Blessed to be here

Near the main entrance to the Amritapuri Ashram grounds, you will notice an ‘Information’ kiosk just inside the front gate. Approaching the counter, on most days you will be greeted with a ready smile garlanded with a distinctive twisty mustache. Both belong to former bank manager and long-time devotee named Pappettan. Even though his real name is Padmanabhan, his nickname has stuck, so that everyone calls him Pappettan (‘etten’ denotes ‘brother’) Now 62 years of age he was the first householder resident at Amritapuri.

The following is the very touching story of his first meetings with Amma, and how he came to live permanently in the Ashram.

“I first met Amma on September 25, 1984, nearly nineteen years ago. Amma was only thirty-one then. I was forty-three years old,” Pappettan, the ashram’s first householder inmate said, as he began to narrate his story to me. “I liked Amma so much that I told Her I would come back in six months with my wife and children. Those days I was working in a town about 200 kilo meters from here.”

“So then did you return after six months?” I queried.

“No, I was back in six days with my wife and three kids. I just couldn’t help it.”

I smiled listening to his words.

“I still remember clearly. Amma was standing at the jetty as if waiting for us. She seemed surprised to see us since I had told Her I would return only after six months. She sang bhajans with us. Those days there were not many instruments and no mics, but Amma’s singing was just as powerful and divine. After bhajans, Amma talked to us for a long time. Then She took us to that room and made sure we were comfortable for the night,” Pappettan pointed to a room in the old Ayurveda building. “The next morning my wife saw some brahmacharis sweeping the courtyard. She ran to take the broom from their hands. This is not their work, she said, and proceeded to sweep the grounds herself. The wonder of the whole thing is that she suffered from asthma and couldn’t sweep at home, but here she swept without any problems. And since that day, she never had an asthma attack again.”

“Wow!” I exclaimed, thinking to myself of how Amma’s grace comes in such mysterious ways.

“Those days there used to be Bhava Darshan three times a week. Many people came then, but during the rest of the week, there would hardly be anyone. So we could sit and talk to Amma for a long time just like I am talking to you today,” Pappettan told me with a smile.

“Tell me some of the things that Amma said,” I asked him.

Pappettan thought for a few moments. “One thing that touched my heart was an exchange between Amma and my wife. My wife felt very attracted to Amma the first time she saw Her. In those days, the ashram was very poor, and there was not much money. One day my wife told Amma that she does not have any money, but she wants to give something to the ashram, so she would give her gold ornaments. Amma replied that all she wants is Her daughter’s (my wife’s) mind. And even that She did not want to keep, She only wanted to clean it and return it. These words of Amma struck somewhere deep in my heart.”

“Tell me more,” I prodded.

“One time Amma was talking to a group of people. She was saying that we should learn from the Christians. They donate a certain percentage of their salary for religious purposes and also give one or two of their children to religious institutions. I felt very agitated listening to Amma’s words. That same evening I told her that I had some property, I would give all of it to Amma. And I have three children. If Amma considers them worthy, she can take all three of them.”

“So what did Amma say?” I wanted to know.

“Amma replied very lovingly. She said, 'My son, you give your property to your children. Don’t force them to come to spiritual life. If they come on their own, that is ok.”

“And then what happened? Did your children come to Amma?” I asked.

“Yes,” Pappettan replied. By Amma’s Grace, all three of my children were attracted to Her. My eldest son now works nearby and comes to see Amma as often as he can. He is getting married next week. My daughter and my youngest son have both joined the ashram. My daughter is now a brahmacharini in yellow; she teaches Sanskrit in Amma’s Amrita Vidyalayam school. My son is a brahmachari, he is in charge of purchasing for the kitchen here at the ashram.”

“And what about you and your wife? What seva do you both do? You have lived here for a long time now, haven’t you?” I asked.

“Yes, that is right. My wife came to stay at the ashram with our three children within 2-3 years of meeting Amma. Our children completed their education while staying at the ashram. I got a transfer to a nearby city and for four years I continued working. I would come to the ashram every weekend. Over the years, my wife and I have both helped with many different areas in the ashram. My wife especially amazes me. Before coming to the ashram, she used to be sick most of the time. Now she works until 11:00 or 11:30 every night and is up by 3:30 or 4:00 the next morning. Amma seems to have given her a lot of energy to do all the work.”

I felt a little ashamed. Pappettan and his wife were both in their sixties. I was half their age but, could I get by with only five hours of sleep every night? No, I slept a lot more! Suddenly I remembered Amma’s words uttered in response to a question a devotee had posed. “Amma, on a day-to-day basis how can we know that our will is in tune with Your will?

Amma had given a long reply. She had said that if we do our sadhana (spiritual practices) in a regular manner, then a time would come when the inner Guru would awaken in us. And that inner Guru would then guide all our actions on a day-to-day basis

Elaborating further, Amma had said that for one who does regular sadhana, five or six hours of sleep was sufficient. “Actually only five hours of sleep is enough if we are healthy. If one has diabetes or suffers from some other ailment, then one can sleep for six hours, but otherwise for the majority of us, five hours of sleep should be enough,” She had categorically stated.

I had not forgotten these words from Amma. Now here in front of me was an example of someone who actually only slept for five hours every night. I wondered if most ashram residents were the same way. Probably yes, I concluded.

“We are all very blessed to be here, in this divine place,” Pappettan’s words brought me back to the present.

“Yes,” I whole-heartedly agreed with him. I thanked him for sharing his inspiring story with me and bid him good-bye.

Pappettan was the first, but certainly not the last householder to stay permanently in Amritapuri! The trend that began with him has blossomed into a householder population of over 300, and growing.

-Anju Bist, August 2003