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Sthala Purana

Pune’s Lord of Knowledge

Sthala Puranas of Bharat Alandi, a town 25 kilometres from Pune, in the Pune District of Maharashtra, is a revered pilgrimage site for a number of reasons, but foremost is the fact of it being the home of the 13th-century Maharashtran saint, Sant Jnaneshwar (Jnanadev). In fact, Jnanadev spent most of his short life (1275-1296 […]

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Sthala Purana

Mumba Devi reclaims Bombay

Sthala Puranas of Bharat In the mid-1990s, many state governments officially re-Indianized their citie’s names. In 1995, the capital of Maharashtra officially switched from Bombay to Mumbai, thereby re-invoking a goddess considered by the Koli1 to be the area’s protectress. (The name “Mumbai” comes from a mix of mumba and ai, both of which mean […]

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Around Amma Health Care

Darshan through train window

16 March 2000, Lucknow It was on the train line between New Delhi and Calcutta, sometime in the middle of the night. The Rajdhani Express pulled into the station at Lucknow, and chanting rose from the platform: “Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha!” the voices called out. “Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha!” Devotees were there, yearning for at least a […]

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Festivals Holi

Holi, the Festival of Colours, Joy and Renewal

Holi was Krishna and the gopi’s celebration of Love. This teasing, affectionate panorama of feeling and colour has been captured

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Sadhana Satsang

Bhajans are to awaken the real light within

Question: Amma, you seem to be giving more importance to bhakti (devotion) than to any other path. Why is this so? Amma: When you say bhakti, do you mean just repeating a mantra and singing devotional songs? That alone is not bhakti. True devotion is discriminating between the eternal and the ephemeral. It is to […]