7 June 2009 — San Ramon, California, USA
The second stop on Amma’s 2009 U.S. Yatra is San Ramon, California, home to Amma’s ashram headquarters in the United States, MA Center.
On June 5, the mayor of Sunnyvale, California, Antony Spitaleri, came for Amma’s darshan. Author Alice Walker also attended. Walker—who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for her novel The Color of Purple—said, “[Amma] presents the kind of leadership we need for our planet to survive. This is the most heroic person I’ve probably ever met. Because she is sitting there hugging people. This is the most heroic thing that any of us could do now. Because shooting each other is not heroic. The most heroic is caring, and she does that.”
June 6, World Environment Day, found Amma’s American youth organization, AYUDH – America, brought various fruit-tree saplings for Amma to bless. They then planted the trees on the premises. “Planting trees is like building houses for Nature,” Amma said upon blessing the trees. The group has planted 250 such saplings since January; its goal is to plant another 250 this year.
Amma’s San Ramon programs run from June 3 through June 13th, with a retreat on the final three days. She then travels to Los Angeles.
—Kannadi