>From someone who visited amma's Ashram:
'I first arrived at Amma's Indian ashram just in time for her birthday celebration. What immediately struck me was the commercial nature of it. There were booths set up all over selling everything from food to Amma laundry soap. My first impression reminded me of the money changers that Christ found in the Great Temple of Jerusalem. Afterwards, I was struck by the materialistic orientation that pervaded the ashram even after the birthday celebration. Westerners were charged a high fee by Indian standards for food and lodging, Lodging meant a spot on the floor of a small room shared usually with 3 or 4 others. Those who wanted privacy could "purchase" a tiny one room flat for $14,000. This entitles you to your own room while you are at the ashram, but you still have to pay half the room rate while you are there. Unless you continue paying the fee when you leave, the ashram has the usual 3 or 4 others stay in the room whenever you're not there. Guests and residents are also expected to spend time each day rendering service to the ashram. In contrast to this, traditional Indian ashrams do not charge for room and board. Goodwill donations are accepted but not required. At Amma's, everything is run like a business. There is a laundry service, taxi service, travel agency, phone and email service, as well as several stores, all designed to turn a profit for the ashram. Devotees are also charged high fees to travel on jam packed buses when Amma goes on her Indian tours. Food is abysmal, and accommodations usually mean a spot on a cement floor next to dozens of others on such tours. An Indian woman told me that on tour she once yelled out at Amma's request "All you people without fathers get back on the bus." What she told me Amma actually said was "All you bastards, get back on the bus…" Amma herself travels on these tours either in her new Mercedes (upgraded from an earlier new one) or her new luxury RV. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
