Everyone is Feeling Bad
May 24, 1999
Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu
Dear Parents,
Divya conveys her namaskars.
Here life is also strange – this year everyone is feeling bad – both mentally and physically. Weather is dark and dreary – daily rains & overcast skies. Tempers are short – everyone is arguing & fighting with one another (in a quiet, grown-up way!). Health is bad - everyone is getting fevers and stomach disorders, stomach pain & diarrhea. Since I don’t get that, I’ve felt only nausea and lack of hunger these last 10 days (since the fever). Some are blaming bad oil used for cooking, some say it is all the heavy foods and others say it is due to the bad & cold weather! I think it is just bad times! In fact I'm planning NOT to come next year. I'm tired to being bundled up all day, and seeing all the personalities clashing.
No, I don’t know anything about the world news you wrote. Yes, Swami might have said that – only to install courage in devotee’s hearts. In fact, each year He tells of dire things to happen, but always adds, “But it will have no effect on those who always remember God!” I think He means only Himalayan yogis in trance!
Sai Ram!
Ok.
Love,
Divya
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Spiritual Life Is:
June 16, 1999
Dear Parents,
Hari Om & Sai Ram! Namaskars. Speaking (writing) from good ole’ Andhra again – and what a relief! Finally to pull off all the sweaters, socks etc., and sweat nicely again. We left Kotagiri on the 7th via Chennai and arrived here on the 9th.
Here I am having a nice time again, with private room & silence. Dog Vijai is fine – and loyally in front of my house day & night. His brother Yuvaraju (Prince) comes & goes (to play) and his mother (Mangamma) and father (Rangappa) come sometimes to cause disturbance.
Susheela has remained in Kotagiri and has written that the all-out fighting of the remaining few devotees exceeds the noise of the departed Hyderabad children. Such is spiritual life!
So many think spiritual life is attending satsangs, repeating God’s Name and staying in ashrams; meanwhile scriptures declare spirituality means to be equal-minded in all situations, and love thy neighbor as thyself. Then again, a world of hypocrites is more interesting to Swami I think. He likes nice spicy, salty onion dishes! We can only consider it a dream – what is in our hands?
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.
Love,
Divya
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Rats in the Fan and Sita Cat in Andhra
June 20, 1999
Dear Parents,
The only things I left out in my room (when I went to Kotagiri) were a straw mat and an umbrella. Both were eaten up nicely by the rats. The other day I left two pain pills out on my bed at night (in sealed pack, for Parvatamma, the old bent lady suffering from back pain). When I got up in the morning there was only half a pill left! Yes, the rat must have had a headache and came and ate it in the night!
Another night it was very hot (over 90 degrees) so I had the fan on. Suddenly at 11:30 PM I was awakened by the fan going CLANK! CLANK! against something. I turned on the light and was sad to see a rat in the blades of the fan, with bruised back and dead. I had to remove the corpse outside. Again I went to sleep but then at 2:30 AM again I was awakened by the same clanking noise. Alas! Another rat had met with the same fate. Don’t know what inspired those two rats to jump inside the blades of the fan. Maybe they were hot too, and tried to get cool! Hope they are enjoying cooler weather in rat heaven now.
Another story is Sita the cat, which I was holding in one photo I sent, taken in Kotagiri. After convincing everyone that we needed a cat to scare away the rats in Kotagiri who were doing a lot of damage, someone brought the beautiful sanyasi-colored cat. But, when we were preparing to leave Kotagiri, Susheela announced that she would get rid of the innocent cat as she only wanted a Persian-type long white-haired, blue-eyed male kitten, and wouldn’t accept anything else (where can we get such things in India, and free also?!).
I felt bad but what to do? Vinamra next insisted that we smuggle it into Andhra as it was so adorable, and there were no cats there. So we bought a basket and loaded it with Sita, and her luggage of soft cloths, milk bottle, ball, sand for bathroom, biscuits, toast etc. No one knew until we were on our way. Jnaneswari, who doesn’t like cats, next heard the protest of Sita meowing as we reached Coimbatore, where we would catch the train. She started yelling almost hysterically that she would allow no cats in the veranda-house or Mandir area, and we would have to keep it in our own rooms.
Alas! So I told Vinamra that we better send it back in the van to Kotagiri, as it was unwanted in Andhra and might not be able to stand the heat also. But Vinamra insisted we keep it. So the journey was pretty strained. Imagine someone who doesn’t like cats, having to hear the meows day and night. Jnaneswari wouldn’t talk to any of us the whole trip! She was boiling nicely.
Upon arriving, the driver Sathya Narayana said they had been searching for a cat and would be delighted to take it. So the cat Sita went with them.
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...
