Message of Peace
Excerpted from an address given
by Amma on the occasion of the Global Peace initiative of Women
Religious and Spiritual leaders, at Palais des Nations, Geneve,
on October 7th, 2002.
Once when Amma was giving darshan
in India, a youth came up to her. He lived in a part of the
country that was ravaged by terrorism. Because of the frequent killings
and lootings, the people in that area were suffering a great deal.
He told Amma that he was a leader of a group of youngsters who were
doing alot of social work in that area. He prayed to Amma,"Please
give those terrorists, who are so full of hatred and violence, the
right understanding. And for all those who have faced so many atrocities
and have suffered so much, please fill their hearts with the spirit
of forgivness. Otherwise, the situation will only deteriorate, and
there will be no end to the violence."
Amma was so glad to hear his prayer for peace and forgivness. When
Amma asked him what made him chose a life of social work, he said,"My
mother was the inspiration behind this. My childhood days were dark
and terrifying. When I was six years old, I watched with my own
eyes as my peace-loving father was brutally murdered by the terrorists.
My life was shattered, I was filled with hatred and all I wanted
was revenge. But my mother changed my attitude. Whenever I would
tell her that I was going to avenge my fathar's death one day, she
would say,'Son, will your father come back to life if you kill those
people? Look at your grandmother, how sad she always is. Look at
me, how difficult it is to make both ends meet without your father.
And just look at yourself, how sad you are, not having your father
with you. Would you want more mothers and children to suffer as
we do? The intensity of this pain would be the same for them. Try
to forgive you father's killers for their terrible deeds, and spread
the message of love and universal kinship instead.' When I grew
up, people tried to get me to join different terrorist outfits to
avenge my father's death. But the seeds of forgivness sown by my
mother had borne fruit, and I refused. I gave some of the youngsters
the same advice that my mother had given me. This changed the hearts
of many people who have since joined me in serving others."
The love and compassion, rather than hatred, that this boy chose
to pour into the world, stemmed from the wellspring of love in his
mother. It is thus, through the influence she has on her child,
that a mother inffluences the future of the world.
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