Category: Festivals
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Dancing celebration
Amritapuri, Israel, Ooty & California Merge in Devotion 27 September 2006 — Amritapuri It seems Bala Bhaskar’s Indo-rock fusion ensemble that performed on the eve of Amma’s birthday was a harbinger of things to come. In the final hours of Amma’s birthday celebreations, music and dance from several lands merged together like a confluence of…
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Icing on the cake: Amma in the kitchen
3:00 a.m., 27 September 2006 — Amritapuri In the wee hours of Amma’s birthday, Amma paid a visit to the kitchen, where hundreds of devotees had been busy for hours, preparing the rice, sambar and curries needed for the next day’s meals. On Amma’s birthday the Ashram feeds everyone without charge—anna-danam. With the potential of…
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Eve of the Birthday
3 a.m. 27 September 2006 — Amritapuri After finishing darshan at about 5:30 pm, Amma briefly returned to her room, and then came out for bhajans at 7:00. The hall was filled to the brim with devotees who had come to celebrate Amma’s Birthday. After bhajans, Amma then returned to her room again, and the…
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Birthday buzz starting in Amritapuri
25 September 2006 — Amritapuri There is a buzz that starts in Amritapuri around the time of Amma’s birthday. It starts about a week prior to the actual date, increasing in intensity until the day finally arrives. Each day more and more devotees from all over India and abroad have been arriving in Amritapuri. The…
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Navaratri begins today
23 September 2006 — Amritapuri Navaratri began today, is celebrated all over India with great devotion and enthusisam. For the next three days, the Divine Mother will be worshipped in the form of Durga. Then, for three days, as Lakshmi. And for the final three days, as Saraswati. The 10th day of the festival is…
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Amma’s 53rd Birthday Celebrations in Amritapuri
20 September 2006 — Amritapuri Amma’s 53rd birthday will be celebrated at the Amritapuri Ashram on September 27th. All of Amma’s children from around the world are of course invited to come. In fact, 30 to 40 thousands people—from all over India and abroad—are expected to make the pilgrimage. For Amma, the day holds no…
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Everyone lives as one
“maaveli naadu vaaneedum kaalam maanusherellaavarum onnupole” The time when Mahabali ruled the country, All of mankind lived as one. Each Onam {news}, Keralites throughout the world sing these words. Amma says that the meaning is not that everyone was equal in terms of money or capabilities, but that society functioned with the harmony that comes…
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Krishna Jayanti celebrations at Amritapuri
September 14-15, 2006 — Amritapuri Amma, the ashram residents and a couple thousand visiting devotees celebrated the birth of Sri Krishna all day today. The celebrations began in the morning with a go-puja, then continued with a village procession of little Krishnas, gopis and gopas. Next the children played uriyadi, the traditional pot-breaking game, as…
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Vrindavan in Amritapuri
Krishna Jayanti Celebrations – Part One 14 September 2006 — Amritapuri For most people, celebrating is something looked forward to. Five or six days a week one works (jobs being the opposite of celebration) dreaming of quitting time, of the weekend, the seaside vacation, the religious holiday. With Amma, life is different. There is no…
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Govinda gokul ayo!
15 September 2006 — Amritapuri You will not find a more ecstatic bhajan than the one that takes place just after midnight in Amritapuri on Krishna Jayanti. These are not the heart-wrenching bhajans of separation, but happiness itself set to music. The melodies themselves burst at the seams with the gusto with which they are…