Pics by Prasanna Kodavoor Team Mangalorean

Udupi: Matha Amrithanandamayi arrived at the temple city on Saturday, February 25, to the joy of her devotees. Amma’s arrival was celebrated with great joy at the MGM Grounds here.

Matha Amrithanandamayi has visited Mangaluru many times. To honour a long time pending demand, this year Amma agreed to visit the Temple town.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the public reception and Darshan of Matha Amrithanandamayi at the MGM Grounds.

In her blessings, Amma said that God is indivisible oneness devoid of all boundaries of separation. Mother Nature, the atmosphere, the birds and other animals, the plants and trees – each and every atom in them is overflowing with this divine power. God is fully present in all that is sentient and insentient. When we fully understand this truth, we can do nothing but love over selves as well as everyone around us.
The first ripple of love emerges from within us. When a pebble is dropped into a still pond, the first little ripple forms around the pebble itself. Gradually, the circle of that ripple expands until it reaches the shore. In the same way, love should start within. If we are able to purify the love inherent in us, it will gradually expand and encompass the world.

Humanity has advanced in the field of education. But at the same time, society is drowning in the religious division, enmity in the name of political views, crime, rape and other forms of violence against women, etc. Even educated youth from well-to-do families are getting involved in gangs. They become addicted to drugs and alcohol. Their addiction devastates their own life as well as the lives of others – turning life into a living hell full of car accidents, domestic violence, street fights and the sexual abuse of women and children.
Today, mankind has become a walking disaster. While natural disasters may not be under our control, we do have some technology that can signal us as they are approaching. However, science has yet to invent a device that can detect the disasters man carries in his mind. The biggest problem we face is a mind that lacks discernment – a selfish mind that does not allow us to see the sorrows of others. Most people only think of their own happiness and what they can receive from others.
All over the world, we see high-level conferences, discussions and debates analysing and seeking solutions to problems like global warming, climate change, and the fate of mankind, nature and the earth. On the other hand, even though the temperature in man’s mind is rising to dangerous heights and his internal climate has drastically changed for the worse, these issues are largely ignored. Everyone wants to live tension-free, but the majority of people are simply taking free tension.

   The circumstances in life will always keep changing. Change is nature’s unchanging law. However, it is we who make experiences bitter or sweet- our mind and our attitude. As long as we are in control, then no problem or tragedy can devastate or paralyze us. In reality, the foundation of happiness is gratitude. When the mind becomes filled with gratitude, we will spontaneously become happy. If we introspect on each and every experience we face in our daily lives, we will come to understand that it is not happiness that gives us gratitude, but a grateful outlook that brings happiness into our lives.
The solution to most of the problems faced by society is value based education. There are two types of education. Education for livelihood and education for life, when we study in colleges and universities, striving to become a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer etc. It is the education for livelihood. Education for life is the cultivation of spiritual understanding- i.e, understanding the nature of the world and the nature of our mind, which will help us to adjust to all the different situations that come in life. We all know the goal of education is not to create people who can only understand the language of machines, Instead, its main purpose should be to impart a culture of the heart – a culture based on moral and spiritual values. But unfortunately, we are forgetting this.

When people perform actions with only the end-result in mind, they will not hesitate to do anything to attain it, they will even commit crimes. Such a self-serving perspective makes people consider everyone else as enemies. Our ego blocks the flow of God’s grace. All negativities like anger, lust and greed arise from the ego. Flowers never bloom around the peak of a live volcano. In the same way, it is difficult for the flowers of peace to bud in on contentment that destroyed. It is like adding poison to our own drinking water, or like giving the reigns of our mind to someone else. Patience is the greatest power. It awakens goodness in us as well as in others.

Environmental protection is one of the greatest issues mankind faces today. If only we would walk along the path shown by our ancestors, we could easily find solutions to the problems we are facing now. In the past, people did not need to try to protect Nature. This is because their way of life, itself, protected Nature. Environmental protection was inherent in their very lifestyle, worship and cultural customs. Reverence and respect towards all creatures and creation were an integral part of their life. If was ingrained in them that they should take only what was needed from Nature, without exploiting and destroying her. But in the modern world, we are people taking from nature and their fellow human beings without any limit.
Compassion is the unconditional law of creation. The beginning, sustenance and culmination of every individual, society and the world are in compassion. If we go against this law, even the most powerful kingdom or human beings cannot survive. That is the reason why it is stressed that life should be raised on the foundation of compassion.
While concluding Amma said that Low is the wealth that makes the one who gives happier than the one who receives. It is the wealth one possess but is yet to become aware of. It is the footprints of love that stay imprinted forever in the path of time. It is the weapon that overpowers the most powerful enemy. It is the currency that is valuable in all countries, at all times. Love is not to be kept hidden in pockets, but must be expressed in action. Love cannot be defeated by any person’s ego. It is the panacea for sorrow, that foundation of all silence. It is the real measure of our success in life.Go dana, women empowerment Kits and Water purifiers were distributed to the needy beneficiaries on the occasion.

 The State fisheries, youth affairs and Sports and also district minister in-charge Pramod Madhwaraj, State Endowment minister Rudrappa Manappa Lamani, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje,  MLA Sunil Kumar, MLC Kota Shrinivasa Poojary, Former MLA Raghupathi Bhat  Manipal university pro-chancellor Dr H S Ballal, and others were present.