2009 07 28. Tuesday.

2009 07 28. Tuesday.

There was Amma satsang this morning in the Temple. I came in around 11am and the Temple was packed! No surprise. Luckily, I was able to find a little spot on one of the back stairs where I could get a good view of Amma. Amma came around 11:30am and led us in a guided meditation which was really nice. I was feeling a lot of bliss. Wow. Then Amma did something that I thought was a little unusual. She asked if anyone would like to give a little spiritual talk. Two of the yellow robed brahmacharis gave nice very short talks. Then someone asked Amma "What is love?" Amma replied "You will know when you start loving." Maybe its just me but I think Amma is tired of fielding vague, vapid questions. Then someone asked how Amma can be aware of all Her children and know their troubles and pains. Amma said its just the same as we're constantly aware of our billions of skin cells. If one tiny section of our skin gets a pinprick, we know it immediately. In just the same way, Amma said She is aware of all Her children and if any of them are in pain, She knows immediately. I thought that was a really good analogy. Then Amma served lunch. For some reason, the men got served first. I got in the long line and it was wonderful to get to the front and have Amma gently push a plate of food toward me. Jai Ma! Thank you, Amma. While eating my prasad lunch I was feeling a lot of gratitude toward Amma and the opportunity to work at Her ashram and practice Her mantra.

Later on at the compost area I asked one of the yellow robed brahmacharis if it was strange for Amma to ask someone to give a spiritual talk. He replied that Amma seemed to be moody and preoccupied at the satsang. (I was a pretty good distance from Amma during the satsang so I couldn't see Her facial expressions.) I asked him if Amma became moody when She's aware of some upcoming troubles in the world. He said yes.

Feel a lot better today. And my mood is better. No more "Pissy pants Advait" as one of my Amma friends in Virginia likes to say. Was able to work at the compost.

There were 5 yellow robed brahmacharis (yellorbs) helping at the compost work today. Wow. All of them were wonderful. Very cheerful, funny and great workers. Not sure why the compost is popular with them. Maybe Amma is sending them here so they can get a first hand look at how the food waste is getting turned back into healthy compost. Maybe She wants them to get familiar with it so they can start doing it at their locations. I think most of these yellorbs are based at other Amma centers around India. Sure would be great if all of Amma's centers could start composting!

With the pack of yellorbs there it was no surprise we had extra treats for the post pile chai party. They brought payasim. Yum! And some alma fruit. Kind of sour but they told me it was very healthy, packed with vitamins, minerals, etc. Maybe the perfect thing to help me recover from my little flu bug. I stuffed myself. Mmmm. They offered me some of the last of the chai but I had to refuse. You definitely know I was stuffed. They chatted away happily in the late afternoon sun, laughing and joking. I was the only westerner there, sipping my chai, looking at Lakshmi the elephant pee and poop (wow!) and enjoying the cool, overcast day.