CHENNAI: Bharathi Kannan, a resident of Jafferkhanpet and a realtor, was quite eager to meet spiritual guru Mata Amrithanandamayi during her visit to the city on Saturday. Not because he was a long-ime devotee but because volunteers of Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MAM) were the first ones who reached him and his stranded family during the floods, distributing relief material and food.
“During the floods, with lack of power supply and caught in knee-deep water, we were stranded in the house and could not come out, even to buy food. I thought we would never find help, but it was the volunteers of MAM,who reached us first. Though we got support after that from many others, this guru has become very special to me now and provoked me to read more. For the past one and a half months, I have been eagerly awaiting a chance. I decided to bring my entire family for darshan,” he said.
When Mata Amrithanandamayi, as part of a three-week tour in Tamil Nadu, visited Coimbatore, Tiruchy and Puducherry, many of her devotees thronged the venue to get a darshan. But her Chennai visit had a different story to tell. It was the people who benefited by the volunteer work of the MAM during the floods who thronged the venue along with the devotees.
“For the past one and a half months we have been receiving calls inquiring about Amma’s visit to Chennai. And on Saturday, several thousands of people visited the math starting from 5 am,” said a member of the organising committee for the event.
The two-day visit features satsangs, bhajans, meditation and darshan. The guru also spoke about how people should lead their lives, telling small stories. She also stressed the importance of eating home-grown vegetables and said they would lead to a healthy life. She also pointed out that youngsters these days were getting addicted to gadgets and are more prone to mental depression which should be checked by parents.
She visited Chennai for the 26th anniversary of the consecration of the Brahmasthanam Temple in Virugampakkam. People participated in dhyanam and bhajans. So special poojas and homams were also conducted.
The guru will head towards Devakottai on February 23, Madurai on February 25 and Kanyakumari on February 26.