Category: Birthday

Shri. Joseph Pulikkunnel, Director, Indian Institute of Christian Studies, Christian reformer “It is commonly believed that in Semitic religions, the male dominance is a divine dictate. This is not the case.” —Joseph Pulikkunnel “Adopting Universal Motherhood: An Opportunity for Men” “Pranams to Amma, who has transformed Herself into the amrita [nectar] of love and compassion for the…

Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, Founder and Former Academic Director, Indira Gandhi National Centre of the Arts, New Delhi, India “We want the principle of complimentality and not of competition. The principle of being different, the principle of being one-not-complete-without-the-other and the principle of the mother.” – Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan “Reverence or Exploitation: Portrayals of Women in Classical Art…

Smt. Mridula Sinha, Chairperson, Central Social Welfare Board, India “When Brahma created the world, he was worried who would look after the world. Then he created a mother. So we have to treat them as special.” -Mridula Sinha “Old Abuses, New Solutions” “My pranam to our Amma and all sisters and brothers who have come to…

Dr. Poornima Advani, Chairperson, National Commission for Women “Let us resolve, over here, that we would never take money for the marriage of our sons, that we would never give money for the marriage of our daughters.” —Dr. Poornima Advani “Altering the Image of Women in the Minds of Abusers” “I bow down to the Mother…

Swamini Niranjanananda, Resident Acharya, Chinmaya Mission International Foundation “We have to go back to the state of the Vedic Age, where women were considered as a person and not a chattel of men.” —Sw. Niranjanananda “Reinstating Women’s Roles in Religion” “om brahmanandam paramasukhadam kevalam jnaanamurtiim dandvatitam gaganasadrusham tat-tvam-ashyadi laksyam ekam-nityam vimalam achalam sarvadhi saksi bhutam bhavatitam…

Prof. Mangalam Srinivasan, Special Advisor, John F. Kennedy School of Government “Amartya Sen tells us: ‘The effects of inequality impoverish women as well as men.’” —Prof. Mangalam Srinivasan “Women in the Workplace: Increased Visibility Is Not Enough” “Pujya Sri Ammaji, the Honourable Assembly, swamijis, and religious preceptors, assembly and the colleagues. I am going to start…

Shri. P. Parameshwaran, Director, Bharatiya Vichara Kendra, Kerala, India “To worship God as Mother is the easiest and the most natural thing in the world.” Shri. P. Parameshwaran “Motherhood: The Mother & The Child of Spirituality” “Most beloved Amma…. Respected chairperson of this session, Dr. Najma Heptulla…. Ms. Yolanda King…. My fellow speakers on the dais……

Rabbi Leah Novick, Pathfinder of the Jewish Renewal Movement “Amma has taken me to the next stage which is to experience Shekhinah in the heart and through the heart.” —Rabbi Leah Novick “The Feminine Face of God: Nurturing its Reflection in Men and Women” “hachneeseyni tachat knafeich va’t’ hee lee l aim v achot v’y’hee chee…

Ms. Linda Evans, American actress and environmental activist “I think of all of these incredible qualities that we know that Amma is— the love, the compassion, the forgiveness, the patience—and I try to look at myself and say, ‘Linda, why aren’t you living that everyday?” —Linda Evans “Learning Motherhood from Mother Nature.” “Thank you. We…

Dr. Najma Heptulla, Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha, India’s Upper House of Parliament “I have taken a vow that I will take the message of Amma to as many people I can.” -Dr. Najma Heptulla “My obedience to Amma, my friends on the dais, my friends in this sea of humanity, which has come from around…