Manoharan's Account

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

 

I received permission from Manoharan (Amma and Me author) to share his

experience of the tsunami also.

 

Several people had told me they had felt an earthquake around 7 AM on the

morning of the big wave. I was up on the roof doing yoga at that time but I did

not feel it. But nobody was concerned or even thought about the possibility of

a tidal wave. Over the years I have felt several smaller earthquakes here at

the ashram, but it always ended there. The buildings rock back and forth a

little and that is it.

 

Then just before lunchtime, while Amma was giving darshan, I saw from the

balcony of my fourth floor room a number of people running toward the beach. I

went down and followed them to see what was going on. I found out that there

had been a big wave that had crashed over the rock breakwater in front of the

ashram, and there was a few inches of water standing on the beach road. No big

deal really. I, and everyone else, thought we had just been hit by a big wave

and that was it. I couldn’t quite understand what had happened though, because

the sea was calm and the tide seemed to be quite low on the other side of the

breakwater. I realized it must have been a pretty big wave to come over the top

of the rocks as it did. However not finding much excitement, I returned to my

room and started doing laundry.

 

Then, just a few minutes later, I heard a strange noise that I did not

recognize. I looked out my door to see what it was and did not see anything

amiss. People were standing around waiting for lunch to be served, no one was

alarmed. I returned to my laundry. The noise got louder.

 

I looked out my door again and this time I saw water a foot high rushing in to

the back parking lot. Now it started getting interesting. There is a little

pond on the West side of the ashram that I can see from my room and this pond

quickly filled and began flooding its banks and then the water started spilling

into to Western café area. At this point people started screaming and running,

seeking higher ground.

 

I watched from my balcony in amazement. The water in the parking lot rose

steadily and rapidly. Two feet, three, four—when I saw cars staring to float

around and bang into things I realized that something big was happening and that

there must be people drowning nearby. I went to the roof of the building for a

better view. About fifty people had gathered there. The water continued to

rise. The parking lot was now a five-foot deep rushing river. A steady flood

of water coursed through the café area and the outdoor darshan hall. I went to

the other side of the roof and watched a raging stream flooding right into the

ashram cow shed. I thought the cow’s would all drown for sure. (They didn’t).

Everything that had been dry land a few minutes before was now covered with 3-5

feet of wildly surging water. Being high up I was safe the whole while, but I

thought that if this flooding were to continue for very long the foundations of

the building would be undermined and all of us

would be in the drink.

 

But the water level maxed out at about five feet, after which it began to slowly

subside. An hour and a half after the ashram first flooded, the water had

settled to a depth of one or two feet, and I went down and began wading around.

It was pretty ugly. Dirty dark brown water and mud everywhere. Chairs, tables,

boxes, pots, food—everything—upended and strewn about. Several uprooted trees

littered the outdoor hall. Unable to see the ground because of the muddy water

I fell into a pit completely drenching myself. I made my way to the temple. I

found Amma on the front steps commanding some brahmacharis. Her presence and

demeanor brought calmness to the situation. After the water subsided a bit more

she began evacuating the temple which was full of thousands of Indians who had

come for darshan. I watched for a while as she stood on the temple steps and

blessed them as they left. Brahmacharis quickly ushered them to the ashram

ferries to take them across the backwaters to

higher ground.

 

Then Amma announced that all Westerners were supposed to evacuate too. She said

that she expected another wave. (It came too, about 7 that evening. Not as big

as the previous one, but it flooded everything again.) I went back to my room,

packed a quick bag, then helped for an hour to move some of the more valuable

stuff to a higher level, and then I took the ferry across. We went to Amma’s

new (still under construction) engineering college about a half mile inland from

the backwaters.

 

I must say that it was incredible how fast the ashram machinery went into action

providing food and medical care for both the devotees and the locals who had

affected by the event. We didn’t even miss our afternoon tea on the day of the

flood. And every morning ashram trucks and busses leave with teams of

brahmacharis and brahmacharinis to various other locations to distribute food

and clothing and to offer whatever other help they can.

 

I went back to the Ashram the next day with a small party to get some large

cooking pots and, oh God, things were such a mess. I returned both Tuesday and

Wednesday to help clean the café area and bail out some of the lower rooms, and

I’m back early this morning, (Thursday) to write this letter before the work

begins. Things are coming back together rapidly. Fifty Indian workers who had

been building the Engineering college came to help clean. I had five of them

assisting me to put the pot storage area back together. They are as industrious

as worker ants. Today the electricity is back on and there is now a limited

amount of fresh water in the ashram. The main kitchen is almost ready to go.

The word is that we will be able to stay here tonight.

 

My heart goes out so much to the locals who lost everything. I walked to the

beach yesterday and almost all the houses down there had been demolished.

Tuesday fifty bodies were burned on the beach a half mile north of the ashram.

In my mind it is clearly Mother’s grace that no ashramites or visiting devotees

drowned. And two things in particular indicate to me that Mother was quite

aware of the impending event before it happened. The first was that, without

explaining why, she decided to give darshan that day in the indoor temple

instead of in the outdoor hall, where she always gives darshan when the crowds

are large. So the vast majority of the crowd was inside and high up when the

wave hit, instead of being in the low and unprotected outdoor darshan hall. The

other thing was that Mother sent two brahmacharis to the beach ten minuets

before the big wave hit, to order those who were down there inspecting the

damage from the previous little wave, to come back to the ashram

immediately.

 

For me personally, the event has been primarily an adventure, and secondarily an

inconvenience. My story is entirely different than that of most of the local

population. I have not lost my home, or any loved ones, or even any

possessions. It feels strange to me to be right in the middle of this

catastrophe, with so much death and destruction all around, but to be relatively

unaffected by it. I just give thanks to God for my own safety, and I pray for

the thousands who were not as fortunate as I.

 

 

 

Friday Update: Yesterday, just after I had finished writing the above, we were

ordered to leave the ashram for a second time. There were rumors that another

wave (or cyclone, or something) had hit Sri Lanka again and so the jumpy Indian

government decided to order the evacuation of the coastal areas. So I hurriedly

packed my bag that I had just unpacked two hours before, and joined the hundreds

of other ashramites retuning to the engineering college. We hung out there for

the rest of the day, and then at about eight last night the word came that it

had been a false alarm and we were allowed to return to the Ashram. And I must

say, it’s very good to be back.

 

Happy New Year. Manoharan

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Jyotsna-ji:

 

Thanks for this account. Was Manoharan the chap who played "Rex

Brilliante" at a skit during the last Seattle retreat(BTW that was

pretty good; I think Rex's sister in that play should receive an

oscar nomination:-)).

 

Also about Amma eating fish- I find this very surprising and am

somewhat shocked to hear this. Mainly because vegetarianims is so

strongly emphasized everywhere at the ashram. It could also be that

one of Amma's relatives might have wanted to eat some fish and so got

it under the pretex that Amma wants it(who could deny that request).

So did you actually SEE amma eating fish?

 

-yogaman

 

ps. a story from the SRF lessons comes to mind; where a guru eats

beef in front of his sisyas while asking them to avoid beef. Some

sisyas entertained doubts about the guru being a glutton etc; so

later on the guru decides to teach them a lesson and on the way he

drinks molten iron, and asks the sisyas to do so as well. At which

point, all their doubts vanished.

 

In spite of this story, I think all teachers should rigourously stick

to what they teach, so as not to create confusion in simpletons like

me.

 

 

Ammachi, "E. Lamb" <jyotsna2> wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> I received permission from Manoharan (Amma and Me author) to share

his

> experience of the tsunami also.

>

> Several people had told me they had felt an earthquake around 7 AM

[Guest guest]

childofdevi <childofdevi wrote:

 

Hi Jyotsna-ji:

 

Thanks for this account. Was Manoharan the chap who played "Rex

Brilliante" at a skit during the last Seattle retreat(BTW that was

pretty good; I think Rex's sister in that play should receive an

oscar nomination:-)).

 

No. Manoharan lives at the asram. Mohanon played the brilliant Rex. Tip

(Bhama) was his sister.

 

Also about Amma eating fish- I find this very surprising and am

somewhat shocked to hear this. Mainly because vegetarianims is so

strongly emphasized everywhere at the ashram. It could also be that

one of Amma's relatives might have wanted to eat some fish and so got

it under the pretex that Amma wants it(who could deny that request).

So did you actually SEE amma eating fish?

 

Well, to my knowledge none of Amma's relatives come on the tour. Amma didn't

invite me to lunch that particular day (darn!) but I have it on good authority

that a local devotee drove around to various stores looking for catfish. I like

the story very much, as I (like Amma) grew up on the edge of a swamp and enjoy

the muddy taste of catfish on occasion. And Amma is diabetic, meaning that she

can't have lots of carbs.

 

After being a vegetarian myself for 27 years, I have decided a vegetarian diet

does not provide enough protein for most westerners, at least. Many of the

vegetarians I know have serious health problems. I roam in two groups, the

eastern religious groups and the large library system I work in. I'm very sorry

to report that there has been a greater incidence of serious disease among the

more vegetarian religious folks I know than among the librarians, who also tend

to have a moderate lifestyle but don't prohibit meat. Three of my SRF friends

have had cancer (two died), but none of the librarians I know have had any.

Coincidence? I don't know, but I have my suspicions.

 

Love,

 

Jyotsna

 

 

 

-yogaman

 

ps. a story from the SRF lessons comes to mind; where a guru eats

beef in front of his sisyas while asking them to avoid beef. Some

sisyas entertained doubts about the guru being a glutton etc; so

later on the guru decides to teach them a lesson and on the way he

drinks molten iron, and asks the sisyas to do so as well. At which

point, all their doubts vanished.

 

In spite of this story, I think all teachers should rigourously stick

to what they teach, so as not to create confusion in simpletons like

me.

 

 

Ammachi, "E. Lamb" <jyotsna2> wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> I received permission from Manoharan (Amma and Me author) to share

his

> experience of the tsunami also.

>

> Several people had told me they had felt an earthquake around 7 AM

 

 

 

 

 

Aum Amriteswarayai Namaha!

 

 

 

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Ammachi/

 

Ammachi

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sister Jyotsna,

 

A great story from Manoharan. Very kind of you to share with the

rest of us.

 

Thanks

 

Om Amriteshwaryai Namah

 

fg

 

Ammachi, "E. Lamb" <jyotsna2> wrote:

> Hi all,

>

> I received permission from Manoharan (Amma and Me author) to share

his

> experience of the tsunami also.