Amma's Birthday

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Saturday, September 11th, 2010 was observed as a day of prayer for world peace at the DC ashram in honor of Amma’s birthday. Brahmachari Dayamrita Chaitanya, Spiritual Director MA Centers USA, led the program.

Ashram adorning a festive look with a ‘Kolam’ - an intricate design created with rice flour on the front courtyard, with beautiful flower arrangements at the altar and devotional singing echoing in every corner provided a perfect stage for a grand program. Devotees arrived early to help with parking, cleaning, kitchen and other preparatory seva.

The program began at 2:00 pm with meditation and Guru Pada Pooja (worship of the holy sandals of the Guru). Dayamrita Swami inspired everyone present with his talk and the Q&A session that followed.

The main highlight of the evening was the bhajan session which uplifted over 200 attendees into a different world. Bhajans were sung in different languages including Sanskrit, Malayalam, English, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali etc. The traditional Kerala drum - ‘Edakka’ joined Tabala to provide a unique percussion experience. The program concluded with the arati song synchronized with the ringing of the bells and blowing of the conch.

All were served a sumptuous dinner including ‘Sweet pudding’ after the program. A special birthday cake for Amma was brought out and all of Amma’s children - young and old enjoyed singing "Happy birthday" to our beloved Amma.