At her 2026 Mananthavady program, Amma spoke about our world’s most crucial challenge. Humankind must stop its destruction of Mother Nature, otherwise the complex problems we face will only increase. Though often hidden, the solution is simple—love. It is our very essence, and our essence is something that can never be destroyed.
Amma is immensely happy to see all of you together again after the COVID-19 pandemic. What Amma witnesses and experiences here is a confluence of hearts, where the love of her children overflows like a river.
Life, the interval between birth and death, gains meaning when we perform good deeds. By “good deeds,” Amma refers to fulfilling our dharma (duty or righteous path) toward nature, our fellow human beings, and all other living creatures.
COVID-19 taught us many lessons, or perhaps it is more accurate to say it attempted to teach us. From the dawn of creation, nature as the Divine Power has been trying to teach us many valuable lessons. Had we truly learned them, we could have avoided many of the complex problems that humankind faces today.
Every crisis, whether it be a pandemic, a natural disaster, or climate change, calls upon humankind to embrace three things: cooperation, friendship, and communion. Cooperate with one another; cultivate friendship with nature; and maintain communion with the Divine Power. If these three aspects are not put into practice, at least to some extent, it will impact every sphere of our lives.
If everyone lived by fulfilling their own dharma and allowed others to live in the same way, ninety percent of the problems we see today would not exist.
Amma
Humans are beings who seek to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation. We have adopted a similar approach in our relationship with nature. While dialogue may prove effective in resolving conflicts between individuals, communities, political parties, or nations, no such arrangement can be made with nature. In this context, the only effective approach is to cast aside our egos, bow our heads, and cultivate a relationship rooted in humility, friendship, and a sense of reverence.
For generations, humankind has been harming Mother Nature. She has consistently forgiven Her children, showering them time and again with compassion and love. However, this may not continue, as we have begun to misinterpret Her patience and compassion as weaknesses or limitations.
We forget the truth that Mother Nature is a formidable power, one that possesses the capacity to punish just as She has the capacity to protect. She may have come to realize that if She continues to forgive, we will never mend our ways. Therefore, it is time to learn to bow our heads with humility before Mother Nature. It is time to learn to treat Her with respect and love.
The beauty of creation lies in diversity. Sanatana Dharma acknowledges and embraces this diversity. The sages did not perceive contradictions within diversity, nor did they reject it; for they knew and experienced that although things appear as many, they are all merely different names and forms of the One. In a garden, there are flowers of various colors, hues, and shapes. There may even be poisonous ones. Yet the honeybee gathers only the nectar from them all.
In the same way, the sages taught us to perceive unity within diversity. From this perspective, there is no hatred or enmity, no sorrow or anger. Instead, one sees only goodness in everyone and everything.
True friendship blossoms when one is able not only to accept, but to welcome differences with an open mind. From this arises genuine coexistence and the firm conviction that this Earth, nature, and all its resources belong equally to all human beings and other living creatures.
Human life is meant to begin in love, to be lived in love, and to end in love.
Amma
Where in this world can one find an absence of contradictions? Do contradictions not exist within the character and behavior of every individual? If there are four people in a household, there are not just four, but perhaps four hundred contradictions. And what of an office?
Whether it is an individual, a specific group, or a nation, if everyone lived by fulfilling their own dharma and allowed others to live in the same way, ninety percent of the problems we see today would not exist.
Currently, we tend to act without thinking and think without acting. When anger arises in the mind, the thought immediately transforms into an action or a word; there is no time to bring the emotion under control. By reacting without understanding, we often end up looking foolish or even cruel. What we need to cultivate is patience.
Human life is meant to begin in love, to be lived in love, and to end in love. The truth is that such pure love has no end. It is love that connects all living beings in this universe. Whether among humans or animals, it is the power of love that binds a mother to her child and her child to the mother.
Yet today, many spend their entire lives searching for love, only to die without ever finding it. In reality, love is the emotion most familiar and inherent in all human beings. It is our very essence, and our essence is something that can never be destroyed.
