In 1987, a family in Chicago got a call from a Hindu Temple of
Greater Chicago, in Lemont, Illinois. They were told that a
south Indian woman and her entourage would be coming there
the following evening for a short bhajan program. The temple
management asked their help in offering the visitors Kerala type of
food for the evening.
The temple hall was small, there was a very
small stage and sound system, and the gathering was simple. Amma
sat at the head of the assembly, smiling at the ten or twelve people
that had come to see her. In later years, this meager crowd would
multiply one hundred times over.
Amma’s first visit to Chicago was in 1987. Chicago was added to
Amma’s tour schedule in 1989. It was then that a small, but dedicated
group of people formed the Chicago Satsang Group with Amma’s blessings.
The group met once a month to chant mantras, read Amma’s teachings,
and sing bhajans. Every year more people joined and the group became
like a family. What started as a group of five has grown into a group of
forty to sixty people!
Now meeting for our monthly Satsang has become an event,
almost like going to see Amma. We all gather to bask in the presence of
Amma through the presence of Amma’s devotees. Recently, we volunteered
to undertake a couple of Seva projects, which includes monthly poor feeding
in connection with a Church and a yearly food and material collection.
During the Christmas season we collected our 400 non-perishable food items to
be donated to a nearby food shelter. Amma’s yearly visit to Chicago is a festive
occasion for the satsang group. Everyone pulls together to make the events a success.
Recently we have started a class for the children of our satsang group that takes place
during the satsang each month. With swami Dayamrita’s blessings, we have named the class
Amrita Bala Kendra, Chicago. Each month, the eleven or twelve children gather to learn the
108 name of Amma as well as simple bhajan. We’re hoping to expand the children’s program
to include story telling and skits enacting Amma’s teachings.
