Despite the scorching heat, devotees and retinues of Mata Amritanandamayi, the 60-year-old Hindu spiritual guru, flocked to Kochi on Saturday.
With chants of ‘Amma’ on their lips, men and women in white dress filled the road leading to the Brahmasthanam at Edappally, where ‘Amma’ inaugurated the annual Brahmasthanam festival.
Guests were welcomed to the great hall with bright smiles and ‘Namastes’ by young Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham students. ‘Keertans’ filled the air, rendered by Amma and a chorus of singers sitting beside her on an elevated platform.
The music came to a stop when Mata Amritanandamayi took the mike to give her two-hour long sermon. The society is disturbingly demoralised, Amma drove home the point of her sermon in the first sentences itself.
“Technology has shortened the distance between people, but the distance between hearts has widened. We have kids with toys but without friends. We have watches on everyone’s hand, but no one has time for anything.
We can spend long hours on the Facebook, but cannot look at each other’s face. Depression tablets are selling like hot cakes, but the number of mental patients are increasing. Life has become so superfluous in the world that there is no concern for moral values,” said Amritanandamayi.
The devotees seemed to be unperturbed by the grave accusations, including rape charges, against the Mata Amritanandamayi Math by a former disciple of Mata, Gail Tredwell from Autralia, through her book, ‘Holy Hell’.
“I think even the recent attacks against DC Books and Swami Sandeepanada Giri have nothing to do with the Matt,” said a foreign delegate who attended the function.
Amritanandamayi completely kept silent on the controversy and stressed more on the importance of meditation in her speech.
“Meditation is gaining huge importance in the present society. We have learned to fly like a bird and swim like a fish. But we have forgotten how to walk and live like human beings,” she said.
Award for Amma
Mata Amritanandamayi was presented with the Pandit Karuppan award at the Brahmasthanam at Edappally on Saturday. Thekkamadam Mooppil Shankarananda Brhamanandabhoothi Swamiyaar presented the award to Mata.
However, Amritanandamayi announced that she was giving the award money to the the ‘Shankara Bhagavatpaathar Vicharavedi’, a society chaired by Swamiyaar on the spot itself.