Amma looking at her devotees, on the train to Ayodhya

         In March 2026, Amma was invited to participate in a most auspicious event, the Shri Ramayantra pratishta—the installation of the Shri Ramayantra in Ayodhya, an ancient city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The event was held at the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Temple, which is considered to be the birthplace of Lord Ram and is a significant pilgrimage site. The temple complex was first inaugurated on January 22, 2024, by India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi and is a restoration of one that was destroyed five centuries ago.

     From March 15 through March 22, 2026, approximately 1,200 people accompanied Amma from Amritapuri on a specially arranged train to Ayodhya and back. They included her disciples, ashram residents, and devotees from across the world. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust organized the large-scale gathering where over 7,000 invitees were in attendance.

     On March 19, the first day of Chaitra Navratri, known as the Hindu New Year, Amma and the President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, led prayers and rituals to install the Shri Rama Yantra, a sacred geometric diagram intended to invoke world peace and divine protection.

     Those who traveled with Amma on the train turned it into a traveling ashram. Each day, the devotees mediated, chanted sacred mantras, sang bhajans and did the archana. Not a moment was lost in performing their sadhana—their spiritual practices—while making this sacred journey.

     Swami Dayamritananda later told us that the train was 1.5 miles long, and that Amma herself visited every car, giving Darshan and encouraging her devotees in their worship. It was truly a sacred pilgrimage for all those who accompanied Amma to this historic city. To the delight of Amma’s international devotees, Amma’s evening Satsangs were livestreamed directly from the train and from the temple compound itself. Video clips and photos of the train ride and Amma with her disciples meditating on the banks of the Saryau River were posted online daily, allowing those who could not be there in person to also participate in the joyous event.

    Amma had traveled by train since the 1980s with small groups of devotees and ashram residents to destinations such as Kozhikode (Calicut), Mumbai (Bombay), Bhuj, and Kolkata (Calcutta). This was the first time Amma had taken such a large group of people on a spiritual journey via a special chartered train that carried only Amma and her spiritual children across India. After Amma and her entourage returned to Amritapuri, she began giving Darshan again on March 25^th, 2026.

A most wonderful time was experienced by all!