Amma Center in Santa Fe is located 7,600 feet above sea level, and has a dry desert climate. Sharing as it does the name of a saint, and located as it is in the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) mountains, Santa Fe is an appropriate location for an ashram.

The ashram hall, though modestly sized, was quite suitable for the retreat. Most of the retreat attendees were joyful and energetic. Except for two of them. The morning darshan found two sleeping figures on stage near the sound system controls - 14-year old Karthik and friend 12 year old Sashu. Amma's vigilant eyes spotted them soon enough, and candies were flying from her hands onto them. The boys woke up with a start to hear laughter - everyone's attention was on them, including the video camera's. Getting up quickly, they hurried away.

But apparently they didn't learn their lesson, for the evening bhajans found them again well-settled in sleep on stage, using the Swamis' orange cushions as pillows to boot! More laughter from Amma, and more things (soft flower-like things) thrown at them at the end of bhajans.

Swamiji explained to the curious crowd, "Amma's beloved children were sleeping all through the morning program, and now they were sleeping in the same spot on the left of the stage - throughout the bhajans!" Smiling sheepishly, the boys crept out, half-confused as to why everyone was looking at them with amusement.

"You are like burglars," Amma told them during the evening darshan, laughing. "Awake at night (playing, of course) and asleep during the day. "I see Kumbhakarna in your forms," she added with a smile, referring to the brother of the demoniac brother of Ravana, the demon king of Lanka.

[As a result of Kumbhakarna's intense austerities, Lord Brahma, the Creator, appeared before him and offered the customary boon. Kumbhakarna, being of the demoniac race, had conceived extreme enmity for the divine race of devas, and had resolved to ask for nirdevatvam, or the non-existence of devas. Unfortunately for him, the goddess of words, Saraswati, impeded his plan by making him slur his words - he ended up asking for nidravatvam (sleep). Brahma immediately granted his asked-for boon, and as a result Kumbhakarna spent alternate 6-month periods in continuous sleep and continuous wakefulness. If he was woken up during his sleep, Brahma warned him, he would soon face death. During the latter part of the Rama-Ravana war, Ravana was desperate to wake his brother up to help fight on his side. After using elephants, drums and such, Kumbhakarna was finally woken up.

But even the wicked have a happy ending where the Lord comes in. Lord Rama indeed killed Kumbhakarna, and Kumbhakarna attained liberation.]

"I want you get good rest during the night, and not sleep during the programs. Why don't you come and sit on stage next to me during bhajans?" Amma invited.

The boys did indeed sit behind Amma the next evening, but the change of scene was only partially successful - they spent the entire time talking to each other rather than singing or listening. Ah well, at least they were with their loving Mother.

Amma later mentioned that the kids were fully asleep and hence it was easy to wake them up. But most of us are walking around only half-awake. The Guru tries to awaken the half-asleep disciple and raise his partial awareness to complete 100% awareness. This incident is yet another reminder of the Guru's constant and patient effort to take us to the ultimate goal of Pure Awareness and perfection.

Santa Fe is well-known for film-making, art, and American Indian culture. On the first morning of the retreat, a group of children aged 4-16 performed an American Indian dance to the music of a xylophone. American Indians are very reverential towards Mother Earth, and symbolizing this, the central figure in the dance was a little girl dressed like Amma and embracing a globe. The other dancers saluted this unconditionally loving Mother Earth. Amma enjoyed their costumes, the music, and the dancers' joy and liveliness so much that she wanted the whole dance redone so that it could be captured on video. The troupe is apparently planning to perform at Amritavarsham, Amma's fiftieth birthday celebrations, to be held in India this September.

Later there was a Bharatanatyam (classical Indian dance) performance, and Amma was nodding her head and enjoying the rhythmic beats and expressive gestures of the dancer.

The topic of Gurupurnima* came up, and Amma said that the residents of the Amritapuri Ashram had asked Amma to call them during Gurupurnima. To this request from a Brahmachari Amma replied, "If there is a true disciple he may call me and I shall return his call." Most of her followers, she said, did not relish their egos being destroyed and would get angry when Amma attempted to do so. Under the circumstances, she played more of a mother's role, and not a Guru's, providing the love and attention that her children truly craved.

Let us pray that we develop the strength to receive the Guru's disciplining after experiencing our Mother's love.

*For an article on the origin of Gurupurnima, see the July 2003 issue (English edition) of Matruvani magazine.