Great Undertakings
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Br.Abhayamrita
Chaitanya is the Chief Executive of Amrita Insitutions,
which is made of the Faculties of Engineering, Management,
and Advanced Cpmputing. He is also head of the campus-based
ashram that houses about fifteen monastic disciples of Amma
who organize the on-going building program. WIth Amma's guidance
and inspiration, Br. Abhayamrita founded and developed each
institution between 1994 and 1996. He describes the early
days: |
It all started in 1992. We
had already set up two other educational institutions, the Amrita
institute of Computer Technology and a Vocational Training center.
.The intention was to start an engineering college and to do this
we had to prove to the authorities that we had over one hunderd
acres of land.
In those days our only property was those few acres to Amritapuri.
I went to Coimbatore, Tamilnadu as per Amma's advise.
After three months of searching over more than twenty-two sites
I became desperate. The region is very dry and there was a problem
finding land with sufficient water. Finally we came to have a look
at this place next to the village of Ettimedai. When we went there,
it was raining. We took it as a good sign and bought it with Amma's
permission.
True Learning
Seven years later, after supervising the construction of several
buildings, as head of the three superior academic institutions,
and with a tremendous capacity for outreach work in the community,
Br. Abhayamrita is busy developing the educational, spiritual and
social aspects of the institutions. He assistants say this about
him, " He never will ignore anything or anyone; even the village
people readily come to him."
He has deep respect for all people in his care, for the academic
community, the local employees, and also for the villagers who are
his neighbors and helpers.In his simple office hut, Br. Abhayamrita
meets dozens of people everyday, including the faculty directors
who discuss their problems and refer to him.
He explains, " Amma cares for all levels of society.She starts high-class
institutions like ours not only to provide education, but also to
give her children from every walk of life, a chance to grow spiritually,
through selfless service.
Sowing seeds of Selflessness
Br. Abhayamrita feels that the student community and the
villagers should come together more, to learn from each other. This
is the basis for much of the welfare work that he undertakes.
" Students are inspired by the attitudes of their teachers
and come to understand the value of selfless sercvice through practical
projects. The main ones are the Eye Camp programs,
which are compulsory for AIM students, and the National Social Service
Project of AITEC. We also encourage environmental awareness through
our Nature Club and members are always
keen to help the local forest officers. The
Amrita Kuteeram project, which is providing
free homes for villagers in Ettimedai is also another opportunity
for students to serve others.
Encouraging attitude changes among the mature students requires
a speical sensitivity to their needs.The post-graduate courses are
very intensive and the main aim of the students is to get a good
job. They work very hard, often twelve hours a day, at least six
days a week, and have very little spare time. Many students are
entrenched in the attitudes they bring from their middle class backgrounds,
having lived in privileged city environments. At Ettimedai they
eat vegetarian food, are not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol,
and have to travel to the city if they want to see and hear popular
music and films.
 "The
students come into this ambience for two years. It is a far cry
from their familiar city neighborhoods. We know it will be an adjustment
for them, so we explain the way of life here. Only then do they
choose to come. I know that many of them have long since rejected
traditional values and even though they choose to come, some still
need a push to extend themselves. Every student has to go into the
villagers to help with the Eye Camps. This can be a shock for some
of them. They have never seen the conditions of the rural poor.
Although the rural people have very clean, simple houses, their
conditions are often very dirty and there are, of course, cows and
other animals running around, all of which is alien to the city
dwellers. I like to take the students to the village myself and
let them understand why we are asking them to put their talents
at the disposal of the villagers. These visits can often have a
very profound effect on them."
Through courses on self-awareness and personal growth and yoga,
the students are encouraged to consider the deeper meaning of life
and how to manage themselves. Introspective practices are often
very new to them, especially in an academic setting, and some students
react negatively.
 Br.
Abhayamrita coninued, " I see changes come gradually. They
are small but I think they are imortant, eg. the post-graduates
are happy to adhere to the self-service and self-cleaning policy
in the canteens. Usually these people would be served their meals
and would not have to clean up after themselves. Recently one management
student decided to serve the workers a special meal on a festival.
Eventually he raised the money and it happened - to everyone's delight.
Also the engineering students were very ready to make a collection
to help the people of Orissa after the typhoon disaster. They avidly
went about the task, going into coimbatore and collecting truckloads
of clotthes and other goods and funds. They were able to present
one hundred and fifty thousand rupees to the Prime Minister's Relief
Fund. That kind of thinking is coming spontaneously now.
" Apart the special field-based course units in the Management
institute, which are compulsory, most exposure to selfless service
is outside formal studies. I'm hopeful that soon we will begin more
and more, to build opportunities for service projects into the academic
programs themselves. Our aim is to develop a new genre of managers
and engineers - men and women who will value compassion for others
and who are equipped with the best of scientific knowledge. It
is this vision, which Amma has given us, that inspires me.
Amrita Kuteeram
The M.A.Math has started building houses for the poorest
villagers.
Raman told us his own story. He is a dhobi, (a washer man) about
fifty years old. He and his wife Manni have worked in Ettimedai
for forty years. Now they run a laundry service for the staff at
the college and his daughter is a janitor there. Raman's house is
a thatched whitewashed room, 1.8mX3.5m, where he and his family,
eat , sleep and work. Every day, Raman and Manni walk to the college,
which is about two kilometers from their home. Raman's laundry service
handles about 50 sets of clothes per day and his wife Manni irons
them. All the clothes are stored neatly in piles in their tiny home.
Raman's family will be receiving a house from Amma, which is being
built next door to his existing hut.
Raman says: " The whole village is depending on the college
now. Only from that work are we able to earn our daily bread. More
than a thousand people are depending on the campus. There are lots
of work opportunities now. Before we had to go far away for work.
There was no water and all the agricultural work had disappeared.
My family is very happy now. We've worked for the college for the
last five years. Of course we know Amma - look, I keep her in my
purse, she is always with me." ( shows a little photo of Amma)
Manni, his wife, shows her charcoal-heated, seven kg ironing-box,
which she insists is far better than the modern, electric ones.
" They don't press as well as this one; this is much heavier."
But what about electricity? "No" she said, " we don't
need electricity, we are happy, we've got everything." They
do the laundry at a a village pump about twenty meters fromt their
home.
It is a connection with this kind of sturdy simplicity that Br.Abhayamrita
is trying to establish for his students.
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