Trip to Guntur
November 8, 1996
Dear Parents,
On 5th November, we started off by rail to Guntur, about eight hours journey south of the ashram. There is an elderly Swami (102 years old) who is a longtime devotee of Shanti Ashram, and has been begging Jnaneswari to come and see him for several months now. For some reason Jnaneswari wanted me to come, so Jnaneswari, me and one college student (a boy who has been in the ashram since his childhood) came. I'm writing from Guntur now.
Here we are in a house of a lady who started a school that has become famous as an ideal one. She also loves gardening and has hundreds of varieties of dwarf trees (bonsai) – real trees 12 inches high, trees that usually grow 20 or 40 feet. I counted over 100 types of cactus alone, of different types and colors. She is a selfless and large-hearted soul.
The ashram of the elderly Swami is about 1 ½ hours from the city, through rice fields and hovels called villages. We stayed one night there only, 24 hours. What ashram? A small building consisting of one room (with a TV!), a small verandah and a cave of a kitchen. Nearby is a small temple with statues of Siva, Gayatri Devi and Hanuman. The elderly Swami stays in the small room (a simple soul who talks of his relatives all day and watches sports, news and dance shows on the TV) and his 86-year old sister stays on the verandah (she’s overweight, can hardly walk but devotedly cooks for and looks after her brother). A maid with her husband and two children complete the simple “ashram”.
We were housed in the temple, sleeping on mats on the floor (just enough room to lay three mats side-by-side!). Jnaneswari was as usual, completely calm, peaceful and loving. The Swami’s main concern is that he wants Jnaneswari to arrange some good devotee to look after the ashram, as he may not live much longer. Who is there to come to this small room in the middle of nowhere? Anyway I listened attentively to all his talk.
We arrived back in Guntur planning to return to Shanti Ashram, but reports of a huge cyclone that side, canceling all train connections, has changed our plans. The cyclone was supposed to hit here yesterday, but no sign of it yet (Later: it left in another direction, didn't come here.)
We arrived back in the ashram safely on 9 November evening. The recent cyclone, sad to say, did a lot of damage; hundreds dead and millions in crop damage. All along our train route were fallen trees and crops laying flat. Several large ashram trees fell down, as well as huge branch-pieces. May Swami bless all those affected, may all realize His love and joy ever shining! Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu!
Love,
Divya
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Everything in Slow Motion
December 9, 1996
Dear Parents,
I am busy arranging reservations for your trip here, as you both are arriving 12 January. My attempts to get a FAX number have failed. Indians are so slow, alas. They do everything in slow motion. They think that wanting to do something now and here is a mental problem. They calmly say, “Don’t be so hysterical. I will get you the FAX number in due time,” and then they totally forget about it.
As for your question of what I would like from there, I don’t feel anything is necessary, only joy inside that comes from experiencing Him as ever close, near and dear and pervading everywhere. May He Bless us to realize Him! May we gain a permanent spiritual awakening and experience, three of us together, on this India trip and time with the Avatar! Jai Sai Ram!
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
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Old Books in the Handy Canal
December 9, 1996
All is peaceful. I don’t have many seva duties – only a couple of hours in the morning sweeping & mopping rooms and preparing the Mandir for satsang; plus in the afternoon cleaning a few prasad vessels. Except for 3½ hours satsang, I am free to carry on sadhana the rest of the day. The new library man left the ashram due to ill health of his wife, and now no one is looking after the Library. But they won't put me in there again! They found out that I freely distributed a large amount of old books and magazines (also threw plenty of torn & bug-eaten books & loose papers in the handy canal) – to clean & organize it. They are afraid that if I again have library duty, soon it will be empty! Ha, ha! Be well!
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
YOU ARE READING
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...
