Category: Festivals

Dwajarohanam 24 September 2003 Swami Vishvesha Tirtha and Amma Shortly after dawn on the first day of Amritavarsham50, the drums and cymbals of Shri. Mattanur Shankaran’s thayambaka performance began to beckon devotees from Amriteshwari Hall for the flag-raising ceremony, or Dwajarohanam. After Swami Amritaswarupananda made the surprise announcement that Amma Herself would attend the event,…

Embracing the World: Images & Sayings of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi 24 September 2003 Embracing the World One of the many books released by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math during the Amritavarsham50 Celebrations was Embracing the World: Images & Sayings of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. The simplicity and the beauty of this book has to be…

Amritavarsham50 Souvenir: A Collector’s Item 24 September 2003 Amritavarsham50 Souvenir How does one condense half a century of boundless love, compassion and service into a publication? The Amritavarsham50 Commemorative Souvenir is a tribute to Amma’s divine guidance to humanity over the years. Released during the first day of the Amritavarsham50 Celebrations, the souvenir is a…

Acharya Vandanam: Worshipping the Spiritual Teachers 24 September 2003 Applying sandal paste and kumkum In Sanskrit, acharya means “teacher” and vandanam means “salutations.” So Acharya Vandanam is “worshipping, or offering salutations to, the teachers.” The first day of Amritavarsham50 witnessed a traditional ceremony wherein more than 150 sannyasins and sannyasinis (men and women Hindu monastics)…

Colours of Compassion: 125 Paintings Inspired by Amma & Her Life of Love, Compassion and Selfless Service On 15 May, 2003, renowned Kerala painter Sri. Punchithaya formally started off Colours of Compassion, an Ashram project to collect paintings inspired by Amma’s life, mission and teachings from artists throughout India and the world. The idea was…

24 September 2003 Sri Durgaswami, from Vellore, Tamil Nadu, was one of more than 150 sannyasins honoured in Amritavarsham50‘s Acharya Vandanam Puja on 24 September. “There are flowers for incense, flowers for puja and flowers for medicine… but this flower is chosen by God.” —Sri Durgaswami What is Amma to you? “Amma is the smile,…

Ganapati Homa – Opening-Day Puja to Remove Obstacles 24 September 2003 The Ashram’s pujaris perform the Ganapati Homa In India it is customary for important events to start with a prayer to Shri Ganesha, as the elephant-faced god is considered the remover of obstacles. At the beginning of Amritavarsham50, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math’s pujaris performed…

Participating Artists Colours of Compassion featured more than 125 paintings, including 52 by Indian State Award winners and 20 by Indian National Award winners. There were also works by renowned artists from Japan, Bahrain, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Spain, Italy and the United States. Anil N.S. Pattar Shalima Sajitha A Peter Lewis Ravi Shanker Nandan U.…

Divinity in Form & Colour: India’s Artistic Tradition In ancient India, science and art were twins, both in search of the Godhead in human beings. One was the way of the intellect, the other, of the heart. The first was guided by logic, the latter by intuition. Shri. Jaya Palapanicker’s “Colours of Compassion” painting Of…

10,000 Perform Archana to Open Amritavarsham50 24 September 2003 Chanting the Lalita Sahasranama At 5:00 a.m. on 24 September, Amritavarsham50 opened in the main pavilion, Amriteswari Hall. More than 10,000 devotees were in attendance to take part in the morning prayers. The Mata Amritanandamayi Math’s Swami Amritageetananda performed the traditional arati, waving a burning camphor…