Meditation Archives - Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Transform our life into Siva: Amma’s message on Shivaratri

13 February 2018 — Amritapuri Ashram

Shivaratri was celebrated at the Ashram with great enthusiasm. Chanting of Rudram & Chamakam, Mrutyunjaya and Panchakshara were happening in the Kalari from the morning. The whole night devotees where chanting “Om Namah Shivaya.”
In the regular evening bhajans, Amma had a special set of Siva bhajans.

At 10.30 pm Amma joined the session again with a new set of Shiva bhajans. Addressing the devotees Amma said: “Among all the God concepts of Sanatana Dharma, perhaps the most astonishing one is of Lord Siva. Although his role is as the destroyer, he is considered as the embodiment of auspiciousness. He is a sannyasi who uses a skull as a begging bowl, and yet he has a family and is regarded as the father of the universe. He lives in the cemetery. His body is smeared with ashes. Deadly serpents adorn his arms and neck. At times he sports a tiger skin; at times he is a Digambara — a naked ascetic who wears only the sky as his garment; at times a hunter and at times a scavenger (Chandala). Yet, he is the epitome of all knowledge—the source of all arts and sciences. He is the Adiguru — the first guru.

“Although a householder, he is the Guru to all ascetics and Sannyasis. Gratified with minimal spiritual asceticism on the part of the seeker, he confers his blessing on everyone alike, with no distinction of low or high.

“Shivaratri is set aside for his remembrance—the Supreme Lord Siva. We should pay attention to two converse sides of Siva. One side, we see him seated in deep meditation and pure abidance in samadhi. The other side we see the Lord’s active dance of destruction—the Tandava.
“We see the pictures of Lord Siva in both these moods. This gives us the message of how one can unify action and meditation. Siva wears the crescent moon on his head. When the full moon diminishes, disappears and then grows back again, we call it a month. Hence, the crescent moon on Lord Siva’s head represents time. Time, however, is a creation of our mind. From this perspective, the moon waning as Sivaratri approaches is a symbol of the destruction of the mind. When the mind is completely dissolved, Self-knowledge dawns and the realisation “Shivoham” – I am Siva – Shivoham transforms our life into Siva. Along with the worship of Lord Siva, may we be able to assimilate the message of the Lord in our hearts. Let us try to emulate the model He has shown us. May the festival of Sivaratri inspire us to rise from wrong to right, from unrighteous to righteous and from ignorance to knowledge.”
With the prayers and blessing “May grace protect all my children” Amma concluded.

All of you are my angels : Amma

15 December 2014 – Amritapuri Ashram
The following dialogue took place between Amma and a visitor in Amritapuri during a seashore meditation and question-and-answer session.

Question: Amma, I have heard and read many things about angels. Can you tell me about them?

Amma: For Amma, all of you are my angels.
There is an angel in everyone. In Amma’s view, when we do good actions for the welfare of others—that is what gives birth to, or invokes, an angel. The good actions we perform transform us into a vessel capable of receiving God’s grace. So, you can say these actions come back to us as angels. Or you can say, these good actions are like a friend, or an umbrella, that protects us as we walk through life. This is my perspective. When we look into a mirror and smile, the mirror smiles back—doesn’t it? When we scowl into a mirror, that anger reflects back at us as well. Remember, whatever we do in life comes back to us.

IAM in Halkida

23 – 25 Sep 2011, Greece

IAM course was held in a retreat center at Sunshine House in Halkida, one hour distance from Athens.

Mantra japa and Ma-Om

9 Feb 2010, Amritapuri

ma-om-meditation

A beautiful blue-green sea and a sunny evening turned became the backdrop for another cherished session with Amma. Amma sat below a coconut tree on the Ayurveda beach grounds. After leading a short meditation, Amma answered a question asked by a brahmachari.

Question: What is the difference in practicing Mantra Japa and in practicing Ma-Om technique as Sadhana (spiritual practice)?

Amma responded, “All these practices are for us to go deep within us. God and Guru are within us. But the mind sees the gross and we don’t seem to realize the Truth. Amma remembers a story of a crow from her school days. A thirsty crow comes across a pitcher with the water within too low for it to reach. Out of his urge to quench his thirst, the crow keeps on dropping stones into the pitcher till the water level rises and it can drink. Because of the thirst, the crow made an effort. In the same way, we need to put in effort to bring out the knowledge within us. Through our self-effort and with alertness, we can bring out the Knowledge within us.”

crow

“In today’s world, people pretend to sleep. One can’t wake them. In the same way, we are not yet ready to wake up. In fact, the disciple has to open the door so that the Master can enter,” Amma explained.

Amma went on to point out, “Our mind pulls us in all directions. Through the Mantra one tries to focus the mind and through that we gain energy. Like a magnifying glass causes the rays of the sun to converge at a point to such an intensity that it can produce fire. Through spiritual practices, one can save a lot of energy and use the same to do good for the world. If a normal person can be compared to a light bulb, a tapasvi (a serious sadhak) is like a transformer. He can do a lot of good for the world.”

Amma remembers a lawyer who used to have a habit of clicking the pen while arguing a case. The constant clicking used to help him relieve tension and he was able to focus and thereby won several cases. One day he forgot the pen and his mental tension got the better of him, his argument was pathetic and he lost the case. The insignificant pen was helpful in easing his tensions. It may sound irrational. But it had practical value. Similarly these spiritual practices help us to ease the mind.

“People talk of Pranayama and say training in rapid control of breath is good for concentration. If rapid breathing gives concentration, all asthma patients would have attained Self-Realization,” Amma joked.

She continued, “We need to do practices with knowledge and awareness.” Amma also explained how the Ma-Om meditation was discovered. When she was small, she used to walk on the beach. The ebb and tide of the waves sounded like Ma and Om to Amma. Ma-Om became like the breath, continuous and automatic. Thus, every step on the beach was meditation.

Indicating that there is no point in changing the type of practices, Amma pointed out how impatient we are. “People are so impatient. They jump into sudden conclusions. A bird was sitting in a harbor and wanted to go to the other side. It saw a ship and thinking that the ship will take it to the other side of the harbor, flew to the mast and perched on it. The ship started on its course and in some time was far out in the sea. As time passed, the bird got impatient and started flying in the north hoping to reach land. After a time it got tired and flew back. Later it tried flying south. It had to come back, it was getting exhausted. The bird then tried east and west and seeing no land had to return back to the ship each time. Only when the ship neared the other harbor, could the bird see land, and shortly thereafter they reached the shore. If the bird had been patient, it would have anyways reached the land with the ship without flying hither and thither.

Amma concluded by explaining, “Likewise, true happiness is already within us. Be steadfast in your practice. Practice regularly. When the awareness grows, we will merge into that reality, that happiness within us.”

–Sakshi

Photos at Amritapuri July-August updated on 28

August 2009

Photos at Amritapuri in the month of August 2009:

The new open area behind the E-building; Amma at the beach; Amma with Damayanti Amma…

July 2009

Photos at Amritapuri in the month of July 2009:

Amma arriving at the ashram after her US tour; Amma at the beach with her disciples and devotees…

Give Peace A Chance

5th European Youth Exchange
19 – 26 July 2009, M.A. Center, Germany

From 19th to 26th July 2009 young people from all over Europe flocked to the M.A. Center Germany to participate in the 5th annual European Youth Exchange. “Give Peace a Chance” was the theme of the week, which for the third time was generously funded by the EU’s “Youth in Action” programme. The event was also registered as part of the “Worldwide March for Peace and Non-violence.”

Br. Shubamrita Chaitanya and Bri. Dipamrita Chaitanya presided over the retreat. Through their witty and lively talks they provided the youth with spiritual insight as well as concrete, practical solutions to bring about peace in various fields of life. Every day a different theme was discussed: Peace with Yourself, Peace in Relationships, Peace with Strange People, Peace amongst Religions and Peace with Nature.

ayudh-all

Daily question & answer sessions gave the participants the opportunity to go deeper into each of the topics and clear their doubts. Matthias Lehmann, former national committee vice president of AIESEC, the world’s largest student organization, in Hungary also addressed the youngsters.

Each day started with a prayer and meditation for world peace. In the evenings all assembled to sing bhajans and pray for peace. Every country group also prepared a song, sometimes in their own language, and presented it to the rest of the group. Throughout the week one could see and hear young people singing and playing music everywhere.
Since the first European Youth Exchange in 2005, AYUDH groups have sprung up in most European countries. During the first three days of the conference these groups presented their recent projects and achievements. It was very inspiring to see the incredibly wide range of activities and efforts they had made to put Amma’s teaching of love and service into practice.

Projects ranged from visiting care homes for the elderly to outings with handicapped people, organic gardening to large-scale bee-keeping, waffle baking to charity dinners in order to support the charities of M.A.M. In the latter part of the week the participants worked on developing new projects and activities in their respective countries.

In the afternoons the youth had a wide range of workshops to choose from, according to their personal interests. These included Environmental Protection, Personal Development, Recycling, Sculpting, Acting, Dance, Bhajans, Tai Chi, Volting, Yoga and Meditation.
One of the highlights of the week was the planting of a peace tree on the compound of the M.A. Center. Everyone joined in the chanting of the peace prayer ” Om Lokah samastah sukhino bhavantuh – May all beings everywhere be peaceful and happy” while the participants blessed the tree with sacred water, soil and flower petals.
In their free time the participants had the opportunity to deepen their connection with youth from other countries, cultures, and backgrounds. Leisure activities included ice-breaker-games, a picnic in nature and a bonfire, which was accompanied by music and cheerful singing.

The atmosphere was very joyful and warm. A unique spirit of togetherness prevailed throughout the week. Some of the participants were real “veterans”, they had been coming to M.A. Center Germany since the first Youth Exchange in 2005. However, every year new people join in. It was beautiful to see how everyone was welcomed, newcomers got integrated and everyone opened up to others. Many of the participants mentioned that they felt like being part of a big family, so happy and grateful to share their spiritual interest and sincere desire to work together for a better world with people of their age, which is often not the case in their usual environments.

At the end of the week, the youth reflected on what they had learned in a workshop called “Discipline of Peace”. Using the ancient system of the medicine wheel of the Native Americans the youth formulated powerful statements in respect to each of the topics discussed:
“Inner peace is the key to peace in the outside. We should take time to develop inner peace, in order to be able to share it with the world.”
“Giving in a relationship is the same as giving to yourself, because we all are deeply interconnected.”
“When we look with our heart, we will realize that truly there is no difference between religions. There is only one essence, which all souls long for, this essence is Love.”
“As we are part of Nature, we need to care for her, then She will take care of us. Once we realize our oneness with Nature, we will realize that we have the power to change, to reverse the problems of Nature.”
“To have a personal goal is important, but to have a common goal is even more powerful.”

One of the common goals amongst the youth is the protection and preservation of Mother Nature. Inspired by Amma’s request to start growing organic vegetables the youth decided to launch a new project – “Grow In” – which aims at encouraging young people to grow their own veggies – be it in their gardens or even on their balconies in the city. With this in mind, one of the workshops produced a video-clip, which serves as a step-by-step guide to organic gardening.
As a tradition, the last evening of the week saw a presentation of all the different workshops. Performances ranged from dance to heart stirring songs. A fashion show displayed very colorful items, which had been recycled from trash. Meditative movements of Tai Chi calmed down the audience while the “Acting and Speech-Performance” group made everyone raise their voice to practice public speaking. Applause and cheering knew no ends.

Before departing all participants were given certificates of participation by Mr. Willi Kredel, the Mayor of Brombachtal. In his speech Mr. Kredel remarked that he was very impressed to see so many young people gather to reflect on the topic of peace. Seeing this common, multicultural effort he said that he now had hope that peace does in fact have a chance.
The local media also reported about the programme. The TV station HR reported twice about the event and several newspaper articles were published, one on the front page. It was titled: “The Youth Gives Peace a Chance”.

It is hard to put into words what this week long gathering had meant for many of the participants. “Give Peace a Chance” was much more than just a meeting for theoretical discussion. Rather, it was a week to experience the unity of hearts, beyond the boundaries of nationality, religion or culture, a week to explore the power and impact that a common goal and unified action can have. It was a week that proved that peace does in fact have a chance if only we stand together and dare to try.

–Nath

“May the tree of our life
be firmly rooted in the soil of love,
let good deeds be the leaves on that tree,
may words of kindness form its flowers,
and may peace be its fruits.”
—Amma

Nagano Retreat

20 Oct 2008, Nagano, Japan

Location of the 1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano is a mountainous area that receives large amounts (over 3m!) of snow each winter. This idyllic rural location became the backdrop for this year’s Japan retreat, with Swami Purnamritananda held at the Beech Meadows in the Nabekura Highlands. Despite the remoteness of the location, the retreat was full – even overbooked.

The retreat began with a preliminary program for the children, where Swami Purnamritananda taught them how to play the bamboo flute, and each child received his/her own flute (from India) to take home! Meanwhile, the adults went on a nature walk with Br. Shantamrita, stopping in the middle of the beech forest for meditation.

Atma Puja was performed on the first evening of the retreat. Swamiji guided the retreatants through the steps of the ceremony, where they meditated and offered flower petals to Amma’s Yantra while Swamiji led Amma’s 108 names.

The following morning began with Mahaganapati Homa at sunrise, held in a peaceful grass field surrounded by forest, pampa grass, and a gurgling brook. Everyone commented on how ideal the surroundings were for the ceremony – one could imagine that such places might have been used by the ancient sages, as well. The homa was followed by walking meditation, and eco-meditation in the beech forest. After lunch, the participants reconvened in the main hall for a Q&A session with Swamiji, followed by a meditation class.

At the conclusion of the retreat on the second night, many people were shedding tears, and had to force themselves to go home, in order to attend work the following morning.

The first Nagano Retreat was a grand success, and the unanimous feedback was to hold next year’s retreat in the same location – but this time add an additional day!

– Kusumita

watch photos here

Sw. Ramakrishna visits Brazil and Chile

26th September – 2nd October 2008
Brazil and Chile

Swami Ramakrishnananda ended his tour of South America by visiting 5 cities between the two countries in less than a week’s time. Beginning in one of the biggest cities in the world, Swami held two programs in different parts of Sao Paolo. Both were well attended with the 2nd program, a Puja for peace and prosperity, falling on the auspicious occasion of Amma’s 55th Birthday. At the conclusion of that program the whole crowd joined together in a traditional Portuguese happy birthday song for Amma and Swami distributed birthday cake as prasad to all.

The next program was held in the picturesque city of Rio de Janeiro, which was the site of Amma’s first visit to Brazil.

After Rio, Swami conducted another Puja for peace and prosperity in the quaint town of Araruama, Brazil. Araruama has the calm and tranquility of the Brazilian countryside where Centro Amma (Ashram Centre) of Brazil is located. Devotees from all over Brazil and South America have been able to find refuge in the meditative atmosphere that the center provides.

From Brazil, Swami traveled to Santiago de Chile at the foot of the majestic, snow-capped Andes mountains.

Swami’s first program in coastal town of Concepcion was attended by a very enthusiastic crowd that filled the conference hall of in the Hotel Dorado in the center of town. The following day, the program was held at the B’nai B’rith convention center in Santiago. Swami wrapped up the tour by reminding the devotees in Chile that despite their physical distance that may separate them from Amma until her next visit to their country, “Where there is love there is no distance”, and if they pray to Amma with sincerity, they will always be heard.

– Das

watch the photos

Walking Meditation: See Where It Leads You

Each day you will find the brahmacharis at Amritapuri slowly walking in single file around the perimeter of the bhajan hall. Some have their eyes fixed on the ground, some let malas of rudraksha or rosewood slowly pass through their fingers, others move with their eyes half-closed, clearly focusing on something deep within. All are practicing different forms of walking meditation.

When Amma was a young girl, in order to set an example for others to follow, She would say Her mantra, “Amma’ Amma’ Amma’,” with each step—even going as far as to take a step backward if She ever forgot.

It is also believed that Sri Buddha taught his disciples a form of walking meditation, as in his discourse “Satipatthana Sutta,” he said, “A monk while walking knows “I am walking.'” The walking meditation associated with Lord Buddha involves focusing on the movement of one’s own body to the exclusion of all else, to fully abide in one’s walking.

In essence, both meditations are the same. They are methods of bringing the one-pointedness of meditation into our daily life, methods of cultivating what Amma calls ” bodha” (awareness) and the Buddha called “sati” (mindfulness). After all, we mustn’t limit our spiritual practices to the meditation hall. The point of spiritual life is to come to abide in the sahaja samadhi of Amma —where one perceives God or Brahman pervading everything within and without, eyes opened or closed.

In the beginning it takes a lot of effort to chant the mantra with each step or breath, as Amma did. But if this practice is maintained, eventually the mantra will come on its own accord, without any effort on our part. Amma says the mantra will continue to be chanted, even when we are sleeping. One way to attain this is through associating the mantra with a physical action that we do all the time such as walking or breathing.

Focusing our mind on our physical movements can revolutionise the way we go about our day. Upon practicing this type of meditation many realise a heretofore unnoticed beauty in his or her movements. The experience of walking can become like that of a graceful dance the role of the sole on the ground, the shift in weight from one leg to another. If one concentrates, their entire manner of walking will be transformed perfected, literally from foot to head.

With both of these forms of walking meditation, our thoughts become less and less, and a profound peace ensues. The mind now silenced, we can begin to take in the world through which we are moving with a deep awareness — the trees, the buildings, the clouds, the flowers in the garden, the bees collecting nectar’. We can begin to perceive things about these objects that we’ve never before noticed their uniqueness, their beauty, the mystic perfection with which they’ve been woven and relate to one another. A new world is thus opened up to us. Going even deeper, we can come to experience the underlying unity of all the objects of this creation the pure existence, or ” is-ness,” that is their substratum.

The more awareness we are able to bring to our working day, the deeper our awareness will be when we sit for meditation. This is because we are no longer spending what we’ve worked so hard to earn when we were seated with our eyes closed. In fact, it is just the opposite we are continuing to ” earn” it with eyes open.

We walk all the time. It is something we take for granted. But try “practicing” walking, and see where it leads you.

—Sakshi

Devotees teach meditation in U.S. prison

24 August 2006 — Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Since 2003, devotee Steve Schmidt has been spending his weekends teaching Amma’s IAM Meditation Technique™ {news } to groups of devotees throughout America, mostly in devotees’ houses. Two months ago, however he entered a completely different teaching environment: the Santa Fe Juvenile Detention Home in New Mexico.

“We didn’t really know what to expect,” says Schmidt, a 60-year-old lawyer who has been a close devotee of Amma since 1987. ‘I mean these kids are part of a secured facility. They have all been sentenced by the Federal Court and have the potential to be in the facility until they are 21. But when we walked in the room on the first day, all of them were dressed in sweat pants, sitting in a circle on yoga mats. They looked like they were really ready for it.”

Currently 25 detainees are enrolled in the program. Every week, Schmidt and his teaching mates, Jonathon Crews and Scott Voorhees, spend one hour guiding them through the technique and answering any of their questions.

“It’s exciting to be able to do this,” says Crews, a practicing therapist and long-time devotee of Amma. “These are kids who obviously got off on the wrong track. But as they are still young, they have a much higher capacity for rehabilitation than adult prisoners.”

Schmidt agrees, “I see this as an opportunity to put a positive force in these kids’ lives, an opportunity to make a difference in their lives and to possible turn their lives around. They still have their whole lives ahead of them.”

Two groups of inmates are being taught the technique: the secured wing and the unsecured wing. Schmidt says the average age of the kids taking the class is 17, and that the majority of them are Native Americans.

Schmidt says that the detention-home authorities have been extremely open and cooperative: “The man coordinating this on the detention home’s part told us that he thought the whole thing was very valuable. He told me, ‘They need all the help they can get.'”

Schmidt explains that currently the detainees have extremely regimented schedules in order to keep them busy. “As soon as they wake up, they go to breakfast,” he says. “But the detention-home authorities are considering adjusting and making time for the kids who learn IAM to meditate before they eat.”

Recalling the first session back in June, Schmidt says the effect of the meditation on the kids was palpable. He says, “After we finished with the meditation the second time, there was a quiet that pervaded the whole atmosphere.”

Teaching-mate Crews felt agrees: “Yes, they got so quiet. The first time we chanted ‘Om,’ there was a lot of goofing around and chuckling, but when we chanted it to conclude the class, they were really focused.”

Schmidt says that the juvenile detainees claim improved energy and peace of mind since regularly practicing IAM.

–Kali Charan

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