Devi Bhava in New York

[Guest guest]

I went to Amma's Devi Bhava in New York, July 11th, bringing a couple of

friends with me. The location has changed; after many years at the

Unitarian Church on Central Park West, Amma was relocated uptown at Roone

Arledge Auditorium at Columbia University. Many of the devotees

attending had mixed feelings about the move. The area is larger, and air

conditioned (taking darshan of Ammachi when not covered in perspiration?

A novel concept!). But it's not a religious or spiritual environment --

no stained glass, no pews, no religious ornamentation (of whatever

faith).

 

It seems each year they squeeze the devotees into a tighter space. As a

"special needs" handicapped person, I found the few chairs available

<very> uncomfortable. But the moment Amma appeared, any complaints were

forgotten. She and Swami Amritsvaroopananda gave a long, but often funny

talk. The puja is becoming more and more <manasic>, as ritual props

continue to disappear. Years ago, each devotee was provided with a few

flower petals to offer in the puja. That stopped a couple of years ago.

Now (probably because the crowd is pressed closer and closer together),

the oil lamps and camphor spoons were done away with. Might I suggest

that, if the crowd cannot be trusted with fire in such tight quarters,

that Amma have a lamp, and camphor flame, and bell on the stage with her

as the puja progresses?

 

After a short break, Amma was revealed enthroned as the Devi, in a bright

red sari with a great deal of gold thread. Definitely in the mode of

Durga-Ma! Several people noted that the darshan was going slower than

usual. I was given a token numbered in the mid-200's, and it took me

over three hours to get to the dais. When I left, totally exhausted

(but not sweating!) at about 12:30 AM, the staff were commenting that

they had to print more tokens; they had exceeded 2000 attendees, and were

not up to the 400's yet! It was being predicted that they'd still be

giving darshan at dawn.

 

Bhagavan Das was seated right up front, reading aloud from a text and

gesturing dramatically towards Ammachi. Performing the Guru Gita, or

some more obscure set of shlokas? I hoped he would take a turn at

performing some bhajans, but it didn't happen when I was there. The

musicians were wonderful, as my friend (who is just starting to

appreciate Kirtan) would agree. She returned to her seat after darshan,

and whispered to me, "That woman has some aura!" Indeed!

 

Om Amriteshvaryai namaha,

 

-- Len/ Kalipadma

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

We had the largest and the longest Devi Bhava in New York.

The tokens numbers were in excess of 2500. That's about 1/3

more than last year. Darshan started at 8:30 PM and ended

at 6:30 AM. The new location at Roone Arledge Auditorium of

Columia University was great. Large and well

airconditioned, plenty of racks for shoes, plenty of room

to sit and eat. Lot of space for book store etc. Plenty of

Rooms at the university for low (NYC standards) rent. All

of these had become serious problems at the church last

year. Congratulations to the organisers who worked so hard

to make this such a great success.

 

Vijay Nair

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Dear Len/Kalipadma,

 

Thank you for writing about Devi Bhava in New York. Up until 2 years ago, I

always attended the New York Devi Bhava. I have sinced moved away from the

New York area. I did see Amma during Her Washington, DC visit this year, but

I was not able to attend the Devi Bhava . Since I wasn't able to attend, I

bought a small picture of Amma in Her Devi regalia. (Yes, I already had the

same picture in a larger size, but I felt somehow guided to buy the smaller

one. I reasoned that I would be able to keep it with me in my purse.) On the

night of the New York Devi Bhava, I was sitting at my computer figuring out

how to join this e-group. I had the new picture of Devi propped against my

laptop screen when I noticed that Amma's skin began to take on a golden-red

glow. I immediately thought of Durga. When I read your e-mail the next day

saying that at the New York Devi Bhava Amma was dressed in a bright red sari

with lots of gold thread, "definitely in the mode of Durga-Ma," my heart

leapt. I felt that though I was not able to make it to Devi, She still

blessed me with Her darshan.

 

Om Amriteshwaryai namaha,

leslie

[Guest guest]

Beautiful story. Thank you.

 

Triveni