Guest guest Posted August 2, 2002 Report Share Posted August 2, 2002 Ok, this is a rant, but maybe I could do this just once more! Congregational and ritualistic approaches to religion (with tons of rules, rituals, and "are you on my team" approach) are annoying and yucky. And responsible for the world's suffering through history....I agree with Aikya. I think I encounter quite a bit of this at Amma's darshansn in the US and the Rhode Island retreat. After 13 years of having Amma's darshan, this time I asked to be stationed near her for seva, (instead of the usual dishwashing and garbage seva), and got an officious enquiry "Have you done any lap seva yet?" When I said no, there was an immediate "Well, you can't do it then, you need to be trained." There were plenty of other sevas near her, and by persevering, I did get nearer her...so it was a happy ending. But this is what I observed from my closer seva position to Amma. Regular people would be told where to sit on stage in line, etc. and anxious to observe the rules, they would be quiet, revertential, and obedient to the seva people's various instructions. But the "in" people would get in line wherever they wanted, and smile and chat with the "tissue" people and other seva folks, and generally behave as though it was the governor's tea party to which they had a personal invite. Needless to say, 99% of the "in" people who got the plum sevas and seemed to break the rules with impunity from the organizers (for which non-"in" folks would have been herded by the volunteers) were Americans (non-Indians). I am Indian and Hindu, and I am not ritualistic or lapsed. I am a little sick of the officiousness and the busy self-importance of many of these people. Initially because of family inclinations and later, through my own, I have been at the feet of great gurus and saints since before I can remember. It doesn't matter how many times you have been there, and what you know, all you must be when you with a guru, a teacher or a realized soul is humble, reverent, obedient and above all, loving. White or brown, Hindu or not, "in" or "out"-- this is a basic truth. Amma is not a franchise. Om Namah Shivaya, Usha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2002 Report Share Posted August 2, 2002 Usha, I have seen this two. Especially this last time I went to see Amma with my children. It was a totally different experiance for me that almost left me sad and upset when I left but later I saw the lessons I needed to learn that just happened to come out of that day's events. Amma works in strange ways. We saw her in Andover and I thought there appeared to be many Indians that went first which to me was a pleasant surprise. My first time seeing her in NYC I didn't want to be before anyone that was Indian as my thinking was they should see her first. I can't explain why maybe in my mind they are born into Hinduism and I am trying to remember and relearn what I have forgotten from a past life. That may not make sense. I know Amma sees family and children and the sick first but we were sitting next to a woman who was very elderly and I would have liked to see her go up sooner than she did. And there was another woman who was ill that I felt should have gone before many of the people that I saw and actually heard say that thier flowers were wilting or their chocolate gifts were melting and they needed to go now. Our chocolate melted beyond being able to give it to Amma (my kids were heartbroken over it) and we still didn't ask for a privalage to go next or cut the line. My two year old was losing it and having a hard time waiting (it took us 4 hours to see her but I would have waited much much more to see her) and still I saw people just walking up chit chatting and getting in line. There was a woman next to me who made a comment about it but we both agreed we would get our turn eventually. It did make me wonder though what Amma thought about this. Namaste, Shelly Mom to 5 CT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2002 Report Share Posted August 3, 2002 I hope you get "trained" some time so that you can get your chance at lap seva. I was offered the opportunity once and couldn't stay past 1 AM on a work night to do it. I learned in my visit to Rhode Island, to persist and not take no for an answer regarding what I needed. It was an interesting lesson in seeing through illusion for me. This thought is well expressed: "I am Indian and Hindu, and I am not ritualistic or lapsed. I am a little sick of the officiousness and the busy self-importance of many of these people. Initially because of family inclinations and later, through my own, I have been at the feet of great gurus and saints since before I can remember. It doesn't matter how many times you have been there, and what you know, all you must be when you with a guru, a teacher or a realized soul is humble, reverent, obedient and above all, loving. White or brown, Hindu or not, "in" or "out"-- this is a basic truth. Amma is not a franchise." You have aptly told us how we can find the great one in a crowd, any crowd. That person also is simple reverent, and loving. Perhaps we can not be fooled or hurt by the self-importance of those who are not quite as spiritually mature. Aikya " Ammachi, DJUM@a... wrote: > Ok, this is a rant, but maybe I could do this just once more! > > Congregational and ritualistic approaches to religion (with tons of rules, > rituals, and "are you on my team" approach) are annoying and yucky. And > responsible for the world's suffering through history....I agree with Aikya. > > I think I encounter quite a bit of this at Amma's darshansn in the US and the > Rhode Island retreat. After 13 years of having Amma's darshan, this time I > asked to be stationed near her for seva, (instead of the usual dishwashing > and garbage seva), and got an officious enquiry "Have you done any lap seva > yet?" When I said no, there was an immediate "Well, you can't do it then, > you need to be trained." There were plenty of other sevas near her, and by > persevering, I did get nearer her...so it was a happy ending. > > But this is what I observed from my closer seva position to Amma. Regular > people would be told where to sit on stage in line, etc. and anxious to > observe the rules, they would be quiet, revertential, and obedient to the > seva people's various instructions. But the "in" people would get in line > wherever they wanted, and smile and chat with the "tissue" people and other > seva folks, and generally behave as though it was the governor's tea party to > which they had a personal invite. Needless to say, 99% of the "in" people > who got the plum sevas and seemed to break the rules with impunity from the > organizers (for which non-"in" folks would have been herded by the > volunteers) were Americans (non-Indians). > > I am Indian and Hindu, and I am not ritualistic or lapsed. I am a little > sick of the officiousness and the busy self-importance of many of these > people. Initially because of family inclinations and later, through my own, > I have been at the feet of great gurus and saints since before I can > remember. It doesn't matter how many times you have been there, and what you > know, all you must be when you with a guru, a teacher or a realized soul is > humble, reverent, obedient and above all, loving. > > White or brown, Hindu or not, "in" or "out"-- this is a basic truth. > > Amma is not a franchise. > > Om Namah Shivaya, > Usha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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