Clean City Archives - Amma, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Keep India Clean and Beautiful; Participate in Swachhata Hi Seva 2018

Om Namah Sivaya

My Darling Children,

Nature and the environment are manifestations of God. The world—the created—and God—the Creator—are not two; they are one and the same. So, we must develop a respectful and worshipful attitude towards Nature. We have two mothers, the mother who gave birth to us and Mother Nature. Our birth mother may allow us to sit on her lap for a couple of years, but Mother Nature patiently bears our weight our entire life. Just as every child is obligated to his birth mother, we all should likewise feel an obligation and responsibility towards Mother Nature. If we forget this responsibility, it is equal to forgetting our own self. If we forget Nature, we will cease to exist; to do so is to walk towards death.

We should not leave Mother Earth with scars. On the other hand, we should leave her with flowers bedecked in her hair. We should leave her in a better condition than in which we came to her—never worse. Cleanliness and sanitation are fundamental to the development of any country. If we care about the coming generations—the world that will be inherited by our children and grandchildren—we must act now.

In the old days, there was no specific need for environmental preservation because protecting Nature was part of worshipping God and part of life itself. More than remembering God, people used to love and serve Nature and society. They saw the Creator through the creation. They loved, worshipped and protected Nature as the visible form of God. We should try to reawaken this attitude. Today, the biggest threat to humankind is not a third World War but the loss of Nature’s harmony—our widening separation from Nature.

Swachhata Hi Seva

In the past four years, India has made rapid strides towards sanitation for all under the Swachh Bharat Mission, which has made sanitation a national people’s movement. It is our responsibility to make sure that we continue to play our part in ensuring cleanliness and sanitation in our surroundings.

As we approach the 149th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the fourth anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is re-launching the Swachhata Hi Seva mass movement from 15th September to 2nd October 2018. During this period, all of us citizens of India, should go out and play our part towards making India clean by conducting cleanliness drives in our localities and neighbourhoods. We should also encourage our relatives, friends, colleagues and neighbours to come out and participate in such drives as well.

Cleanliness Drives

On the morning of the 15th of September, Amma will be interacting with the Prime Minister through a Video Conference. We will share with him the Ashram’s personal commitment to the cause of a Swachh Bharat, as well as the work being done by all of the devotees, ashram residents and Amrita students to keep India clean and beautiful. Immediately after this interaction, we will conduct a massive cleaning drive along a six-kilometre stretch of coastal belt near Amritapuri Ashram. Our schools, university campuses, ashram centres and other institutions throughout the nation will also be conducting cleanliness drives in their areas.

Amma would like to urge all of you to organise similar cleanliness drives on the same day in your areas and neighbourhoods and to spread the message of the importance of keeping India clean and beautiful. Let us ensure that all of us wholeheartedly participate in Swachhata Hi Seva 2018, and play our role in achieving the Swachh Bharat of Mahatma Gandhi’s dreams.

~ Amma

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(The Prime Minister’s Office is asking us to capture pictures of these activities and post them on social media with the hashtag #SHS2018. You may also upload these on MyGov.)

It is the need of every Indian that Ganga remains clean

In the wake of Amma’s 100-crore (US$15 million) donation to Namami Gange, the Indian Government’s Swachh Bharat & Ganga Cleaning Project, Amma has answered many questions about the donation, the project itself, and her views on the issue surrounding the project. From the press meet at Amritapuri Ashram on September 11, 2015.

Amma at the press conference

We started Cleaning India program in 2010
Question: You have given 100 crores [$15 million US] today. And you are going to give another Rs. 100 crores on your birthday for facilitating toilet construction in Kerala. Your feat is indeed commendable because industry has not given a single penny for this noble cause of building toilets. But I just want to know whether your Math or anybody from your Math will try to ensure that so much money that you have donated, is properly used and not misused for something else—because you can never be sure of Government. (Inder Sahni, Delhi Bureau chief of Gujarat Samachar.)

Amma: When Amma came to know about the Swachh Bharath and Clean Ganga project that the Government of India has decided to take up, Amma was very delighted. This is in line with the Amala Bharatham Campaign (Clean India Campaign) that we [the Mata Amritanandamayi Math] started much earlier in the year 2010. Amma met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year in Delhi to discuss on these lines {news}.

Surely, the matter does not end here just by donating the amount.

The Government has allowed us to survey as well as oversee whether the toilets are actually getting constructed in the specified areas. The Government has provided us with the detailed list of the all beneficiaries and their addresses. Also the Government. has agreed to provide us with all the necessary records and documents, which will allow us to evaluate the progress. A team consisting some of our people from Kerala as well as Delhi had visited these specified areas in Varanasi, Chhattisgarh etc., where they met and interacted with local sarpanchs [Head of five-village clusters]. Our teams will continue to visit these places and ensure that the people are getting benefitted. We are also going to educate the people on the use of toilets.

Bring back the golden days of Bharat

Question: Amma, you have done such a big work by donating Rs. 100 crores. When Prime Minister Narendra Modiji started the Swachh Bharat and Namami Gange project, he had appealed the industrialists as well, to donate for this noble cause. But no one ever donated so far. You have taken the initiative and the first step. What is your message for those industrialists who have the money and can make a contribution? (Sanjay Rai, National Bureau chief of Aaj Hindi Dainik, Varanasi)

Ganga in Haridwar

Amma: Amma cannot command or ask anybody to act in certain way. Every one of us should feel for this cause from within, and help in whatever way we can. It will be good if everyone comes together for this cause. If big industries join in this project, a lot can be done. Not just the Clean Ganga project, there are various other kinds of pollution across India which need attention. If the industries get involved at state level to reduce these different kinds of pollution, there is a lot that can be achieved. However, Amma cannot force her words onto anyone. Amma can only request everyone to come together and work in unison to bring back the golden days of Bharat.

Genuine as well as hypocrites

Question: Amma, you do a lot of social work and you have a good image in public. But while working in the field of television, we come across a lot of news about some controversial babas also. This gives rise to various doubts in the hearts of the common people. Is there a way by which we can remove this gap between the real saints and the people, by removing these pretentious and hypocritical babas? (Sandeep Sonwalkar, Delhi, India TV)

A: The fact is that in every field of work, there are both the genuine ones as well as the hypocrites. People should carefully discern.

Ghats of Ganga

Everyone should feel for this cause

Question: Very frequently, various saints have been starting initiatives to clean Ganga, but it is the first time that such a substantial financial aid has been provided by a religious trust. Even saints do not have any dearth of money. And you have taken a first step. Would you like to appeal anything to the rest of saints or say something to them for coming forward for this cause? (Pawan Nara, Delhi, Zee News)

Amma: If Amma says anything to them, it will be like ordering them to act in a certain way. Everyone should feel for this cause from within and help in whatever way they can. The act of giving should be spontaneous. It cannot be forced.

We all have to come together to make the dream come true
Question: Many a times this question keeps coming up—whether Narendra Modiji is actually doing something or not. Today you have given Rs. 100 crores to the government, but do you think you have given it in the right hands? Because some political parties accuse Modiji of only talking in air. Do you really feel that this Rs. 100 crore that you have donated will be used appropriately? What is your perception? By giving this Rs. 100 crore, what is the message you are trying to give? (Reporter from North India)

Amma & India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Amma: People are free to say whatever they want. Why should Amma comment on that? Everyone has their own opinion. But will it be right for Amma to not act and respond to the need just because certain people have certain opinions or say something? Amma will do whatever is necessary on her part. Everyone has freedom in our country to tell their opinion. But that does not mean that we keep sitting, doing nothing. We must lend a helping hand.

Our ashram has the entire data of the list of beneficiaries who need toilets, their names, their addresses, the amenities they currently have and do not have, and this list has been verified also by our team. Our people have been on the ground and checked these details ourselves. In future also, Government will provide us the necessary records and the ashram will continue to monitor the progress of this project and ensure that the money is handled well. Amma believes that this money will reach its intended beneficiaries.

Amma prays that the Prime Minister’s plans and dreams to take this country forward come true. Just like all of us have a dream that India should rise and regain its golden era, he also has desire for India’s progress. Any of us can dream of Greater India, but if we want that dream to come true, then we all have to come together and unite. Only when we also join hands together is the dream of Greater India going to come true.

Contribute from Ashram side in every possible way
Question: For Ganga cleaning, lot of initiatives have been going on for past many years and a large amount of money has also been spent on those initiatives. But you have not donated such a big amount for this cause in past. So, what is so special about this time that you have decided to come forward and donate such a big amount? Is there anything that has increased your faith or anything else in particular that has made you come forward this time? (Nirmal Pathak, Delhi, Hindustan Newspaper)

Amma: It is not that Amma did not have faith in anybody earlier because of which Amma did not take this project in hand. In fact, Amma started Amala Bharatham Campaign (Clean India Campaign) in 2010, and since then Amma has been keeping a tab on similar such projects in India. Until then, we were not so informed about these projects. Recently, when Amma heard about Prime Minister’s project related to Namami Gange and the vision he has to take the country forward by this initiative, Amma felt that we should contribute from the ashram side in every possible way. Moreover, the financial situation of the [Mata Amritanandamayi] Math did not permit us to contribute in this initiative earlier.

All states need to come together
Question: I have two small questions. Firstly, we all know that you have donated Rs. 100 crores to Government of India for Clean Ganga project. But the state governments of the five states (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal) through which the Ganga flows, also have a very big responsibility in the Clean Ganga Project. So, are you also planning to meet the chief ministers of these states in this regard and request them to take this Clean Ganga project forward, with full fervor? Secondly, my question is that in addition to the pollution problem of Ganga, there is another problem related to its flow. Many dams are being built upon Ganga River in Uttarakhand, due to which the Ganga water is being stopped. This is affecting the hallmark of Ganga River. So, would you like that the Government does not proceed further with the dam-related work on Ganga River in Uttarakhand, so that Ganga can retain its non-stop flow? (Hari Krishna, Dainik Jagran newspaper)

Satellite view of Ganga

Amma: Amma cannot order any minister to act in a certain way, but if there is any problem in their respective state, and Amma can do something about it, then Amma will surely meet them and offer whatever Amma can do to help.

Regarding the dams, it is a sensitive and complex issue because farmers also need water to grow food for the country, and these farmers are benefitting from these dams. We cannot ignore their needs either. We will need to understand the actual need of the people and then act accordingly. But one thing is for sure: All states need to come together and help in taking the Ganga-cleaning initiative forward.

It is the need of every Indian
Question: For last 30 years, Ganga is being cleaned. More than Rs. 30,000 crore has been spent on cleaning Ganga. Whenever the Government is summoned in the highest court of the country to discuss this case, the court says that, with the speed at the which the cleaning is actually happening, it is unlikely that even the current generation will be able to see clean Ganga. Amma, do you feel that the speed at which the cleaning work is happening, the current generation will ever be able to see the continuous flow of Ganga in its pure form? Is there any such hope? (North India Reporter)

Cremation at the Ghats

Amma: Amma would say that if this project has to become successful, then it is necessary that not just the Government, but everyone else (including industry as well as people) also should come forward and take part. This will require a lot of effort—for example, construction of treatment plants for the industrial waste rather than letting it directly into the Ganga, the right kind of sanitation facilities, some industries may even need to be relocated. So, everyone from in society needs to come together and have a single vision for cleaning Ganga. Only then will this work move forward with full speed. It will not happen if the Government alone is wishing for it. People too need to come forward and contribute in every possible way. All the state governments will need to work hand in hand. Of course, we can all put in our effort, but there are many other factors which affect the outcome of our efforts. For example, a person may be driving very carefully but the person coming from the other side may be reckless and this may lead to an accident. For all the factors to be favorable, God’s grace is necessary. The result of the efforts is not dependent on one single person.

When there were floods in Karnataka, Amma made new houses for those who lost their houses. Many other people and organizations came forward to offer their help in the relief-and-rehabilitation process. However, as soon the limelight of the media faded away, these people and organizations stepped back. But Amma’s ashram continued to construct as many houses possible for the needy, without worrying about the media limelight. However, as soon it became a news that only Amma is continuing to build houses while others have stepped back. This became a prestige issue for some, and soon it became like a competition, wherein everyone started coming forward and help.

Only if we are all ready to put our efforts together, can we conceive of cleaning Ganga becoming a reality. Some of us may feel that this is a Government project. But if we want this dream to come true, then we all need to move forward together, including the press and the media. This is not just the need of a Government or the Prime Minister. We need to realize that this is our need–it is the need of every Indian that Ganga remains clean. It is impossible with the efforts of a single individual. Everyone will have to unite and come together. Only then will this project be successful.

Amma at the press confrence

Amma’s focus is on Dharma
Question: Just constructing toilets on the banks of Ganga River may not be enough to clean Ganga completely. There are lot of factories on the banks of Ganga that are releasing contaminated industrial waste into the Ganga. It is important to stop that, and this requires another major initiative. Has Amma spoken to the Government about any initiative in this direction as well? Another thing is that it looks like you are trying to get cozy with the BJP. Is it so? (Reporter, Mumbai, DNA newspaper)

Amma: Amma’s focus is only on dharma [righteousness], irrespective of any Government. Amma wants dharma to be established.

During the discussion with Prime Minister in March, this topic regarding factories releasing waste in Ganga River was also discussed. Amma had also expressed her concern about the factory waste, sewage and other wastewater, which is being released in Ganga. The factory residue that flow into the Ganga is a major concern and should be stopped. Some factories will need to be relocated, and some people will also need to be rehabilitated. All of these issues were taken up and seriously discussed during that meeting with Prime Minister.

Amma had also proposed a plan for removing the human waste like skeletons, bones etc., which need to be removed using boats that can go underwater. These boats can locate the places where these skeletons have been deposited and then remove them. In addition to the suggestions regarding the setup of various treatment plants, Amma had also suggested that the Government should take initiative to provide subsidies to the factories in order for them to be able to relocate easily. Otherwise it is like an elephant taking bath and then immediately throwing dust on its back. It will be a big waste of money and resources. Only after first stopping the corpses being thrown into the Ganga, establishing the treatment plants, building toilets etc., we should clean the Ganga of all the bones and other human waste. Otherwise, Ganga will again become contaminated.

Stop this unwanted practice
Question: There is a custom of releasing half burnt dead bodies in various places like Kashi, through which Ganga flows. Being a spiritual leader, it will be of great service if you can give a message to the people (to stop doing this). (Delhi coordinator, Janmabhoomi)

Taking deadbody off Ganga

Amma: The topic of throwing corpses into Ganga, which further contaminates the Ganga, was discussed in detail with the Prime Minister in March of this year. It was a long discussion in which the Prime Minister promised that his next efforts will be to stop this unwanted tradition of throwing dead bodies into the Ganga.

In olden days, people used to think it was a good idea to let the dead body become the food for the fish. Our ancestors and older generations believed it to be like making an offering to the Ganga. Also they believed that one would attain moksha [liberation] and higher states of consciousness by offering one’s body to Ganga River. So, there is both the actual idea rooted in compassion, as well as the belief of attaining moksha. In fact, the chemicals that ooze into the soil from decomposing bodies can be even more harmful. Anyhow, this releasing of corpses into the Ganga has become somewhat of a primitive kind of ceremony, and that should be controlled and stopped. The Government is also looking into this matter. The Prime Minister is also taking this matter very seriously. He has told Amma that he will take the necessary steps to somehow stop this unwanted practice. Prime Minister Modi is planning to construct crematoriums on the banks of the Ganga River.

Sunrise at Ganga

Amma donates 100 Crore for ‘Namami Gange’ cleaning Ganga project

$30 Million in Donations to Toilet-Building Project Across India

11 September 2015, Amritapuri – Amma today presented Sri. Arun Jaitley, India’s Hon. Minister of Finance, a cheque for Rs. 100 crore (US$15 million) for the construction of toilets in the poorest villages surrounding the Ganga River, as part of Prime Minister Sri. Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat (Clean India) and Namami Gange (Clean Ganges) projects – efforts to end the life-threatening diseases affecting millions of Indian citizens stemming from contaminated water sources, caused by widespread open defecation. A second Rs. 100 crore (US$15 million) phase of the project is due to be announced later in the month, during Amma’s birthday celebrations.

In giving the donation, Amma remarked: “Water, a symbol of life, is one of the five elements of nature that the Indian culture deeply reveres. Though the lives of millions of Indians today depends on the Ganga, this sacred river has only 25% of the original water left – the rest is sewage and factory waste. The unhygienic conditions prevalent in villages on the river banks cause diseases like cholera and diarrhea as people drink water from the river. Being a person born and brought up in a coastal village, I have personally seen people suffering from the scarcity of clean drinking water.”

“In my view, compassionate service to the poor is real worship,” said Amma. “A harmonious blend of selfless service, while providing the necessary awareness, is true compassion. This project will provide much-needed amenities to those who truly need them. Along with construction, education is also required. The villagers need to be taught that open defecation leads to water and soil pollution, which further contaminates food and leads to many types of parasitic infections. In our organization’s experience with toilet construction for the poor, creating this awareness is essential. Otherwise, despite having the proper facilities, they may not use them.”

Aside from the donation, Amma’s organization, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, will also be providing such education.

In accepting the donation on behalf of the Government, Sri. Arun Jaitley commented: “This 100-crore donation coming from Amma has more than the material relevance of 100 crores. 100 crores itself is a substantial amount to come from one institution. But more important than 100 crores is when a saint of the relevance of Amma takes a step in this direction, it sends a message across the world—not merely in India—that everyone who is committed to this great cause should contribute to it. … Therefore this gigantic step that Amma has taken today is both a material and also a symbolic message to everyone across the world who is concerned about the Ganga that, “This is my campaign and therefore every poor person on the banks of the Ganga must have a toilet so that we can keep the environment clean and the pollutants of the households don’t get into the Ganga itself.”

The art of giving

Sri. Jaitley also spoke about Amma’s significance for India as a nation and the world as a whole. “Amma has come to symbolize spiritualism, philanthropy, service to the poor and the art of giving. The institutions started by her blessings have changed the medical and educational landscape of many regions by rendering yeoman service, such as AIMS [Amrita Hospital] at Kochi and the world-class Amrita University with its 18,000 students. Amma’s message of love and affection have made millions of devotees from all around the world contribute towards the larger interests of society.”

Prime Minister Modi and Amma first discussed the Clean Ganges Project during Amma’s visit to Delhi in March 2015 {news}. At that time the Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to Amma for her environmental initiatives, which are in alignment with his Clean India Project, the country’s largest environmental and cleanliness drive to date, which includes the goal of providing sanitary toilets to more than 60 million homes by 2019. Present figures show nearly 600 million people in India have no access to sanitary toilets – a major cause of disease and further societal problems.

Amma’s Ashram has been directly addressing the issue of open defecation and the lack of proper sanitation facilities by training women to build their own toilets and bathrooms. Along with the sustainable technical and vocational skills, women are also being given awareness on the importance of hygiene, sanitation, proper toilet use, repair and maintenance. The initiative was successfully piloted in Odisha {news} in September 2014, and has since expanded to villages in 17 states across India.

Amma launched the all-India Amala Bharatham – Clean India, Beautiful India – Campaign in 2010. Through the programme, {news} thousands of clean-up drives in public areas across India have already been conducted. Volunteers also work to spread awareness in schools and to the general public regarding the proper way to dispose of trash and the importance of not spitting or urinating in public. These efforts have included the distribution of more than one million handkerchiefs to school children to stop spitting, as well as a massive annual cleaning of the world-famous Sabarimala pilgrimage site and Pampa River.

Cleaning Kolkata streets at night

20 Jan 2013, Kolkata, Bharata Yatra 2013

After sitting for almost 12 hours of continuous darshan during the last day of programs in Calcutta {news}, Amma still wanted to do more for her children.

During the darshan, at about 6:00pm, she announced that the road had to be cleaned and in this way the ABC would be launched in Calcutta. She sent brahmacharis to inspect the area that was to be cleaned and procure the necessary equipment for the cleaning operation.

So immediately after darshan at 11 pm, getting up from the stage Amma walked down the long driveway out to Budge Budge Trunk Road, the busy street that passes in front of the ashram. Along with 800 odd devotees, Amma then spent the next three hours cleaning 3km of the road outside the ashram. Amma herself donned gloves and a mask and got right into the filth that had accumulated over the years along the roadside. The devotees fanned out along the roadside picking up garbage of all shapes, sizes and smells and bagged it all up for collection. After raking, shoveling and scraping up the trash from the pavement for three hours, Amma then walked the entire 3km stretch of the road to observe all the devotees hard at work and show her appreciation for their efforts. On her way back to the ashram a large lorry arrived to collect all the bags of trash that had been collected.

Throughout the night, many local residents were roused from their slumber by the laughter and joy with which complete strangers from all over the world were cleaning their neighborhood. Many opened their doors and came out with stunned looks on their faces see what this strange celebration was that was taking place outside in the cold night. The stunned police who came to escort Amma was also helpful in directing the busy traffic on the road. The next morning when Amma and the tour group left for Odisha and the next stop on the tour, the road was completely spotless.

Since its launch, the Amala Bharatam project has held large clean up drives all over India. Several State governments across India have pledged their support for the Campaign and have sponsored clean up drivers in their states.{read more on ABC}

– Kannadi

Amrita Vidyalayam schools top national awards

28 Nov 2012, New Delhi
In a Government initiated sanitation rating of CBSE Schools all over the country, Amrita Vidyalayams have topped bagging 16 out of 100 awards. There are more than 10,200 CBSE Schools in India of which nearly 1,500 are in Kerala. In the state of Kerala, Amrita won 10 out of 19 total awards conferred in the State.

Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju, HRD Minister, gave away the Awards for 2012 to School Principals in a function held at Delhi today.

The Amrita Vidyalayams that received the National School Sanitation Awards are: Thalassery, Palakkad, Mananthavady, Pulpally, Pathanamthitta, Pandalam, Thiruvalla, Ernakulam, Ottapalam, Koilandy, Secunderabad, Kolkata, New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Durgapur, and Ahmedabad.

The National School Sanitation Ratings is promoted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Government of India. These annual awards were given for those Schools who have been taken noteworthy steps towards the betterment of sanitation scenario through (i) awareness generation leading to behavioural change through students and community mobilization, (ii) technical innovation and interventions, (iii) creation & conservation of green spaces, etc.

Walk your path; clean your way

2 Jun 2012, Seattle , USA

Amma’s commitment to taking care of Mother Nature, being good stewards of our Mother the Earth, is not restricted to India {ABC news}. People all over the world are responding–including Amma’s children in the Seattle. On the second night of the retreat there this year, members of the Pacific Northwest Litter Campaign, not yet a year old, arrived in the hall from two back doors–a procession of children and adults, led by Atlas–well, a devotee, anyhow–holding over his head a great globe: the earth that needs to be clean and litter-free.

As they made their ways down the side aisles, the participants showed what it is they do: using sticks with grabbers on the end, they picked up (mostly imaginary) litter all along the route, and then ranged themselves across the stage where they sang three songs about caring for Mother earth.

One of the songs, composed by one of the satsang members, sounds like a good candidate for a work song for litter-picker-uppers all over the world. The tune is catchy, and the words say tell how to avoid making litter, and how to help when someone else has dropped it:

Picking up litter it’s easy to do
It’s up to me and it’s up to you
Picking up litter can be a lot of fun
Let’s go outside and get the job done.

Plastic bags are floating in the steams
Picking them up is not as hard as it seems
Grab a friend and go for a walk
Picking up litter while you talk.

One target for litter collectors is cigarette butts. The group earned $2250.00 for the future Pacific Northwest Amma Center by picking up cigarette butts in several parks in the Seattle area in projects sponsored by the United Health Foundation and the King County Tobacco Prevention Program. Cigarette butts are poisonous (one cigarette butt filter, with or without tobacco remnants, smoked or not smoked, in one liter of water will kill 50% of the fish living in it) and take a very long time to biodegrade as they are made of cellulose (thus they present a threat to wildlife: cigarette filters have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine creatures who mistake them for food).

The Pacific Northwest Litter Project started not quite a year ago with only 24 members. The group now comprises 258 participants, most from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia (Canada).

Children clean up Nature reserve in Swiss

Inspired by Amma’s ABC activities in India, children of the “Swiss Bala Kendra” started a waste collection in the area. This year’s motto of the children’s group has been “Humans and Nature in Harmony”. The drive was intended to put words into deeds.

The children and their parents went to collect the dispersed and sometimes well-hidden waste on paths, in the reeds, at the bank of the river Rhine and in the forest. They mostly found aluminium and plastic cans and bottles. The children were surprised by the huge amount of garbage they collected in a very short time.

Children who took part in the nature reserve

The local forest ranger was very excited, as he had never seen anybody doing a similar initiative in his 20 years of service in the area. Even the local newspaper wrote an article on this.

Earlier in February the children had a similar drive. For June, another clean-up drive is planned.

Clean up along the Suva sea beach

29 Jan 2012, Fiji

The first of Amma Fiji’s Green Friends initiative in 2012 was a beach clean up along the Suva Sea Wall. Over 30 participants, including expats and locals of all ages participated. Everybody worked cheerfully and even few people passing by joined in the cleaning work.

The group picked up hundreds of plastic bags and bottles, pieces of foam, and even some tires. Some of the rubbish had been there a long time as it was a real struggle to dig it out.

In the end, around 60 bags of garbage was picked up, and they managed to clean two beaches in two hours.

Inspired by Amma’s words, “It is our Dharma to take care of Nature”, Amma Fiji is planning to do other Green Friends activities throughout the year, such as holding workshops on composting and recycling waste.

Cleaning Manila Paco Market

27 Oct 2011, Manila

The Manila satsang group visited the Estero de Paco Manila & Segregation Bin Making, Activity Center, Paco Market.

The banks of the newly rehabilitated estero of Pasig is home to hundreds of families living in slums around downtown Manila, next to the Paco Market.

The satsang group was guided by the community leaders in building structures to hold the recycling bins. They proudly finished the new recycling bins to be distributed amongst the city residents to help keep their surroundings clean and green.

‘You may recollect what this river used to be like,’ said Mayor Lim, standing next to a bleak reminder of what the estero looked like, engulfed with garbage before the clean up. The cleanup drive was spearheaded by ABS CBN Foundation’s Pasig River Cleanup Project.

Amma in Hyderabad

27 – 28 February , Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh – Bharata Yatra 2011

Amma’s return to Hyderabad was marked by a significant expansion of her ongoing humanitarian projects—shortly after her first evening program began, a seemingly never-ending line of children flowed across the stage, standing in line patiently to receive a hug and a kiss from Amma, and another gift as well—a scholarship check. But in fact the children on the stage were representative of a crowd too massive to accommodate on stage during the evening program; waiting in the wings were more than 1,000 children who would receive checks that night, away from the spotlight but under the loving care and watchful eye of Amma’s volunteers. Each of the children would receive Amma’s darshan during the course of the evening, and they left the grounds of Amma’s ashram clutching their memory of their personal moments with Amma in one hand, and a ticket to a brighter future in the other.

Anita, who is currently studying the 8th standard has been a beneficiary of the Vidyamritam program for the past 3 years. She expressed her gratitude to Amma and told how with her scholarship she can buy books and pay her school fees. She shared how her parents are very poor and without this scholarship would not be able to complete her studies. She hopes one day to become an IAS (India Administrative Services) officer and wants to be able to help people like Amma does.

Mahesh, another recipient of a Vidyamritam scholarship, shared that both his parents died and he lives with his grandparents. He said, “I am very grateful and i am able to study because of this scholarship. I hope Amma is able to help more kids like me.”

Amma also took the occasion to launch the Amala Bharatam Campaign in Hyderabad, and each of the students of Amrita Vidyalayam school here received handkerchiefs which they were encouraged to use instead of spitting on the ground. The students, and the entire assembled crowd, received a personal demonstration from Amma on how she envisions using the handkerchief in a sanitary and sustained fashion, carefully folding it over after use.

After her satsang, Amma personally led the manasa puja in Telugu, and sang quite a few bhajans in Telugu as well—to the delight of the devotees of Hyderabad.

In the evening, during the darshan, the children of Amrita Vidyalayam put on various cultural performances. In addition, a group of tribal performers from Bhadrachalam staged a koya dance. Also, Sri. Samala Venu, renowned magician and hypnotist, performed some magic tricks to the delight of onlookers. Having dedicated his performance to Amma, he appeared to magically transform a long black shawl into brightly colored shawl bearing all the hues of the rainbow. Mr Venu, said that this represented the same magic trick Amma performs on each person who comes to her, transforming the darkness of their sorrow into a rainbow of peace and bliss.

The following dignitaries shared the dais with Amma: Sri. Chandravadhan, IAS Officer and Commissioner, Ayush; Minister for Textiles Sri. Shankar Rao; Former Minister Sri. Govardhan Reddy; and Smt. Ritha Chandrachud, Operations Head of the renowned Dr. Reddy’s Hospital.

Also on this occasion, Swami Purnamritanandaji’s book, Unforgettable Memories, was released in Telugu under the name Amrita Smrutulu.

At the end of the last darshan Amma led everyone in a joyous rendition of Devi Devi Devi in Telugu.

– Kannadi