabian Sea, immersed, and the sea will take it.

Rain

There have been many days since I have been in Amritapuri where it has stayed clear all day. In the days surrounding the eclipse, however, it poured many times. I don’t know if there was any relation between the two events, especially since the eclipse was on the other side of the world, but I wondered if that was a possibility. It is so much cooler on days it has rained. I wish it rained every day!

Sunset

Last night, as I was walking towards the building I live in, I noticed that the sky was a brilliant red. I rushed to the elevator and took it to the 14^th floor to see if I could see the sunset in its full glory. By the time I got there, however, the sky was no longer red. It was still a beautiful sight though.

Later, I found a photo of the sunset on the Amritapuri Facebook Page. It wasn’t red then either, but the colors were more vivid than when I last saw a few minutes later.

Sunrises and sunsets are so beautiful here. I should make a point of looking at them more often.

Synchroniticy

When I visit Amritapuri, so many synchronous things happen. A really good example of that occurred two days ago. This is the first time I’ve come to India in August in more than a decade. I usually arrive towards the end of November and stay until January. My main reason for picking that time is the Christmas musical that is performed each year on Christmas Eve.

My daughter writes the scripts and co-directs the plays and my son and his friends compose many of the tunes, provide the instrumentation and work with the singers. I feel so proud of them and wouldn’t want to miss the event. Besides it is such an exciting time to be at the ashram. There is only three weeks time for the actors and dancers to learn their roles and for the costumes, backdrops and many other aspects of the play to be created. The energy at the ashram during that time is electric.

My desire to surprise Sreejit and Chaitanya by showing up at the ashram at a time when they would never suspect I was coming and my desire to participate in the three festivals (Krishna and Ganesh’s birthdays and Onam) won over my desire to see the play this December. I considered the possibility of coming to India twice but that solution seemed unlikely.

A few days ago, Chaitanya said she hoped I decided to come again for the play. I gave reasons why that wasn’t likely to happen, money being one of them. When I woke up the next morning, there was an email from a neighbor in Seattle saying that she needed to move out of the house she has lived in for the last ten years and someone had told her that I might rent her a room in my house. She needs a place to stay from October until the second week in January.

I haven’t rented a room to anyone for about five years but it wasn’t lost on me that if I did that, I would have the money I needed to go back to India in December. Also, the person that usually stays in my house when I am traveling may be in India himself this December, so having her living there would be helpful. If those two things weren’t synchronistic enough, this all occurred within a week of me writing a post saying that I needed to work on being more interdependent as opposed to overly-independent. Having a roommate would certainly facilitate that process. What could do but laugh?

I don’t know whether or not she will decide to rent from me, but if she does I will consider coming back to India to see this year’s play.

To view the previous posts in this series click here.

Honoring Hanuman and Vishu

Yesterday, I attended a chant of the Hanuman Chalisa, a 40 verse poem that is believed to have been written by Tulsidas in the 16th century. I have loved that chant since the mid-nineties.

Wikipedia says this about Hanuman:

Lord Hanuman is an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Rama and is widely known for his unflinching devotion to Sri Rama. Hanuman is the symbol of strength and energy. He is said to be able to assume any form at will, wield the gada (including many celestial weapons), move mountains, dart through the air, seize the clouds and equally rival Garuda in swiftness of flight.

Lord Hanuman is worshiped as a deity with the ability to attain victory against evil and provide protection.

During the time in my life that I made tiny dolls of the Hindu Gods and Goddesses, one of the dolls I made was of Hanuman. The doll on the left side of the gallery below was my first Hanuman doll; I still keep it on my altar. Hanuman is usually depicted with Lord Rama or Lord Rama and Sita in his heart, but I put a photo of Amma in the heart of my Hanuman doll.

On my way to the Hanuman program yesterday, I stopped by a local nursery and bought two Oregon grape plants for my yard. They both had beautiful yellow blossoms. This morning, I realized that I had planted them in an area that has other yellow flowers and that yellow is the color that is most associated with Hanuman.

After writing the first draft of this post, I decided to work outside. I told the friend who was working with me about the yellow flowers. He reminded me that yellow is also the color of Vishu, a holiday that celebrates our deep connection with nature. Vishu was two days ago. Below is a photo of the flower most associated with Vishu, along with a message that Amma gave on that day.

I am excited that I have inadvertently dedicated a part of my yard to Hanuman and Vishu. I love synchronicity.

I Love Synchronicity!

A few days before I left for India last year, I found out my friend Prakash was going to be taking the same flight I was on. Six weeks later, I discovered he would be on my return flight as well. That might seem like no big deal, but the reality is I had purchased my tickets for the November 28 to January 11 flights in August, and Prakash’s tickets were booked at the last minute due to family emergencies. He had planned to return to the U.S. after Christmas. As my departure date approached, I had no idea he was still in India. (And he did not know my itinerary.) To make it even stranger, we had ended up on the same flight earlier in the year. There is NO way all of these shared flights could have been chance.

Two weeks ago, I experienced some other synchronicities. I will give you two pieces of backstory before I share those. 1) The Challenge for Growth prompt for that week had been “I Unplug.” I had made the commitment to unplug my computer, phone, television and radio between 9 a.m. and noon each day. 2) I was arranging to place an ad for our local GreenFriends group and had decided to take Tree Planting and Habitat Restoration off of the ad temporarily, since our group hadn’t engaged in that particular activity for more than a year.

On Saturday, February 20, I chose to walk the Cheasty loop (a circular path that starts and ends near my house) during my unplugged time. When I came back from the walk, I would arrange for the changes in the ad. I hadn’t taken that walk for at least two years, because, for a variety of reasons, I hadn’t had the stamina I needed to do it. That day though, I felt full of energy!

About five minutes into my walk, I looked ahead of me and saw a canopied booth. There was a sign on it that read “Cheasty.org.” When I reached the booth, I talked to the people who were standing there. I learned they were a local group who are working to clear out the invasive plants in the Cheasty Greenspace. Once they remove the blackberries, ivy and other invasive species, they plant trees in the new space. The group was in the middle of a work party at that time.

I couldn’t see anything from the road, so one of the leaders, Joel, guided me to the work area.

Joel said they had work parties in this area the third Saturday of every month. He said they also held work parties on the first weekend of each month, in an area a few blocks south of the one where we were standing. When I told him about our local GreenFriends group, he said he would love to have us join their work parties.

After saying goodbye, I continued my walk. I passed an area where Seattle city workers were converting wood into wood chips. A lot of those chips are used by the Cheasty.org group.

Not far from there, I saw the place where the Cheasty group had been working for much longer. As you look at the pictures, keep in mind that all of these fields were covered with blackberry vines not long ago. The area had completely transformed since the last time I walked this loop.

I continued on, picking up litter as I walked. When I arrived back at my house, I discovered I had been gone for two hours! It was not lost on me that this experience would not have happened if I had not been participating in the “I Unplug” challenge. And I chose to unplug on the same day and at the same time that the Cheasty.org group was working in the area I was walking. In addition, all of this had occurred shortly after I had made the decision to remove Tree Planting and Habitat Restoration from the ad. Needless to say, I left it in.

I LOVE SYNCHRONICITY!

Being the Hands of the Divine

When I read the Dungeon Prompts: Our Magic Powers writing challenge for the week I was perplexed. The prompt was:

We are all gifted with certain magical powers. We may not have fully harnessed them, or we may rebel against the powers we’ve been given, but we know that they are there. The power may be so potent that we are scared to use it, or we may have come to terms and learned the intricacies of it. We may have used them for evil or for good, but when we think that we can go unnoticed, we have surely tested them out.

Magical powers go beyond a talent for something. It involves bending reality to your will. When your will comes in tune with the cosmic will you may notice your powers flow like a raging river. Whether you hide it or not, you know that it’s there. So this week, tell us about your magical powers.

To me, the magic in life is the work of the Divine, whether it be a seed turning into a beautiful flower or the wondrous nature of all life forms. All the synchronicities that occur in my life feel like a Divine play. I will never forget my last trip to India when I was told I would be upgraded to Business Class if I was willing to sit in a seat where the video didn’t work. Soon I discovered that the man sitting next to me, who was also gifted with an upgrade, was a Sanskrit student and teacher. In fact, he was teaching from the identical Sanskrit textbook that I was struggling with at the time. He had even gone to the same Sanskrit camp I had attended the previous summer! To me that whole scenario felt like magic, but I believe it was actually a gift from the Divine.

I see all of us as instruments of the Divine, tasked with being His/Her hands. When we do that work it may seem like magic to others, or even to ourselves. So in that spirit, what kind of magic is it that I do?

I thought back to my 65^th birthday when a small group of friends celebrated that milestone with me. At one point in the evening, they talked about me. It was like being a witness to one’s own memorial service. I was amazed at what they said about me and the impact they believed I have had on their lives. I also thought about things other people have said about me in the past and to a post (When They Think of Me….) I wrote last year after having asked friends what objects they thought of when they thought of me. At that time, one person responded:

Well, my first thought of you is your abundant beautiful hair, but that’s not an object. When I just stopped for a moment and visualized you, I immediately saw you with a tool in your hand. The tool could be anything – a garden trowel, a spatula, a pen, a hammer, a paint brush, a computer, one of those long grips for picking up litter – but you very much (my impression anyway) – interact with the world and use many kinds of tools. So it would be Karuna, Jill-of-all-trades, with a tool.

I believe the following may be seen as my magic:

Sometimes my psychotherapy clients think that I must be able to see right through them, or read their minds.
The craft projects I do such as making tiny dolls, crocheting, knitting, quilting, etc.
Creating and inspiring others to join in new projects, such as the PNW Litter Project and the PNW GreenFriends Newsletter.
The amount of energy I have and what I accomplish with it.
My use of words in the books I have written and on my blog.

To me though, that isn’t magic. All of it happens when I am “in the flow” and willing to be used as an instrument, i.e. being the hands, of the Divine. May I continue to live in this manner until the end of my days.

Living and Learning in Amritapuri: Jan 7-8, 2015

Final days

I shared most of the events that happened on the 7th in my last post, but that evening there were even more! In the past, Amma often didn’t come to bhajans the night before a major tour because the big sound system had already been packed. That day I noticed the sound system was still in place so was not completely surprised when she showed up at the normal time. It was a wonderful last bhajan evening for me. She sang several of my favorite songs, some of which I want to relearn and lead at our local meetings after I return to Seattle.

That evening we were given notice that an elderly woman who lives at the ashram had died and the funeral would be held around 9 p.m.. In India, funerals often occur very shortly after death and the person’s body is cremated immediately thereafter. At first I wasn’t going to go, but I changed my mind. I love to be a part of those rituals.

Amma returned to her room after the bhajan program and the brahmacharis set up an area close to the back ashram gate for the funeral. When their preparation was complete, they carried the woman’s body into the area on a stretcher, and placed her on a table. She was wrapped in a white sheet, except for her head. Shortly thereafter Amma arrived. She kissed the woman and then placed a beautiful flower garland that was at least five feet long over the full length of her body. Afterwards Amma sprinkled flower petals on her.

The group who attended sang “Om Namah Shivaya” at the beginning and end of the funeral. After Amma blessed the woman’s body, the attendees chanted the 108 Names of Amma and the 8th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Then family members and friends circled the woman. It is traditional in Hindu funerals, for the eldest son, carrying a coconut on his head, to lead a procession during which the body of the loved one is taken to the cremation grounds. Once there, the cremation rituals begin. The man who took that role at this funeral was young so I wondered if he was her grandson. Anyone can attend a cremation, but generally it is only the family members and friends who go. I decided to only participate in the funeral.

I see this type of ending as the perfect way to complete one’s life time. There are other rituals that, for me, are a close second though. Devotees who live abroad often want to have part or all of their ashes taken to Amritapuri after they die. In that case, the urn containing the ashes is placed next to Amma during an evening bhajan program. After the bhajans are completed, she takes the urn to the friends and family members waiting at the bottom of the auditorium stage. She blesses the ashes and gives darshan (hug) to the close family members. A brahmachari then takes the group to the ocean, performs some rituals and one of the friends or family members throws the ashes into the ocean. I have no doubt that is the ritual that will happen for me unless I am blessed enough to be living at the ashram when I pass.

I knew the South India tour group was leaving at 5 a.m. on the 8th, but no one knew when Amma herself would leave. As it turned out, Amma left the ashram immediately after the funeral. That day, I had been there when Amma went to the auditorium to record music, when she came to the evening bhajans and when she led the funeral rituals. I felt very graced to have my trip to Amritapuri end in this way.

On January 8, I finished packing my belongings and cleaning my room. My taxi would be leaving for the airport at 5:00 a.m. on the 9th so everything needed to be finished that day. I also spent time reflecting on the six weeks I had spent in Amritapuri.

Before I end this post I will share some of the synchronicites and nature experiences that occurred during my last days at the ashram.

Synchronicities

1) For the last week, I had a need to talk to an ashram resident. Usually when that happens here, the person passes by me soon thereafter. This time that didn’t happen. For days, both my daughter and I were watching for her, to no avail. On the 7th, I decided I would try to find out where her room was located. I soon found out the building and the floor. I knew if went there, I would probably find someone who could give me more specific information.

As I walked up the stairs to her building, I looked across the courtyard below and saw her talking to the man who was working in the phone room. This was after watching for her for days! It was a nice reminder that effort is also necessary to make desires reality. When I put some effort into finding her, beyond just “keeping my eyes open”, there she was.

2) This year I also noticed how synchronicities that happened in the past can have purpose in the present. Last year, I met a young woman from New York in the line of devotees waiting to hand Amma the prasad (packet of ash and a piece of candy) she gives people who come to her for a hug. The young woman had overheard me talking to someone else about Sanskrit and had joined the conversation as she also wanted to learn Sanskrit.

As we continued to talk, I discovered she had been born in Seattle. That was interesting enough, but the synchronicity didn’t stop there. It turned out, she was born a hospital where I used to work. In fact, I was working as the Maternal Newborn Clinical Specialist at that hospital when she was born! It meant so much to her to think that I could have held her during her first days of life.

This year that same woman walked up to me on my last day in Amritapuri, and asked if I remembered her. I said I didn’t recognize her face, but I certainly remembered the interaction once she mentioned it. She told me she has thought about that experience almost every day since it happened.

3) Last year there was a 73 year old woman whom I saw over and over again. It seemed every time I turned a corner she was there. I have friends at the ashram that I rarely see, so to see someone so frequently caught my attention. I talked with her several times during that visit and was extremely inspired by her life story. She was an incredible role model of what living in your 70’s can be like.

When I started having back problems this year a friend from BC Canada did some bodywork that was very helpful. I started healing at a rate that was much faster than when my back has “gone out” in the past. One day, another friend told me they knew a woman they thought could also be helpful and suggested I talk to her. I thought about it briefly and decided to say no. When I discovered it was the same woman, now 74, that I had been so inspired by last year I changed my mind. That synchronicity was way too obvious to ignore, so I accepted her help as well! I have no doubt that she will continue to be part of my life path in the future.

India’s Natural Beauty

The setting sun on the 7th was beautiful beyond words. No picture I could take could even begin to capture its glory but perhaps this will give you a glimpse of what it was like.

In the afternoon of the 7th, I was with a friend at the Arabian Sea beach. We saw birds swarming in the distance and walked to where we could get a better view. Their focus turned out to be a fishing boat.

.That evening, I walked to the roof of the building I live in to watch the eagles soaring overhead. There were so many of them. Such a breath taking sight. Here is a picture of one of them.

After watching the eagle, I looked down and I saw this form of beauty:

And still later that day

I am truly blessed.

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” →

One Minute, One Hour, One Day at a Time

My favorite joke, and the only one I ever remember is:

Question: Do you know how to make God laugh?

Answer: Tell him your plans for your life

Being with Amma is always a chance to work on learning to not be attached to plans and instead letting your life unfold. That lesson was definitely the theme of my day on December 19. Continue reading “One Minute, One Hour, One Day at a Time” →

When Our Paths Cross

I remember reading many years ago that whenever our life path crosses someone else’s, whether it be for a few minutes or an extended period of time, we have something to learn from the person and something to give them; that our meeting is no accident. I don’t know if that is true, but I find it to be a useful concept regardless.

By nature I am a very strong introvert so it is easy for me to stay within myself and not interact with other people. I know when I do that, however, I am potentially missing out on some important opportunities.

I imagine from time to time, all of us meet people in situations where our meeting seems very synchronistic, times when we sense that something bigger than random chance is operating. During my last two trips to India, I had four experiences like that. Continue reading “When Our Paths Cross” →