A little blackbird

Santoshi, who was just visiting the ashram for a couple of days, had a special experience on Easter Sunday - the 'Resurrection Sunday' (!) - and wrote it down for you: 

The power of  'Om Namo Narayanaya'

"Me and my friends were walking up to see the Kali Temple. Me and one of my friend Lakshmi were walking a little bit behind so the two other girls, Nadja and Marina, where before us and they saw a blackbird laying on the ground in front of the Kali Temple. So me and Lakshmi quickly ran up to see this bird.

After a while Dakshini was walking up talking on the phone. So we tried to show her that there is a blackbird laying in front of the Kali Temple. When Dakshini finished the call she told us to chant 'Om Namo Narayanaya' and so we did. 

We where chanting a couple of times and then the bird stood up but didn't fly away- so we did it again, but this time more and it flew away!"

Puja with Kids

During Christmas there was a "Puja workshop" with the children.

Dorothea says:

Swami VishwaKeshavananda and Tusti organized a "Puja and Abishekam workshop" within the Christmas holidays for the children. Everyone brought his Murti or a laminated picture of Swami Vishwananda's feet for the course.

Swami Keshava and Tusti prepared everything very properly just as if they were about to perform puja and abhishekam in the temple.

We all gathered in front of the altar in the children's room and Swami Keshava went step by step with all of us through the prayers. The children did every part of the puja themselves to their personal murtis. 

There was a great enthusiasm and the kids were the whole time very focused and calm.

The so-called "best thing" came at the end. Everyone could offer Prasad to his Murti.

The Divine Mother had more than taken care of us for this part. Tusti arrived with a large basket of fine Swiss chocolate she had received as a gift from an Atma Kriya student. Furthermore, we still had plenty of fruits and other sweets. Soon the Murtis almost disappeared under the Prasad, since we had so much. Everyone was thrilled!

At the end every single child could perform the Arti to his personal Murti.

After more than one and a half hours of high concentration, the children asked very calmly when they might be allowed to eat the Prasad.

I saw how children, irrespective of different backgrounds, languages and ages, supported each another in the puja and the abhishekam and helped each other with calmness and concentration, which was astonishing given their different ages ranging from 4 to 14 years.

At the end not only the murtis and Padukas were cleaned, but also all of us who participated!

Thank you Swamiji