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Headline News
Lifetime
pensions and sewing machines to the needy in Delhi and Jaipur, India
March 24-26, 2007
Amma distributed pension certificates and pension amounts to new
enrolees in the Ashram's lifetime pension program 'Amrita Nidhi'
for widows and the disabled in Delhi and Jaipur. Also many impoverished
women of Delhi and Jaipur received a sewing machine.
M.A.Math
conducts massive health camp in Mysore, India
March 21, 2007
M.A.math conducted a massive free health camp in Mysore. The camp
provided tests for diabetes, heart problems, health of women and
children with the help of a satellite-linked Tele-medicine unit.
This free health camp was inaugurated in the AmritaKripa Charitable
hospital of the M.A.Math in Mysore. The camp was initiated in memory
of a successful industrialist S.Suvarna who donated the land to
the M.A.Math to build the AmritaKripa Charitable hospital.
Lifetime
pensions and sewing machines to the needy in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
March 21, 2007
In
Ahmedabad, Gujarat Amma distributed life-time pensions to 15 new
enrolees of the Amrita Nidhi project ( Life-time pension plan for
the old, handicapped, widowed and others who are in need.) Moreover,
ten impoverished women each received a sewing machine from Amma
to start their own small business.
Relief
for distressed farmers - Amma pledges $46million USD worth project
for these farmers all over the country.
March 15, 2007
Amma
on behalf of th M.A.Math pledged $46 million worth project to protect
and sustain frustrated farmers who are all on the verge of cummitting
suicide.
In
the meeting with the Maharashtra CM, Amma expressed her deep concern
about the large number of suicides by the cotton growers of Vidarbha.
"The problem cannot be solved through economic packages alone,"
said Amma. "What is needed is social and spiritual interventions
so that the farmers realize that suicide is not the way out. In
fact, it only further aggravates the problem for the families."
Life-time
pensions to widows and Handicapped persons in Mumbai
March 15, 2007
As a part of the Life-time pension plan ( Amrita Nidhi),
Amma granted life-time pensions to a dozen new enrolees.
Sewing
Machines given to impoverished women in Mumbai, India
March 15, 2007
Fifteen impoverished women received sewing machines from M.A.Math
in Mumbai to start their own small business.
M.A.Math
in Pune, India
March
11, 2007
Amma on behalf of th M.A.Math distributed pension checks to 10 invalid
enrolees of the lifetime pension program of the Math.
Also,
ten sewing machines were distributed to impoverished women as a
part of the self-employment scheme of the Math.
Free
education and heart surgeries for the homeless
March 8, 2007
The District Collector and Magistrate Mr. Chandravadan from Andhra
Pradhesh, India had a meeting with Amma. He had expressed his concern
for the huge numbers of homeless children in the Hyderabad city.
Amma on behalf of M.A.Math agreed to provide free education and
heart surgeries to those homeless children.
"Amma' has almost become another word for love, compassion
and concern—concern for the unfortunate, for those who have
been discriminated against, neglected and marginalized in society"
the District Collector said from the dais. He then expressed the
Government of Andhra Pradesh's gratitude for the support Amma has
given in the form of the thousands of homes the M.A.Math has constructed
for the homeless throughout the state—including Hyderabad's
Gudimulkipur and Filim Nagar, and Cuddapah's Pradhatur.
Training
given to women in weaving
Feb
25 , 2007
The M.A.Math in conjunction with the Handloom Textiles Department
of the Government of Kerala, India provided three months training
in weaving in two location in Kerala. The main objective of this
training program was to give better employment opportunities and
skills to impoverished women.
Tsunami
homes in Andaman and Nicobar islands
Feb
25 , 2007
Construction of Tsunami homes in the Andaman and Nicobar islands
progressing well.
Circle
of Love in the U.S.
The Circle of Love program in the U.S. is today serving many lonely
and forsaken individuals. Off late, many prisoners
and
incarcerated juveniles are benefitting from this program.
AIMS
- a hospital that treats you with love
My mother is a household servant, and by working hard she is able
to meet our daily needs. I feel a great debt to my mother. When
she is old I want to repay this debt by taking care of her. Read
more
AIMS receives patients from Iraq. Read
Mother's
Kitchen in the U.S.
The Mother's Kitchen project has been providing a full-course healthy
meals to the needy on a regular
basis in various centers all over the United States.
If you would like to support the various humanitarian
activities please donate
here
Experience
with Amma
Excerpted from the 2007 first quarter issue of the Immortal Bliss
Magazine.
A
devotee recently narrated her experience to me. She was going through
a particularly hard time, as a reult of severe financial problems.
With two young children to look after, she was finding it hard to
make ends meet. At one point, she could not even afford to pay the
school fees for her son.
One day, she received a letter from the school her son was studying
in, ordering her to pay the school fees within three days. If not,
the son would be dismissed. She was at her wit's end. She had heard
many devotees narrating their wonderful experiences, and thought
something similar would happen. Nothing happened that day. The next
day, she prayed to Amma again, pleading with her to do something
about the situation. Once again, nothing happened. The devotee wondered,
had Amma heard her desperate prayers? Would all her faith in Amma
prove misplaced? On the third day, with a heavy heart, she removed
the only gold bangle that she had and pledged it for some money
from her neighbor. With the money, she went to the school.
While standing in a queue of other parents waiting to pay their
children's school fees, she heard someone calling out to her. When
she looked, she saw that it was a clerk who worked in the school
office. He looked annoyed and spoke irately. " Don't you have
manners or sense? Yesterday, when you came here to pay your son's
school fees, I asked you to collect the receipt before leaving.
But you rudely ignored me and walkd away. Why are you standing in
line now? Haven't you already paid the fees?" Brandishing receipt
before her, he said, "Now, take this and leave!"
- Mangala Gokhale, India
Questions and Answers
Amma answers questions.
The following is an interview with Amma published in the Times
of India. The interview took place during Mother's visit to New
Delhi in March 1999.
Question: Amma has founded AIMS, the super-specialty
hospital, and the Amrita Kuteeram free housing project, and many
other service projects for the poor. What motivated Amma to start
those service activities"
Amma:
Amma sees many poor people every day. They tell her about their
suffering. Thus Amma has come to understand their hardships and
their needs. A strong urge to alleviate their suffering is felt
within. That is how each project begins. None of the projects were
planned before they were started; nor had any funds been gathered.
As we beging each project, God sends us everything we need. We should
understand that God is n ot confined to the temple or church. God
is within each one of us. Whenever we share what we have with others
and help one another, we are, in fact, worshipping the Supreme Truth.
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Question: How can we be released from suffering?
Amma: Those who truly absorb spirituality and live
according to dharma (righteous actions) do not experience sorrow.
What is the use if we just cry when we get injured? We have to apply
a salve to the wound. By merely crying the wound could become infected
and may even cause death.
Suppose someone verbally abuses us and we react by sitting in a
corner and crying. We are unhappy because we accepted the abuse.
If we don't accept it, it becomes that person's problem, not ours.
So we have to disown it. If we act with discriminiation in this
way, we will attain freedom from suffering. Spiritual knowledge
is far more essential in life than worldly knowledge, for it teaches
us how to live in this world.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: Can we change destiny through our own
effort?
Amma: If we perform our actions as an offering
to the Supreme Truth (or God), we can transcend destiny. We must
avoid laziness at all costs, and do our best without blaming destiny.
A person who refuses to make any effort in life and then blames
fate is simply lazy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question: Millions of men and women believe in
you very strongly and find shelter in you. What does Amma believe
in? What does Amma depend on?
Amma: Amma believes in everything. To me, there
is no God somewhere above the sky. To me, all of you, are my God.
To serve and love everyone - this is my aim in life. The sun does
not need the light of a candle. God doesn't want anything from us.
We are meant to use God's light to get rid of the darkness in the
world - this is the principle. Not that there is no God; it's just
that this consciousness is present everywhere. It is a question
of how we perceive it.
Tour
Amma's Indian Tour
Amma is now touring in Northern India. For her tour details click
here.
Satsang of the Month
Congratulations to the Georgia Satsang for their contribution to
society!
On May 16, 2007 the Atlanta satsang members put together a Fundraiser
event. It was a Indian music concert by the famous Bollywood singer
Hariharan. The event was a grand success! The show was organized
with amazing skill and untiring effort by the satsang members. With
hardly four weeks in hand, the Atlanta satsang members parked themselves
in various public locations trying to advertise the event. Whenever
they got a break from work or from daily chores, they would grab
the moment to work for the event.
For example, the main co-ordinator of the program Bindu Balakrishnan
drove every morning to the Global mall and tried to sell tickets
for the event. At one point her 6 year old fell sick with cold and
fever. She did not stop. With blanket in hand the little one would
curl up in a corner thus helping his mom to do her good work. This
is indeed a great example of selfless work.
It was a fully sold out show and people mentioned that it was a
record in Atlanta to have such a huge audience for such events.
The organizers received many emails of appreciation. For example:
Hello Bindu,
I wanted to congratulate you on the success of the show.It was very
well organized. Kudos to you and your team.You did it!! Hariharan
held the audience spellbound(me for sure..)All said and done I would
like to comment that this was one of the best shows I attended lately:).
Also wanted to remind you that I meant when I said I want to be
a volunteer so please keep me posted.
As we all know the M.A.Math is constructing Tsunami homes in various
parts of India, SriLanka and Andaman and Nicobar islands. Net proceeds
from this concert went to support the Tsunami rehabiliation work
of the M.A.Math. Tsunami Relief efforts of the M.A.Math
We
would like to express our deep appreciation to all the members of
Atlanta satsang and from the neighboring cities of the Georgia state,
for setting a great example of selfless service!
Amrita Universities
Where high-class, value-based education is open to all
Focused on imparting world-class education without losing the humane
touch the Amrita Universities have been taking giant leaps in the
field of education.
Visit amrita.edu today!
Gems to Treasure
A
smile is not something you can give away; it always comes back to
you
More on Smile
Once when Amma was on tour, she noticed a young lady always frowning.
Amma lovingly called her to her side. She said, " Daughter,
a smile is like a flower. It enables one to enjoy the fragrance
and also spread it around. A room full of smiling faces is like
a beautiful flower garden. It makes everyone happy."
God is the innocent smile that bursts forth from inside. That is
the greatest gift to give someone. ~ Amma
All the statistics in the world can't measure the warmth of a smile.
~ Chris Hart
A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. ~ Phyllis Diller
A smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks. ~ Charles Gordy
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been. ~ Mark Twain
The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief. ~ William
Shakespeare
Everyone smiles in the same language. ~ Author Unknown
Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift
to that person, a beautiful thing. ~ Mother Teresa
The
shortest distance between two people is a smile. ~ Author Unknown
It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown. ~
Author Unknown
Peace begins with a smile. ~ Mother Teresa
A smile is something you can't give away; it always comes back to
you. ~ Author Unknown
Immortal Bliss subscriptions
Immortal Bliss, a quarterly magazine, contains Mother's message,
reminiscences by her senior monastic disciples, experiences of devotees
from all over the world, poems dedicated to Amma, stories for children,
and reports on the humanitarian activities that Amma's mission spearheads
worldwide, among other features. The magazine enshrines Amma's teachings,
and for this reason, many have found it to be a link to Amma, especially
in her physical absence, offering solace and providing guidance.
Please visit our online shop to subscribe
to this magazine.
Highlights
of the 2nd Quarter 2007 Issue:
- Mother’s Message presents Amma’s views on freedom
on worship for women and the vision of her dream world.
- A Morning Prayer—a poem by Aparna (Linda Aday, U.S.A.)
- “My Krishna,” Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri declares,
“is not the son of Vasudeva. My Krishna is Sri Mata Amritanandamayi
who dwells in Amritapuri.” He explains why in The Melody that
Roused Me.
- “Son, why are you sitting alone?” Amma asks Sree-mon
(now Swami Purnamritananda Puri). “Don’t you want Amma?
Have you become strong enough to sit all alone?” Read about
his experience in Unforgettable Memories—7.
- In 2002, Amma received the Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence.
Swami Amritatmananda Puri recalls the memorable day in Conquest
of Love—10.
- When Jyotsna (Ellen Lamb, U.S.A.) once asked Amma when she could
see her again, Amma tells her, “Amma is always seeing you.
It is you who aren’t seeing Amma everywhere.” The writer
talks about the impact of this answer in Seeing Amma Everywhere.
- From hesitation to faith. Read about Prasanna Ananth’s experiences
in My Amma.
- Three brahmacharis narrate their personal experiences in Lilas
Around Amma.
- A heart-felt desire to meet and live with an enlightened spiritual
master gets fulfilled when Sashwat (Ferenc Sebök) of the Netherlands
meets Amma—in With a Living Master.
- Unmesh Vakil of India presents a biographical sketch of the well-known
Tibetan monk in The Story of Milarepa.
- “Stop Not Until the Goal is Reached”—an excerpt
from Swami Ramakrishnananda Puri’s latest book, The Secret
of Inner Peace.
- When the Monkey Decided to Fast is a humorous tale told by Amma
about how difficult it is to overcome our vasanas [latent tendencies].
Satsangs
across the Nation
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