As I was having annadhanam at Mammiyoor Shiva Kshetram today, I remembered a Westerner's concerned exclamation to me at Thiruvannamalai, "There are no free lunches in the world; free lunches happen only in India."
We're so used to it, right?
I remember my first partaking of annadhanam was at Dharmasthala, Karnataka. I was in school, probably in 7th grade or something. I don't remember the Manjunathaswamy temple or the bus ride; all I remember even now is that annadhanam we had. My mother, brother, and grandparents.
So many temples, ashrams, and gurudwaras across India give free food that it's not news or disbelief anymore. In fact, people stand in queues to have such annadhanam as they consider it prasad (god's own offering).
Thiruvannamalai has so many temples and ashrams that give free breakfast, lunch, and dinner that all the sadhus and others, who stay on girivalam don't need to beg for food at least. Many devotees also cook food in their homes and distribute it along girivalam.
Ramana Ashram also has a free dispensary and a free library for all. Food that satisfies hunger, medicines that take care of illness, and food for thought, all offered for free.
Annadhanam is such a beautiful concept because what it eliminates is an instinct that doesn't discriminate. Hunger is a great equalizer. The rich, the poor, the needy, the greedy, the blind, the atheist, the leper, the sadhu, the householder, the seeker, the adwaitin, the agnostic, the dwaitin... they all feel it. Annadhanam feeds them all.
Therefore, it's the greatest daanam of them all.
We're so used to it, right?
I remember my first partaking of annadhanam was at Dharmasthala, Karnataka. I was in school, probably in 7th grade or something. I don't remember the Manjunathaswamy temple or the bus ride; all I remember even now is that annadhanam we had. My mother, brother, and grandparents.
So many temples, ashrams, and gurudwaras across India give free food that it's not news or disbelief anymore. In fact, people stand in queues to have such annadhanam as they consider it prasad (god's own offering).
Thiruvannamalai has so many temples and ashrams that give free breakfast, lunch, and dinner that all the sadhus and others, who stay on girivalam don't need to beg for food at least. Many devotees also cook food in their homes and distribute it along girivalam.
Ramana Ashram also has a free dispensary and a free library for all. Food that satisfies hunger, medicines that take care of illness, and food for thought, all offered for free.
Annadhanam is such a beautiful concept because what it eliminates is an instinct that doesn't discriminate. Hunger is a great equalizer. The rich, the poor, the needy, the greedy, the blind, the atheist, the leper, the sadhu, the householder, the seeker, the adwaitin, the agnostic, the dwaitin... they all feel it. Annadhanam feeds them all.
Therefore, it's the greatest daanam of them all.
