In the Aura of Mother Amma

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A moment in Amritapuri

We've decided to extend our stay at Amritapuri. It is 6am. I am sitting on the beach drinking chai among other international spiritual aspirants fully engaged in their morning practice: folded into half-lotus, turtleing through tai chi or silent sun salutations, breathing through alternating nostrils, or journaling like me, all facing the waves of the Arabian Sea. The gentle pinks of sunrise highlight the buiding cumulonimbus (altocumulus castellanus, actually) emerging from the smeared blue horizon. Tonight we'll probably have lightning again - the kind so high up that the sky flashes soundlessly, and with rain that plummets down in short enthusiastic bursts. All us early morning beach bums (cheeks on yoga mats, bamboo mats, or the granite boulders that make up the wall that holds back the ocean) have ourselves just emerged groggily from the Kali temple, where our tongues twisted to keep up with the chanting of the thousand Vedic names of the goddess. Reciting the Sri Lalitha Sahasranamam is a gruelling 1h15m process, but I should speak for myself. The white-clad devotees don't seem to suffer or to skip a beat. Now from the beach, disembodied chanting continues from the loudspeakers of temples down the road as well as on the mainland, across the moat from this palm-tree-carpeted peninsula which houses the ashram of Amma, known as an incarntion of the great goddess herself.

This ashram is an amazing place. Amma (full spiritual name Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi) is the heart of the operation, and her aura can be felt from several kilometers away (even by a spiritual dunce like me). Thousands of people are here, with dozens to hundreds coming and going every day to share a moment's company (or sometimes even just a glimpse) of this saintly woman we call "Mother." I don't want to try to recount the endless stories of her achievements here, except to say that Amma is known to have performed many spiritual miracles (in the water-into-wine sense of the word) as well as the more measurable miracles of raising truckloads of cash (and aid and other support) for disaster relief, founding and running about a bajillion charities (many serving Indian people) and hugging complete strangers with the sustained mood of unconditional love NON-STOP for up to 20 hours straight (no food no water no pee break and no lapse in love and affection). Keely, Daniel and I have all received a darshan (a divine cuddle) from Amma, and can atest that it is a profoundly moving experience.

I'm looking forward to maybe one more embrace before we go, as well as passing the next few days doing yoga, selfless service (called 'seva') around the ashram, exchanging life philosophies with other foreigners (visitors and resident renunciates alike), practicing mantras on rudraksha bead malas, meditating on the sands, and mispronouncing bhajans or devotional hymns in Malayalam and Tamil, and maybe learning a handful of those thousand vedic names properly. Of course, most of all, I'll be enjoying Amma's powerful presence (any spiritual practice is boosted just by being in the neighbourhood) and the wisdom that infuses this holy place.

Om lokah samastah bhavantu -
May all beings everywhere be happy

Coming soon! Going soon!

This entry has been brought to you the day before our departure from India, but you can still look forward to hearing about the rest of our adventures in the southern state of Kerala (where Amritapuri is)... assuming Daniel will write it, because I think you haven't heard his input since that first Delhi entry, and that's no good! Thanks for checking in with us and for following our journey. And for many of you, see you soon!

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