AMRITAPURI- THE BIRTHPLACE OF AMRITANADAMAYI (AMMA)

AMRITAPURI- THE BIRTHPLACE OF

AMRITANADAMAYI (AMMA)

Built up on the very property where Amma was born, Amritapuri is now the headquarters of Amma’s worldwide mission and the spiritual home for Amma’s monastic disciples and hundreds of householder devotees. All the residents have dedicated their lives for realising God and serving the world. Every day, Amma’s children from across India and abroad flock here to have Amma’s darshan. She sees each and every one, listens to their worries, consoles, encourages, provides new direction to their lives. Amritapuri is the living example of the ancient Indian ideal “the whole world is one family” (vasudhaiva kutumbakam). Here you will find people from all parts of the world — speaking different languages and having different customs and religions — all living under one roof. In their quest for the meaning of life, each has forgotten their differences and become a child of Amma. When people come to Amritapuri Ashram for the first time, they are almost always surprised—a remote fishing village on a small island cradled between the backwaters and the Arabian Sea has become the centre of a silent spiritual revolution..

In the beginning the ashram was simply Amma’s family’s house. The handful of brahmacharis slept on the sand under the stars. Amma had a small hut built next to the parents’ house, which doubled as a kitchen, in which she slept with the earliest female disciples. Darshan took place in the family cows’ cowshed that Amma’s father had allowed to be converted into a small temple. This first temple still exists today; it is known as the Kalari or the Krishna temple and is now used for the conducting pujas. Amma's house, Vedanta Vidyalaya, Kalari and the house Amma was born. Pic taken before the Kali temple was built Gradually, huts were added near the parents’ house for the brahmacharis and a proper, yet humble, room was constructed for Amma. This simple room is still where Amma stays today.

As the number of devotees coming for Amma’s darshan grew bigger and bigger, it became necessary to construct a large darshan hall. It was then that the beautiful Kali Temple was erected. It was the first big cement structure to be built and took five years to finish – from 1988 to 1992 – as the financial means of the ashram were still very modest at the time. The Kali idol in the temple, was crafted in Calcutta as per Amma’s instructions. Mother Kali is the destroyer of the ego.From 2000 onwards, even that temple became too small for the nights with large crowds, and an enormous hall was erected behind the temple. It is today the largest such hall in Southern India, with 30,000 sq. feet and no pillars to block the view. This is where Amma sings bhajans every night and holds darshan regularly now. Indeed, except for the early Kalari which remains intact, the Amritapuri of today bears little physical resemblance to the one of the early days…Today, Amritapuri is a city with towering buildings of flats for householders and visitors,  hostels for students who study at the ashram college across the river, big dinning halls, many offices and departments, a hospital…. But no matter its size, it is still very much all filled with Amma presence, who’s hand is in each decision. It is still very particular to see that it is run according to the ancient traditions of the holy land of India.

All the ashram work is attended to by the residents and visitors themselves. And Amritapuri is looked upon by Amma’s many devotees as their spiritual home and as a fertile field where noble spiritual qualities can be abundantly cultivated, and the fruit of God-realization reaped. Nowhere on earth is life lived as fully as it is in Amritapuri. Every nook and corner of the ashram sparkles with dynamism. From the stillness of the morning hours when the ashram is rapt in meditation to the vibrancy of the night when the air is filled with Amma’s ecstatic bhajans, Amritapuri is always wonderfully abuzz.

In the glow of yagna fires where the pujaris perform Vedic rituals, in the silence of the library where young monks study Bharat’s sacred scriptures, in the sweat falling from the backs of those maintaining the ashram through seva and karma yoga, and of course in the lap of Amma, who is forever sharing Her boundless love in the darshan hall—Amritapuri is truly, as its name indicates, the City (Puri) of Immortal Nectar (Amrita).The inspiration for the activity is and always has been Amma. Thousands come to the ashram everyday for Her darshan. Some are seeking spiritual guidance, others want to unburden their sorrows, and many want to simply spend a few moments in Her arms. Amma sees each and every person, no matter how long it takes, giving each person exactly what they need.In many ways, the ashram is a university where people of all walks of life have come to study the science of life.When Amma is not giving darshan, She is leading the ashramites in meditation, instructing them in their spiritual practices and edifying them with Her immortal wisdom. There are classes in yoga, Sanskrit, Vedanta and meditation.At Amritapuri, the ashramites and the devotees form a big family under Amma, and together they celebrate many religious festivals — Krishna’s Birthday, Onam, Christmas, Vishu, Guru Purnima, Shivaratri, Navaratri, Divali — but in truth each day at Amritapuri is a festival. This is reflected in all who come here — the sense of peace and joy.

Prof. John Kurakar