Category: Festivals
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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…
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The birth of Sri Krishna
Krishna Jayanti Celebrations, Part Two 14-15 September 2006 — Amritapuri “It is not death, but immortality and bliss that life is all about,” Amma began her Krishna Jayanti message. “This is what the life and birth of Sri Krishna teaches us. Sri Krishna faced an immense number of difficult situations in his life—many more than…
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Forget all differences and make life joyful
Amma Celebrates Tiru Onam 5 September 2006 — Amritapuri “All of you know stories about Onam and Mahabali {story}. There is no point in repeating them. But there is an important message behind the Onam celebrations,” Amma told the 10,000-plus devotees who’d come to Amritapuri in order to celebrate Tiru Onam. Amma then explained how…
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Ganapati bapa moriya
Amritapuri, 2 September 2006 Hundreds of Ashramites, students, and villagers gathered in the courtyard in front of the Main Temple at four this afternoon to participate in the final celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi {news} – Ganesha Visarjan, or the immersion of Ganesh in the ocean. On one side of the courtyard, the Ashram elephants Ram…
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Everyday a celebration
Amritapuri, 1 September 2006 During the past few days, the Ashram has been buzzing with celebrations surrounding Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam. While each morning has seen a new Pookkalam (flower design) created for Onam by students of Amrita University, the evenings have been resounding with bhajans being sung at the Kalari in honor of Ganesh.…
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Diminishing distances
Guru Purnima in Amritapuri 10 July 2006, Amritapuri For many years now, residents of Amritapuri have been celebrating Guru Purnima in the Guru’s physical absence. This is because Amma is usually in the U.S. during that time of the year. Amma usually calls though, and hearing Her soulful voice is the day’s highlight for ashram…