2002 Excerpt
This section provides excerpts from various
media publications across the U.S. If you would like to learn more
about Amma in the media, please contact us at press@ammachi.org.
Gandhi King Award for Non-violence
- The Global Peace Initiative of Women Spiritual and Religious Leaders
"She's the living embodiment of karma yoga." Her love
has manifest in a stupefyingly long list of charitable projects
undertaken in her native India: several hospitals, schools, new
houses for the poor, pensions for destitute women, and more. And
in the United States, she has initiated projects to feed urban poor
in 25 cities, to provide hot showers, food and clothing to the homeless,
material support, transportation assistance, and hospital visitations
to prison inmates and the disadvantaged ..." -- Karma
Yoga Journal (Amma was awarded the 2002 Karma Yoga
Award), 2002
Answering if her mission was "charity" or "spreading
the message of peace and love", Amma said that they are both
inter-related. Metaphorically speaking, peace and love provide direction
just like the head of a dove, while charity and goodwill enable
you to reach your goal just like the wings of a dove. Asked how
she goes through her hectic schedule with little sleep, Amma replied
that she derives her energy from within, by doing what she does
every single day. . . expressing her love and affection to everybody
that comes to see her." The radiant smile and total sincerity
in her interaction with every single person (continuously for hours)
was astounding. -- Miindia.com, 2002
The calming words she (Amma) whispers into awaiting ears seem to
transcend language barriers. "You can just see she radiates
a kind of divinity, and it's hard to describe, but it's real."
-- Dearborn Press & Guide Heritage
Newspapers, 2002
"Being on her lap is like being in your mother's arms,"
Sulo said. "She takes you like a baby." -- Daily
Herald, July 03, 2002.
"You can just feel the love come out of her," said Toni
Rubin, 39, of Fairfield, a bookstore owner who first met Amma seven
years ago in Chicago. "When she walks into a room, the minds
of people will just stop, and there is this peaceful- ness."
-- DesMoine Register.com, July 5,
2002
"She's not encouraging people in any religious path,"
the spokesman said. "She's really encouraging them to go deeper
into their own path." -- DesMoines
Register.com, July 06, 2002
"I think she's a kind of perfect example of selflessness to
the world, and she really encourages other people to be selfless
in their lives as a path of compassion, a path of selflessness,"
said Ammachi Volunteer Rob Sidon. -- KTVO
TV3 Home, July 07, 2002
Already an icon in her native India and drawing comparisons to
Mother Teresa and Gandhi, Ammachi is an internationally recognized
spiritual figure. Hers (Amma's) is no ordinary embrace; it's an
experience. "Its life-altering." -- Detroit
Free Press, 2002
"It was a magnificent experience, and I'm not a believer,"
said Geane Thompson, who had just embraced Amma for the first time."
I can't put this feeling into words. It's like when you meditate.
You have to experience it yourself." -- MSNBC
News, June 10, 2002
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