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Thousands of people gathered with great joy and gratitude to welcome Amma to Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala’s capital. As the beginning of her first tour in India since 2020, they considered it a rare and sacred moment. The stop took place at the Ashram’s Brahmasthanam Temple in Kaimanam in celebration of its 33rd anniversary.
Starting February 8 at 11am, the two-day festival shone with spiritual fervor as Amma showered her blessings upon the many smiling faces. During the inauguration, she was greeted by distinguished guests and then led sessions of meditation and bhajans (devotional singing).
Amma also distributed clothing and financial assistance to members of AmritaSREE, our self-help group initiative for women across India. Today, there are more than 15,000 AmritaSREE SHGs with 250,000 plus members.
“When our hearts are filled with love, flowers of peace bloom around us, and the brief span of life between birth and death becomes meaningful through good deeds,” said Amma during her address.
She also emphasised that love for nature is like a medicine without side effects and encouraged integrating a caring approach toward nature as a part of life. Her words of unconditional love deeply resonated with the devotees, inspiring them to focus on humility, selflessness, and compassion in their lives.
As the official program ended just after 2:30pm, faces lit up in anticipation of the precious moment for which they had been yearning—Amma’s darshan in the form of her embrace. She held each and every one who arrived, thousands of people, until 11pm.
It was a concrete embodiment of the message Amma delivered during her address on day two in Thiruvananthapuram. She reflected on the deeper meaning of life, urging people to transcend the ego and love everyone equally.
“Life becomes fulfilled when we come in tune with the infinite. To achieve peace and happiness, we must reduce the weight of our ego and cultivate selflessness,” she said.
Comparing life not merely to journeys or dreams, but to virtues like patience and tolerance, Amma reminded the gathering that true fulfilment arises from within. She said, “When humility becomes our natural state, our lives flow like beautiful music, bringing bliss to ourselves and others.”
Amma also addressed the importance of compassion in our modern age, saying, “Love is the true wealth of life, and its absence is the greatest loss a person can experience. Compassion is not a luxury but a necessity for the survival of society.”
She emphasised that while it is not always possible to help everyone in need, supporting the needs of those around us can create a ripple effect of kindness that will contribute to greater harmony across our world.
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Amma’s next South India Tour stop is February 11 in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. She will lead a public program at Amrita University‘s ninth and newest campus.
