6 – 8 November, Milano, Italy — 2009 Europe Yatra
Amma’s program took place in Italy’s fashion city Milano. The Italians welcomed Amma in their very hearty way -whenever Amma came for the program or left after long darshan hours, the crowd thanked her with a long applause.
Devotees from all parts of Italy attended the program. The people from Milano showcased traditional Indian performances during the three-day program.
2nd – 4th October, Toulon, France — Europe Yatra 2009
Amma’s program took place in Toulon, in the south of France, located close to the famous Cote d’Azur.
Huge crowds attended Amma’s program.
The people of Toulon welcomed Amma heartily and performed several cultural performances. The children of this area performed a dance and song for world peace.
Munich, Germany, 29th – 31st October
“We are so blessed that Amma has been coming to Munich for 22 years; we want to thank Amma deeply that she is giving us the opportunity to be in her inspiring presence. Thank you so much for being here.” with these words Amma was welcomed to Munich, Germany.
Felicitas von Schönborn, correspondent of the UNO, writer and publisher welcomed Amma saying: ” Because of the love that Amma is giving to every single being, humankind is merging together.”
Inspired by Amma, AYUDH Europe announced their new project ‘Growin‘, where young people start growing their own vegetables, especially in city areas. “Since many years Amma has been saying how important it is to cultivate our own food. With ‘Growin’ AYUDH is doing the first step; we are sowing the seeds of change”, they said.
Devotees from Hungary came to invite Amma to their country and presented their flag which Amma waved with respect.
Cultural performances accompanied the festivities of Amma’s visit to Munich.
London, UK, 21st – 23rd October
Amma’s London Program took place in the Alexandra Palace. Devotees from the United Kingdom and Ireland came to be in Amma’s presence. There were a lot of performances from people of different kind of cultural backgrounds.
14 October, ’s Hertogenbosch, Holland – 2009 Europe Yatra
On the second night of Amma’s programs in ’s Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, former President of the Jewish Institute for Jewish Values and former head of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, welcomed Amma to Netherlands. He praised Amma as a spiritual leader at the vanguard of spreading love and compassion throughout the world and officially released the first Hebrew book published by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, a translation of Amma’s biography.
He began by telling a story: “When I was born, it was very deep in the War. And I am Jewish, and for people of the Jewish community it was dangerous—very, very dangerous. I was only a baby, but they didn’t want me to survive. Can you imagine that—that a baby is not allowed to live? They had to find a place for me where I could be safe. They carried me in a suitcase in which they had punched air holes so that I could breathe. They took me on a train. … If I had cried, they would have heard. But there was a miracle, and they didn’t hear any crying. They took me to a house and knocked on the door and asked the woman who opened the door if she would protect me. Did she have a lot of time to think about it? No. She did not have time. But she did it. She took me in with love, and I stayed alive. She was Catholic; she was German. So, for me, this means that if Amma brings people of different religions together it will save many human lives.”
Rabbi Soetendorp then praised Amma as being at the forefront of creating peace and harmony and a sense of unity in the international community: “Amma is at the vanguard in creating the type of brotherhood and sisterhood that makes it possible for every human being to be fed and for every human being to have a future. I am full of gratitude to Amma and her example.”
He continues, “Amma teaches us that we should, at least, start with tolerance. But then we have to evolve on to respect, and from respect on to love. When we do that, then all problems are solved.
Concluding, Rabbi Soetendorp said, “Standing here with Amma, I believe—with all my heart and all my soul—that we can together create a world filled with real cooperation, love, truth and justice. I pray to God in all his names to give us the necessary strength and love. I pray that he will protect Amma and bring the love’s physical presence in the world and that we will walk together and bring and feel God’s blessing.”
– Kannadi
18 Oct, Mannheim, Germany – 2009 Europe yatra
Yesterday was Deepavali, the festival of lights. At home, Deepavali is celebrated as “the awareness of the inner light” and in bliss of the Divine Mother’s victory, whose grace can remove the darkness of ignorance.
Yesterday was special indeed in the mind of many. Through a little chat whilst Darshan was going on, Amma reminded us that the luminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of the heart and that the very goal is to seek that Self. The usual tour-cooks, Paul and Lavan and their team, had prepared sweets for Amma and all. They brought some very ‘sugared’ Deepavali sweets and a special less sugared version for Amma. Amma enjoyed both versions of the Prasad and blessed it by having some of both. Very special was that moment. The Prasad was then distributed to one and all by the very same hands that made them. On the door way leading out of the hall, people had sparklers(fireworks) in their hands while many others had lit candles. Amma touched every single person who had stood on the way on either sides as she walked out of the stage after a full night’s Darshan. It was around 3:30am. It is so very beautiful to be in this very presence of Light.
– Kannadi
October 6 – 7, Helsinki, Finland – Europe Yatra 2009
This year marked Amma’s 10th visit to Finland. The Mayor of the City of Vantaa, Juhani Paajanen welcomed Amma to Finland. In his welcome speech, he said, “Amma has conveyed that characteristics such as love, sympathy, and generosity are not only meant for the individual; they should become an integral part of every society’s internal structure and an emblem of each and every nation. Where there is awareness of this love that constitutes the foundation of life, there only peace prevails, and only those who experience true inner peace are able to convey that peace to others. Amma declares that the key to world peace rests within each and every individual living on this planet.
There is a lot of hatred in the world. Each of us is likely to become angry sometimes, but a hatred that lasts for years, even decades, leads no where at all; let alone the kind of hatred that survives the passing of centuries and is transferred from one generation to the next. Becoming stuck in hatred poisons the mind and prevents everything else.
Amma’s message and actions, which have reaped myriad rewards, are global, crossing the boundaries of religion, race, nationality, and class divisions. Amma’s diverse projects aim not only at humanitarian aid, but also strive to make modern technologies accessible to everyone, as well as to generate feelings of compassion and togetherness in all our fellow beings, regardless of their backgrounds.
We respect Amma’s global efforts to increase peace, love, and kindness. Her actions are also a source of inspiration for numerous Finns who have participated in projects as far away as India. During this visit of Amma, thousands of Finns are queuing to receive a hug from Amma and the power of love and comfort the hug transfers” Mr. Paajanen concluded
R.K. Kalra, Minister, Indian Embassy in Finland also came to receive Amma’s blessings. “Amma has followers in almost every part of the world. She is an apostle of peace. Her organization has been doing a lot of charitable works in India for promotion of peace for promotion of human brotherhood, sisterhood, love and affection” he said.
Finland was the first stop in Amma’s ten city visit of Europe yatra 2009.
8 – 10 October: Winterthur, Switzerland, Europe Yatra 2009
Photos of Amma’s visit to the city
11 Sep 2009, Amritapuri
Krishna Jayanti was celebrated in Amritapuri will a full day of festivities. Beginning early in the morning, special pujas were performed, including the go puja, in which all the ashram cows were worshipped as embodiments of the divine. A few hours later—led by dozens of Krishnas, Radhas and gopis of all ages—there was a grand procession through the ashram on to the Kuzhitura Sri Krishna Temple, two kilometers away. As the devotees walked, they sang lively, joyous bhajans.
In the afternoon, everyone gathered to watch and play uriyadi. The game emulates the mischief of young Krishna trying to break open the pots of butter, which the gopis had hung out of his reach. Amma joyously watched the games, laughing as children leaped and jumped in efforts to break open the pots. As dusk grew near and the games were winding to a close, Amma raised the spirits of the already lively crowd by spontaneously leading everyone in singing “Bolo Bolo Gokula Bala.”
Normally, in Amritapuri, the conclusion of bhajans marks the end of the day, but on this night the main event had yet to come. Just after 11:00 p.m. the doors to the main stage slowly opened to reveal a beautifully decorated scene with several images of Sri Krishna. The bhajan hall was packed and everyone sat enchanted for the next 45 minutes, listening to a reading of the Srimad Bhagavatam, while bala-gopala puja was simultaneously performed. As the midnight (the birth time of Krishna) approached, Amma arrived on the stage. Amma took her seat on the stage, seemingly engrossed by the beautiful recitation of the childhood lilas of Krishna. When the clock struck midnight, a small statue of baby Krishna was brought before Amma, so she could offer honey to the Lord, marking the moment of Krishna’s birth.
Amma then proceeded to singing several Krishna bhajans, including “Agatanayi,” “Nanda Gopan Tapamirunnu,” “Katti Tair Taram” and “Vande Nanda-Kumaram.” Finally, Amma asked everyone to stand, raise their arms skyward, forget all their troubles and blissfully dance. She then sang “Gopala Nacho Nacho.” Everyone danced as one—the song’s tempo went faster and faster. It was like rasa-lila. Thousands were dancing with Amma—together, yet alone.
Before chanting the peace prayer, Amma told everyone “God should take birth in our heart.” To end the celebration, Amma distributed payasam as prasad to one and all.
2 September 2009 – Amritapuri
“We all need to become one—this is the message Onam gives us,” Amma said in her annual Onam satsang. “It is from ‘one’ that we have all come, and it is back into that ‘one’ that we all must merge. This is the supreme goal of all of our lives. However, in our hectic schedules, we have forgotten this. The Upanishads say that forgetfulness is death. The message of many of our festivals is to remove this veil of forgetfulness. The festival that best reminds us of the message of oneness is Onam.”
The entire Amritapuri Darshan Hall was full of families of devotees who’d come to spend the Kerala holiday with Amma.
As part of her talk, Amma presented a unique interpretation of the Onam legend, taking the dwarf Vamana as the guru. “At a point in time during the maha-yaga—the great offering—that is life, God himself comes before us in the form of the guru and begs for alms,” Amma explained. “The guru humbly asks us for just three paces of land. ‘In the limitless kingdom of your mind, just give me a tiny place to sit,’ he says. If we wholeheartedly offer him this, then what happens? The very person whom we thought to be just an insignificant little fellow reveals his ishvara bhava—his total identification with God. The attitude ‘I’m so great!’ then disappears, and the awareness dawns that, before the guru, we are utterly insignificant. The head, which we egoistically held up so high, spontaneously bows down before the guru. Then what? In no time at all, thoughts of God completely consume our mind. We begin to see everything as God. We understand that everything is dependent upon God.”
Amma also explained how the tree swings traditional set up during Onam make for a good metaphor for life, demonstrating how after every rise there is a fall. “No matter how high we rise, we eventually have to come back down,” Amma said. “When we see everything in life as a game, we will be equally joyous when falling as we are when rising. If we can fully understand this—if we can see life as swinging on a swing—we will never fall apart when failure comes our way.”
After her satsang, Amma led everyone in a few bhajans and then personally handed all 10,000 people a plate of Ona-sadhya—the traditional Onam meal.
—Kannadi
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