Locals, Kashmiris, Tibetans, Foreigners are living and working side by side and that itself is amazing. It rests the mind when you close your eyes, sit still and listen to the birds, the mantra recitation, the bhajans, etc.it is beautiful.walk in the sunshine, enjoy what the ashram premises have to offer.be there, be fully aware and be happy to be.and then, go out and enjoy the Village, the buzzing market, the shops, the food, the multi-culti village set-up. It is a spiritual exercise and many people, weary of this world, like. Discipline is written in big letters, not love or kindness.follow the rules, put your head down and do not question. The ashram is of course the main attraction why you travel to P'parthi. A place not to be missed, but go prepared. The advantage of sitting on the floor ( on a cushion, if you are 65+) you can stretch your legs. I sat on the floor and when I got up my bottom didn't belong to me! I was so stiff. Why was the older lady with the bad stoop not helped to join the front of the queue? If you are new to this and interested to go to the ashram, do buy cushions at the shops outside. However, I could not help but question, when there were hundreds of older followers, some with mobility issues too, who come from all over the world, they are not given the priority for the chairs or cushions but only the staff. There are no barriers between nationalities, religions. The ashram, even for a non believer, is a peaceful place to leave your stresses and worries behind a place to find some inner calmness a place to recharge. However another visitor in the queue asked her to join her. The helper/staff pointed to the back of the queue which too didn't seem to go with the ethos of the place. Once there was a very old lady, with a bad stoop and a walking stick, got off the floor with difficultty to join the queue. Some go off to meditate and others leave. Evening sessions also ends with people queuing to pray at the shrine. In addition to singing, they in fluent English shared their experiences of being a SaI Baba devotee. There were programmed by SaI Baba's school children. The afternoon programme is longer and starts earlier.
Sometimes those who reached the shrine lingered too long, the staff/helper tap on their shoulder to move on. Place flowers and other items for SaI Baba's blessings and leave. The queue moves to the shrine fast enough. So if a 'public' member is seen to be ahead of the queue they are pulled back to go to the end of the queue. The staff are given priority over the 'public'. There were three queues each time, walking patiently towards the SaI Baba platform/shrine. The staff/volunteers hold ropes to create the lines. Once the Bahjans finish, about an hour later, everyone joins the queue in an orderly fashion. It was amazing seeing people from all nationalities and languages singing or chanting the Bahjans word by word. The morning Bahjans are peaceful to listen to. She was offered a place to sit in a corner of this platform from where visibility of the shrine was limited. My friend has a knee problem and was unable to sit on the floor. We were told these were also for the staff. There were also cushions placed in different places. I thought these were for older people who cannot sit on the floor. On the women side, on the left there is a raised platform with chairs. There are different entrances for men and women. The staff/volunteers guide you as to where to sit. Some staying at the accommodations provided by the Ashram. There were people from all over the world. Thousands of people visit for each Bahjans. We were told when you leave any valuable items, it may not get stolen, but others may pick them up by mistake. It would have helped to have this information in posters in prominent places. Your bags are checked for cameras and mobile phones as these are not allowed inside. There seemed to be staff or volunteers supervising the visitors going in. It is as if though his eyes are following you wherever you went. We queue to go into the Ashram, which is huge with a oval shaped platform/ shrine in the middle with a gigantic picture of SaI Baba. We went to the Bahjans in the morning and evening over four days.
I am not a follower of Sai Baba but accompanied my friend who is a devotee.