PAGE 3, India

I ended the year, 2011, in Nepal by quitting my resort job and zipping down South, away from the chilly nights and cold showers of Pokhara to the sunny beaches of Kerala, South India. I do love Nepal dearly but the expensive visas and work permits plus the cold winter chased me right out of there. A friend put me in the mood to travel to an ashram in India made famous by the hugging Guru, Amma, a living Saint. And Saint she is. I first met her in Mt. Shasta, California 25 years ago. She was not popular then. I remember going with a friend who new about her and invited me to meet her. There she sat in the shade of a juniper tree in a meadow not far up the mountain. Only about 100 folks were gathered there, she greeted us all with her warm, captivating smile, told inspiring stories and beckoned each of s, one by one to receive a warm nurturing, energizing hug. She cuddled us like big Mama 'Aunt Jemima'. A hug I would not forget though I did not see her again till now. Life led me on to many journeys a long way from her and it is good to be in her presence once again.
What miracles have filled her life since I met her. She now commands vast sums of money into a multitude of humanitarian projects: hospitals, schools, orphanages, hospice and senior residences. and many ashrams around the globe. The ashram where I am staying has over one thousand resident devotees and room for up to 3000 visitors, 'wannabe' devotees. You can find her story and an exhausting list of her accomplishments at amritapuri.org

My reconnect with her has been amazing,
Here's a short video and some pictures of the Ashram: 




 Early morning scene.In this video I take a walk through the village that surrounds the ashram and ends at the seaside, the Arabian sea on the southwest coast of India. You will experience the sounds of the village waking up. In fact the sound of Hindu music broadcast from several of the temples and shrines in the area is so incredibly loud that my voice on the video is mostly covered over by the noise. This "music" starts at 4am and continues throughout the day. Something this Westerner finds abhorrent. I do not understand why the locals put up with this racket . The sale of ear plugs must be a booming business!

The main temple and surrounding buildings from above.Arabian sea in the background.

View from a top of one high rise residence

One day I was spellbound watching a construction crew moving concrete to the roof of a building all by hand! There is a frenzy of construction going on here at the ashram to make room for the hundreds of folks who want to move here and live/serve Amma. This crew was working on one of the new round units that will house 4 persons in private rooms when finished. I ran to my room for my camera (which we are not supposed to use  here). Just had to capture this on video. So here it is. You may have to watch it a few times to catch all the action. They are using small round wok-like pans to transfer the fresh cement up three flights to the pyramid shaped building. The video is followed by a still shot to show you the top of the roof which I could not get on the video.
Here is a picture of the top of the building showing cement being poured over the steel reinforced roof.

 The next pictures are a series of photos I took as I walked through the little village of Vallickavu, which is adjacent to the ashram, and Amma's University.
one of Amma's family cows

Garbage on the beach. India is filthy, this kind of garbage is found everywhere. And along this rock wall which is a barrier to the ocean built after the tsunami of 2004 is a common litrene where people defecate and urinate often in public view.
 Its unfortunate that this wall was built. Before the tsunami this was an open sandy beach. I doubt that the wall will make any difference in stopping a 12 meter wave and now the people have no beach or safe access to swim.
One of Amma's many dogs

Local fishing boat

Tsunami damaged and abandoned house about 20 meters from shore. After the tsunami no more houses were allowed to be built so close to the sea but houses that were repairable were allowed to stay.

Yours truly

Max, my Russion friend

Enormous fishing nets that are being prepared to go out to sea on large fishing trollars.

Coconut tree branches hanging to dry and later used as fire wood.

Whats left of a tsunami damaged house


This is called by the locals a "tsunami house" because it was provided free from either  Amma or the government to replace homes that were wiped out.


Inside a tsunami house bedroom

Living room and kitchen




Local parakeet, found in the wild here.


My Friend and his newly wed wife.










A popular ice cream bar, anything 'American' sells here
My favorite local village restaurant, great Tuna here
Pathway through the village to the University



New University building, not finished
Business school
typical middle class home in village, price about $60K
upper middle class home, $100K
Amma's Engineering Bldg
Guard, asleep at the wheel
Entrance lobby of engineering Bldg. Money is no object for Amma, these wood carvings are exquisite, she believes that offering education to poor students in an opulent environment will give them a positive self image so they can let go of poverty consciousness and prosper doing good service to all mankind as she does.
More wood carvings
Cafeteria


                                                     Amma's University                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 Avery affluent
home, $400K ?








A Socialist poster in town. Che Guevara is a very popular hero among poor Asian folks.  Communist and Socialist party is the strongest in this province.

AMMA COMES OUT TO PLAY

  You should have seen Amma get outragously funny the other night. It was the Holi festival time ( a Hindu festival of spring, water and color) and she came to bajhans (evening chanting of prayers) loaded with toys. She had a giant squirt gun , a huge bucket of water and a tray full of many colored powders. This was all hidden til about midway into the chanting and then she suddenly fired away with her squirt gun, laughing hilariously with a big girlish smile as she pelted the crowd around her, only interrupted by her next trick of throwing hand fulls of multicolored powder creating great rainclowds of blue, green , red etc. to land on and besmear the astonished devotees and their, no longer to be, prim white clothes.
You had to be there . She really let her "child" come out to play that night. I was touched to tears watching her.
  Om Namash Shivaya


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