Amma, the Creator

By Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri

Now I know why God is known as the Creator! Because I have seen, or rather I have experienced, how Amma is creating a spiritual empire around Her; how She creates extraordinary human beings out of ordinary people (when I say "ordinary," I don't mean it in a derogatory way at all). Her immense projects -- the AIMS Super Speciality Hospital; the Amrita Kuteeram project, in which 25,000 houses are being built and given to the homeless all over the country; and numerous other projects -- are typical examples of Amma's creative power.

Recently, when I was in Calcutta, one of Amma's devotees, who is the senior executive director of a highly reputed company, told me that they'd had several rounds of meetings with experts and highly professional people before they had invested in a huge and very costly new venture. When he said this I thought, "Well, perhaps your company does this, but our "Managing Director" simply dives in and goes straight ahead with each new venture." She never selects experts, but chooses ordinary people to do Her extraordinary work. The miracle is that the CEO in Amma transforms those ordinary people into absolute experts in the fields She chooses for them. I do not exaggerate when I say that Amma knows how to tap into the hidden capacities of people - the reason being that She knows everyone through and through; She knows them even better than they know themselves. She is a true Human Resourses Director

Amma is the creator and the inspiration behind all these projects. She is the Supreme Sculptor who is shaping countless works of love for the benefit of society.

What is it that inspires people to be so exceptionally dedicated and to work so hard on Amma's projects? What motivates them? What is the secret behind their great achievements -- nay, Amma's achievements? What is the power that attracts people to Amma from every corner of the globe, and from all walks of life?

The secret is love, selflessness and self-sacrifice.

Without Amma's soul-transforming love, the innate talents and capacities of all those people would never have emerged to the sheer extent that they have.

Amma's transcendental love is the power behind a spiritual renaissance that is taking place today. In Her presence people are undergoing a metamorphosis.

There is so much need for selfless love in today's world. When people are given love in immeasurable abundance by a true spiritual master like Amma, that love, which in reality is the Supreme Power itself, breaks down all the hardened walls of the ego, making their mind expansive and raising their level of consciousness.

A change happens to the inner world of those who come to Amma; their attitudes and concepts about life change. Their whole focus shifts from the ego to a state of egolessness; from anger, fear and indifference to love; and from selfishness to selflessness. Instead of being self-centred, they become centred in the Self, in the Source of infinite power.

Amma, who is the embodiment of pure, untainted love and selflessness, is creating a new world wit the help of people who have a new vision of life, a vision they have developed through Her grace and guidance.

Amma says: "We should share whatever we have with others, and we should try to contribute to the welfare of society in some way. It is through giving that we progress on the spiritual path. If we hoard our wealth, our spiritual development will be stunted and slowly our lives will wither away."

The blood that is pumped by the heart is circulated and distributed evenly throughout the whole body. What would happen if our circulation were to stop? We would collapse and die. Likewise, whatever we have should be circulated and shared. We shouldn't hoard our wealth because then society becomes stagnant and cannot grow as a whole. It is through selfless sharing that the flower of life becomes beautiful and fragrant.

Amma's love doesn't extend only to one particular section of society, or to a particular caste or religion. Her love embraces the entire world, the entire universe. Without exception, She loves every human being, every animal, every plant and tree, every aspect of creation. She loves everyone and everything equally. That love is God's Love -- nay, that Love is God Himself.

Let me tell you about a few incidents that illustrate Amma's love and compassion towards all creatures, no matter how insignificant they may seem.

During the last world tour, when Amma was staying in Seattle, She returned to the house at about 3:30 one morning, after having given darshan for many hours. As Amma walked along the garden path towards the door, She suddenly jumped back saying that She had trodden on something. She bent down and found a snail that She had touched with Her foot, and which was slightly injured. "Oh no!" She exclaimed. "Poor thing!" She picked it up and held it in Her cupped hands. Looking sadly at the little snail, She said, "This poor creature's mate will be looking for him soon. She will be very worried, wondering what has happened to him." Amma continued to gaze at the snail in Her hands for several minutes. She then closed Her eyes, touched the snail to Her forehead, and then She kissed it. She gently put it down beneath a plant and put a few protective leaves around it before She went into the house.

Most of us know the story of how the kadamba tree came back to life in Krishna's presence. Every day Krishna and the gopas used to bring the cows to the meadows for grazing. There was a gigantic serpent, called Kaliya, inhabiting the river. One day when the cows came to the river to drink, Kaliya spewed deadly poison into the water. As the cows drank from the river they collapsed and died. The gopas went running to Krishna and told Him what had happened. Krishna went down to the river. He climbed up into a dead kadamba tree, and from the upper branches of the tree he dived into the water. The Lord overpowered Kaliya and sent him away. During this incident another remarkable thing happened. The dead kadamba tree came back to life! The mere touch of the Lord -- the touch of Divine Love, of the Universal Consciousness -- was enough to reawaken the dead tree. And it blossomed.

For generations people have read about this great miracle in the epics. But this same miracle is happening right now in our midst, in Amma's presence.

I remember a very moving incident. Some years ago, a few brahmacharis uprooted a young mango tree on the Ashram grounds and transplanted it somewhere else.

Unfortunately, the tree was in a state of shock from being moved, and the brahmacharis neglected it so that it wilted away and died. One day Amma happened to come across the dead tree. When She saw it Her face was filled with pain. She bent down and kissed the tree. She was like a mother with a badly hurt child. Tears were streaming down Her face. Amma said: "Children, please do not destroy life like this. You should always remember that everything is filled with consciousness and life. There is no such thing as mere matter -- only consciousness exists. God dwells in everything; not only in people. God is in the mountains, the rivers and the trees, in the birds and the animals, in the clouds and the sun and the moon and the stars -- in both the sentient and the insentient. How can a person who understands this kill and destroy?"

A few days later, the brahmacharis were astonished to discover that the tree had come back to life and was beginning to sprout new leaves. Amma's divine touch and Her love had awakened the dead tree. Not only does love transform, it can bring the dead back to life. Such is the power of Amma's Love.

Just as spring arrives, bringing new life, freshness, and colour to the world; and as a cool rain brings life to the parched plants and trees after a long drought, a true master like Amma gives new life, hope, and renewed energy to all of humanity.

Where there is true love, there is no death. Love is like an enchanting, everlasting smile that even death cannot destroy. Love survives death. For the person who is filled with love, death is nothing but a reawakening into Divine Love. For him or her, death is not a painful experience -- on the contrary, it is a blissful celebration.

Real life exists only when there is love. If you do not love, you are not really alive, because love is inseparable from life. True, selfless love makes you fully alive, both within and without. Without love, life is lived at its lowest level, as if you were dead. Love is life in its highest and purest form.

I have witnessed so many deeply moving incidents of Amma's compassion -- more than I could possibly count. An incident comes to mind which I would like to share.

A few years ago, when Amma was in Singapore, She visited an old-age home. There was an old man of Chinese descent living there, whose entire body was covered with infected sores. He was hideous to look at. As he watched Amma embracing all the people around him, he had a look of despair on his face. After some time, Amma turned to him and gazed at him with great love. He turned his head away and tried to ignore Her. He looked frightened and deeply embarrassed, as if he was convinced that Amma wouldn't want to touch him because he was too repulsive. Amma came up to him and put Her arms around him. She held him close to Her and caressed him, treating him as if he were the most adorable child on earth. The old man broke down and sobbed like a child in Her arms.

Even as a child, when Amma was overburdened with work from morning till night, when She was misunderstood by everyone, and neglected and abused by Her own family -- instead of retreating from humanity, like any child in Her situation would have done, She went out of Her way to reach out to those who were suffering around Her. Though She was just a child, She ignored Her own suffering and fed the starving, consoled the grieving, and took care of the elderly villagers who were lonely and neglected. She frequently stole food from Her house and gave it to those in need. Even after She was punished severely by Her father, because She had given away Her mother's bracelet to a starving family, She continued to take care of others, not caring if She had to suffer for it. Her compassion was such an integral part of Her nature that whenever She came across anyone who was suffering in any way, She completely forgot about Herself and did everything She could to help that person.

Today Amma continues to give of Herself, to pour out Her infinite compassion towards those in need. As the crowds that come to Amma, seeking solace and relief from their suffering, have grown to enormous proportions and continue to grow by the day, Amma forgets about Herself and, forsaking both food and sleep, spends every moment of Her life taking care of others -- helping, consoling, uplifting and simply adoring humanity.

Though Amma is one with God, She worships every being in creation as a manifestation of God, whether it be a human being, an animal or a little tree. What greater example of love could there possibly be?

When you are in the presence of a phenomenon like Amma, who is one with the Universal Power, the energy level within you rises, taking you to the highest point of existence. But before that transformation takes places, you spontaneously surrender your whole being to that Divine Personality. This humility, or surrendering of your small ego (your lower self) to a higher reality (the higher Self), enables you to receive the pure flow of the Power of Existence. This flow creates a substantial increase of your level of awareness, which, in turn, enables you to achieve greater goals in life than you've ever imagined. You become like Hanuman. You travel from the level of your animal nature to being a true human being, and then you go beyond to the state of Godhood. You go from matter to mind, and then you evolve to the state of super-consciousness. However, this transformation is something that happens within you.

What was the secret of Hanuman's tremendous power? It was his surrender to Lord Rama. Rama was the embodiment of infinite Power. Hanuman surrendered, or you could say he had the attitude of constantly bowing down in utter humility; he emptied himself of the limited self and became nothing, allowing the All, the Divine Power or Consciousness to flow into him. Thus he became invincible.

Rama created Hanuman, Krishna created, that is, he transformed, Arjuna. And now, Amma, the Creator, the Universal Power in a human form, is creating a new generation of tremendously powerful Hanumans and Arjunas, in order to build a new world. Fully armed with the weapons of love, selflessness and self-sacrifice, the spiritual Revolutionary is marching forward with large battalions of Hanumans and Arjunas. Yes, here She comes! It is the beginning of an endless spiritual conquest.