Visit to Visakhapatnam Ashram Branch
October 13, 1995
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Dear Parents,
Divya conveys her namaskars. Jnaneswari left on 8 October to spend a month in Visakhapatnam ashram branch by the sea. I came on 12 October, bringing my German friend Irmgard and one elderly lady from Mysore. We had to take long detours due to flooded roads. There have been heavy rains here for the last few days, sadly causing a lot of damage to property. In many places buses are not running because of flooding. Buses have not come to Shanti Ashram in days, and children returning from Dasara holidays had to walk 5-6 kilometers through water, to get to school.
Here I am blissfully enjoying the holiday, with no library duty and no satsang even. Only sitting near Jnaneswari or staying quiet on the roof and listening to and looking at the expansive roaring sea. I never realized how easily one could go into deep, peaceful silence, looking at the sea.
Every year Jnaneswari celebrates her birthday by going off alone, not talking and fasting on water, only being with God. This morning, her birthday, she went to the top of Mt. Kailash (the nearby hill where they are building the Universal Temple - overseeing the construction is the reason why she came here). She went at 5:30 AM in time for sunrise, and we will go with the van to pick her up only at sunset.
Here the manager is Prasad Rao, a busy rajasic type (62 years old) who is full of plans to expand ashram activities. Unfortunately for him, he is not getting much support from quiet Jnaneswari, who shies away from publicity and believes God will send anyone meant to come here, Himself - no need for propaganda! The manager wants to send me to a nearby college to undergo Hatha Yoga training, making me into a Yoga teacher. Can you imagine! Naturally I am flatly refusing. If necessary I will teach, but only after experiencing Nirvikalpa and Sahaja samadhi, this is my condition! Until then, they will have to be content with me doing seva of only singing mantras and issuing books in a library an hour a day. No teaching, please!
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
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Oil Pulling and Eclipse in Visakhapatnam
October 24, 1995
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Dear Parents,
Now, here the revived health fad (popular in ancient days, it is claimed) is “Oil Pulling”. It is a proven method (so they say) to cure all diseases and for general health. Right after getting up in the morning, before brushing teeth, one takes a tablespoon of refined sunflower oil and swishes it around in the mouth constantly, for 15 or 20 minutes. Then one spits it out. Afterwards, one brushes the teeth as usual. Since the benefits are so great, thousands of people are doing it, now even Jnaneswari and I have started! One continues this practice for at least three months, and many continue to do it indefinitely. It is claimed that it cures many ills but because Jnaneswari and I don't have ills to cure, we can't really judge if it works or not!
24 October was eclipse of the sun here, from 7:30 – 8:30 AM. There are so many rules Indians follow for eclipses. No one is allowed to look at the sun, or even come outside (they locked the children inside the hostel building!). One has to fast half the day, spending time meditating and praying. Right after the eclipse ends, everyone runs to take a bath (shower) to counteract bad effects.
Love,
Divya
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Sea Bath & Water Motor Troubles
November 18, 1995
Dear Parents,
Love and Greetings to you. How all is well there, here all is fine.
Jnaneswari and I arrived back from Visakhapatnam on 8 November. Now we are again settled in the quiet surroundings of a forest. There, I often recalled you, Mom, and how you like the sea and how I always said I didn’t like the ocean much. Now I’ve changed! How greatly calming it is to live by the sea. I even went swimming twice. Usually ladies don’t swim in public, but it is allowed on certain special occasions - then big crowds come! One was the recent solar eclipse, after which a bath in the sea is considered purification. Of course, we swim fully dressed in saris! Twice I swam and how fun it was! I imagined the waves were bliss and how I was merging in that joy each time a wave engulfed me. However I got carried away and went far out, even above my head once which caused distress and shouts from the people on shore, as I felt the powerful ocean sweeping me away. It took several strong efforts before I gained control and returned to sand ground. After this, Jnaneswari banned me from further baths in the sea!
Since we returned to the ashram, we found that the water motor was broken, so half the ashram has been without water for a month. Some time each day is spent by the well, where I wash clothes then lug bucketfuls of water to my room. Of course there are two strong men doing this work for other devotees, but I feel that as long as I have strength, I should do my own work.
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
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Letters from Shanti Ashram, India
SpiritualI lived in India from 1984-2005, and wrote to my parents regularly about my adventures in Indian ashrams. From 1984-1993 and again 2001-2005, I was living in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, and I am adding all of those my "Letters from India" book, whi...
