News from Seattle satsang

A Marriage of Faiths and Traditions

Weddings are traditionally a time of joy and union. When two Seattle satsang members married each other recently, some 40 to 50 others in the satsang happily celebrated their extraordinarily moving ceremony that combined multiple faiths and communities.

Amma says, “Love creates smiling, laughing faces and compassionate hearts, and is expressed in sweet and pleasant words.” Her words of truth were shining brightly in a Seattle area Lutheran church for this couple’s memorable wedding.

The bride is a Lutheran Minister, and both the bride and groom are Amma devotees. Their wedding was an inter-faith service reflecting the different spiritual paths upon which each is traveling. Their resolve to include love in all forms filled the sanctuary with light and warmth.

While in some ways this was a traditional church wedding, it also included many inter-faith aspects and fresh, unconventional expressions. The printed program included the couple’s appreciation for their multiple faith and support communities, and their shared belief in “the mystery of God dwelling within all of us.”

Various friends of the couple recited quotes about love and married life from the Bible and from Amma’s teachings. The congregation sang a joyful hymn describing how “Love is Lord of heaven and earth.”

Family and friends gathered around the bride and groom to offer toasts for lifelong happiness. Little wide-eyed girls dressed in pastel, Easter-egg colors trailed the bride’s every move, reflecting the innocence and purity of the moment. Many expressions of love – including an ancient Chinese teaching about the lover and the beloved – were so moving that tender tears of appreciation welled in everyone’s eyes.

By the time the toasts ended, all had drunk deeply of the Divine Love in the room. There seemed to be an abundance of true friends and family surrounding and supporting this wonderful couple’s union -- a real marriage of faiths and traditions.

Northwest Region Craft classes

In October 2004, Amma sent word asking Karuna Poole to start teaching others how to make the tiny dolls, amulets and pouches that she makes to help the poor and the needy.

Wanting to help with tsunami relief and other charitable causes supported by M.A. Center bookstore sales, twelve eager devotees gathered in Karuna's Seattle home in January of this year for the first work party.

Srikari Jeffreys taught how to put hands and malas on the bodies of the tiny dolls, Lin Rose taught how to make bead and ribbon malas for the dolls, and Karuna taught how to make amulets and pouches from silk saris. In February, we brought the workshop to Vancouver B.C., where once again twelve devotees participated. The day was spent craft making and was followed by an evening of bhajans.

Our most recent workshop was held in Portland, the day following the NW Satsang Regional Retreat with Br. Dayamrita.

Devotees from Eugene, Olympia, Portland and Seattle Satsangs came, making a total of 17 participants! Many of those who have learned the new skills will continue working on the project throughout the year.

It is Amma's own incomparable example of selfless and tireless service to humanity that inspires us to do this tiny bit of service making tiny crafts for her humanitarian activities.

Gujarat Video