Feb 28, 1993 (mailed March 3, 1993)
Dear Parents,
Twenty-minute phone call from here to Georgetown, Tx costs 1,200.00 rupees. The Indian who put the call through for me was dumbfounded.
“Twelve…hundred…rupees… Twelve…hundred…rupees…” he said over and over to himself as though he had to pay for it. It averages out to about $40, maybe $50. I think since I’ve been here, I’ve spent close to $800, but I bought myself a bit of distance in the beginning and I had to buy clothes and supplies. I also went to Kovalam Beach after the trip to Trivandrum. Kovalam by Indian standards is quite expensive, but the beach is the nicest I’ve ever seen and you can get good Western food. I spent five days there with Henry (Dutch), Guido (German), and Uwe (also German). There are so many Germans and German-speaking people here that I may do better learning German than Malayalam or Hindi.
I can’t believe you two don’t remember what time I was born. What’s up with that? Are there some brothers and sisters I don’t know about? Was I adopted? I hope when you find out you are certain it’s the correct time- I’m tired of all the suspense.
Let me tell you that being here is pretty fantastic, but it’s also incredibly easy. Getting around is simple because the moment you look like you need a taxi, they (the taxi drivers) start asking you where you want to go. The rooms here at the ashram are very open so the cool air can flow freely. The walls stop short of the ceiling by a few feet. On Devi Bhava days it can be extremely noisy because whole families come from miles and miles around. I got new insight into the Indian mentality today. They like to give the impression that they are spiritually minded as a nation, but I was told that a good many of them come to Amma for personal favors. (Amma, my cow won’t give milk. Amma, I don’t make enough money…) I think that might have something to do with why they let us Westerners cut in darshan line and sit closer to Amma, the general assumption being that we are going to have more noble motives for seeing her than some of the locals.
We sleep on bunk beds that are metal frames and flat wood to put whatever mattress you have on. They don’t ask for money here. We are, however, politely asked not to freeload or take advantage of the ashram. They also suggest giving 50 rupees a day (about $1.75) to cover your expenses. I buy a lot of snacks so I’m living on about $5.00 a day. We are allowed to go to the beach, but are asked not to swim because the villagers do so much fishing there. Also, most Indians don’t ever swim and don’t even know how to tread water, so they think people who go swimming are reckless danger-seekers.
Still burning the trash and washing dishes. (About 3-4 hours worth of work, tops. Usually 2.) Stays about in the 80’s here but dips down to low 70’s at night. The hot season is fast approaching though and by May could possibly be too much for me. So far I’ve gotten three letters from Dad and two letters from Mom, and zero letters from everybody else. It’s been taking 10-14 days for your letters to arrive, so start sending the cookies. Hmm… let’s see- how about one dozen Christmas cookies, one dozen raisin-filled, and one dozen date-filled cookies. Make sure you put them in zip-lock bags so the ants don’t get to them. While you’re up, maybe you could bake a few brownies too. Mmm-mmm.
There are about 3,500 people here for Devi Bhava. Normally there are about 1,000- 1,500 and that always seems like a lot. It’s so crowded today that you can’t even go down the front stairs- you have to go down five flights of spiral staircase in the back. Morning darshan, normally held in a small hut outside, had to be held in the temple. I’m sure we can look forward to bhajans being sung til the wee hours of the morning.
Didn’t do much in Trivandrum besides chant “Om Shiva Shaktai Akai Rupinyai Namaha” as fast as one can spit it out. Oh, yes… I drank a lot of chai (black tea with milk) as well. If anyone ever makes a movie about my life, no doubt the funniest scene would be of my first time wiping my ass with my bare hand in Trivandrum. I brought toilet paper, but there were no Western toilets. Indian toilets are porcelain holes in the ground. I decided right away I wouldn’t take a shower that day until after having taken a shit.
With that in mind, I’ll leave you and go up to the roof and meditate with the ocean and the wind and the setting sun.
Love,
Scott
Letters From Amritapuri 
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