| it's an annual ritual - taking the first year mba students to amritapuri in kerala for amma's darshan. i haven't always tagged along, this time i did, and was so glad that i did :-) the elements of the trip are simple. you hop onto a campus bus and are driven across state borders from tamil nadu to kerala, reach amritapuri late night or early morning, shackup in some dorm or big room, wakeup, get ready, have breakfast, and then line up for darshan tokens. darshan happens - it could take time but it will happen, you eat, wander around a bit, its the night of the next day and time to hop onto the buses again for the return trip - another eight hours or so sitting thru the night in a modestly comfortable bus. the trip is a choice so every year a different proportion comes - this year around half the batch showed up. these are the facts. so far so good!
the rest of course is an interpretation, a subjective experience, so i'll tell you mine :-) it was early morning on a holiday friday we left and most of the day was spent in a small bus, and yet it was one joyous ride. there was live music (some wonderful flute playing by sudershan, a first year mba from mysore), there was live singing (antakshani), there was a lot of teasing and bantering going around, and there were the dumb charades - where i discovered that no matter how obscure the movie is that you conjure up from the dark depths of your mind, there's some student who has seen it (probably late night on his laptop :-) a tough battle it was! the hours just flew by, literally. and there was almost a tinge of sadness when the bus finally slowed down :-). the amritapuri experience was another happy blur. the accommodation was luxurious by earlier standards (the boys actually got bunk beds), the boys surprisingly well behaved (to my utter shock they were all actually up bathed and ready by six am!), the place peacefully uncrowded (by normal standards :-), the food plentiful, diverse, and much imbibed, and ammas darshan especially sweet :-). and the morning bore with it a beautiful gift - live ganesh chaturthi celebrations with the ashrams resident elephants :-) in between we all wandered, shopped, explored the different nooks & corners of the ashram, and attended a fired up q&a session with nijamritaji, and ate! soon we were back in the bus, heading in the opposite direction this time - homewards bound :-) it was a long night, the seats were cramped, there were breakdowns - still the journey felt as light hearted as the earlier morning one. once again it was the cheerful energy and light hearted banter among the students (and sudershan's flute) that kept us buoyant. after the trip i was reflecting on how much care is taken by someone somewhere to ensure that the students are least inconvenienced - the buses, the snacks and water thoughtfully provided, the lunch stop at our medical campus in cochin, the accomodation at amritapuri, the mess food for those who want it, and arranging a special darshan for all the students together. someone is putting all of this together - and for free :-) and the other thought i had was about the darshans with amma - no matter who you are and how many times you've been hugged by her - she makes each time feel so special :-) there is no sinner in her heart and in her arms, all get that full hearted and deeply compassionate attention. how does she do it?!
there is a common thread that runs thru the many stories i have told thru these mails. about my father, about that peanut seller on my train journeys to palghat, about the american professors i wrote about last time, and every experience with the saints such as amma - it's a particular feeling, a particular experience, a particular receiving, and for want of a better word (for words cannot really capture the feeling) i will call it - the experience of kindness. like love, i am not able to really describe what i mean when i say kindness but i sure do know when i am receiving it :-) there is gentleness there, there is a loving attention, there is the sense that your existence and concerns are as precious to them as those of their own children, and what remains in you is a light hearted song that the sun is truly shining in your world, all is well with it - someone truly cares :-) and it makes all the difference. so many reminders that how you say (and do) something matters so much more than what you say :-) i mean its not that my "issues" will be solved overnight. still, the heart feels so much lighter, and life so much more worth living. what a gift!
probably no spiritual tradition has dwelt more on the joys of this "loving-kindness" than buddhism. and who better than his holiness the dalai lama to headline this weeks poem. he of that incredibly kind face and ever laughing eyes, a living inspiration to millions :-) Loving Kindness Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be that in the middle we neglect kindness towards others? H,H, The XIVth Dalai Lama
its been a glorious weather day; very quiet too, with no classes and no meetings (:-); the afterglow of the trip still remains, and my fingers dance carefree to the beautiful melodies of the old hindi songs that play as i type this email - just my kind of a monday! heres to a week just like that - beautiful, joyful and kindful :-)
much love, d&s |
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