Letters from India - Part 2

23. Tour of Construction With Padma & Niraja's Visit - Aug 1990

Tour of Construction With Padma& Niraja's Visit

August 1990

Prasanthi Nilayam

Dear Parents,

Divya conveys her namaskars.

Here, the most important Accommodation office gent, here 18 years, nice & soft-spoken, died on 10 August suddenly from heart attack (he wasn’t so old). He was in the Chiranjivi Rao-Kutumba Rao-Mataji line of power. He seems to be the last one to go of the “Old Ashram” power. Certainly Swami is changing the face of the ashram! All people are new & fresh now. Kasturi and many other old-time devotees have died also. Some old residents are feeling displaced in this new ashram world!

Well, good ole’ friend Padma (Kasturi’s daughter) took me on tour recently. We saw the fast-arising West Prasanthi 7, 8, & 9. The first building (#7) is complete, the finishing touches are, amazingly, a fan and tube light in each room! Never has Swami provided a fan also - all the extras have always been put in at the expense of the new owners, when they move in. Also, each room has a kitchen, complete with shelves and sink! Bathroom has western-style toilet.

Meanwhile, since the office doesn’t seem to be troubling me to go, I have no desire or inspiration at all to get a room. Now there are over 700 donors, without owned rooms! Even now, donors have to share rooms because there aren’t enough rooms to house all the donors! During Birthday, of course, there will be a “Donors Shed”!

Next, Padma & I saw the Museum. This three-story structure will house exhibits from 94 countries, I'm told. Before a meditation hall was planned inside, but now they say there’s no room. The three huge, odd structures on top will become Gopurams (domes). The builders told the measurements; it doesn’t mean much to me but it may to you: highest Gopuram will be 110 feet above ground level, towering 70 feet above building itself.

All around the area there are small statues to all the gods. In the rocky hill area below there are several multi-colored canopies set along the landscape. I'm told that Swami’s planning on bringing in animals and having a mini-wild zoo and the canopies are for the animals to rest.

The Poornachandra is getting a new, huge curtain, I'm told - that’s why Swami keeps going to see construction.

Niraja has come with the two babies. Vijai Sri is learning the alphabet (English) now, to prepare her for Swami’s school next year (she’s 3 years old now). She still immediately attaches herself to me, even more than to Venkamma. But she is not so distressed when I go, as she can cling to Mummy and Grandma (Venkamma). She preceded to tell me stories of home life: “Sister pulled my hair yesterday so I pulled her hair back.” ‘Sister’ is now 7 months old, and I have observed how busy it is taking care of babies! Also here, there’s no such thing as diapers. They just get their saris wet with baby's urine all day. If baby does “number 2,” they dump it in the toilet and sprinkle water on the affected part, only to go on with daily duties in the same sari. 

They’re in Venkamma’s South Prasanthi room and besides all the sheets, blankets, and old saris on the floor, there is also a lot of luggage around the room: clothes, toys, papers, pens, etc. I'm happy to leave the eager maid of Venkamma do all the cleanup to her heart’s content! I’ve taken semi-retirement! The plan is, they’ll stay for Krishnashtami (August 14th), go to the other village for a day (to see Venkamma’s grandson Subri’s new born son), then return here, then go back to Anantapur.

Mom, I admire you for your years of hard labor bringing up three babies (not to mention years of teenage rebellion). Now you must relax and be happy with peace. Mind shouldn’t be disturbed now that you’ve overcome your hardest years! Now it the grand opportunity to somehow experience the Bliss of God, that comes after the darkness, that comes after the Nothingness. Good luck.

All for now! Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Love,

Divya