· Padapuja, Satsang, World Peace Prayer, Meditation & Bhajans
· 5 Lakh Given to Families of CRPF Soldiers, 1 Lakh Given to Families who lost a member during the 2019 Kerala Monsoon, & 400 Free Major Surgeries at Amrita Hospital for Poor
· Amrita University Starts New School of Sustainable Development as well as 25-Crore in PhD Fellowships for Sustainable Development
Amritapuri, Kollam
27th September 2019
The 66th Birthday Celebrations of Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi took place at Amritapuri with lakhs of devotees and well-wishers from around the nation and world attending to observe her padapuja, hear her satsang and participate in the meditation and prayers for world peace. This was followed by a formal function that found several new humanitarian projects of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math inaugurated by Rajnath Singh, the Minister of Defence; Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare; and Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance and Minister of State for Corporate Affairs. Other dignitaries included Mercykutty Amma, Minister of Fisheries, Harbor Engineering & Cashew Industries, Ramesh Chennithala, MLA, Leader of the Opposition, and K.C. Venugopal, General Secretary of AICC.
In her address Amma spoke about the importance of respecting and protecting Nature. “Nature is mother and father to us; it is everything,” Amma said. “We are the children of that revered Mother Nature. She only ever had love and compassion for us. We, on the other hand, have just stomped all over her and kicked her in the chest. Now that loving mother has fallen ill and is exhausted.”
She also stressed the importance of prioritising spiritual values in life. “If we stop giving moral values the place they deserve, our life will rot away like a log infested with termites,” Amma said. “We will lack the courage to face problems in life. This is why the ancient rishis considered dharma-bodham—the awareness of what should and should not be done—as all-important. It is vital that we have this awareness in order to ensure that all of our social transactions are equally beneficial to others as they are to us.”
Rajnath Singh expressed his gratitude for the way the Mutt and Amma provided support for the Pulwama martyrs. He said the attack happened when he was the home minister and the nation retorted by the Balakote attack. He also said that India will never attack any other nation, but will not tolerate any attack on our nation and its people. He also said another attack like the one happened in Mumbai will never happen again.
Among the humanitarian endeavours were: the provision Rs. five lakh financial aid to families of the CRPF soldiers killed in the Pulwama terror attack, the provision of Rs. one lakh financial aid to families who lost a member during the torrential rains and landslides of the 2019 Kerala monsoon, free surgeries for 400 poor at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi, 10 free homes for the poor in Kannur, and the provision of 10 OceanNet systems to fishermen, allowing them to maintain Internet connections when past the normal range of connectivity.
On the educational front, a new Technology Enabling Centre and a School for Sustainable Development were inaugurated for Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Amrita University also announced that it had created an Rs. 25-crores PhD fellowship programme called “Amrita E4LIFE” that would sponsor PhDs in the field of Sustainable Development for 100 students from India and around the world.
Speaking about the fellowships, Amrita University’s Vice-Chancellor, Dr. P. Venkat Rangan, said, “To date, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math has adopted more than 100 villages all over India. Under Chancellor Amma’s direction, faculty and students at Amrita have been striving to help these villages by creating tailor-made solutions that foster sustainable development and social-economic progress. It is Amma’s belief that such programmes help not only the villagers, but also the students — awakening compassion in their hearts. It is to facilitate this vision of Amma’s and to support youth interested in pursuing higher education to uplift the poor and needy that we have created this new PhD fellowship programme.”
The Math also gave 400,000 free saris to women enrolled in its upliftment programmes such the Amrita SREE SHGs, and conducted free weddings complete with customary gold ornaments for couples in need.
In his Welcome Speech, Swami Amritaswarupananda, the Vice-Chairman of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, extolled Amma as a paragon of selfless compassionate service to suffering humanity. “For Amma, service to humanity is nonstop,” he said.” No vacations, no sick days, no leave applications. Traveling all over the world, Amma is leading people of all nations, all religious faiths and all cultures in truly universal prayer: lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu—‘May all beings all over the world by happy.’ In fact, Amma is this mantra’s living embodiment in thought, word and deed.”
On the evening of the 26th, new ashram publications were released, an environmental protection program called Amritavanam was started, and Amrita Australia inaugurated a new programme to uplift Australian Indigenous women.
The programme concluded with Amma giving her famous darshan, which comes in the form of a motherly embrace, to one and all until late the next morning.
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