Amma arrives
Finally she crossed the bridge to the island the ashram is on. Then as her car came along the road villagers were out lining the road and showering her car with flowers. Those of us in the ashram lined up along the route she would take around the temple toward her apartment. Clarice and I strategically placed ourselves near the entry to her compound and aprtment along with a few hundred others. Finally she arrived and we got to see her as she went by. Then we were swept up in the crowd following her car into the compound. Her small apartment was up one flight of stairs, and up the stairs went one of the children and one of the ashram dogs with her. Everyone waited to see if Amma would come to the window. Then who should appear in the window but the dog. Amma's joke. She then appeared for a few minutes commenting briefly about her trip to China, I was told by others who understood Malayalam. She was the only spiritual leader at this conference and apparently they were hesitant to let her speak. Still she did get to deliver her speech.
More on Seva
Day 2 at recycling. Craig is a great guy as a supervisor, as much involved in the work as supervising others, and with a good sense of humor. I find it helpful to make the work play. I toss a plastic bottle across to its proper bin and yell, "Two points!" when it goes in. I finish a bin and shout, "I won!" and start another barrel trying to empty more than the day before to beat my personal best. If it's a game, my attitude is great, because the stuff I'm digging through is not at all appetizing.
Meditation in the Kali Temple
The temple is a really multi-purpose building. There is a mezzanine with balcony overlooking the main floor. All along the sides of the balcony are little offices or shops - information office, seva office, Amma's gift shop, Ram's Bazaar for second hand items, and an open space with tables and benches where Indian women are usually working putting together bulk mailings. The actual space on the main floor is often a bustle with people coming and going. To sit and meditate here is like meditating in the airport or at the train station. Close the eyes and the voices become a flow like a babbling brook. Add a mantra - in this case, either the Prayer of the Lamb, or a simple Yeshua chant - and the atmosphere inside becomes quiet and distinctly centered on the practice and simply being.
Evening satsang on the beach with Amma
Amma aqsked a question of us all. There are several hundred of us, probably close to a thousand gathered around her. The pleasant breeze from the ocean mitigated the afternoon heat. On Amma's dais were a couple of children, as usual, one of whom chanted beautifully for us all, and the ashram dogs, one of whom pushed a child to the side so as to be next to Amma. Amma asked, "Since you began spiritual practice, have you noticed any improvement in how you are with anger, jealousy, selfishness or other emotions? Be honest. Do some self study now. Then tell everyone here." THose who responded gave testamony to how Amma had helped them. Amma's response was that this was not what she wanted. She was looking for a concrete example of a difficult issue not yet resolved, so that she could respond to that. That sure sounded familiar, both what my own meditation teacher has tried to call out of us his students and what I try to evoke from those I work with. On the one hand who wants to expose their weaknesses and shortcomings to others, yet the best learning for the whole is not in hearing reports about great success, but how the teach helps the student in the midst of where life is really at.
So I think about myself. I can say that since I began meditating 16 years ago, I have experienced areas in my life that were problematic undergo significant change. The first clear example that I saw was when I noticed that without either intention or effort, the irritation I would experience that would push my buttons around how other people acted or the opinions they expresse3d had so greatly dimminished that it was noteable. That's when I kinow that meditation was a powerful spiritual practice.
That's a success story - not about me, but the mercy and grace of God at work in me. But I also have noticed something else just as significant. The less I committed nameable sins, the more I came to see the subtlety of sin. Stop committing flagrant sins, and then you will come to see those same sins at play in attitudes, behind the scenes actions and nuances added to what seems good. I have subtle ways of posturing intending to make me look good, to have control over others, to achieve (or try to achieve) my own righteousness, to get my way. As awareness of these inner, subtle tactics comes, the more I understand how St. Francis could legitimately claim to be a great sinner even as those around him were already proclaiming him a saint.
Finally she crossed the bridge to the island the ashram is on. Then as her car came along the road villagers were out lining the road and showering her car with flowers. Those of us in the ashram lined up along the route she would take around the temple toward her apartment. Clarice and I strategically placed ourselves near the entry to her compound and aprtment along with a few hundred others. Finally she arrived and we got to see her as she went by. Then we were swept up in the crowd following her car into the compound. Her small apartment was up one flight of stairs, and up the stairs went one of the children and one of the ashram dogs with her. Everyone waited to see if Amma would come to the window. Then who should appear in the window but the dog. Amma's joke. She then appeared for a few minutes commenting briefly about her trip to China, I was told by others who understood Malayalam. She was the only spiritual leader at this conference and apparently they were hesitant to let her speak. Still she did get to deliver her speech.
More on Seva
Day 2 at recycling. Craig is a great guy as a supervisor, as much involved in the work as supervising others, and with a good sense of humor. I find it helpful to make the work play. I toss a plastic bottle across to its proper bin and yell, "Two points!" when it goes in. I finish a bin and shout, "I won!" and start another barrel trying to empty more than the day before to beat my personal best. If it's a game, my attitude is great, because the stuff I'm digging through is not at all appetizing.
Meditation in the Kali Temple
The temple is a really multi-purpose building. There is a mezzanine with balcony overlooking the main floor. All along the sides of the balcony are little offices or shops - information office, seva office, Amma's gift shop, Ram's Bazaar for second hand items, and an open space with tables and benches where Indian women are usually working putting together bulk mailings. The actual space on the main floor is often a bustle with people coming and going. To sit and meditate here is like meditating in the airport or at the train station. Close the eyes and the voices become a flow like a babbling brook. Add a mantra - in this case, either the Prayer of the Lamb, or a simple Yeshua chant - and the atmosphere inside becomes quiet and distinctly centered on the practice and simply being.
Evening satsang on the beach with Amma
Amma aqsked a question of us all. There are several hundred of us, probably close to a thousand gathered around her. The pleasant breeze from the ocean mitigated the afternoon heat. On Amma's dais were a couple of children, as usual, one of whom chanted beautifully for us all, and the ashram dogs, one of whom pushed a child to the side so as to be next to Amma. Amma asked, "Since you began spiritual practice, have you noticed any improvement in how you are with anger, jealousy, selfishness or other emotions? Be honest. Do some self study now. Then tell everyone here." THose who responded gave testamony to how Amma had helped them. Amma's response was that this was not what she wanted. She was looking for a concrete example of a difficult issue not yet resolved, so that she could respond to that. That sure sounded familiar, both what my own meditation teacher has tried to call out of us his students and what I try to evoke from those I work with. On the one hand who wants to expose their weaknesses and shortcomings to others, yet the best learning for the whole is not in hearing reports about great success, but how the teach helps the student in the midst of where life is really at.
So I think about myself. I can say that since I began meditating 16 years ago, I have experienced areas in my life that were problematic undergo significant change. The first clear example that I saw was when I noticed that without either intention or effort, the irritation I would experience that would push my buttons around how other people acted or the opinions they expresse3d had so greatly dimminished that it was noteable. That's when I kinow that meditation was a powerful spiritual practice.
That's a success story - not about me, but the mercy and grace of God at work in me. But I also have noticed something else just as significant. The less I committed nameable sins, the more I came to see the subtlety of sin. Stop committing flagrant sins, and then you will come to see those same sins at play in attitudes, behind the scenes actions and nuances added to what seems good. I have subtle ways of posturing intending to make me look good, to have control over others, to achieve (or try to achieve) my own righteousness, to get my way. As awareness of these inner, subtle tactics comes, the more I understand how St. Francis could legitimately claim to be a great sinner even as those around him were already proclaiming him a saint.
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