7 Sep 2014, Amritapuri
The Ganesh festival comes to an end with Ganesh Visarjan. The idol of Ganesha which was kept in front of Kalari on the day of Ganesh Chaturthy was taken in a procession to the sea this evening. Chanting bhajans and cheering “Ganapati Bapa Moriya” devotees carried the idol to the sea and immersed it there.
All the names and forms – they are impermanent, focus on the changeless behind all names and forms is the principle of this Ganesha festival.
7 September 2014, Amritapuri, Onam Celebrations
“There are things that awaken enthusiasm and freshness whenever we think about or experience them,” Amma remarked in her Onam address this morning. This is certainly true about the annual Onam festival in Amritapuri. People from all over Kerala, India and abroad returned to their spiritual home, Amritapuri, to spend the harvest festival day in Amma’s presence, and the bhajan hall spilled over from all sides as people gathered for Amma’s morning program. Every one was seen wearing new set of dress especially teenagers in saris and dhotis.
Amma began the day with an address reminding everyone of the eternal spiritual values Onam signifies, and the importance of keeping those values alive in our daily life. Afterwards Amma led a series of bhajans, ultimately asking the devotees to stand up, forget all their sorrows and dance blissfully, imagining they were dancing with their own beloved form of the Lord. After prayer and visualization for world peace, Amma gave darshan for some time and then served a traditional Onam meal as prasad to each and every person in the hall. The serving alone took more than two hours. Amma did not forget to serve the ashram resident with the biggest appetite – Lakshmi the elephant.
Every day, for the last 10 days, the portico in front of Amma house was decorated with different designs of flower mandala (pookkalam). Today when she came to the stage for the celebration, she bowed down to the pookkalam, which was the image of baby Sri Krishna.
Later Amma returned to lead the evening bhajans, which were immediately followed by a series of cultural programs by students of Amrita University and Amrita Vidyalayam, as well as a percussion-driven performance by Amma’s western children, calling to mind the rhythm and joy of a service-oriented life. To conclude Amma sang three bhajans – Deena nathe deena vatsale, Nishayute neerava neelimayil and a new fast one Guvadi vaani sunlo, reminding us to follow the words of Great Masters.
Everyone went to bed with full bellies and full hearts, inspired and rejuvenated.
– Kannadi
7 September 2014 — Amritapuri Ashram
Extracted from Amma’s Onam satsang.
There are certain things in life towards which attraction never ends. These are the good things that awaken enthusiasm and freshness whenever we think about or experience them. For example, the sea. No matter how many times we look at the sea, we never feel it’s enough. There is an aspect of eternity in the sea. It’s the same with the sky. The bonds we feel with the place where we were born and towards Nature in general are also like this. We always see newness in them. It’s the same with the bond and attraction we feel towards Onam.
There is something in Onam that touches and awakens goodness and happiness in us. For a Malayali*, the mere thought of Onam awakens enthusiasm and feelings of celebration. Maybe we feel this attraction because of how intertwined Onam is with our eternal culture and Nature itself.
Certain aspects of Onam are unique. It is a chain that links together the past, the present and the future. We celebrate Onam to remember the good times that have been lost to antiquity—memories of an age when prosperity, equality and brotherhood prevailed. Onam also awakens expectations for the return of such an age in the future. Onam belongs to the present as well because when we celebrate it we forget everything and live in the here and now.
At the same time, Onam is not just an occasion to celebrate and enjoy. It’s also an occasion to remind us of the importance of certain values: the importance of sharing, of protecting Nature, of humility and self-sacrifice, the importance of surrendering ourselves to God, the importance of being charitable and of performing our actions in a spirit of yajna. These are some of what Onam teaches us. In fact, questions like “Did Mahabali really exist?” and “Was there even a Kerala in Mahabali’s time?” are not that relevant. The important things are the values and teachings that Onam conveys. Our celebration of Onam will only truly become meaningful when we put in effort to firmly imbibe these values in our life.
In our country, festivals are not mere occasions for celebrating and enjoying. They are means to help us transform every aspect of our personal and social lives into things that will advance us towards Self-realization. More than being for our enjoyment, their aim is to help us spread dharma, values and the remembrance of God in society. It’s painful for Amma when she sees how far people are straying from this goal. Worse yet, the tendency to use festivals like Onam as mere occasions to drink and make merry is increasing every year.
Even though Mahabali was a very good person, he had some shortcomings. His attitude was, “I’m a great emperor. I’m the ruler of the three worlds. No one does as much good as I do.” In reality, we do not have any power of our own. Mahabali did not understand that it is only because of divine grace that we are able to accomplish anything. Vamana asked Mahabali for three feet of land. Mahabali replied, “I’m the owner of the three worlds. Don’t ask me for such trivial things. Ask for anything, and it will be given to you.” This is the attitude many develop when they start gaining fame, position and prosperity in life. It’s not enough if we perform good actions; we have to do so humbly, without ego. Remember, even Olympic champions have to lower their heads when standing on the podium to receive their medals.
When someone writes a great book, can the pen claim any greatness? If a judge sentences someone to be hanged, is the pen responsible for the verdict? No, the pen is just an instrument. We should be aware that, similarly, we are all just instruments in God’s hands.
The Onam festival is an expression of unity. When everyone comes together to draw and decorate the pookkalams, to cook the feast, to take part in the Onam dances and games, all differences fade away. Unity is the pillar of progress and harmony in society. It is not enough if we are united on Onam. We need to be able to abide in such ideals throughout our lives. But what we see in today’s society is only selfishness and self-imposed segregation.
Onam is also a celebration that reminds us of our dharma towards Mother Nature. Not so long ago, the Onam pookkalams were decorated with so many varieties of flowers. Thumba, thechi, mandaram, hibiscus, jasmine and many other varieties of flowers could easily be found around many of the houses. But in recent times flowers are seen less and less. As such, we see people using colored powder, coconut flakes and sawdust to color their pookkalams. Soon, we may even see pookkalams made of plastic flowers. These may be colorful, but they will lack the beauty and fragrance of real flowers. In olden times, nearly every house had a swing. Now the tree on which the swing was tied has disappeared. Today, in order to sit on a swing, children have to go to a park. To prevent such situations, we have to put in dedicated effort with the spirit of unity.
Let us try our best and leave the rest to God’s will.
—-
* Malayali – One who speaks Malayalam, the language of Kerala state.
Attappady, 27 Aug 2014
Computer and tailoring classes in progress for the tribals as part of the women empowerment program in Attappady, Kerala.
The first Simultaneous Pancreas Kidney {SPK} transplantation in the state was done at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences on the 17th of August 2014. This is the 3rd such successful surgery in India.
The recipient is a 31 year old Engineer hailing from Palakkad. He has had Type 1 Diabetes for the past 16 years and had developed diabetic retinopathy, diabetic nephropathy and end stage renal failure over the past two years. Despite using an insulin pump he had recurrent episodes of low blood sugar on a daily basis which was preventing him from effectively doing his work. Following the surgery his blood sugars are normal on a normal diet and his diabetes has been cured. The Kidney function has also normalized.
This combined procedure of transplanting both the Kidney & Pancreas in a single surgical operation is particularly effective for patients who have Type 1 Diabetes and chronic renal failure. If the kidney alone is transplanted and the Diabetes is poorly controlled, then even the transplanted kidney will slowly be affected by the high blood sugar levels. The main advantage of this combined transplantation is improvement in quality of life and freedom from diabetes related complications and dialysis. This also avoids frequent blood sugar testing and occurrence of life threatening hypoglycemia’s.
This technically complex surgery was made possible by excellent team work by a multi disciplinary team involving Transplant Surgery, Nephrology, Urology, Endocrinology and Anaesthesia & Critical care. Able assisatnce was provided by the Nursing Survives and other supporting departments
This transplantation was made possible by a selfless act by the family of a 38 year old brain dead patient in Kochi.
Two PreMed students from the USA chose to spend part of their summer break doing a rural internship project organised by Amrita University. Roshan Nair (Siena College, New York) and Divya Ramachandran (Loyola University, Illinois) spent 3 weeks, from mid July 2014, learning about the problems of alcohol addiction in Kerala. The students set a list of objectives and created a Powerpoint presentation on the dangers of alcohol addiction before setting out. They visited Njaarackal, Kalpetta, Mananthavaady and Pulpally areas to learn how the coastal and the tribal people are affected by alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. The team explained about all this with the help of some videos.
Together they all pledged not to use alcohol and quit smoking.
“It was shocking to see that even students in first standard are aware of most issues dealing with alcohol, because they see it daily in their own family and around” says Divya.
“At the end of each class period, the children understood that they could trust us, so many of the students spoke to us freely about their family problems. I was extremely moved by all of the stories that I heard: each one left a deep impression on me while constantly reminding me that the topics we were discussing were the harsh realities that these children faced each day” said Roshan.
Reflecting on her experience, Roshan Nair related, “In the past three weeks, I feel that I have learned more about life, the world, and myself, than I have in the past two years at college. I was able to experience and understand the pain and misery of the underprivileged tribal people who are addicted to alcohol and tobacco. Additionally, I saw on a daily basis, how these substances have torn families apart and destroyed their peace. In retrospect, I feel that perhaps Amma directed us to do this project to identify with their pain and understand how deeply rooted these problems are in their society. I am inexpressibly grateful to Amma for this invaluable opportunity.”
– Dass
AmmaChimes Amma Says
