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| Saturday, 19 February 2005 |
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Holy woman of India moved by Lanka's suffering by C. Shanmuganayagam Life Member, India - Sri Lanka Society Sri Mata Amritanandamayi has just arrived to visit the tsunami-affected areas and undertake a building project for the victims. She has already donated several millions of rupees for the
rehabilitation of the tsunami victims in India. She is one of the greatest
living saints of India today, with a following spread all over the world. Recently she established in Kerala a multi-storied hospital to provide free treatment to the poor, which was opened by Abdul Kalam, the President of India. About four decades ago, in the month of September 1953, there was born at Allapad in Kerala South India a smiling child-saint among the fisherfolk, on the western shore of the village of Parayakadavu, adjoining the sparkling waters of the Arabian Sea. The humble clan of fisherfolk in this village trace their ancestry as far back as the eminent sage Parasara Maharshi who married the fishermaid Sathyawathi, and brought forth into the world Sri Veda Vyasa, the renowned codifier of the Vedas. This smiling childsaint was named Sudhamani by her parents and later came to be known as Sri Mata Amritanandamayi. She was born on September 27, 1953 on Karthigai day in full awareness but appeared to undergo and face stoically several torments inflicted on her during her childhood by her ignorant elders, including her own parents. However, at the age of 21 years she outwardly manifested God-realization and at 22 years began to initiate seekers of truth into spiritual life. By the age of 27 years she had established the spiritual head-quarters of her International Mission in the house of her birth. Five years later there were nearly 20 branch ashrams throughout India and abroad. At the age of 33 years she made her first world tour including cities in America and Europe and embraced the entire world with her love and compassion of indescribable dimensions. She described her realization of her oneness with the divine when she was yet in her 'teens in the following words. "Smiling, the Divine Mother became an effulgence and merged in me. My mind blossomed and the events of millions of years gone by, rose up within me. Thenceforth seeing nothing as apart from my own Self, a single unity, I gave up the notion that there can be true happiness apart from the Self." After passing away of Sri Ananadamayi of Benares and Sri Mayamayi of Kanyakumari, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi is about the only living woman-saint in India who is widely accessible to the public. Her compassion for the poor and the suffering is truly boundless. Even at the dead of night when a forlorn devotee calls at her ashram for solace and the ashramaitis turn the person away saying that the Mother should not be disturbed at that hour, she rebukes the ashramites for their conduct and herself invites the devotee to her room and consoles and blesses the person concerned, with great affection. She is a great healer of minds and bodies and healing take place automatically when she blessed her devotees. Even incurable diseases sometimes yield to her healing touch when she deliberately wills to effect a cure. On one occasion, it is reported, a leper with suppurating wounds who was not even accommodated in public transport vehicles, went to the ashram to seek her blessings and was turned away by the ashramites. On seeing this incident from a distance Mother immediately called the leper in, made him sit by her side, and applied her tongue to all the wounds on his body, without any feeling of revulsion, and had him bathed thereafter with sanctified water, and he was miraculously cured of the disease immediately. In regard to her healing work Mataji says, "The sick people coming here might have been carrying their diseases for the last 10 or 15 years undergoing different kinds of treatments and still not finding any cure. If Mother accepts that, she will have to suffer only ten or fifteen minutes and those poor people will be saved from any more suffering...Mahatmas suffer in order to teach us Tyaga (sacrifice)". |
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