New Ashram Rules

July 19, 2000

Dear Parents,

Namaskars. Here all is going on well by Swami's Grace. Praying that you are all well there.

Enclosed also are the last two discourses in the Summer Course series, finished just recently. The joke is there are more Summer Course discourses for me to do, from 1996, the ones from Padmanabhan's shop!

Nothing much happening since the last time I wrote two weeks ago. We had nice celebrations of Guru Purnima, with a crowd of about 50 people. Rainy Season pujas are going on in the Mandir, only half an hour morning and evening, then discourses by Swamini Chidananda Giri in the evening (the young, strong, dark Sanyasi lady), which I cannot bear so I come near the end of Satsang.

There was a big meeting here on the 17th July, reading out new Rules and Regulations for Shanti Ashram residents, drafted by the New and eager Secretary Anjaneyulu, Big Uncle (a.k.a. Professor Prasad Rao) and another sincere worker interested in power and propaganda. We don't have copies of the rules yet, but when I get ahold of a copy I'll mail it to you.

The highlights are no drinking, no smoking, no fighting, no disturbing, inform the office of your every move and this is a one-Guru Ashram so no worship of others - this last point Swami Ramaswarupananda also stresses which I think is absurd. There are no disciples of Swami Omkar here except Jnaneswari, and she has no disciples living here except for two or three she gave Mantra Initiation to. Every other resident has another Guru, or none at all. So what should they do, give up their Guru? The Ashram would become absolutely empty if this rule was enforced, which it is not.

The essence of the Meeting (attended by all Ashramites and Committee members) was given nicely by one resident who said, "Before the rain there is a lot of wind. This meeting had a lot of wind but no rain fell."

Speaking of rains, we are having nice Monsoons with almost always cloudy skies, some winds and occasional sprinkles. Only two or three times in the last two months were there really heavy rains.

I had a nice talk with Big Uncle when he was here, he talked about the meeting with and spending a few hours with Dad. I guess Dad, you're too busy to write the story eh? Big Uncle didn't say much. He has to be talking and listened to always, but somehow he steers away from the main subject line of thought elsewhere, in a strange and skillful way.

Love,

Divya