Amma: My karma is to console

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Amritavarsham 50

 

``My karma is to console``

 

 

Monday, 22 September , 2003, 16:35

 

 

It was 8.30 p.m. when we were ushered into Amma's headquarters, after

she had given darshan to everyone and conducted the bhajan. There

were Krishna idols and pictures in different parts of the room. There

was also a picture of Jesus Christ.

 

There were only two chairs and the swamis, who had turned up to

listen to the interview, sat on the floor or stood reverentially. She

offered me the other chair but I preferred to sit close to her on the

floor, in tune with the humility of her disciples and also to allow

the recorder to catch every word. Excerpts:

 

Are you God?

(Laughs.) Son, tell me what is your concept of God?

 

Well, we can't see Him. We want to know Him. He has supernatural

powers.

I don't believe that God is there above the sky. I have a concept of

God in terms of qualities. The attempt is to instill those qualities

in people.

 

Thousands come to you with their problems. Do you feel tense

sometimes?

I live in this moment. So there is no tension. I know the world's

character. People come and express their desires. It is not a tough

task for a mother to look after her children. It becomes difficult

only for an ayah. Crowds don't make me tense. Sometimes there are

20,000 people, sometimes 30,000. If there are more people, I increase

the speed with which I attend to them.

 

Why do you hug people?

It is like asking a river why it flows. That is my character. It

became so. If a person is falling down, will you just watch or will

you help that person to get up? I don't see if it is a man or woman.

The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my karma

is to console those who are sad. In Indian culture, we have the

concept, mathru devo bhava (Mother is God). Mother is given the

premier position. When a child is crying, you pat on its back. Then

it lies down on your lap and cries. You then put the child on your

shoulders. Then you put an arm around the poor thing. The embrace

evolved naturally.

 

Sometimes there are so many who want to meet you. Don't you feel

tired?

Till now, I have not felt so. I have been giving darshan for over 35

years. I don't know about the future. Tomorrow is different from

today.

 

Do you get headaches or other problems?

Not really. But it is possible because the body is made of the five

elements. Till now, I have not stopped darshan midway and gone back

to my room. If I start in the morning, I stop it in the afternoon

because people will come again in the evening. That will go on till

the following morning, sometimes till noon.

 

What is your favourite food?

(Laughs) Amma has no likes and dislikes. I accept whatever I get. In

the ashram, they don't cook fish or meat. Not that I'm against it.

But why kill animals? Some may say, eating vegetables also involves

destruction. But killing a chicken is worse than destroying an egg.

 

Do you listen to music?

Everything is God for me. There is no quality which is special. In

sanadhana dharma, there is no srishti (creation) and srishtithavu

(creator). It is the same. I see God in people. Whether it be music

or something else, these are all God's qualities.

 

What do you do when you are alone?

I read letters from devotees the whole night. There are about 3,000

people living here. They have complaints. There are letters from

different organisations. I am able to read only a small portion of

what comes. I give the rest to my children to read. If one person can

be helped, it is better to that extent.

 

They say you sleep only two hours.

Sometimes, not even that much. There is work. Day and night have

become almost the same.

 

Why do you dress up like a goddess?

I had this habit of dancing to devotional songs. Some devotees like

to dress up Amma. In north India, they put Krishna's crown and bring

butter. They enjoy that. In the same way, people who worship Devi

bring flowers, etc. It is the sankalpam (imagination) of devotees.

Once, a devotee from Madurai had a dream that he should bring a crown

for me. It is their desire and not that I wanted it. If somebody

gives trousers (she has a hearty laugh), I am ready to wear that too,

if it will help dharma.

 

Why did you assume the name Amritanandamayi?

I used to write the prayer, Om, Amrithajyothirmayame. My name was

Sudhamani and Sudha means amritham (nectar). And the sishyas renamed

it this way.

 

Your biography says you converted water to panchamritham (sweet dish).

I don't think of it as a miracle. For me, peace of mind is the

greatest miracle. What happened that day was, there was this

Bhagavatha reading in a neighbour's house. While listening, I danced

in ecstasy. Some people came and demanded that I show them a miracle.

When they insisted, I asked them for a pot of water. That was

distributed to everyone and they ate the panchamritham. Another time,

someone took away the lamp. Those days, there was no electricity.

Some devotees poured water in sea shells. I asked them to light it.

It happened while the devotees were watching. They only did it. I

haven't done anything myself.

 

People say you have cured diseases. Why then did you build a hospital?

Even if you remove the poison from body, if mind doesn't change,

there is no use. Jesus Christ is said to have healed people. Why are

his followers building hospitals? How did Krishna become Dhanwantara-

murthy? Prayer and medicine are necessary. Tomorrow, I can also get

unwell.

 

Celebrations are being planned for your 50th birthday.

We wanted to have a mass prayer involving people of different

cultures for world peace. That was combined with this birthday. For

devotees, birthday is important. We have these programmes for women,

youth and businessmen. People came forward for a forum like this.

 

Why do you go on foreign tours?

Spiritual life should be like a river. In olden days, there were no

buses or trains. Yet, Shankaracharya toured the country and set up

ashrams all over. He didn't sit in one place. Yes, if you sit in one

place, you develop more affinity to God. But inside you as well as

outside should become like a river. I travel to different parts of

India also.

 

Some local people still have doubts.

How can we remove the doubts of everyone? When Krishna, Nabi and Rama

came to this world, people had doubts. Is there anyone who has total

acceptance? Do children fully accept their parents? Does one have

full control of one's own mind? No. There will be two sides and that

is the way it should be. Some have preconcieved ideas. It is

difficult to wake up those who are pretending to be asleep.

 

They say your relatives are rich.

They can only look at such things. Amma's relatives are into

business. One brother is into building contracts. He also has some

chocolate agency. Father had about 20 boats. He sold some and set up

a business for another brother. Maybe, because of some devotees, he

was able to expand it without much investment. The younger brother

has a money-lending business. Kasturi (sister) and husband are

employed. Another sister's husband has a job. They also have boats.

Father still earns his bread through hard work. He doesn't take

anything from the ashram, which is managed by swamis. The local

people are generally good. But a few sometimes have got drunk and

tried to create trouble. Once, they threw stones. Now some are

showering flowers.

 

By C. Sujit Chandra Kumar/The Week