Month: September 2005

  • Amma did what the government could not

    Amma did what the government could not

    26 September 2005 — Alappad Panchayat, Kollam District, Kerala On 26 December 2004, they lost everything. For generations their families have been maintained through fishing. Never did they dream that in one day their means to that income could literally be washed away. But that’s exactly what happened when the tsunami wrecked their fishing boat…

  • Lighting the lamps of love

    Lighting the lamps of love

    26 September 2005 — Amritapuri The Kayamkulam Backwaters looked like the Ganga flowing through Haridwar. The waterway was glowing with the dancing lights of thousands oil lamps lit all along the banks of the village community—a spontaneous and loving gesture by the neighbouring villagers to express their unfathomable gratitude to Amma. The twinkling lamps—Amrita Jyoti—symbolized…

  • Birthday guests from around the world

    Birthday guests from around the world

    26 September 2005 — Amritapuri From all the parts of the world, they came to celebrate Amma’s birthday—from Europe, North and South America, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, and of course from India itself…. We had a short chat with a couple from Peru, a Malayali living in Dubai, a lady from Poland, two young…

  • Amma is applying the real communist principles

    26 September 2005 — Amritapuri Sri. Devakumar is a member of Kerala’s Legislative Assembly and is a leader of the CPIM (Communist Party of India, Marxist). Speaking before the Assembly, Sr. Devakumar strongly supported Amma’s social-welfare projects, particularly in regard to the Ashram’s tsunami-relief work. He was one of thousands of people who came to…

  • Birthday preparations underway

    Birthday preparations underway

    25 September 2005 — Amritapuri First there was the kalari… When it became too small, the main temple was built.. Then in 2001, what is now referred to as the bhajan hall was constructed… And now it seems that even that is too small for Amma’s birthday. This year, the birthday programme and Amma’s darshan…

  • Helping out Katina – Rita Hurricane victims

    Hurricane Relief On September 23, 2005, Amma announced that her organization in the US, the Mata Amritanandamayi Center (M.A. Center), would be providing one-million dollars in aid to help victims of Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans and the coastal areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. All over the US, devotees are providing assistance; visiting relief…

  • Rather than rust away doing nothing, it is better to wear away doing something

    Rather than rust away doing nothing, it is better to wear away doing something

    Transcribed from a press conference at Amritapuri September 23rd 2005, Amritapuri Q: Was the UN recognition of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math as an NGO because of its tsunami relief work? What is the implication of this recognition? AMMA: No, the UN recognition was accorded on the basis of all the humanitarian work that the M.A.…

  • Amma provides 1 million $ for hurricane relief

    Amma provides 1 million $ for hurricane relief

    23 September 2005, Amritapuri In a national press conference today at Amritapuri Ashram, Amma announced that her organization in America, the Mata Amritanandamayi Center, would be providing one-million U.S.D. [Rs. 43,800,000] in aid to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that devastated New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as coastal areas of Mississippi and Alabama.…

  • Matrugramam – creating self-reliant villages

    20 September 2005 — Alappad Panchayat, Kollam District, Kerala For anyone who has been following the evolution of the Ashram’s tsunami-relief work, it is clear that Amma’s intention is not merely to repair what was broken by the tsunami, but to fix things that had broken way before that fateful day. Through the door opened…

  • Onam: Unity of hearts is the beauty of the society

    Onam: Unity of hearts is the beauty of the society

    15 September 2005 — Amritapuri “All of you look like a beautiful pookkalam,” Amma said, looking down at the 10,000 or so people who had gathered at Amritapuri to celebrate Onam. Later, in her satsang, Amma explained that pookkalams, the multicoloured flower-petal mandalas of Onam, symbolize the confluence of hearts in society. “Pookkalam represent the…