Scene 1: People performing Homa with their spiritual leader Amma Karunamayi at Fairfield IA.
I was sitting next to this tree, chanting slokas with my mouth and contemplating what I could translate from those chants and Amma’s interpretations. With all these going on in my mind and my fat body not co-operating I couldn’t concentrate anymore and so I turned around to my two kids who were really concentrating on DSI-XL. And this tree struck my attention; I saw this tree intact 6 years ago, when I attended this Homa for the first time. That time my daughter (who was then a year old) and I played under that tree. But it is broken now, I felt so sad. But I noticed that tree branch didn’t look so sad. Looks like it had more effect from homa and preaching’s, it had hope, it had faith and did not give up. It stood up and gained the 2nd life from the other end and may be even supporting the tree. I got excited and it became my show and tell subject.
Scene 2: Pavan lying on bed watching lighting & thunder over the corn fields behind his house and trying to reflect on his day’s experience
Speaking about my participation in Amma Karunamayi’s spiritual retreat in Fairfield, IA, many people who know me may wonder what am I doing there. I always questioned myself why do I want to spend one vacation day to go participate in what I necessarily do not believe in. But I did it anyway in spring of 2004, I like taking a shot no matter what. Many of my friends (the birds of same color) were curious about what was my take away from that experience. How was Amma? is she a great speaker? do you think she is really powerful? Why do people come to her? etc., I had no good answers for them. But all I said was I would go again next year and I did so every year.
I am neither motivated to be in mere presence of Amma, I am not be influenced by her preaching or mesmerized by her powers, but definitely want to own part of her mission statement “selfless service to this world”, may be by different means I am yet to figure what that means is. Things I liked about Amma, her calmness, innocent truthfulness in some of her messages and a preacher in a regular person. To me a preacher like this is more candid than a highly educated trained eloquent one. One single day I dedicated in my whole year to spend with people on the other side of my mission, I decided to spend it with Amma and her followers at my beloved Iowa country side Fairfield IA (also the center of North American continent).
