South India Adventure :: A Day At Ama's Ashram

Hey everyone! I’m enjoying my fourth day in India and am loving this country already! I am in India for a 200 hour yoga teacher training. My training starts in 7 days, and until then I am backpacking around Kerala. Kerala is termed by the locals “God’s Own Country” for it’s incredible beauty. It is also the center of Ayurvedic Medicine.

Arrival at Matha Amrithanandamayi Mission

After a 3 hour ferry ride from Kollam, I arrived Matha Amrithanandamayi Mission. This is the mission of one of the few Indian female gurus, Ama, who is known as the hugging mother. She gives darshans (audiences) during which she hugs thousands of people all night long. Anyways, my friends had told me about her famous hugs and I was pretty curious about ashram life.

The ashram has over 3000 permanent residents, both Indian and international folks that come from around the world. It also hosts hundreds of short term visitors at a time, and the place can become completely packed when Ama is there. Ama was touring around India when I arrived, so it wasn’t as busy as other times. The total cost of staying for one night plus all meals is 250 INR (about $4USD), and international visitors are asked to pre-register online (https://www.amritapuri.org/ashram).

Accomodations

Upon arrival, I walked to the international visitor building and was assigned my room. I was on the 11th floor of a large pink high rise. My room was a shared dorm style with two bunk beds and a bathroom. The accommodations were less than nice…though one doesn’t come to an ashram for a plush way of life. However, the toilet leaked from the bottom every time it was flushed. In a country where their is no separate area for the shower and the entire bathroom turns into the shower floor, you don’t want toilet water leaking from the bottom… The cleanliness of the dorms is also really up to the short-term visitors to keep it clean, which is hard when people are constantly coming and going.

After settling into my room, I walked out onto the shared 11th floor balcony and was blown away by the view. To my left was the backwater canal that we rode the ferry down. To my right was the sea. And in front of me was an island covered in coconut trees and pink buildings, signature of the ashram. I spent some time sitting in silence overlooking this serene view.

More About Ama

At 5pm I went down for the daily ashram tour. Our tour guide first took us into the Kali temple to watch a 30 minute documentary on Ama’s work. Before this, the only thing that I knew about Ama was her hugs. From the documentary, I learned how much work her foundation does for international disaster relief. She also started a university that is rated the number one private university in India, which works to empower women in a country where gender inequalities are large. After the documentary, we walked around the ashram and were told what’s what and how everything works.

Daily Schedule of Ashram

There is a daily schedule that anyone can drop into at any time. This is the schedule:
04:50 a.m. – 06:00 a.m. Chanting of Lalita Sahasra Nama (Archana)
06:30 a.m. – 07:30 a.m. Meditation
08:30 a.m. – 09:30 a.m. Breakfast
10:00 a.m. – 01:00 p.m. Seva
12:30 p.m. – 02:00 p.m. Lunch
02:00 p.m. – 05:00 p.m. Seva
05:00 p.m. – 06:00 p.m. Meditation
06:30 p.m. – 08:00 p.m. Bhajans
08:15 p.m. – 09:00 p.m. Dinner
09:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Personal study, Meditation, Diary Keeping

Seva is volunteer work that people sign up to do. Bhajans are similar to kirtan, devotional singing. Before bhajans, people are encouraged to meditate on the beach for sunset. When Ama is at the ashram she often leads these meditations. Our tour stopped on the beach, and I joined the others in meditation. It was a wonderful way to find some stillness in my crazy travel schedule. After meditation I joined the women in the Kali temple (the men were in a different temple) for bhajan, which was very presencing as well.

Food and Activities

I had dinner with my new friend, Al, who had arrived on the ferry with me. Dinner was rice porridge with sambar (a lentil vegetable stew). It was tasty and simple. There is also an Indian canteen, Western canteen, and juice bar that you can buy food at if the free food is not to your liking.

The next morning I woke up to the sun rising over the backwaters with the mist making its way through the coconut trees. I had an incredible self-led yoga session on the 11th floor balcony. It was a Tuesday, which is the ashram’s rest day, so none of the activities were happening. These activities include yoga, guided meditation, music classes, Ayurvedic consultations, and other workshops. After breakfast, a meditation session on the beach, and some time in the temple, I said goodbye to the ashram and set off for Alleppey.