Amma hugging. Ashram of Embracing Amma. Personal experience. Sample daily routine

"Smiling, Devi became the divine Radiance and merged with Me. My mind blossomed, bathed in the multi-colored Light of divinity, and the events of millions of past years appeared before My inner gaze. From then on, not perceiving anything separate from My own Supreme Essence - the only Unity, and dissolving in the universal Mother, I have renounced all sense of pleasure. The Mother told Me to ask people to fulfill the Destiny of their human birth. Therefore, I proclaim to the whole world the Sublime Truth that She has spoken: “O man, reunite with your supreme Self!”

By her beautiful and selfless acts of love and self-sacrifice, Mata Amritanandamayi, who is affectionately called Amma (Mother) or Ammachi (Mother), aroused the love of Herself in millions of living beings. By tenderly caressing Her “children” who come to Her, holding them to Her heart in a loving embrace, Amma shares boundless love with everyone. Young or old, sick or healthy, rich or poor - everyone who comes to Her receives the same unconditional love.

Born in a poor fishing village in Kerala, South India in 1953, her father made a living selling fish. Her mother said that this child was born not crying like ordinary babies, but with a radiant smile on Her face. She was given the name Sudamani - “Wonderful (“nectarean”) treasure.”

Even when She was still a small child, it was clear that She was unique. At six months She could walk and talk, and by the age of three She was constantly singing. By the age of five, She was composing beautiful, unusual songs and poems filled with deep meaning dedicated to Her beloved Krishna.

Sudamani fascinated and aroused admiration from everyone who was near Her. But as She grew, Her divine states of consciousness, including frequent meditative states, singing and ecstatic dancing on the seashore began to irritate Her family. IN early age five years old, Sudamani has already become the object of cruel abuse. When She was nine years old, Her mother fell ill. Although Sudamani was the brightest student in Her class, She was forced to leave school and take care of Her entire family.

It was a grueling task feeding and clothing seven siblings and caring for the animals. In fact, She became the family's maid, starting work every day before dawn and ending at midnight.

Her job also included collecting food for the family's cows. She wandered through the surrounding villages, collecting grass, and visited neighboring houses, asking about vegetable scraps or leftovers. rice porridge for cows. During these times She saw many things that bothered Her. She saw some people go hungry while others had more than enough. She saw that many people were sick and in intense pain, unable to afford even one painkiller tablet. And She noticed that many elderly people were neglected by their own families, and that they treated these elderly relatives rudely. Her empathy and compassion were so strong that the pain of others was unbearable for Her. Although She was still only a child, She began to explore the issue of suffering. She asked herself: why do people suffer? What is the underlying cause of suffering? And She experienced the presence of God within Her so strongly that She wanted to come and comfort those who were less fortunate than She.

In many ways, Amma's mission began then. She shared Her food with those suffering from hunger, and She washed and clothed elderly people who had no one to care for them. She was punished when She gave food and family belongings to the poor, but Sudamani did not stop performing Her acts of kindness. She took refuge in the solitude of the night, spending many hours in meditation and earnest prayer addressed to Lord Krishna.

During the day She carried His image in the pocket of Her blouse and constantly chanted His names. During Her teenage years, Sudamani was sent to relatives' homes, where She worked intensely for long hours, taking care of their household. While performing any of Her duties, She constantly chanted the name of Krishna and imagined that all the work She did was done for His sake. While sweeping the area around the house, She imagined that He could come at any moment. When She prepared food, She imagined that Krishna would appear as a guest at the table. Because of this, She never resented Her duties or was offended by Her family's insults, but only prayed to give Her more of the Lord's work.

The divine bhavas of the Holy Mother in the form of Krishna and Devi are beyond the reach of human intellect, and yet their thoughtful study allows us to get at least some idea of ​​​​the infinite spiritual power of the Holy Mother. Responding to the sincere call of the devotee, the Perfect Master slowly reveals His infinite properties before the heart of the devotee. When the process of purification becomes intense, the greatness of the Guru, who is nothing less than True Nature disciple or devotee, will gradually be revealed by the Grace of the Teacher. Grace, of course, is the primary condition for beginning to comprehend the meaning of the divine states of consciousness of the Holy Mother.

Amma once said the following about bhavas:

"The mother does not show even endlessly a small part Your spiritual power during bhavas. If this power were manifested in its true strength, no one could come even close!" She continues: "All the deities of the Hindu pantheon, personifying the infinite aspects of the One Supreme Being, also reside within us. The Divine Incarnation (avatar) can manifest any of Them for the benefit of the world through a simple expression of will. Krishna-bhava is the manifestation of Purusha, or the aspect of Pure Being, and Devi-bhava is the manifestation of the Eternal Feminine, the Creator, the active principle of the Impersonal Absolute. There is one mad girl Who dresses in the dress of Krishna, and after some time in the dress of Devi, but They both reside within this crazy girl. However, it should be remembered that all objects with a name or form are just mental projections. Why is the elephant decorated? Why does a lawyer have to wear a black robe, or why does a policeman wear a uniform and cap? It's all just external aids designed to create a certain impression. Similarly, the Mother dresses in the attire of Krishna and Devi to enhance the spirit of devotion of the people who come for darshan. The Atman or Supreme Being that resides within Me also resides within you. If you can realize that Indivisible Principle Which eternally shines within you, you will become That."

Mata Amritanandamayi is one of the prominent Indian women gurus. The ashram she founded is called Amritapuri and is located in Kerala, 110 km away. from the state capital of Trivandrum, near the Kayamkulam railway station. The ashram consists of two sixteen-story towers on the banks of a canal in the middle of rice fields.

The ashram regularly holds services with the chanting of mantras and bhajans (sacred songs). Amma often leads evening bhajans herself. But the main highlight of the program is Amma's darshans, during which she hugs everyone who comes to her for many hours. For this she was nicknamed the “hugging saint.” Amma has many followers from the West and her ashram is open to everyone.

Amma is a saint of our days, a rare opportunity not only to hear about divine love from the lips of a saint or avatar, but also to feel the impact of this divine love manifested on the earthly plane. Amma's life is an outstanding example of bhakti, or love of God. She hugs thousands of people a day and gives living beings inspiration and comfort. The bhajans performed by Amma are the heavenly singing of the Devi herself, the Heavenly Mother.

Video darshan of Amma

Below you can watch a video with Sri Amritanandamayya (size 3.64 Mb).

An ashram is a place imbued with light and enlightenment, where pilgrims gather to meditate and communicate with their spiritual leader, that is, the guru. In addition to the gurus and pilgrims, faithful followers, that is, students, read, monks, constantly live in the ashram, because their way of life is not much different from monasticism. They do not leave the territory, eat exclusively vegetarian food, pray and work for free for the benefit of the ashram. They dress exclusively in modest and white clothes, they are always good-natured and do not express emotions, they read spiritual literature - why not monks. And yes, they don’t have sex either, they are celibate.

Amma Ashram, also called Amritapuri, is the spiritual center of Guru Amma. Amma herself is also called a saint, but for me, brought up on the Christian concepts of this term, it is difficult to consider a still living person a saint; after all, they are canonized after death, traditionally. Or maybe I’m wrong... The Pope is a saint, right? In a word, I have a hard time with the concept of holiness. So I will call Amma Amma, although, compared to the same Pope, she is definitely a saint. (Amma’s photo is not mine, neither is the title photo)



Amma’s story can be read in the same form in a variety of sources, so I won’t repeat it, I’ll give a link to the official website. Here.
Amma is known for two, no, three things: her activities, which are truly impressive; the fact that she is one of the very few female gurus, and probably the only one so famous in the world; and their darshans (blessings). The fact is that Amma spends her days and nights hugging people and thus blessing them. She can hug up to 20 thousand people a day (I Googled it), and in total she has already hugged more than 20 million.


Wonderful woman, put the emphasis wherever you want, and so and so it will be correct. I really wanted to meet her, and also for her to give me a name. They say that Amma, with just one glance at a person, guesses his name, which should not at all coincide with the name on the passport. I really wanted a new, meaningful name, something like “Sujata” or, dare I dream, “Radha”. But, I admit right away, while still planning the trip, I knew that I would not have a new name - because Amma herself was in Australia. Well, okay, but my plane landed in Bangalore, from there we had to go to Cochin for my husband’s business, and the ashram, very conveniently, is located two hundred kilometers from Cochin.
According to the rules of the ashram, you cannot take photographs there, just as you cannot use the telephone, make love, drink, smoke or eat animal food. Quite acceptable rules for a monastery. But if you stick the camera lens out the window, turn off the flash and carefully, unnoticeably, turn off all the squeaks and peaks, then you can, just a little, a couple of frames, for the sake of history... Moreover, there is this:

We lived on the fourteenth floor of the hostel and were lucky to share a room for two. With beds. Typically, pilgrims are accommodated in dormitories with mattresses on the floor and clotheslines stretched over their heads. However, we had ropes. We also had a fifteen-centimeter lizard named Hitler, who very effectively ate mosquitoes in the evenings, we didn’t even have to turn on the mosquito repellent.

All pilgrims were strongly encouraged to work two hours a day. Rogues like us, who came more to gawk than to participate, were herded into the kitchen at seven in the morning to peel and cut buckets of vegetables. By the way (in case anyone gets around to it), the ashram is the safest place in terms of hygiene of all the places I have visited in India. All fruits and vegetables are disinfected, all water is boiled, tables and cutting boards are wiped down with bleach, cutlery and plates are only washed by the person who used them, and perhaps not too thoroughly. However, no one controls whether you go to work or not.
This place is wonderful, quiet and incredibly beautiful. Everyone there is so kind and accommodating that you constantly have to chase away the same thought: “I’m in a sect.” To be honest, I still don’t understand whether it was a sect and where the line is between a spiritual center and a sect. What is the difference? What we read and hear about sects is full of horror and suffering for those who end up there. And the story always begins with good people to help you find peace. Something like that, yes. When do help and spirituality cease to be a blessing and turn into total control over a person? Who knows, raise your hand!?

So what am I talking about? About the Ashram, for sure. I have never been able to estimate how large its territory is. The ashram itself is small, the temple is in the center, nearby are several dormitory buildings, two dining rooms, a darshan hall, a cafe and another cafe, and also a fruit bar with juices and ice cream, a kindergarten, an embankment with benches, and a vegetable garden. And from above you can see several more large buildings - and these are clearly Amma’s buildings. There are universities, schools, a hospital.
Interestingly, this part of India suffered greatly from the 2004 tsunami, then, under the leadership of Amma herself (“mother” in Hindi), the evacuation of people was carried out, and Amma noted that if there was a bridge connecting the island on which the Ashram stands and where quite a few local families live, and the mainland, then the evacuation would have been much faster. I noticed it, allocated money from my fund and built such a bridge. The President of India himself came to wash the bridge, but did not give money for construction. And there was no shame in going.

Island. The ashram stands in the middle of an island stretched along the coast. Accordingly, the view on one side is the ocean, on the other - the river.

May 3rd, 2017

PRACTICAL TIPS

Amritapuri Ashram, Kerala. On the map

Amma gives darshan on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Amma's travel schedule. Dates when Amma will definitely not be in the ashram.
Ashram daily schedule.

You can get to the ashram from the Karunagapalli railway station - a tuk-tuk costs about 200 rupees, from Kayamkulam station - 280 rupees. Immediate big cities Trivandrum and Cochin.

From the station I took a tuk-tuk and rode it to the entrance to the ashram, which is by the ocean. There is another entrance, near the bridge. A bridge over the river connects the ashram to the mainland. If you take a tuk-tuk to the bridge, it will be cheaper, but then you will have to walk across the bridge with your things. Or take a boat for 5-10 rupees.

Upon arrival, it is better to immediately take a coupon with a number for darshan. They will tell you what time it will be. It looks like the time will move to later. I had a ticket for 18, I got in after 21.

After this you need to check in (if you are not staying for one day). The Foreigners Registration Office "International office" is located opposite the entrance to the large Kali temple. It does not work around the clock and with breaks during the day. Fill out the form if you have not filled it out on the website before.

Upon registration, the passport remains in the office until departure. Payment 250 rupees/day upon departure. They give you a printout with the “address” of the room. Ask where this building is. My building was the first entrance of the building. The second entrance belonged to another building. Therefore, the guests did not reach me, they simply slipped through my entrance, which looked like the entrance to an office building. I asked to be accommodated with the Russians, and that’s what they did. The office will issue a memo with the schedule of darshans, bajins, satsangs and rules. Find out what time the tour will take you. This gives better understanding what is happening, the rules and the territory. I had it when I was 15. It was conducted by a wonderful Polish girl who spoke good Russian.
Bed linen is provided around the corner from the International Accommodation office.

Buildings of different heights, from 17 floors and below. If you stay on the upper floor, be prepared to wait for the elevator. The room has either bunk beds or mattresses on the floor. I had two beds. It is better not to take rooms under the roof (top floor). During the day the room heats up so much that no fan can help. As a result, my neighbor and I asked to be moved to another floor.

Drinking water in taps throughout the territory. You need to look for the inscription near the tap “Drinking water”. We had one like this on the first floor.

Garbage can be thrown into “garbage complexes” on the territory - several cans under a canopy, each indicating what kind of garbage it is intended for - food, paper, plastic, etc.

Food. There is a free cafeteria in the large hall. Breakfast 9-10, lunch 13-14, dinner 20-21. They give you thali - rice with different gravies and flatbreads. You can take the plate for the rice there (then wash it and put it back), but it’s better to take your own spoon, otherwise you’ll have to eat with your hands.
Free tea is served at 6am. On the left behind the large hall. You can find a place by the people flocking there.
There are paid Indian and European canteens on site. They are located next to each other. The European one has coffee and cakes. Prices are somewhere from 40 rupees.
There is also a “juice shop” - freshly squeezed juices for 40 rupees and milkshakes for 20 rupees. You can also buy fruits and vegetables here. Coconuts are sold separately.
You can also buy fruits and eat outside the ashram.

On the territory there are several shops, an ATM, a laundry, a cafe with Wi-Fi, a library, an information center, toilets, massage, a doctor, yoga, and an Internet center. And, probably, a lot more, you need to ask. There's even a swimming pool. For swimming you need to wear something similar to a nightgown. Can be bought in the store.

The Seva Center is located on the second floor of the Kali Temple just opposite the stairs. He also works intermittently.

The schedule of trains, buses and routes can be viewed in the blue folder, which lies in a pocket on the wall to the right of information center on the second floor of the Kali temple.

Clothes in the ashram are closed and loose. No tank tops or shorts. Followers wear white clothes.

Photography is prohibited on the ashram premises.

Amma says that her appointment ashrams(centers) - to provide a place where people can “devote all their time and energy to remembrance of God, selfless service and the development of qualities such as love, patience and respect for others.”

Amma's first spiritual center was established in Amritapuri, Kerala, India, on May 6, 1981. Today, Amma groups exist in 33 countries, including the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia and Africa.

At all of Amma's centers, her spiritual children gather every week or every month to practice the spiritual principles based on Amma's teachings, participating in various selfless service projects such as providing food to the poor and helping the needy.

Amritapuri, India

Amritapuri Ashram is main center Indian spiritual and charitable organization Amma "Mata Amritanandamayi Math" (MAM) and international center charitable association Embracing the World. It is also an international community of over 3,000 people. Permanent residents ashram include both monks and family people from India and abroad. Inspired by Amma, they dedicated their lives to achieving the goal of Self-Realization and serving the world. Here in Amritapuri they live near Amma, absorb her teachings embodied in her very life, practice meditation and perform selfless service.

Amritapuri is a place of pilgrimage where people from all over the world flock in search of solace, inspiration and inner world. Every day in ashram Thousands of people arrive to feel Amma's boundless love. Amma works day and night, receiving all the people who come to her, meeting with students and volunteers who carry out numerous charitable projects Embracing the World. Every evening Amma sings spiritual chants and prays with everyone. Amma meditates several times a week with all the residents ashram, and also conducts spiritual conversations in the form of questions and answers. Public days darshana– Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday.

"Children, this ashram exists for the whole world, it belongs to you - to all the people who come here” (Amma).

How to get to Amritapuri

By Air: The nearest airports are Trivandrum (110 km south of Amritapuri) and Cochin (140 km north).

If you are arriving by train or bus, choose the nearest major cities as your final destination: Kayamkulam (12 km north of Amritapuri) and Karunagappalli (10 km south). From there you can take an auto-rickshaw to Parayakadavu village.

Registration

Foreign citizens must register before arriving in Amritapuri by filling out a form on the website. When registering, a place of accommodation is reserved, of which confirmation is sent by email. e-mail. Using the form on the website you can also order from ashram a taxi that will meet you at the airport or pick you up from your hotel in Cochin or Trivandrum.