Kollam (Keralam), Sep 26 Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi for her social service activities and her influence on people across the world.
He was speaking while inaugurating ‘Vishwa Seva Dinam’, organised at Amritapuri in Vallikavu here on the occasion of Mata Amritanandamayi’s 73rd birthday.
Shah said people holding various responsibilities in public life could understand the meaning of humanity when they came into the presence of Amritanandamayi.
“Even a person with no sensitivity at all, upon coming to this sacred Amritapuri, feels a single emotion in their heart—a feeling of gratitude toward Amma and her service initiatives,” he said.
Shah said she has been wiping the tears of suffering people for five decades.
“Because for someone who has made wiping the tears of the suffering as a spiritual practice and her duty for five decades, Amma’s celebrations too should be observed in the form of service,” Shah said.
He said personalities such as Amritanandamayi played an important role in connecting and uniting society through empathy.
“Personalities like Amma give millions of people, not just in India but across the world, the sensitivity and wisdom to understand each other’s pain and sorrow,” he said.
Shah said Amritanandamayi’s embrace has given millions of people the realisation that they were not alone in their suffering.
He recalled meeting her on September 27, 2015, April 3, 2016 and June 4, 2023, and said receiving her blessings on World Service Day was significant for him.
Recalling the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Shah said it was the first time he experienced Amritanandamayi’s compassion.
He said she had built 1,200 houses and an entire village for people affected by the earthquake, along with a town hall, educational facility, hospital, water supply and drainage infrastructure.
He said the village had subsequently become known as “Amma’s Village”.
He said Amritanandamayi’s service continued throughout the year and was not limited to the annual celebrations.
He said her life could be viewed through three aspects — devotion, action and compassion, with natural compassion being the core of her personality.
“Selfless service—every person performs selfless service at some point in their life, but there are very few lives whose entire existence gets absorbed in selfless service and passes entirely in selfless service. Amma is one such personality in the whole world whose entire life has been dedicated to selfless service,” Shah said.
He said Amritanandamayi has institutionalised her spirit of service and transformed it into a global mission.
“There are 86 Amrita Vidyalayams across the country,” he said, adding that one of the schools was also functioning in his constituency, Ghatlodia.
Shah said Amritanandamayi and her followers had provided services during disasters, including the Gujarat earthquake, the tsunami, the Uttarakhand disaster, the Wayanad landslide, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said she had also contributed to planting more than 10 lakh trees, promoting health, education and livelihoods, and making 101 villages self-reliant.
Shah said Amritanandamayi has conveyed the message of Hindutva and service at international forums, including the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
He said the United Nations had granted her the status of a Special Advisor and that she had served as the chair of Civil 20 when India assumed the G20 presidency.
Shah also said Amritanandamayi has extended her support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-drug campaign “Nasha Mukt Bharat” and expressed confidence that the country would achieve the goal of becoming drug-free with her blessings.
Shah also presented BJP leader and former Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai with the Amrit Keerthi Puraskar.
He also handed over Rs two crore on behalf of the Amritanandamayi Math to Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu as relief assistance for flood-affected people in the northeastern state.
Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Health Minister K Muraleedharan, Excise Minister M Liju, and leaders from various political parties were present at the function.
(PTI News)
