Amma waving oil lamp and chanting prayers, and Planet Glee is the union of Venus and Saturn, Love and Responsibility

I have been a follower, a devotee of Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma of the state of Kerala in India, since 2002.  It's been 18 years of solace and inspiration from a woman who is the essence of Bhakti, the yoga of Love.  She is the essence of compassion, and she is also a staunch feminist!! This past Saturday she led the ashram in Cochin in what is arati, or a fire ceremony.  Everyone chanted, "Lokah samastah sukhino Bhavantu,' for peace and world love and compassion.



Personally, I have not seen Amma at the ashram since 2018, and I miss her terribly.  Today, having seen this short video of Amma's devoted and constant love for humanity, I am reawakened to her power and simplicity.  The darkness within the video is really telling, because the light is illuminating this darkness, just like our empathy and compassion can bring warmth and light to a  world in the USA that is overshadowed by incessant selfishness and self-seeking on the part of the country's current power structure, just like in India.



It was very disturbing for me to see the Prime Minister of India, Mister Modhi, walking around the lush gardens of his palace with the current USA president, a person that Planet Glee considers a person with a disability, actually several disabilities, and the country cannot suffer any longer from the constant disappointment that this person causes due to his deficiencies as a person, a human being, and as a 'leader' of a country as large as the USA.



Amma is said in the is you tube video to be praying for all of India.  Her state, Kerala, is doing okay.  It is, and has been, a Socialist state, however one wants to view that.  Amma has a huge teaching hospital there, and if there will be any scientists who can defy the chemical make-up of the Covid-19 virus, they will come from Kerala, or UCSF, or Paris or Cuba.



When I make food now, I think about India and the absolute lack of food for the majority of the people.  Here in San Francisco there are places for people to get free food, or to buy food at a low coast, (see the video from the Bistro SF Grill on this page). T



Today I went shopping at Rainbow Workers' Cooperative, the first and longest-lasting workers' cooperative int he country.  It is located in the Mission District where Saint Anthony's used to be.  Praise all the gods for Rainbow and the Foods Co which is half a block away from Rainbow.  I didn't buy much food, to be honest.  I usually get my vitamins there.  I did buy some vegan chips, and when I left Rainbow I was eating them while waiting for the bus.



When I got back to my neighborhood near the Castro Theatre, there were people lying on the sidewalk in sleeping bags or with just a blanket of sorts.  There was a young guy who was shaking out his blanket.  I handed him the big bag of vegan chips, and he was like, "Oh, cool.'  I said to myself that maybe I should start cooking for the people in the neighborhood that I have seen over the past few months.



I wonder what Amma would think of that.  I could make basmati rice and veggies, no dead things. like fish and meat and eggs.  Can I afford this?  The rice is not expensive.  It is easy to make.  I can get the veggies at my favorite Mexican market in the Mission.  I am concerned about people who need to keep up their immunity by eating something healthy.  My concern is that they are not able to keep themselves warm if they are starving..



Even health food chips are better than meat and fish.  Yet, when it's cold at night and there's a sandwich with meat in it, it's better to eat the sandwich than not.  I don't know.  When I think of the people in India who were interviewed by Democracy Now! and the fact that many of them said they would rather die of the virus than die of hunger, I am stumped.  How can I help?  What can Planet Glee do?



I think I have to go back and interview the owner of Bistro SF Grill again.  I want to know how their 'experiment' in community consciousness and awareness, community generosity and compassion, their dedication to providing meals to everyone, how this is still working.  I think I will go there tomorrow.  More on this later.