Arrive in Kotagiri
April 8, 1997
Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu
Dear Parents,
Our train was a mere 6½ hours late, but due to His Blessings it finally showed up and the five of us had a smooth and peaceful journey – 26 hours long. We should have arrived in Coimbatore at 2:15 PM but we came at 10:30 PM! We were of course carted off to a devotee’s house for dinner (10-course), video watching (a temple opening ceremony), etc. Finally the van climbed the hills for three hours and we arrived safely to Kotagiri at 3 AM on April 6th! GOD’S GRACE!
Here it is pleasant weather, I am bearing the cold bundled in socks, shawl, sweater, etc. It’s been a little cloudy but sometimes the sun comes out. The thermometer reads “70 degrees” - positively freezing! Very beautiful here – tea plantations, gardens, etc.
Jnaneswari is keeping me busy dusting shelves, washing and rearranging drawers, sweeping a little, putting flowers in Mandir, cleaning puja vessels, ironing, writing letters, etc. It’s been two days only and we are not yet settled into routine.
Vinamra and Bheemavaram Lakshmi are good jovial company and Jnaneswari is spending hours with the three of us, talking and laughing and in the middle sneaking in deep spiritual truths, morals etc. So far not many visitors and it is a quiet and easy life.
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
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Days Spent Leisurely
April 19, 1997
Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu
Dear Parents,
Days are spent leisurely here, the initial first days of cleaning and organizing behind us. Jnaneswari has practically no work, so spends hours with us. Vinamra and Bheemavaram Lakshmi are good, jovial company. We still have satsangs two hours morning and evening. Sometimes in the late afternoons Jnaneswari takes us on walks around the green hills and garden houses.
Here more devotees have come, about 30 total of us. I am in a huge room alone for now, but the other three beds will be full after a week. The peaceful, beautiful nature is perfect for meditation.
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
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Peaceful and Cool Days
May 7, 1997
Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu
Dear Parents,
Here we are enjoying peaceful and cool days. Most of the 20 visitors here are in the 70-80 age group, bearing walking sticks and slightly bent backs. They are a very simple and innocent lot, content to spend all the 24 hours of each day in quiet prayer with no other entertainment. Only three of us, Vinamra (age 33), Lakshmi (age 48) and myself (age 31) are under 65 years old!
On 4th May we went in the van to a simple village function celebrating Easwaramma day. There were 100 people there. Sai devotees in this ashram donated 75 woolen blankets which were distributed to poor villagers. Some Sai bhajans and short talks were held; afterwards Jnaneswari and others distributed blankets, Sai photos, vibhuti packets and food packets. It was a beautiful, small village amongst empty fields and rolling hills. Again on the 6th a big program of bhajan & cultural program was held in the ashram, nearly 1,000 devotees came (Jnaneswari & I didn’t go to that one).
On 1st May a 79-year old devotee here attended evening satsang, ate dinner and went to bed as usual, never to get up again - someone discovered his non-breathing body in bed the next morning. The next day normal routine was disrupted as everyone rushed to and fro. In typical Indian fashion, the ambulance people promised to send a van immediately (we phoned at 6 AM) – it finally came at 4 PM, until then Jnaneswari refused to bathe or eat or drink anything. The “ambulance” was a VW van type, looking 100 years old. The body was speeded away to his native plane, 24 hours away; the trip took 44 hours in Indian summer. May God Bless his soul!
Meanwhile, Vinamra came down with fever and was bedridden for four days. She was just starting to feel better when she rolled over in bed suddenly, straining her back. She had unbearable pain – again a few days in bed; doctors suspect slipped disk. Poor thing! How fragile is our hold on events!
Anyway, otherwise days are filled with peace. I cannot say whether it is true, permanent progress or only the electrifying pure influence of Jnaneswari, radiating like a saint. The weather is nice and the scenery beautiful, as well as good devotees around.
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu!
Love,
Divya
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Quiet Nature
May 25, 1997
Shanti Ashram
Dear Parents,
Here we are spending leisurely days, with plenty of time to sit in quiet nature and meditate. After meditation I talk bath leisurely at 5 AM, then wash clothes, scrub puja vessels and set up the Mandir for Satsang. That brings the time to 7:30 AM. 7:30 – 9 AM is Satsang. Then 9 – 10 AM is breakfast then sitting outside with Jnaneswari - sometimes she reads to us from a book or sometimes dictates English letters for me to type up. 12 – 2 PM is again free, as Jnaneswari goes inside to write letters etc. I type or iron her clothes, deliver the mail to devotees when it comes, or it there is no work, sit quietly and alone outside. 2 – 3:30 PM is lunch and again sitting with Jnaneswari. 3:30 – 4:30 is rest time, then until 6 PM sometimes we go on walks on the beautiful surrounding hills or to close garden-nurseries. 6 – 8 PM is evening Satsang. 8 – 10 or 10:30 PM is dinner time and again sitting with Jnaneswari. Morning and night time the phone rings a lot and it is Divya’s duty to answer it and go running to call the elderly devotees whose children or grandchildren have called. You can understand why they like me here – I give their mail and inform them about phone calls!
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu!
Love,
Divya
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Visit to Madras
July 1, 1997
Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu
Dear Parents,
Mataji and I went to Madras on 28 June and returned on 1 July. There is one very elderly longtime devotee living in Madras; recently her husband and daughter-in-law passed away, and the devotee has been requesting Jnaneswari though letters to visit and consol her. So Jnaneswari took me as company and we made the 10-hour journey by train to Madras. We stayed in a nice devotee’s house for one night only (arriving 29 June and taking the night train next day). On the train coming, the other four people in our compartment had a very wild party - about seven rowdy gents shouting and making strange loud noises while card-playing and gamboling all night. What to do? We covered ourselves up and tried to ignore it all night.
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...
