History of Amritapuri
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In the beginning the ashram was simply Amma's family's house.
The handful of brahmacharis slept in the sand under the stars.
Even Amma only had a small hut, which doubled as a kitchen,
in which to sleep. Darshan took place in a cowshed that Amma's
father had allowed to be converted into a small temple. |
After a few years, huts were added for the brahmacharis and a proper,
yet humble, room was constructed for Amma. This simple room is still
Amma's home today.
As the number of devotees coming for Amma's darshan swelled, it became necessary to construct a larger darshan hall. And it was then that the beautiful temple that still stands today was erected. The image, which Amma had made in Calcutta, depicts Mother Kali, the destroyer of the ego. In 2000, even that temple became too small for the nights with large crowds, and an enormous hall was erected. It is the largest such hall in Southern India, with 30,000 sq. feet and no pillars. This is where Amma sings bhajans every night and holds Devi Bhava. Indeed, except, for the cowshed-temple, which remains, the Amritapuri of today bears little physical resemblance to the one of the early days. |
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Today, Amritapuri really is a city—there towering buildings of flats for householders and visitors, places for the brahmacharis and brahmacharinis, hostels for students who study at the ashram college across the river, kitchens, shops, offices, a hospital.... |
But no matter its size, it is still very much run by Amma, who's
hand is in each ashram decision and 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.
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