A large crowd gathered in joyful anticipation of the Onam festivities in Amritapuri on the morning of August 26th. In Kerala, there is no celebration more beloved than Onam, which marks the yearly return of the ancient and beloved King Mahabali.
In her message, Amma shared a well-known Kerala saying: “Make Onam with what you have.” As she explained, the phrase carries a message that goes far beyond the festival itself — that everyone, no matter how humble their means, can find their own way to celebrate.
“It is not about how much money we possess, how much wealth surrounds us, or how many material comforts we enjoy,” Amma said. “True happiness comes from having the right attitude and right perspective.”
Amma also shared her own fond memories of Onam as a girl — of neighbors freely sharing everything they had, whether it was food from the feast or jewelry for the dances, and children playing together on the pestle swing, in games of uriyadi (traditional pot-breaking), and vadamvali (tug-of-war), often sneaking off to jump into the rain-swollen backwaters despite the scolding that was sure to follow. That spirit of friendship and cooperation need not belong only to the past.
“If our vision is clear, we can light a lamp of hope even in the darkest circumstances. If we have a mind that finds joy in small things and a heart filled with gratitude, we can create our own Onam even in the midst of hardship and suffering,” she described.
Onam in the Early Days
Swami Purnamritananda Puri was among Amma’s first disciples. In his opening message, he reflected fondly on the ashram’s humble beginnings, when they had little interest in celebrating Onam at all. They simply wanted to remain absorbed in meditation. Besides, as Swamiji recalled, Amma made every day feel like a festival.
“It is not easy to imagine the deprivations of the ashram in the early days,” Swamiji shared. “The inmates had no interest in celebrations, but Amma called everyone to play games. Later we would understand the spiritual principles behind the games.
“She called us to the Kalari to play vadamvali. At first, it seemed easy to defeat Amma, but suddenly, she would pull all of us across the line, and we admitted defeat. It is then we saw how sweet it is to be defeated by the Guru,” said Swamiji with a smile.
“When we become deserving, God comes in search of us. God doesn’t want our belongings; we have to offer ourselves. When Amma offers us to come and stay in the ashram, it is not easy to give up our comforts. But we can make it heaven if we can offer ourselves totally to the Guru.”
The Spirit of Sharing
Onam’s sense of oneness came alive in the Thiruvathira dance performed in Amritapuri, a traditional women’s group dance from Kerala. It carries a deep spiritual meaning of harmony, with each dancer moving in relation to all the others, and no single dancer ever claiming the center for long.
Thiruvathira’s beauty arises from rhythm and balance rather than individual display, a fitting reminder that communal dances like this one are built not on competition but on collective upliftment and shared joy.
That spirit of love and cooperation was everywhere in Amma’s presence throughout the day. More than 500 women — monastics, married devotees, and international visitors alike — joined together for the Thiruvathira, and Amma herself served the traditional Onam sadhya to each person gathered.
In the morning, Amma also led everyone in manasa puja, a visualization practice that helps cultivate a heart of innocence. She then guided the gathering in the White Flower Meditation for World Peace — a practice that feels especially meaningful given the many conflicts unfolding around the world today.
After her Onam message, Amma sang two joyous bhajans: “Tattinantam Teytara,” evoking peace and joy, and “Vrindavanam Sundaramayi,” a Krishna bhajan celebrating the rasa lila. Lakshmi, the ashram’s beloved elephant, arrived for her yearly Onam feeding by Amma and then delighted the children nearby with a playful spray of water.
Reawakening Dharma Through Drama
Many devotees choose to spend this holiday meditating with Amma rather than the usual celebrations elsewhere, but that hasn’t stopped the ashram from having its own share of festivities, such as the anticipated evening cultural program.
This year, the Swaminis and Brahmacharinis staged another elaborate musical theatre production with a large cast of performers and dancers, including many of the Ashram’s children. These productions are typically drawn from the itihasas, the great epics, and this year’s theme was the “Revival of Dharma,” based on the Mahabharata.
The play was performed entirely in Sanskrit – even the young children played their roles perfectly. The evening unfolded through several scenes, each with its own set and richly colorful costumes, woven together with intricate and lively dances.
With resplendant grace and joy, Amma watched in wonder, sometimes breaking into grand fits of laughter as the story continued. Of course, all others joined in with her enchantment, carrying it with them for days after.
After the finale, Amma warmly acknowledged the tremendous effort behind the performance, prepared and rehearsed over many weeks. Though it was already one in the morning, she seemed reluctant to let the night end, closing it instead with one final bhajan — Meerabai’s “Man Mohana Kanha Binati Karu” — a gentle lullaby of longing, sending everyone off to dream beautiful memories of Onam.
Excerpts from Amma’s Onam Message 2026
Oṇam is a festival that holds the land of Kerala and the Malayalam language close to the heart. It brings to mind a beautiful and harmonious past when everyone lived together in happiness and equality—sweet memories of those bygone days, and the hope that such a time will come again. It is also a celebration of the present, when we come together to share love and joy. Along with devotion to God, surrender to God, and the highest spiritual ideals, Oṇam becomes complete.
Oṇam is a time when devotion to God and love for our fellow human beings come together as one. It is a festival that upholds great values: love, friendship, brotherhood, prosperity, equality, and selfless dedication.
There is a saying: “Make Oṇam with what you have.” It carries a profound spiritual message. It means that through our understanding and our attitude, we can transform life itself into a celebration. It is not about how much money we possess, how much wealth surrounds us, or how many material comforts we enjoy. True happiness comes from having the right attitude and right perspective.
Oṇam is a time when devotion to God and love for our fellow human beings come together as one.
Amma
If we have love, friendship, contentment, cooperation, and faith in one another, we can succeed in whatever we undertake. With such an understanding, we can live happily, and all our efforts will bear great fruit. If our vision is clear, we can light a lamp of hope even in the darkest circumstances. If we have a mind that finds joy in small things and a heart filled with gratitude, we can create our own Oṇam even in the midst of hardship and suffering.
This is the most important message that Oṇam offers us: to celebrate, to share love freely, and to look toward the future with hope and faith. May this trust, this joy, and this spiritual awakening remain with us always.
