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March 22, 2018
Amma at the Ashram
Sri Vasudevananda Swamy Trust
Naidupeta, Nellore Dt.,
Andhra Pradesh, India.
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Feeling at home — Although Amma looks comfortable at any place somehow it feels like Amma is more so at the Ashram involved in the Annadanam and visiting the Goshaala and receiving the devotees at the footsteps of the temple. A very busy Lord indeed!?

It was the good fortune of Smt Krupa and Sri Nagaraj as Amma blessed them by creating the sacred and much coveted Srichakram — for the records, this one is number 92; sixteen more to come for the final tally of 108.

The next day Amma sat down for that wonderful herbal henna treatment for the luxurious hair; and, a chosen few get the sacred opportunity to apply it to Amma’s hair.

….. Amma looks over my photo gallery of Amma’s USA visit.

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March 25, 2018
Amma at the Ashram
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Sri Vasudevananda Swamy Trust
Naidupeta, Nellore Dt.,
Andhra Pradesh, India.
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?The Sacred Festival Day of Sri Rama Navami?
The festival of commemorating the birth of Sri Rama, a Divine incarnation of Lord Vishnu is celebrated widely in India and in other parts of Asia. Sri Rama is considered the very personification of Dharma (Righteousness), for he lead every aspect of his life in strict adherence to a Dharma. And, that is why the saying goes – Ramo vigrahavan dharmah (Rama is the very personification of Dharma)
रामो विग्रहवान् धर्मस्साधुस्सत्यपराक्रमः।
राजा सर्वस्य लोकस्य देवानां मघवानिव।। 3.37.13 ।।
[Sloka 13 from 37th Sarga in Aranya Kanda from Sri Valmiki Ramayanam]
Meaning: Rama is Dharma incarnate. He is pious. His strength is truth. He is king of all the worlds like Indra to the gods.
For more on the significance of this sacred day, please visit:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_Navami

On a personal level, Prasuna and I have very fond memories of celebrating the first Sri Rama Navami in 2013, as Amma presided over the event and meticulously guided every detail of the sacred ceremony. And that was in San Ramon, California, USA; and it was within couple of weeks of the very year that we were blessed to meet and be drawn into the Divine orbit of Amma. We followed procession carrying the idols of Sri Ram Darbar along with Amma into the neighborhood streets of San Ramon singing Bhajans; imagine that!

We woke up to the beautiful sacred morning scenery at the Ashram. While the staff and a few volunteers busied themselves making special Rama Navami feast I followed Amma for the morning walk towards the temple,  with a stopover at the place setup for Annadaanam.

Soon it was time for the special ceremonial worship at the temple. The stage was set with Sri Ram Darbar, with elaborate worship that concluded with the Homa and the auspicious wedding function of the Divine couple Sri Rama and Sita.???

The sacred idols of Sri Rama, Sitha, Laksmana and Hanuman were ceremoniously taken to the temple.

Amma noticed a beautiful Saree in the temple offered by a woman of modest means and quickly gotten into the act of dressing Sri Rajarajeswari Devi with the new saree. The saree may not me expensive but it caught the eye of Amma and accepted by the Divine as the perfect offering. Amma was very appreciative and complimentary of the simple lady’s generous gesture.?

Out with the old…

In with the new…

And that concluded the sacred ceremony; all attendees were served with delicious feast befitting the occasion.?

The Nithya-Annadaanam or daily feeding of the needy that began in earnest on January 1st this year continues unabated. Appreciating the noble undertaking many devotees from around the world have come forward to support the program. Based on the experience to date we envision the program taking off to serve even greater number of people. To address this escalating need the Organization is actively working on establishing a robust infrastructure including cold storage facilities and industrial dishwashing system and building a more permanent dining facility.
The video below may not give an accurate picture of nearly more than 300 people being served daily, because the visitors stream in small batches throughout the 4-5 hours of feeding daily.?