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There is nothing preplanned about Amma’s mission. All her projects have been spontaneously compassionate responses to the sorrow and suffering that she sees around her. There is no question of 'how' or 'why'. Her compassion has manifested in the massive relief efforts undertaken by the Ashram. Whenever and wherever disaster, Amma responded as a mother would to her children's needs. The past few years have seen natural disasters and tragedies involving the natural elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. In October 2005, the Indian regions of Kashmir and Jammu and Pakistan were rocked by an earthquake that claimed over 80,000 lives. Two months before that, in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina submerged the entire city of New Orleans and displaced hundreds of thousands. In July 2005, almost three feet (944mm) of rain fell in 24 hours in Mumbai, resulting in massive flooding. The tsunami that struck in December 2004 claimed countless lives throughout India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and other countries in the region. In June 2004, a fire at a school in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, took the lives of nearly 100 children and left countless others injured. In 2001, an earthquake destroyed many villages and killed 3,000 people in Gujarat. In 1992, an earthquake in Lathore, Maharastra, claimed 20,000 lives.In response to each of these tragedies, Amma’s helping hand reached out to those in need. She has always felt a deep inner calling that it was her duty to help people. From an early age, Amma has been helping those in the surrounding villages who were in need by providing food, clothing, and shelter. Later, Amma’s charitable activities expanded throughout her home state of Kerala, and then continued on to all of India. Amma has often said that while it may be someone's karma to fall into a well, it is our karma to assist them. Today, Amma’s efforts to alleviate pain and suffering extend to all parts of the globe. Amma also says that there is currently an imbalance in Dharma and in Nature - we are taking from Nature with reckless abandon and not caring sufficiently for the suffering in the world. How can we restore this balance? Amma says this can be done by following our own Dharma and by praying with our hearts and serving with our hands.Amma has also asked all her children around the world to pray for world peace by chanting ‘Lokah Samastah Sukinau Bhavantu’ – May all beings in all the worlds be happy. |