On May 30, 2007, the journey begins with a flight from my home town in San Jose to Seattle. I have no idea what I am about to experience, but I feel a sense of trust and exhilaration of things to come. In a more tangible way, trust includes flying into a city where I don't know anybody, not having taken any information as to where the programs are or how to get there, no idea where I am going to sleep, etc. The only thing I have to go by is that a devotee will pick me up at the airport.
Mother's grace has been with me since I can remember, ever deepening as our relationship grows, but I feel a particularly strong dose of it as the plane speeds down the runway out of San Jose Airport. I am overcome by a most sublime and soft, yet strong and sacred presence. Tears of gratitude fall from my eyes as the plane kisses the ground goodbye, and the world below begins to shrink away. This sacred embrace lasts for some time.
Near the completion of the short flight, I am greeted by Mt. Rainer, a beautiful sight to behold. I had forgotten about the magical beauty that surrounds the Seattle area.
I retrieve my luggage, but don't recognize anyone that lookes like a devotee. No one is standing and waiting with an "Amma" sign, no one wearing the hallmark t-shirt that reads "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu", nor any other recognizable Amma paraphernalia. So I decide to call Jani, our great travel coordinator. After fumbling through some papers, she gives me the number of someone from the local satsang who should know something. Hmmmm... I call the local person, and they give me yet another number to call. This happens for several more phone calls, until finally I end up calling a Mike who, as it turns out, is waiting near United's baggage claim, and, via cellular descriptions, we finally find each other. OK, so far so good...
After sleep at a devotee's house, we're up bright and early to make sense of all tour supplies. I help round up all veggie prep supplies to take to the kitchen, which is about a 10 to 20 minute drive from the program hall. The photo, above, features Lakshman taking a rest during this morning's pallet breakdown. After every program, the tour staff gathers all tour supplies and stacks them on about 30 pallets, loads the pallets on trucks, and then breaks them down again upon arrival in the next city.
This Seattle icon, seen from the program hall lawn, stands proudly against the morning sky as it greets us on the beginning of this magnificent journey. Seattle is the first stop on the North American tour. From here we follow Amma to San Ramon, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, Dallas, Iowa, Chicago, Washington, New York, Boston, and finally Toronto. From there Amma continues on to Chile, however, Toronto is my last stop. The N. American tour lasts from May 31st through July 23rd, about 7 weeks of total immersion in the presence of the Divine Mother.
After that whole business with the pallets, followed by several van loads of supplies to the kitchen, the first day of veggie prep begins. Above you see Amma's devotees skillfully preparing the first meal. Amma's devotees include an impressive array of staff who have gathered here from all over the world, including many countries in Europe, N and S America, Asia, India, etc. as well as local volunteers that help in each city. Our kitchen, for this first public program day, consists of the dining hall featured above which is being used for veggie prep, and a kitchen adjacent to it on the right. These facilities belong to a local church. In the spirit of impermanence, after our one day here we need to move our kitchen to a new location, a fair grounds about 1 hour away, where the retreat and Devi Bhava will be held for the remainder of Amma's stay in the Seattle area. Yes, this means pallets, trucks, everything must go!
Our first day goes quite smoothly, with a kind of electric grace flowing through the whole operation. Most of us haven't had the opportunity to see Amma yet (who is tirelessly dispensing hugs in the program hall some 10 to 20 minutes away by car), however, Her presence is very tangible through our seva (selfless service). This day is filled with warm greetings between devotees who haven't seen each other in a long time, the joy of being on tour again, and the excitement of spiraling into Amma's world. In one word, sweet. The photo above features, top row from left to right, Prana (Austrian), Myself (Polish and American), bottom row, Niko (German), Jitendra (German), and Lakshman (???). Prana and I, along with Atulita (whom you'll meet later) are the main veggie prep supervisors. Later, in San Ramon, we'll also gain Sumati, who has been a vital part of veggie prep for many years.
Prana is destined to become my favorite person on this tour. Being a long time renunciate from Amritapuri (Amma's ashram in Kerala, India) she has many words of wisdom for this relatively new devotee. I met Amma in 2003, and had my first taste of touring on staff when Amma was in the US in November of 2006 for 2 weeks. This is my first summer tour, however, the long 7 week stretch, so, unbeknownst to me, I have a lot to learn!
We get a ride back to the program hall for lunch, and, fortunately, we're able to catch a little bit of Amma for the remainder of our lunch break. The morning Darshan is still in progress, and the crowd, which was not very large to begin with, has dwindled as it is now after the noon hour. We find a spot very close to the hugging saint, taking a few precious moments to meditate and absorb her sweet divine energy before heading back to the kitchen.
As tour goes on, sleep deprivation becomes a very unique piece of the Amma experience, however, on this day most of us are still well rested and ready for anything! The photo above features, from left to right, Anand (from somewhere in Europe), ???, Rishikesh (France), ???, Supriya (Spain), and Prana (Austria).
Both Lunch and Dinner make it out on time relatively easily on this first day. After veggie prep is complete, our supplies are cleaned, gathered and prepared for the pallets. We start looking for a ride out to the program hall location for dinner and then to catch Amma for the evening program which starts at 7:30 PM. Oh but wait, before we leave, who around here knows where we're sleeping tonite? We have to get directions to our next location, rides, etc. Triptta, the main kitchen coordinator, helps us iron out some of these details, and with that, we kiss our first kitchen goodbye.
With a burrito in hand just acquired from a local taqueria, we drive down to the program hall, and with a few minutes to spare before the evening program, Prana, Atulita and I find an inviting grass patch to have a short chat and rest.
The evening program offers satsang and bhajans followed by Darshan. The bhajans are particularly electric on this first nite with Mother. Many new tunes which I haven't yet heard echo through the hall and inspire waves of energy and devotion as Amma raises her voice to God. We stay up for some of the evening Darshan, however, it starts to get late and still there is this minor detail of not knowing just how we are supposed to get to the devotee's house in which we're staying, about 1 hour away from where we are. Hmmm.... This dilema is beautifully resolved, after some wandering around and asking of questions, when Achyut, whom I briefly met on last years November US tour, hands me the keys to a rental van. This random act of God, it turns out, appoints me driver for a van full of devotees. It is so random actually, that come Devi Bhava a few days later, it takes me a while to convince Achyut that he did in fact give me keys to a rental van. Hmmm.... Well, in the mean time, the transportation issue is solved not just for tonite, but for the rest of our stay in the Seattle area. So, with newly acquired van and Prana in the co pilot position (thanks Pranaji!) minding the directions, we make it out to the correct house relatively trouble free.
More later...
Please click the links to your right for completed posts from other cities...
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