I first arrived at Ammas Indian ashram just in time for her birthday celebration. What immediately struck me was the commercial nature of it. There were booths set up all over selling everything from food to Amma laundry soap. My first impression reminded me of the money changers that Christ found in the Great Temple of Jerusalem. Afterwards, I was struck by the materialistic orientation that pervaded the ashram even after the birthday celebration. Westerners were charged a high fee by Indian standards for food and lodging, Lodging meant a spot on the floor of a small room shared usually with 3 or 4 others. Those who wanted privacy could purchase a tiny one room flat for $14,000. This entitles you to your own room while you are at the ashram, but you still have to pay half the room rate while you are there. Unless you continue paying the fee when you leave, the ashram has the usual 3 or 4 others stay in the room whenever youre not there. Guests and residents are also expected to spend time each day rendering service to the ashram. In contrast to this, traditional Indian ashrams do not charge for room and board. Goodwill donations are accepted but not required. At Ammas, everything is run like a business. There is a laundry service, taxi service, travel agency, phone and email service, as well as several stores, all designed to turn a profit for the ashram. Devotees are also charged high fees to travel on jam packed buses when Amma goes on her Indian tours. Food is abysmal, and accommodations usually mean a spot on a cement floor next to dozens of others on such tours. An Indian woman told me that on tour she once yelled out at Ammas request All you people without fathers get back on the bus. What she told me Amma actually said was All you bastards, get back on the bus Amma herself travels on these tours either in her new Mercedes (upgraded from an earlier new one) or her new luxury RV.
On of the best profit sources for the ashram is the ayurvedic center that offers a few weeks of pancha karma treatments (for about 2 hours a day) at a cost of around $1500. Unpaid Indian devotees do all the treatments so the overhead to the ashram for this service is practically non-existent. One Amma devotee who gets treated every year told me that Amma said to him that one round of pancha karma treatments is worth 10 years of sadhana. So he, in effect, expects to buy his way to heaven by having pancha karma treatments done every year
The US and foreign tours are also very profitable for Amma owing to profits from retreat fees, donations, and the sale of high priced books, tapes, and other items. I once asked a man why he bought a tabla set from the ashram when he could have purchased the same kind of instrument at little more than half the cost outside the ashram. He told me that the ashram profits were going for a good cause. This is a common misconception perpetuated by the ashram itself. At all of Ammas programs there are announcements encouraging donations to Ammas so-called charitable activities and saying that the profit from selling books, tapes, and other items goes toward these charitable activities, which fall into 5 main areas: orphanages, schools, housing, and hospitals. I decided to look into all of these when I was in India. I visited her orphanage near the ashram and was disturbed to see how the children there were living. Four children shared each bunk bed, which was just a metal frame with no mattresses. The food was just watery rice with a little overcooked vegetable. I was told the children would have had no clothing to wear except for the generous donations of clothing from some local Indians. When I asked who was paying for the few caretakers I saw there, I was told the state was paying them, since they were the childrens teachers.
Ammas schools are also listed as one of her charitable activities, but they are a very lucrative business for the ashram. Only those who can pay to attend are welcome. This applies at all levels from grade school up to trade college. Devotees are sometimes recruited to teach at these schools for little or no pay, but students are always required to pay for the privledge of attending an Amma school. The engineering, management and computer colleges are particularly profitable for the ashram. As for housing for the poor, the costs and numbers of such units built have been grossly inflated. The ashram will not build a dwelling unless the people own the land on which it is to be put. Obviously, not many of the poor are land owners.
Perhaps the most egregious misrepresentation of Ammas charitable activities occurs with respect to the AIMS specialty hospital in Cochin. This has been used as the center piece for Ammas money raising efforts. It is always touted as a charitable hospital meant to serve the poor and needy. Ammas websites and the hospital website have always maintained that over half the hospitals work is charitable in nature. But this is absolutely untrue. I know a man who went to India (a friend of soulcircle) to do some consulting at AIMS a few years back. He interviewed the management and doctors there and obtained copies of the hospitals financial statements. He was very surprised to find out that less than 5% of the hospitals resources were devoted to servicing the poor, and even that amount wouldnt have been there had it not been paid for by the government of India. Even the few poor people who were given medical care had to pay for their medications, which many could not do. This man was very disappointed to see poor people being turned away from AIMS and refused treatment. He approached Amma with this information and asked why monies were being raised adharmically under false pretenses. Amma, who knows and directs all these matters, told him that he was wrong and that 50% of the hospitals activities are charitable. He could hardly believe his ears and politely asked to be shown how this could be so. So Amma had the hospitals VP of Finance present their case, which went as follows: There are a few private hospitals for the wealthy in India that charge more than AIMS. Some might even charge twice as much as AIMS for the same procedures. Therefore, the difference between what they charge and what AIMS charges should be regarded as charitable.. The fact that the poor cannot afford care at either place somehow got lost in their logic. Meanwhile, Ammas organization puts out false brochures with photos of suffering children saying that contributions to AIMS will go towards saving these poor children.
The consultant mentioned above was also surprised to find out that many of Ammas devotees at AIMS or in her ashram were well aware of these misrepresentations and seemed able to rationalize them away. Amma herself told others that AIMS could not afford to give any more care to the poor at that time because the hospital was expected to pay its own way (where have we heard that before?), which contradicts all the messages given about sales revenue and donations being used for charitable purposes, with AIMS being the most prominent activity. Amma said she expected the charitable work at AIMS to pick up later. Since then, however, instead of using AIMS cash flow or ashram donations or sales profits to fund hospital care for the poor, AIMS has built a very large profit oriented medical college at AIMS that overshadows the hospital itself. Kerala, a state the size of California, already had 5 free medical colleges before this one, and wasnt in need of another. But Ammas medical college, like her other colleges, is using the goodwill of her name to attract paying students and create more and more profits for the organization. In fact, even at her ashram now they have established another college with paying students outnumbering paying devotees.
It should be obvious now that empire building is the driving force behind Amma and her organization. This is similar to SRF, which has spent outrageous sums of money on legal and accounting fees in order to solidify its organizational standing and stature. As a final note, Im enclosing below a statement that was emailed to the Amma satsang groups by one of Ammas former swamis when he left the organization. He was the Joint Secretary in charge of accounts, administration, banking and investments. He was offered money by the ashram if he would retract what he wrote, but he has courageously stood by his words despite being now under financial pressure. He recently started a wholesale export business for religious and devotional items. The quality and prices of his merchandise seem very good. Anyone interested should check out his website www.celextel.com
IDEAS IN REALITY - INSIDE STORY
My life of Twenty-Two Years as a Monastic was of never ending struggles in trying to bring the various Spiritual Ideas as Reality in my Life. While attempting to narrow down the gaps between the Ideas and Reality, I finally chose to observe my Life in Reality and had to give up the Ideas that remained unrealistic in my Life.
Chastity was the main Idea that had failed to become Reality in my Life primarily due to the highly stimulating environment that I was put in.
Not only in the individual level, but also in the Organization level, I have seen wide gaps when the ideas are put into practice. To narrate a few instances:
1. Just before the Inauguration of the Hospital at Cochin, we had suggested Amma to declare that Hospital as a Charitable One. But Amma had firmly told us that Amma would declare it as a FREE Hospital as that being Amma's real intention while establishing the same. Under the Indo-US Agreement, to get the complete waiver of Customs Duty for all the Medical Items to be Imported, the Ashram also has given an Irrevocable Undertaking to the Government of India that the Hospital would provide Medical Treatments at Free of Cost. But in Reality, as everyone here knows, the Ashram Hospital at Cochin is not a Free Hospital; Neither it could be considered to be a Charitable One as Certain Percentage of Beds have not been set aside as Free Ones for the use of Deserving Poor Patients. Many of the Deserving Patients from the Poorest Strata of the Society are turned away by the Hospital; Few of the luckiest ones get Subsidy; Persons from the Middle Class of the Society get affordable Treatment and the Affluent ones get the Treatment at a Competitive Rate. The Math which is a Charitable Trust is not supposed to run the Hospital like a Commercial Establishment as it is doing right now. When would the Ashram make the Hospital at Cochin as a Free or a Charitable One in Reality ?
2. The Ashram now claims to have completed 15,000 Houses to the Deserving Poor under the current Housing Scheme. In Reality, the Ashram has constructed not more than 7,500 Houses [50%] so for. The Ashram also is claiming to have spent about Rs.28,000/= per House. But in Reality, the cost incurred by the Ashram for each of the House is not more than Rs.14,000/= [50%]. Why are the False Claims ?...
Let there be Justice to Every-one;
Injustice to No-one !
Let there be Truth Every-where;
Untruth No-where !
On of the best profit sources for the ashram is the ayurvedic center that offers a few weeks of pancha karma treatments (for about 2 hours a day) at a cost of around $1500. Unpaid Indian devotees do all the treatments so the overhead to the ashram for this service is practically non-existent. One Amma devotee who gets treated every year told me that Amma said to him that one round of pancha karma treatments is worth 10 years of sadhana. So he, in effect, expects to buy his way to heaven by having pancha karma treatments done every year
The US and foreign tours are also very profitable for Amma owing to profits from retreat fees, donations, and the sale of high priced books, tapes, and other items. I once asked a man why he bought a tabla set from the ashram when he could have purchased the same kind of instrument at little more than half the cost outside the ashram. He told me that the ashram profits were going for a good cause. This is a common misconception perpetuated by the ashram itself. At all of Ammas programs there are announcements encouraging donations to Ammas so-called charitable activities and saying that the profit from selling books, tapes, and other items goes toward these charitable activities, which fall into 5 main areas: orphanages, schools, housing, and hospitals. I decided to look into all of these when I was in India. I visited her orphanage near the ashram and was disturbed to see how the children there were living. Four children shared each bunk bed, which was just a metal frame with no mattresses. The food was just watery rice with a little overcooked vegetable. I was told the children would have had no clothing to wear except for the generous donations of clothing from some local Indians. When I asked who was paying for the few caretakers I saw there, I was told the state was paying them, since they were the childrens teachers.
Ammas schools are also listed as one of her charitable activities, but they are a very lucrative business for the ashram. Only those who can pay to attend are welcome. This applies at all levels from grade school up to trade college. Devotees are sometimes recruited to teach at these schools for little or no pay, but students are always required to pay for the privledge of attending an Amma school. The engineering, management and computer colleges are particularly profitable for the ashram. As for housing for the poor, the costs and numbers of such units built have been grossly inflated. The ashram will not build a dwelling unless the people own the land on which it is to be put. Obviously, not many of the poor are land owners.
Perhaps the most egregious misrepresentation of Ammas charitable activities occurs with respect to the AIMS specialty hospital in Cochin. This has been used as the center piece for Ammas money raising efforts. It is always touted as a charitable hospital meant to serve the poor and needy. Ammas websites and the hospital website have always maintained that over half the hospitals work is charitable in nature. But this is absolutely untrue. I know a man who went to India (a friend of soulcircle) to do some consulting at AIMS a few years back. He interviewed the management and doctors there and obtained copies of the hospitals financial statements. He was very surprised to find out that less than 5% of the hospitals resources were devoted to servicing the poor, and even that amount wouldnt have been there had it not been paid for by the government of India. Even the few poor people who were given medical care had to pay for their medications, which many could not do. This man was very disappointed to see poor people being turned away from AIMS and refused treatment. He approached Amma with this information and asked why monies were being raised adharmically under false pretenses. Amma, who knows and directs all these matters, told him that he was wrong and that 50% of the hospitals activities are charitable. He could hardly believe his ears and politely asked to be shown how this could be so. So Amma had the hospitals VP of Finance present their case, which went as follows: There are a few private hospitals for the wealthy in India that charge more than AIMS. Some might even charge twice as much as AIMS for the same procedures. Therefore, the difference between what they charge and what AIMS charges should be regarded as charitable.. The fact that the poor cannot afford care at either place somehow got lost in their logic. Meanwhile, Ammas organization puts out false brochures with photos of suffering children saying that contributions to AIMS will go towards saving these poor children.
The consultant mentioned above was also surprised to find out that many of Ammas devotees at AIMS or in her ashram were well aware of these misrepresentations and seemed able to rationalize them away. Amma herself told others that AIMS could not afford to give any more care to the poor at that time because the hospital was expected to pay its own way (where have we heard that before?), which contradicts all the messages given about sales revenue and donations being used for charitable purposes, with AIMS being the most prominent activity. Amma said she expected the charitable work at AIMS to pick up later. Since then, however, instead of using AIMS cash flow or ashram donations or sales profits to fund hospital care for the poor, AIMS has built a very large profit oriented medical college at AIMS that overshadows the hospital itself. Kerala, a state the size of California, already had 5 free medical colleges before this one, and wasnt in need of another. But Ammas medical college, like her other colleges, is using the goodwill of her name to attract paying students and create more and more profits for the organization. In fact, even at her ashram now they have established another college with paying students outnumbering paying devotees.
It should be obvious now that empire building is the driving force behind Amma and her organization. This is similar to SRF, which has spent outrageous sums of money on legal and accounting fees in order to solidify its organizational standing and stature. As a final note, Im enclosing below a statement that was emailed to the Amma satsang groups by one of Ammas former swamis when he left the organization. He was the Joint Secretary in charge of accounts, administration, banking and investments. He was offered money by the ashram if he would retract what he wrote, but he has courageously stood by his words despite being now under financial pressure. He recently started a wholesale export business for religious and devotional items. The quality and prices of his merchandise seem very good. Anyone interested should check out his website www.celextel.com
IDEAS IN REALITY - INSIDE STORY
My life of Twenty-Two Years as a Monastic was of never ending struggles in trying to bring the various Spiritual Ideas as Reality in my Life. While attempting to narrow down the gaps between the Ideas and Reality, I finally chose to observe my Life in Reality and had to give up the Ideas that remained unrealistic in my Life.
Chastity was the main Idea that had failed to become Reality in my Life primarily due to the highly stimulating environment that I was put in.
Not only in the individual level, but also in the Organization level, I have seen wide gaps when the ideas are put into practice. To narrate a few instances:
1. Just before the Inauguration of the Hospital at Cochin, we had suggested Amma to declare that Hospital as a Charitable One. But Amma had firmly told us that Amma would declare it as a FREE Hospital as that being Amma's real intention while establishing the same. Under the Indo-US Agreement, to get the complete waiver of Customs Duty for all the Medical Items to be Imported, the Ashram also has given an Irrevocable Undertaking to the Government of India that the Hospital would provide Medical Treatments at Free of Cost. But in Reality, as everyone here knows, the Ashram Hospital at Cochin is not a Free Hospital; Neither it could be considered to be a Charitable One as Certain Percentage of Beds have not been set aside as Free Ones for the use of Deserving Poor Patients. Many of the Deserving Patients from the Poorest Strata of the Society are turned away by the Hospital; Few of the luckiest ones get Subsidy; Persons from the Middle Class of the Society get affordable Treatment and the Affluent ones get the Treatment at a Competitive Rate. The Math which is a Charitable Trust is not supposed to run the Hospital like a Commercial Establishment as it is doing right now. When would the Ashram make the Hospital at Cochin as a Free or a Charitable One in Reality ?
2. The Ashram now claims to have completed 15,000 Houses to the Deserving Poor under the current Housing Scheme. In Reality, the Ashram has constructed not more than 7,500 Houses [50%] so for. The Ashram also is claiming to have spent about Rs.28,000/= per House. But in Reality, the cost incurred by the Ashram for each of the House is not more than Rs.14,000/= [50%]. Why are the False Claims ?...
Let there be Justice to Every-one;
Injustice to No-one !
Let there be Truth Every-where;
Untruth No-where !
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