Timeless Amritapuri

Finally, after a five year interim, this child of Amma returned home yesterday morning to the sacred grounds of Amritapuri Ashram. The immediate familiarity and warmth particular to this holy place made it seem as if those five years had never happened, as if he had never left. It is this quality of timelessness that lets one knows one has arrived home.

Of course, there have been a few superficial changes, such as in the addition or subtraction of various buildings and structures. There’s the 18 story residential tower on the site of the former kitchen; the massive temple hall which has grown out of the former dining area, which is where Amma now holds Devi Bhava Darshan; and then there’s the conspicuous absence of a single thatched swami hut!

There have also been a few minor new rules introduced, in response to the growing number of both devotees and residents. For instance, the men and women are more segregated now, which is necessary for a spiritual institution with thousands of residents. There are also more charitable, educational and medical projects, which means more seva, more devotees and brahmacharins, more of just about everything. The overriding first impression upon my return is of just how BIG everything has gotten, reflecting the expansion of Amma’s worldwide mission.

Also, there is the faint scent of a certain elephant in the air, another big addition.

But, with all of the changes and developments over these few years, there is one thing that has significantly remained constant: That sense of timelessness. Of familiarity. Of knowing one has somehow arrived home in more than just the physical sense. There is a quality about Amritapuri which is difficult to describe to one who has not visited. Something deep within us responds to the atmosphere here, recognizing its naturalness and its luminous warmth, and that something within us begins to remember another something....

The sages, including Amma, would tell us that something which we are beginning to remember is our very own Self.

It is all of this and more which contributes to the growing popularity of Amritapuri as a destination for true spiritual seekers, and why I, personally, return as often as possible and hope to live here permanently one day. There is such a high level of sincerity in everything performed, a deep reverence in every action, that each moment here feels saturated with attention and love.

Such devotion surrounding Amma has created an atmosphere that begins to give one a glimpse of what true dharmic living is like, an example the present day world sorely needs. One feels as though one is finally amidst one’s true family, a microcosm of that ideal human family we all belong to. It is a sampling of one of Amma’s central teachings put into practice, that we are all children of God and should love and serve one another as such. Anywhere else in this modern world and this would sound like an unattainable dream, but here it is a dream made manifest. Here you will meet fellow sadhaks (spiritual aspirants) with a certain special light in their eyes, and a certain unmistakable integrity and strength in their actions, which will reassure you of the eternal truth and value of spiritual practice. And it is testimony to Amma’s greatness as a spiritual Teacher, for as Christ has said, "You shall know a tree by its fruits."

Regardless of how big it all becomes, for me walking through the Ashram gate always feels as if I am walking directly into open arms, which is appropriate since it is headquarters to Her with the most open arms of all, and reminds one of Amma’s saying that the Ashram is also an extension of the Guru’s body. In each one’s own time we are able to feel that constant embrace here, and gradually we come to learn that it is the direct touch of the Divine.

And this change that takes place within one’s own awareness is probably the biggest change of all.

15 Aug 2003
@Amma's Feet, sucetas mon