A Tale of Grace

Dearest Friends and Family,

We went to Amritapuri for Link’s vacation. For the first time since Anni left, I felt happiness bubbling in my heart again. Our Precious Amma has always said that for those who visit the Ashram, it is heaven, for those who live there, it is the Kurukshetra, the battle field, wherein we confront continuously our small-self in our reactions, the need to use our discrimination adroitly, to exercise equanimity of mind, to react with love instead of defence or anger.

Anyhow, for Link and I, we were in heaven. To be in Amma’s Blessed Presence, although we did not go near Her that often, was such a joy. For Her, with Her, by Her, to be where the ideal stands as clearly as it does in Amritapuri, is a great heaven on Earth. Because of Amma alone, the very sands at Amritapuri chorus in a divine gladness that She is there. We were really able to see how Amritapuri is a spiritual university of the highest and most glorious order.

We used the `happy returnee’  bhava to blaze our love into as many hearts that were previously frozen towards us as possible, which was also great fun. Anni’s song, I See Now, was our mantra – “So when the times get rough, get spicy, people around all acting icy, I know that You Always are here, yes, I know that You always are here.” It was so nice to see that underneath the carefully nursed ice, were actually hearts longing to love. Something to bear in mind in your own days, don’t let the ice grow anywhere that you can help it. Ridiculous stuff, that ice.

There were many adventures, it felt like each day was actually three days, the intensity was so strong.  We made a small video to explain the Umbrella 2012 The Creation project, if you are interested to participate, click here:

Umbrella Project 2012, The Creation

We even sang 3 songs to Her that those precious Ears had not heard. Our new song, Starting to Rise, which Karthik Shah’s genius made fantastic, Link’s Take Me There from the Album, and Karthik Shah’s Do It Now, which is on Aparna Ashok’s documentary, Active Compassion: Our Role for a Better World.   This documentary is available as a free viewing at our publishing site: www.wiseearthpublishers.com and you can hear the song there.

The song I was longing and longing to sing for Her, did not get sung, hopefully, the chance to do so will come up. I did bravely try, and have only that consolation.

Link attended a talk by Muhammed Yunus, the Nobel laureate, of Grameen bank fame that took place at his Alma Mater, the Amrita Vishwa Vidya Peetham. If you don’t know anything about the Grameen bank, this site will give you a very short and painless history:

http://www.grameen-info.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=114

Yunus discussed creating business and economic venture to serve society, rather than get rich off of people. He has several new businesses started to assist the poor in alleviating their material miseries. One of them was getting beggars to start businesses, a plan, which when initially floated had over 100,000 participants right off.

It always burns me when people say that people who are begging choose that lifestyle. I have so often heard the materially comfortable declare that all beggars are in rackets, with huge bank accounts. God forbid that we should allow our minds to become callous to the miserable conditions our immoral economic system has pushed people to.

Link video taped that talk, to watch it,  click here:

Address by Muhammed Yunus

There were so many things, I can’t describe it all now, not much time, but one really fun miracle, really, was something we have to call the Moscow Miracle, which shows how Amma’s infinite and gentle hands work a weave of love throughout the world.

Here’s the story, all true.

Over the years, we had built up a collection of foreign currencies from our trips around the planet. Altogether, it was finally worth about $3000 USD, which for us, is a huge sum. The night before we left Stockholm, we found in our waste area, a discarded collection of foreign coins. There were roubles, pesos, all kinds of currencies. Link was really glad, as a young person in the village outside the ashram had asked him for some foreign coins, and now he had a substantial gift to give. We thought the roubles would be good for the time in Moscow as well.

Once we got to Moscow, the plane was delayed for several more hours. Our impressions of Moscow were limited to the airport, which is quite large, and like a shopping mall. There were some things that were really good, like a video that showed how to paint a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and other things that were plain wrong, selling alcohol and cigarettes, and women blatantly and grossly portrayed as sex objects. Among the good things were children’s toys and souvenirs made in Russian art styles, very detailed and beautiful portraying ethical qualities in the bhavas of the artisan objects. The contrast between these forms of genuine culture and art, and the sloven mall aspect was strong. It made one want to weep for the culture of the people of Russia that is getting lost in the socially destructive smut of globalized markets.

Through the airport windows, we could see the outside environment, which was dark and snowing almost continuously. The large windows and airport lighting afforded a fantastic view of the landscape of snow storm and black night. We could see the ploughs working non-stop to keep the runways clean, and trucks that hosed hot water onto the aircraft wings to melt the ice on them. And the people, accustomed to their long dark, snowy winters, with their long coats. We ended up sleeping next to the windows as well, there were heaters there. Its always good to travel with a mat, at least you can stretch out flat somewhere.

At one point, we went to get some hot tea, and took our our home brought provisions to eat with it. At this point, the manager came out, a short woman with short hair, dressed in a suit and tie. She told us we could not eat our own food there. At least that is what I clearly understood. We put our food away immediately, and trying to make bonds of friendliness, I explained that Link was my son through hand gestures – rocking the baby.

Due to the delay we were given a voucher for a meal at the airport restaurant. It was several hours later, and the manager also came there. I wondered mildly if we were being watched to see that we did not try to eat our own food again. We picked through the menu, and ended up ordering cakes which brought our bill to over 90 roubles above the voucher amount. The cakes were very small, so, I must assume that a rouble is not worth that much. Link pulled out our foreign cash collection to pay for the extra amount. Now, it must be noted here, that I had decided inwardly that I would take all the cash and banking papers in my on-board, and ensure that they reached Amritapuri safely. It was an `I will’ statement to myself.

Anyhow, after pulling out all the roubles from our collection, we were 2 roubles short, which the check-out lady forgave us, and we got up and headed to the que boarding slowly at the gate.

It wasn’t until we got to Delhi, when Link went to look at the cameras, ( How I lost our camera, all my baby photos of the children, my journal, etc, is another story, no point to go into here.) that we realized we had left the entire envelope with all our cash, on the chair in the restaurant in Moscow. We were really surprised at our idiocy, both of us claiming the fault. But there it was. Gone. We did have the receipt from the restaurant, which was in Russian. Russia does not teach English to the people.

We got back to the ashram, and perhaps the second night, we went out for coconuts at Lalita’s, right outside the ashram. They loved Anni very much, and naturally, we love them. While there, I saw a really bright looking little boy, and asked him where he was from, he was probably about 11 years old. He said, “Nyet, no English, Russian, I only speak Russian.” At this point, Link was out behind Lalita’s playing with the dogs, and I began calling him. The boy and his father got up to leave, with me, babbling in English that we needed their help to talk to the people in Russia. They were leaving, when Link came out from his rumbles with the dogs, adding his voice to mine, and I wrote a note for them to give to someone in their group who speaks English.

So, this was how we got in touch with Marianna and Ludmilla, her Mother. The next night, we arranged to meet Marianna, near the fig family tree in front of the temple. She was with a group of very serious looking people. I explained the situation, and her prognosis after discussing it with the group was grim. “It is very unlikely that you will get it back.” Apparently there is a lot of corruption in Russia, and the people do not have much faith that anyone working for the Govt. is going to be of help to them.

It must be kept in mind, that both Link and I assumed the money was completely lost, but, I felt I should make some attempt to find it, as that is the duty one has to lost things.

Our second meeting with Marianna was on the last day of their trip. We arranged to meet the next day, which was just hours away from her departure. How this group of Russians came to Amritapuri was another amazing story. Six of this group had tried to get to Finland to see Amma there. The car they were in met with an accident, the wheels of the vehicle were destroyed, and they were unable to see Amma. Heart sick, they turned around, and organized an entire group of Russians, 25, to come to the ashram for 4 days to see Amma.

I met Marianna around tea time, and she tried to call the number on the receipt. As the connection was not working well, she thought it would be good to look up more information on internet. Link showed up fortuitously, and set the keyboard to Russian type for her, and she got all the numbers she needed. The site seemed well done, there was a `lost and found’ number, etc.

To make a long story short, she called the number, and spoke with the Manager of the Restaurant, who remembered us, and asked where were were from. Marianna said, the USA, and the manager said, its not them, this was an Indian woman and her son. So, that was cleared up, and the manager said she had the money and would hold it for us to pick up upon our return through Moscow.

Then, the fun part started.

Marianna was so amazed to meet a Russian official who was honest, and helpful, that she wept with joy. She said that this incident ended her lifelong disillusionment with the Russian system, and restored her faith that the Russian people were not completely lost.

We began talking, and it ends up that her younger brother had suddenly passed on, in 2007, in March, age 20. Her Mother, Ludmilla and I have a very similar heart. Its a terrible scorching and carving, only those who go through it can really understand. It’s sickening to hear people talk of Karma after that, it makes you realize how ignorant we all are about Karma. So many people spout about karma, I even heard a sannyasi saying, “You lose your child, its because you are a bad person, you have bad karma.” Such statements only show deep ignorance. I just mention this here, so that those who think like this will at least hold their tongues until a larger awareness dawns. We live in an ocean of loving reciprocity and sacrifice. Karma is out of Love. That’s all I want to say about it, here, now.

Amazingly, Ludmilla is a biologist of great renown, who is studying the communication within the cell and between the cells. I think I mentioned before that I had a dream where I was with Anni, and I asked her, “So what are You now?” and Anni said, “I am that which communicates within the cell and between the cells.”

As they only had a few hours, I took them to meet Sudheer – Amma’s baby brother, who was busy and going out, but still made arrangements for them to have cakes. We tried to see Damayanti Amma, but, she had already gone in and was resting. The chance to meet Sudheer touched their hearts greatly. It turned their experience of the ashram and Amma into friends and family.

After this, I took them out to the jetty to show them the plants, and Sugunanandan’s shrine place, and Ludmilla said she had had a dream of walking in the gardens at Amritapuri, and this was it.

Then, I took them on the unofficial tour of the ashram, which should be part of the official tour. I took them to Amma’s birthplace, which is still in woefully neglected condition, despite Amma saying again and again that that entire house should be made into a meditation hall.

From there we went to the inner Kalari room, and showed them the statue that Amma found when the temple was being made, and told them about how the ancestral shrine came to be there, how Amma refused to sit down during Krishna bhava until a `seat’ had been made for Her Grandfather, the Compassionate Yogishwaran, which is how that little shrine came into being. Then showed them the garden behind Amma’s room, and the lily that Anni had brought there, the mosiacs Anni had made, and the darshan hut, and all manner of little things, that make our ashram so unique and beautiful and homey.

Then we went to our room, as I wanted to give a copy of our works, so that they may spread in Russia. We also explained about the Umbrella project, the video of which is now up for those of you who would like to participate:

We stayed up with them talking and discussing joyously till 3 AM, their departure was at 4:30. We sent some of Amma’s hair and padam sands with them, to St. Petersburg. Both of these things were secret and unexpressed desires in Ludmilla’s heart.

And to top it off, when we returned to Moscow, we went to the restaurant, the manager came out, it was the same one! And she promptly returned the envelope, which she requested us to examine to see if everything was there. Of course it was! We happened to have a Russian language brochure about Amma, and were able to give that to her, along with some Kerala handcrafts.

So that was our Moscow Miracle!

Such is the grace of God, who turns our mistakes into blessings, and uses every moment to help us to become more aware of the one thing that really matters. To live our lives in Love and lovingness with one another, is real worship of God.

This morning in our Gita reading, we read:

“The outpouring of heart felt love is the only `sacrifice’ the Lord desires from His Creation.”

Ch.9:26 Paramahansa Yogananda’s Bhagavad Gita, Self Realization Fellowship.

Joy! Loving you,

Aunty Kamala, Anni and Link

Dearest Friends and Family,

Before the internet is closed off anymore - and there are lots of things disappearing, there is much we wish we could discuss together.  We know you are all busy, but the times we are in demand our collective awareness of each other’s efforts to honour truth and love on this Earth, with our lives. Please take a few moments from your busy, hectic lives, and see these short-short videos with your friends and families and read (or skim) the articles herein.

A while back I had posted  an article about George Washington’s vision prophecies for the USA.  It seems we have entered prophetic vision # 3.  To see that article, click here, the prophecy part is in the grey quote blocks, further down the article page (I don’t want to waste your valuable time).

http://taleofgrace.com/2010/12/george-washingtons-visions-%E2%80%93-logic-not-the-best-guide/

It does seem that the #OWS or the Occupy movement is about this final phase.  What is happening in the movement is so wonderful, the power of moral force and courage coming to the fore.  We find this very relevant, as for years, we have been telling people that what our country’s government is doing does not represent in anyway the people.  Yet, our countrymen, were in a mass silence. To the rest of the world we appeared like greedy, unconscious pigs, concerned only with our own petty interests, our cars, lawns, sex-appeal, soft toilet tissue, and fund accounts. We appeared basically unconcerned how we got our physical luxuries, at what cost to other people, their environments, or even the character development of our children.

We, Link , Anni and I, are intensely proud of the protests and demonstrations going on in the US… Now we are awakening to our real voice, the power of NO.  I love it. NO WAY. NO MORE. NO YOU CAN’T and most importantly, I CAN’T.

This 28 second video of Mario Savio, in 1964, incapsulates the fire from our souls that started the 1960’s-70’s movement.  A fire that was shoved back down our throats, but which has blazed up and out again through the voices of our children.  If we cannot bring about a massive mind-set change that is in harmony with real earth ethics, real moral values, we are finished.  Nature will not take rest until She clears the board. Every accident, and the nuclear poisoning of our planet, is by an outraged Mother Nature, who knows our weakest points, and has no regard for our tremulous insecure and greedy whining, about `later, Ma, but let me get my pile now.’

Amma has said that the only thing that will soothe and calm Nature, is the harmonization of the human mind with truth and love.  That will be the grace we give ourselves, from ourselves, for `God’ does not exist outside us. This will be the Amazing Grace that heals the planet. This movement has this potential. Please see this short clip, very powerful, 28 seconds:

http://front.moveon.org/how-a-student-in-1964-predicted-occupy-events-worldwide/

An Indian author  from Kerala,  Arundhati Roy, who is a solid humane activist at heart, very recently ( yesterday ) spoke to the #OWS movement about its effect on the rest of the world. The url to her very short talk is right here:  Called:  This struggle has re-awakened our Imagination. Its less than an A-4 ( 8×11) sheet of paper.

http://www.countercurrents.org/roy201111.htm

At the bottom of this post, I have a url to another important article by Arundhati Roy. Its a much longer read, so, I put it last.

Arundhati Roy gave the talk at the People’s University, at Washington Square in New York City.  I long to run and speak to people there, to my beloved and brave countrymen, women and children, about Amma and Gandhi, about the greatest ideals that can guide our lives, this movement, and our planet back to sanity.  These ideals still need to be clarified and universally understood.

The American Dream is now really dead, we can’t bring it back, nor should we even want to. It made a nightmare for the rest of the world, and trashed the Earth. We can’t have our cake and eat it too, it creates global poverty. What we now need, is a dream of global eco- justice and equality, where workers, world wide, are given a decent material standard of life, and real education to live morally and well, we need women to rise up, and demand that our love-power be respected, and when we do that, we will make a world fit for our children to live in. Nothing is more important.

If I can’t help with this, I’m not interested in `spiritual liberation’. To me, this is REAL spiritual liberation, to free our hearts into justice, love, caring and kindness to each other and our aching earth! We must resist moral injustice EVERYWHERE.  It starts at home, for many of us, in our own families, and for all of us, in our own minds and hearts.

This animation provides a 5 minute concise explanation of the economics that have brought us to this point: 5 minutes:

http://front.moveon.org/the-99-versus-the-1-explained-in-5-minutes/

This one shows the beginning of clarification of ideals, by the public re-definition of the words we use, and what they really mean: 1 minutes 42 seconds:

http://front.moveon.org/whats-the-difference-between-liberal-and-conservative/?rc=fb.rp

The machine that Savio speaks of, is now very heavily armed, with all kinds of obnoxious military inventions that people should never, ever, have used their educations and intelligence to create. These are now being used to protect morally indefensible interests of the greedy, super rich exploiters of other human beings and the Nature that sustains us all – the WAR Machine.

This incident at UC Davis just about 2 days ago is so amazing! Student’s fearlessness averted dumb carnage by the police. It would have been Kent State all over again. But we can’t deceive ourselves. There may be many more Kent States coming. A government that has no respect for the lives of innocent people abroad, cannot be expected to demonstrate respect for citizen life at home. The military hardware build-up of the police force, detention centers, and prisoner train transport cars, throughout the country is very alarming: 8 minutes, 34 seconds:

http://front.moveon.org/shocking-unprovoked-officer-pepper-sprays-seated-unarmed-students-at-uc-davis/?rc=fb.fan

Regrettably, the police were called in by the Chancellor, who needs to think alot more…here she is walking to her car that night through the lines of totally silent, disdaining students, who had been completely violated as students, citizens and human beings by her poor decision. 2 minutes, 39 seconds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ0t9ez_EGI&feature=related

This clip shows the silent support that all occupiers are having in the US from the general public, as well as their selfless spirit, as of today, they are still on the road, from NY to DC, for a meeting this Wednesday - the  Super Committee in Congress, upon which many feel middle-class American life depends. 2 minutes 38 seconds:

http://front.moveon.org/breaking-occupy-protesters-walk-230-miles-from-new-york-to-dc/

Here is a short clip from Los Angeles Occupy movement, people’s music, people’s ideals, people’s willingness to sacrifice their comfort for a real dialogue to begin between power and the people: 3 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ugk7z52YZrQ&feature=player_embedded

And this one, is very beautiful, a short interview by Keith Olberman with 84 year old Dorli Rainey, who was unjustifiably pepper-sprayed in Seattle by the police raid 4 days ago on the Occupy Seattle movement. Dorli Rainey is a very coherent speaker: 9 minutes 27 seconds:

http://front.moveon.org/how-dorli-rainey-was-almost-trampled-and-why-shell-be-back-tomorrow/?rc=fb.pm

Dorli’s sweet, innocent pepper-sprayed face has become an icon of this massive nonviolent movement.

And since money, power and control are what is most important to the dis-eased heart of humanity, here is a short clip on simple actions that US citizens can and are taking about mail from the banksters seeking to woo them. 4 minutes, 45 seconds:

http://front.moveon.org/how-to-occupy-wall-street-from-home/?rc=fb.rp

This is the article we mentioned by Arundhati Roy. It is a bit of a longer read, and really speaks to the voice of our conscience.  She is an excellent writer, and this piece, For the Greater Common Good, is a masterpiece:

http://www.narmada.org/gcg/gcg.html

Let it be known that as much as I admire her ( and I do, heaps!)  I don’t agree with her understanding of Gandhi, but, then, I don’t think she has studied Gandhi with as much depth as I have, and so has some popular misconceptions about brahmacharya.  Not to find fault, most of us have many `solid’ opinions without actual insight on the subject, but more through what we have gathered in discussions of others with like mind.  I have met many people in India, who foam at the mouth, literally, in negative opinions about Gandhi, their speech becomes littered with epithets. They have never taken the time to personally investigate his ideals. Had they, they would have a very healthy and humble respect towards him.

Having lived in Amma’s ashram for so many years, and observing the positive revival of vedic ideals for human civilization, has given me a very intense appreciation for what Gandhi was trying to do with his life and communities.  He was not `off’ in anyway, he was right on. The choices he demonstrated as being universally available to people at all times, to raise our voice against injustice, and means to bring an end to it, to educate ourselves, and create an economy the creation that sustains us can live with, are the only ones we have now.  Actually, they are not `Gandhian’ they are universal common sense.  And he had that, so, they are associated with him.

We must deeply question the educations we are receiving, world wide.  To be real, education should not just impart information, it should impart a fire of thirst, for social justice, harmony, to know how best to serve one another.  For what, for whom, and what do our present educational systems do to our own god-given missions in life, and to the earth? Unfortunately, universities and education world wide, sponsored and financially supported by big business colluding with governments cannot prepare children to live morally, nor in ecologically sound ways upon this earth or with each other. We need urgently to change the education we are giving our children.

Anyhow, thank you for taking the time from your very busy lives. If you think this is relevant, please post in your sites, pages, contacts, twitters, fbs, orkuts or what have you.

With the prayer that we will always be able to freely communicate with one another,

Loving you,

Aunty Kamala

Dearest Friends and Family,

I feel I have to discuss a dreadful sense of foreboding nervousness….
Today the dogs in the apartments, simultaneously set up a howl at around 10 AM…
It is autumn here, Nature has been changing her green dress to yellows, oranges and reds, and now is dropping it with wanton carelessness, to Her feet….

Link and I have been able to feast our fill on apples, and often pears, for free, from the many fruit trees in our neighbourhood…and every time I see the fruits rolling about on the ground, and in the streets, the blessed face of my Damayanti Amma comes into my mind…Oh Lord, My God. O Truth that holds this Creation! Hear us! Do not drop my Damayanti Amma!

I think is it the spirit of Troy Davis, who was so unrighteously executed, that is now bolstering the conscience of millions of us `nobody’ people on this Earth now. We are the little people, the unimportant ones, who have been told for years, if not centuries, to shut up, while the selfish and malicious stomp and tromp all over this Earth….This Nobody has an opinon, which cannot be silenced any longer. We thirst for Justice of Truth and Love, Everywhere.

I want to say here, loud and clear, that all my studies, research and findings on Damayanti Amma and Amma’s family, have shown me that Damayanti Amma, like Amma, (Holy Mother Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi) has always been the way she was. A very great mystery is slipping away from us all.

2010. Centre - Damayanti-Amma, Left, Her devoted daughter-in-law, Right, Physiotherapist Nilla, volunteering at the Ashram, from Sweden

Before coming to the ashram we noticed that the 108 names mentioned Amma’s parents, “Om Dharmistra Sugunanandan Damayanti Svayambhuve Namah, ” (The One who incarnated to the virtuous Sugunanandan Acchan and Damayanti-Amma). And, “Om Mata Pita cirachirna punya pura phalatmane namah.” (Who was born to Her parents as a result of their many virtuous deeds over many lives.) That archana was written by one of Amma’s beloved poets, Ottoor, who lived in the ashram in the `less crowded early days’, and wrote that sacred prose based upon his experiential knowing of the relations between Amma and Her Parents, and saw them as being virtuous, and worthy of the highest respect. This opened our minds and hearts to their love, with reverence.

When we first came to the world spiritual centre of Amritapuri, in Kerala, India in 1999, I had an experience one night, towards morning, where I saw Damayanti Amma’s feet for 3 hours straight. It was so strong, I woke up, I could see them whether my eyes were open or shut. I did not understand why, or what was going on. I told Holy Mother Amma the next day, She just smiled. I went to Damayanti Amma, and told Her. She also, just smiled. I didn’t know how to understand it, and for a long time, put it on a back shelf, of bizarre and un-explainable and illogical experiences. But inwardly, an inner awareness began growing.

I observed that there was a little ancestral shrine near the Kalari. This told me, that Holy Mother Amma honours her ancestors, straight back to the source, as should we all. Later, I found out that Holy Mother Amma refused to sit during Her first days of giving darshan in the different bhavas, until that shrine had been built in honour of her paternal grandfather who had passed. Yogishwaran Acchan was known for his virtuous conduct, his intense and selfless compassion for all living things, particularly animals. Holy Mother said then that she could not sit as Grandfather was standing. The shrine was constructed in honour of his spirit, and our Amma sat down for Darshan.

I thought about this relationship, that Amma has made clear to everyone, from the beginning, for actions speak louder than words, through the existence of this shrine, every time I walked by it. I love it, it is small and adorable, right in front of the Kalari. In my own peculiar way, I found myself always bowing there, rather than to the inner room with the big photo in the Kalari…I somehow felt, it was more my size. Maybe, I felt I needed a divine lawyer, in my quest. This prayer, always welled up within me, each time, “I bow to You all, who gave us our Amma, Help us to be of True Service to Her, help us to help Her, may we be of true service to you all.”

Look at Jesus. He came to Mother Mary. All of the Mahatmas, have had outstanding Mothers. Holy Mother Amma is the Rule. The Supreme Consciousness could only come there because Damayanti Amma has a pure mind, a clean heart, because, if anyone has taken the trouble to observe, Damayanti Amma has always had Sama Bhava, Equal Vision….Because She is Honest, Sincere, because She has moral integrity. Because She was always KIND and CONSIDERATE, the real hallmarks of saintliness and spirituality. She had intense self-discipline….and could help the baby Holy Mother Amma, to grow in that path, and thus, through Holy Mother Amma, impart a way of life and living and being to BILLIONS who have lost all perspective, and become utterly confused about the most simple nuances of dharma.

The entire Ashram Schedule of rising, prayers, everything, is one that Amma based upon the training that She received from Blessed Damayanti Amma. When the early renunciates came, they were ushered into the ways of ethical relations with one another, that had been authored by Damayanti Amma’s gracious, yet extremely dharmic ways of being. No where else in India that I know of, does an ashram hold both male and female monastics. It was because of Damayanti Amma’s example and teachings, that this is possible.

Did you know that Damayanti Amma took innumerable fasts for innumerable reasons, some ritual based, many, between Her and Her Maker…and on those days, She would not even drink water…Her children, desperate to see Her at least drink, would offer Her tender coconut water, but She would not take it, unless the Tree had dropped the coconut down on its own accord….this I know, because I found out one day that She was fasting, and hadn’t drunk all day, and offered her tender coconut water. She asked me where I had found the coconut. When I told her I got it from the stall, She told me on these days, she only drank it if the tree had given it.

I never saw Her, when Her hands were not busy in someway to be of service to others, or in the ritual worship of her Ishta Devata….in fact, everything She does, is in the worship of God…even if it was only to sift the sand where She sat by the backwaters on the jetty, and remove sharp pebbles that could hurt somebody’s foot later. She was particularly loving to animals and deeply respectful of Nature, as though to an actual person, which Nature really is, a very BIG PERSON, in fact, we can say, the BIGGEST PERSON.

We cannot begin to understand Her way of being, it is in complete harmony with Nature, with Earth Ethics…when we began to take care of Kaiser, Amma’s parent’s dog, it was my beautiful Damayanti Amma who told me how and what oil to put on the festering scabies type of sores on him…by then, She was too old to give the baths to Kaiser who although also old himself, had some determination to remain unbathed, an unannointed.

She has timing, a delicate, sure sense of timing, that just moves into the moment…even now, if one sits by Her, one can feel, that She is not in `another world’ nor `walking down memory lane’ She is in Sakshi Bhava, withdrawn and watching, Out of the two inseparable birds within us, discussed in the Mundakya Upanishad,i She has moved her awareness to the one who is alert, and watching….

2011. Damayanti-Amma has shifted into Sakshi Bhava

It is the grandmothers of this Earth, particularly the Indian Grandmothers, who are leaving us now, who have and know the ways of being, with the Earth and with each other. We will be sorely lost without their ethical guidance which goes far deeper than what we can see or comprehend. The rajasic-ness of energetic youth and adult life, has little reflection, little time to develop wisdom…we need those who have.

And my Param Guru, my Damayanti Amma is not an unconnected phenomenon. She became the way She is, from my Param Param Guru, Her Mother, the great Shakti, Karutha-kunya, who was a legend in her own time, the village vaidya, midwife, advisor, and shining example of every ethical quality of one who bows to the ideal of truth. She was a full blown blossom of all the qualities seen in Maha-Lakshmi, the indwelling ideal of the wife in the grihasta ashrama (Householder or family pattern). It was my Param Param Guru, Karutha-kunya, who instilled in Damayanti Amma, the great tradition of Pati-Vrata, the vow unto the Truth in Her husband, Sugunanandan Acchan. This vow, makes one like the Earth….patient, all bearing and fruitful.

And who did my Param Param Guru come from? That we don’t even know now. Although there are some who do… Its a great loss to future generations, who will and are turning wearily back to older sources in their desperate need to gain a vision of the ideal. There is much we can learn from Damayanti Amma’s stainless life. Damayanti Amma and Holy Mother Amma’s faces are stamped with the beauty and grace of Karutha- kunya.

Damayanti Amma lives in constant meditiation, what Holy Mother Amma has said is real meditation: the constant, loving remembrance of God.

When we left Amritapuri on August 15, to come to Sweden for Link’s studies, as Holy Mother advised, I was crying to leave Damayanti Amma, and She laughed…so, then, I hoped all was OK, that I would see Her again…., then I had a dream….in it, she fell, I saw Her, cradled Her in my arms, and heard the little humming sound that She is wont to make these days…and I can’t say the rest….upon waking, I told Link, and we immediately tried to get in touch with Amma’s little Brother and his wife, Maneesha, to learn if She was OK….She is Fine, we were told….this was before Holy Mother Amma’s birthday celebrations…

I feel very sad when I meet people who do not even want to meet Damayanti-Amma.

The only way to understand, anyone’s life and context is to open the eye of Wisdom, with the key of Love. Anyone who wants to understand Amma’s parents, has only to see them from `the eyes of the Guru’…its all around something that everyone in the family holds aloft together: the ideals of Truth and Love and the integrity of the family in honouring Truth and keeping Love alive…..its not like consumer-based societies, where everyone lives, as an individual in the group, concerned first with their rights, last with their duties to one another.

Some have told me that my Param Guru didn’t talk much, or spend time explaining things. She had 13 children! Who has time to talk and coddle with that much work to do? And when you are in a constant, dynamic relationship with the BIGGEST PERSON? I see parents now, both - two, who can’t even deal with one child, they seem to need a `break’ every few hours. There was no thought of `break’ or `vacation’ from the duties of family life in Damayanti Amma, nor is there in any true parent. And by that I mean a parent who is true to the relationship that life gives the parent, and that life, is the one who is present in the child….its an inner pact, between parent, particularly, mother, and child.

Through her Family, Holy Mother Amma has shown the world many gifts to offer to the re-stabilization of society: living examples of the ethical relations in childhood, later between husband and wife, between parents and children, between families and communities…

I encourage you all, who are concerned about truth, to go an meet our Param Guru - Damayanti Amma, while as yet you can sit in Her Holy Presence, and bask in Her Great Inner Peace that she showers on everyone who comes to see her.

Loving you,
Aunty Kamala, Anni and Link