Annual Picnic

The first edition of Seattle Satsang's Annual Summer Picnic was held on Saturday, 13th September 2008 at the Carkeek Park, North Seattle from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The inspiration for having this event was our beloved Amma. Amma told some devotees during the Summer Tour that Satsangs should organize spiritual picnics like having group chanting or meditation at the beach and such.

So, blessed with wonderful weather, about 20+ devotees showed up to spend time together in a very informal, fun-filled setting. The group had a perfect mix of old time devotees and newer devotees. There were people of all age groups from toddlers, kids and youth to adults, parents and grand-parents.

The event promised to be fun for everyone. Here are some highlights of the day.

Chanting by the beach

A great way to start our day. At around 11:30 am few of the early birds went towards the beach and chanted Amma's 108 Names and Lokah Samastha followed by a brief meditation.

Lunch Break/Spiritual Quiz

By the time the chanting was complete we had more devotees ready to join the fun. We decided to have our lunch break. There was so much food to choose from. Thankfully it seemed everyone had a good appetite. The long lunch session was combined with a Spiritual Quiz. Here was an opportunity for everyone to test their knowledge about AMMA's world.

Most prominent winners were awarded. On the groups demand the most prominent loser was also awarded as a sign of encouragement to learn more. The quiz was divided into 4 categories: Amma's Tour, Amma's Teaching, Amma's Charity and Amma's Life. A total of 20 questions, 5 per category. The quiz was well received overall, although there were complaints on some of the questions being tough.

Sporting Fun Activities

After the sumptuous lunch it was time to have some fun. Everyone had their own idea of fun. While parents with younger kids spent some time in the play area, a few adults and some kids indulged in sporting activities such as Volleyball and Badminton. This is one facet of our fellow devotees that we may have never seen.

Amma's Trail of Liberation

It was now time to take "Amma's Trail of Liberation". Yes you heard that right. It was a trail filled with full of surprises, with Amma's shining message coming to everyone who took the trail. It generated so much enthusiasm that we got 99% participation. Well the 1% graciously stayed behind to watch over all our belongings while the rest were on the trail.

The whole trail was lightened up with Amma's paadam photos located at strategic points. Each photo carried a special message. As Amma would have it, the first such Amma photo was found by our youngest generation, the kids.

This generated so much curiosity and interest in them; they literally set the trail on fire by vigorously searching for more Amma signs throughout the trail. The adults were not to be left behind and soon we could see each and everyone surveying the trail carefully for Amma's signs. Our beloved Amma obliged and made this a fruitful and memorable trail for everyone.

Amma Experience Story Time

Our elevated trail led us to final destination which was an open area overseeing Puget Sound. It had a very calm and serene feeling. With a bench in the center it seemed like a perfect time to hear a story about Amma.

For most of us it was the first time that we heard this story. One of the devotees gave us a very detailed firsthand account of Amma's first visit to Seattle in the 1980's and all the events that unfolded after that. There was absolutely no better way to end the day's proceedings than to hear the remarkable story about the day when our beloved Amma decided to shower Her infinite grace on this land.

With Amma's grace our spiritual picnic was a great success. Each one of us had something unique to offer. We look forward to having many more such events.