Tag: Yatra
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When It Rains, It Pours
7-9 May 2004 — Palakkad, Kerala The last Brahmasthanam Festival Amma held in Palakkad [April 2003] was brutally hot, with temperatures regularly hitting 43 degrees Celsius. The heat was so bad, it even prompted Amma to comment in Her satsang, “My children must be suffering — both from the heat outside and the heat inside.”…
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Amma gives wheelchairs to Kerala’s poorest
4 May 2004 — Trissur, Kerala During Amma’s programme in Trissur, Amma gave wheelchairs—or rather, hand-propelled adult-sized tricycles—to 10 poor handicapped people. Wheelchairs are rarely seen in India’s streets—even though so many are handicapped due to polio or birth defects. Wheelchairs like these cost around 5,000 rupees [roughly $115 U.S.D.]. That might not seem like…
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300 Hours, 8,500 kilometres & 700,000 hugs
Since 7 January, Amma and Her children have travelled throughout India
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Amma in Kolkata
Bharata Yatra 2004 27 March 2004 — Kolkata, West Bengal Amma’s first program in Kolkata was held in the middle of Richie Park, Maddox Square under a magnificently constructed temporary structure. The backdrop to the dais was done up in ochre and white and covered with purple orchids. The two chief guests of the program…
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“Only My Mind is Different”
Friday, 26 March — Durgapur, West Bengal — Bharata Yatra 2004 The program in Durgapur ended not long after sunrise. Soon the buses were all loaded and everyone was ready to go on to Kolkata. Ever since darshan had ended, a group of about 100 devotees were waiting around Amma’s car, hoping to see Her…
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House visit in Durgapur
Friday, 26 March 2004 —Durgapur, West Bengal – Bharata Yatra Driving out of Durgapur, Amma made two “house calls”—a slow drive-by of the new Durgapur Amritakuteeram housing colony currently under construction, and a long walk through the first one, which has been home to 108 families for one year now. As Amma moved around the…
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Embodiment of love blesses Varanasi
Bharata Yatra 2004 23 March 2004 — Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh “Hara Hara Mahadeva! Hara Hara Mahadeva!” As Amma sang bhajans in Shiva’s city, this is how the thousands of assembled devotees responded. Varanasi, or Kashi, is considered by many to be India’s holiest city. It is said if you breathe your last here, Lord Shiva…
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The streets may be their home, but Amma is their Mother
Bharata Yatra 2004 Especially during Amma’s programs held in metropolitan areas, many curiosity seekers come to see what all the commotion is about. Among them are dozens of street children—kids from 12 to 2, in rags, with runny noses—many of who often wind up joining the darshan queue. When they come to Amma’s lap, they…
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You showed me the path
Bharata Yatra 2004 Monday, 15 March 2004 — Raj Bhavan, Jaipur, Rajasthan There are things that should not happen in this world, but they do: a child set on fire, a girl thrown down a well. Are there words to comfort someone who has survived such a thing? What do you say to a seven-year-old…
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“We can change the face of this earth”
Tuesday, 9 March — en route to Ahmedabad, Gujarat — Bharata Yatra 2004 When many people from affluent Western countries visit India for the first time, they are overwhelmed by the immensity of its poverty and the extent to which some of its people are suffering. They simply haven’t seen “villages” of families attempting to…