Amma's Birthday, India
I awoke by 8AM, enjoyed some toast with peanut butter and a banana, then headed to have an Ayurvedic massage, which is what Kerala is partially known for along with the backwaters. I chose the 60 minutes, head to toe, lymphatic Keralan style massage, which was a very interesting experience. First, I underdressed and usually the massage therapist leaves the room, but this lady stayed in. Then she handed me something, almost like a tiny diaper, to tie around my lady part. She sat me down on a stool and began pouring oil all over my head, and then continued to massage my scalp with the oils. It felt good, though I was sitting there practically naked (I have no problem with nudity). She poured more oil onto my neck and shoulder and massaged it in. My body was so appreciate of the oil, as my skin is very dry from so many dips in the salty sea. Afterward, she laid me down on the bed, which had no blanket. I laid on my stomach and she poured warm oils all over my arms and back, which felt very good, though this is a style of massage that consists of more oil rubbing rather than deep tissue massaging.
She continued to rub the warm oil down my legs and to my toes, then flipped me over and proceeded to massage my belly. I am so ticklish that I began smile and gently laughing, And she practically massaged my breasts as well. My knees and thighs were also a bit ticklish, so it was a bit hard to relax, and the light was on so I felt very exposed. But the rain falling on the rooftop was a soothing sound along with the Keralan music in the background. After the 60 minutes, she sat me up and led me to the shower. I was covered in oils from head to toe, so she handed me soap to wash my body and hair. But in order to rinse in hot water, you must use a bucket rather than the shower head itself. I stood there rinsing, a bit chilly, and a little uncomfortable with the lady there, though I know it wasn't in any sexual manner that she was present.
After, she handed me a towel, which was more like a thin hand rag, and I proceeded to put my clothes back on. The massage costs $1500 INR and I left an extra $200 for her. Then one of the workers gave me a ride back on his scooter and we drove thru the rain and puddles back to the home. I joined Sarah and Nicola for breakfast, enjoying some delicious appa and sambar with fruit, pineapple juice, and coffee. After I took a nice shower and laid down in the garden to do some writing. Sarah and Nicola are leaving today so we shared some hugs and goodbyes, and then I continued on with my writing and reflections.
Jaya, the lady of the home, messaged me a few days ago and invited me to her Guru's birthday celebration today. She said it would be a special evening full of singing, chanting and rituals, so I kindly accepted her invitation with a smile in my heart thinking how blessed I am to be welcomed to such a cultural experience. Before going to the celebration, I had Afsal, my tuk tuk driver, head 30 minutes North to the Marari Beach, which is said to be more beautiful than the Alleppey Beach. Once we arrived, Afsal waited for me as I roamed around the sand with my toes in the water. I saw locals swinging on trees and climbing the palms and fishing in the sea. Biju recommended I do not go in the water because there are big waves due to the cyclones. Plus, no one else was in the water and only a few people were in a swimsuit. I enjoyed a 30 minute stroll, purchased a delicious fresh coconut for $40 INR, then hopped back in the tuk tuk with Afsal and drove 2.5 hours South for the celebration. We stopped on the way and I enjoyed a veggie masala dosa with some rice, which was heaps of food but I find it rude to waste, especially in foreign lands. While I was eating, the worker asked me where I was headed. I told him I was going to an ashram and he asked "For Amma's birthday?" I was a bit confused as to how he knew of this Guru, but I responded yes to his question with a smile on my face. With a full belly, Afsal and I continued driving and I arrived to the celebration around 5:45 PM (after I took a quick nap in the back of the tuk tuk, not that anyone is surprised by that).
What I thought was a casual 66th birthday celebration turned out to be the exact opposite. Amma, Jaya's Guru, is viewed as the reincarnation of Lord Krishna in the female form; she is a living deity (Goddess) here in India. The ceremony was held across from the ashram at her University for Bachelor of Arts and Science. Jaya met me at the gate and I was simply blown away. She said there are roughly 100,000 people who travel from all over India to come for the celebration. Some of these individuals travel for three days to come! Jaya lives in the ashram so she had arrived early to the University and saved two seats in the third row from the stage for us! This area where the ceremony takes place seats about 20,000 people more or less. This is a massive celebration. I had absolutely no idea that I was invited to such a beautiful event! No wonder the worker from the restaurant knew where I was headed... Everyone was headed to celebrate Amma!
This University of hers is one of many in the country that she has, but this one in particular is rated the number one University in India. Not only does she have these University, but she also has hospitals all over India, hers being the top rated one in Kerala. The doctors at the hospital are volunteers, even those that come from Western countries. Because they are volunteers and work for no money, Amma is able to provide everyone that comes thru her doors with the proper medical treatment, pricing everything in accordance with what each individual makes. Even those that come from the streets with no money receive phenomenal care for the price of nothing. And she has ashrams all over India and even one in California! Roughly 4,000 individuals live in her ashram here in Kerala, where Amma herself lives.
Amma has dark skin, and because of that, her parents pulled her out of school at the age of 10, believing she would never get a good enough job so they put her to work in the household. By the age of 19, Amma was already teaching and in less than 10 years, by 27 years old, Amma had her first ashram. How incredible! She is a humanitarian, a disciple of the Lords. And when she entered the stage to begin the ceremony, my entire body filled with goosebumps. Her eyes come from another world, her soul shines with pure love, and her movements are simply an act of God. People came to shower her in flowers and gifting her plants, which she kissed each gift as well as the giver. Sitting so close to the front for all of this was absolutely incredible and felt so personal.
The singing began around 6:30 PM and didn't finish until 8:30 PM, Amma and her followers singing and playing music endlessly for the 2 hours. One man played the tabla drum so beautifully, while another played the harmonium, andI was mesmerized. The men sitting by Amma's side, singing along with her, were wearing red, indicating that they have served 40 years by Amma's side. This was simply beautiful, bringing tears to my eyes and many others, along with hand claps and many arms reaching towards the sky. Amma moved in such a way when she sang that it truly looked as if she was receiving purity and love from the Gods above. I think my mouth was open the entire time in pure amazement and ecstasy. Jaya informed me that Amma doesn't sleep more than an hour or two every night. She typically gives darshan (blessings) until 2-3 AM, then receives a body treatment to care for her aches and pains, and will doze off for a short while before waking up to continue giving darshan. She only eats breakfast if she has given darshan, a truly selfless individual. And she is never alone! There is always someone by her side, even when she is in her private chamber. She sees herself in every person, so in actuality, she is always with herself. She is permanently alone yet always surrounded by others. How beautiful and pure is that, to simply see yourself in the eyes of every person you meet, in the hands of every person you greet, and in the souls of all that surround you.
Jaya also informed me that, with a lot of ashrams, there are communities of spiritual individuals all living together in an effort to "escape" life and reality. But Amma makes a point for this not to be the case with her ashram. She doesn't want people to escape life, she wants people to live life! So she is constantly putting all those who live within the ashram to the true test by including them in all these public ceremonies that are filled with people and stimulation. The poor, the young, the villagers, everyone from all over the world needs to feel this connection in the most humble and loving way, and that is what Amma's ashram is all about. There is no need to escape anything, and whatever it is that you feel you have, be it love, wealth, passion, you must give that love, wealth, and inspire passion in all those around you. It is your duty to give what you receive.
Once the singing was over, all the villagers formed a massive line to receive darshan from Amma. This line will last until 2AM more or less, and because I have a two hour commute back to the home, there will not be enough time for me to receive darshan myself. However, Jaya had the idea of me participating in prasad, the passing of the gifts that Amma gives to all those that receive the darshan. These gifts include ashes from the fire temples and a sweet candy, because Amma loves her sweets. The first time I tried to enter the stage to participate, security stopped me and said I had to have a badge proving I lived in the ashram. That's when a beautiful Argentinian named Maria offered me her badge and said "Try it out. With the grace of Amma, all things are possible." And just like that, even with security checking the photo on the badge, he thought it was me and allowed me to enter the stage. Since it was my first time, there was someone who provided me with a mini teaching prior to passing the gifts to Amma. It is very strategic and requires a lot of attention, as you have to be quick and ready, always noticing when Amma opens her hand to receive the gift. You pass the gift from your right hand to the center of Amma's palm (carefully without placing any weight on her hand) then bring the gift in your left hand to your right hand, and receive another gift with your free left hand.
It was my turn, and for 2 minutes, I passed these beautiful little wrappings into Amma's palm. I was shaking the whole time with pure joy and excitement to simply be in the presence of this incredible deity! And all the people receiving darshan, receiving hugs and kisses from Amma, were simply in tears. This was an out of this world experience, a true gift to witness. When I was finished, I kissed the floor beneath my feet and walked off the stage, feeling lighter and more blissful than ever. Jaya and I decided to have some herbal Ayurvedic tea while she shared so many personal stories of Amma's teaching. She said the main lesson occurs by just simply being in Amma's presence. The Prime Minister and other head figures of India come to Amma as well for guidance. It is said that on her 50th birthday, Amma hugged 50,000 individuals in one sitting. Amma has hugged around 39 million people to this day. Talk about spreading the love!
Amma opens the University to house all those that travel from all over India. Once the three day celebration ends, Amma has to repaint the entire University, which she is happy to do. While Jaya and I were sharing beautiful conversation, a lady off to the side, Gopi, stopped me. She said "I have never seen someone so insync with Amma's breath and movement as they participated in prasad for their first time. Your soul blended with her in those moments and you became one. It was beautiful to witness, and it doesn't happen often." WOW! And as we walked away, Jaya said, "I noticed the same thing and was going to share that with you before you go. It was magic." My heart was doing cartwheels as my soul was doing backflips and my insides were moving and grooving for so many hours after this experience. I feel so eternally blessed to have this experience.
If you are interested in finding out more on Amma, there is a documentary on Youtube, just search "darshan Amma" and it will come up. There is another as well called "River of Love." I highly recommend taking the time if you can spare a few moments. Just watching her for a short while will fill your soul with such a boundless love that your soul will feel so abundant and nourished. Around 10:30 PM, I hopped back in the tuk tuk with Afsal and headed home, arriving at 12:30 AM. Afsal has a beautiful book he shared with me that he calls his "golden book", which contains letters from all the people he has driven around. I had such an incredible day with him, moving from the Ayurvedic massage to the beach and to celebrate Amma's birthday, Afsal waiting for me with each stop we made. I highly recommend contacting him if you ever find yourself in Alleppey, Kerala (reach him at +919946541714). And then you can write in his golden book too! Once I was back in my room, I simply couldn't settle the dance in my heart or the smile on my face. It took a deep meditation to help me relax into a quick four hour slumber for the night. Thank you Amma, thank you Jaya, thank you Biju, thank you Moksha, thank you Afsal, thank you Bella Homestay, and thank you Kerala, for all I have experienced has simply been abundant in bliss and love.
