The arrival of Spring was celebrated in Amritapuri with further efforts for environmental restoration. Amma’s Vishu message carried prayers for joy, beauty and prosperity to all of humankind and nature.
“On this auspicous day, may we dedicate ourselves to displaying compassion towards all living beings and restoring the Earth’s beauty adorned with lush plants and trees,” said Amma.
“May the grace of the Divine bless us with the wisdom to discern rightly and to exert the right effort towards this.”
In partnership with the World Malayalee Council (WMC), the Vishutaineetham project launched a new year. Volunteers with AYUDH, our youth wing, lead the planting of saplings and other native species in their communities around the globe. Amma began Vishuthaineetham in 2015 with the aim of reviving and deepening respect and love for Mother Nature.
Representing WMC at the gathering were Global Chairman Johnny Kuruvila, Global President Thomas Motaikkal, Global Vice President Dr Natakkal Sasi, Global Advisory Board Chairman TP Vijayan, and Bharat’s Regional President, Dr Dominic Joseph.
AYUDH distributed the young plants to the people gathered. The initiative will now continue in Amma’s other centres. Amma expressed her gratitude to the WMC team, who even at these trying times, were ready to join hands and serve society.
“In Sanatana Dharma, we can see that all the festivals signify the connection between these three aspects—humankind, Mother Nature, and the Divine. If we can take all these three in a unified way, then peace and happiness will prevail everywhere,” said Amma.
“First, we should create awareness of the Atman, the True Self. Then we will be able to understand the qualities of nature, and this will eventually lead us to be thankful to the Creator.”
Amma shared how in Sanatana Dharma, the Creator and creation are not two, but one. There is nothing other than God—not that there is only one God, but that everything is God. In creation, humankind cannot exist without nature, yet if humankind ceases to exist, nature will thrive.
“Only after the last tree is cut down, only after the last river is poisoned, and only after the last fish is caught—only then will we realise that we cannot eat money,” said Amma, sharing a well-known prophecy by the Cree First Nations in Canada.
Amma continued about how there are three kinds of people: prakriti, vikriti and samskriti. Prakrti people take only their share but do not concern themselves with the needs of others. People of vikrti nature not only eat their own share, but they also snatch as much as they can from others.
Samskrti people are those who take as little as possible and then share as much as they can. Since Mother Nature is showing humankind samskriti, we should also elevate ourselves to that state.
“As an example, if you own land, you could make a 6’x6’ or a 3’x3’ pit, to serve as a rainwater harvesting point. You could raise fish there, as well, or could take baths in the pure waters without adding chlorine,” said Amma on a practical level of action.
“You could also grow organic vegetables around these ponds to provide food for family and friends. We have begun to do waste management everywhere, but we can raise the bar so that nothing goes to waste.”
In addition to tree planting, Amma also spoke about our Global Seedball Campaign, an ancient technique for reforestation and soil restoration. A seedball is made up of soil and seeds, often mixed with clay and other organic materials to hold the ball together. They are then scattered in local ecosystems as a low-cost solution, since they only need natural rainfall to germinate and grow into mature plants.
“With the help of various Navy and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) units, along with our volunteers, millions of trees and plants have been sewn around the world. WMC has joined and this revives our Malayalee traditions, as agriculture was once the main occupation of Kerala,” said Amma.
“Even if we have medicine for diabetes, if we don’t follow the diet and prescription, it will worsen the situation. In a similar way, awareness regarding how we must now support Mother Nature is crucial. Only then will humankind wake-up and we will uplift ourselves.
“Amma is happy to see people becoming more aware about nature. If everyone develops such an attitude, we can make this world a beautiful garden. Amma prays to the Paramatman for everyone to receive the Grace to come forward and undertake such actions. Amma bows down again in gratitude for these efforts.”
