Amma is now on her European tour, where she is receiving thousands of people every day in her arms without any rest. Right now Amma is in Mannheim, Germany. The previous stop, Holland, was very crowded and today in Mannheim, the hall is packed and people are still trickling in, even as the night is fading away into the wee hours of morning. No matter how big the crowd, no matter how busy Amma may be, she never misses an opportunity to impart her words of wisdom. The following two incidents are examples of how Amma’s life is like a sacred book of spiritual teachings.

Work as worship

It was during evening darshan in Zurich that some of Amma's children from Costa rica brought her a gift of rudraksha beads. Amma showered her children with a lot of love and spent a lot of time with them as she gave them darshan, and looked at the beads with tender eyes. Everyone wondered what was special about those rudraksha beads. After all, they looked like common beads. Unable to contain their curiosity, some devotees seated near Amma asked her about it. Amma replied, "These beads were picked with great care. These children were constantly thinking of God as they picked the beads. Any action that is done with attention ceases to be mere work. It truly becomes worship."

Freedom for all beings

Freedom is an essential aspect of our mental, physical and spiritual growth. We strive for freedom in many areas of our day to day life. The search for freedom has been the cause of numerous wars between nations all over the world. Does anyone ever consider the freedom of a bird in a cage, a fish in a fish tank, or even the freedom of closely potted plants? Well, our mother sure does. As darshan ended early morning in London, some of her children handed Amma a bunch of potted plants. She looked at the plants compassionately and said, "Plant them farther apart. They need freedom to grow and the space to be nurtured."

Everyone smiled with wonder at Amma’s concern for a bunch of potted plants!

Indeed, her life is the most powerful message of unconditional love.