Excerpts from Amma's North American Tour 2019
Seattle
Amma’s 2019 North American Tour began with a two-day program at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington. People from far and near gathered for Amma’s darshan, meditation, satsang and bhajans.
Seattle is especially exciting as it is Amma’s first stop on her yearly six-week tour throughout all of the United States and Canada. Thrilled to be once again with Amma, everyone convenes and the excitement in the crowd is truly palpable.
Among the special invited guests were those ardent in selfless service for their local communities. A true example of the selfless service Amma calls upon, Consultant to Tribal Communities, leader Lorraine Brave has dedicated more than 30 years to end the trauma and intergenerational grief experienced by indigenous people in the area.
Lorraine works with the most vulnerable to heal victims of substance abuse. With a specialized graduate degree, she frequently lectures in universities and facilitates workshops in dealing with trauma. She said, “On behalf of the fist indigenous people, I bow down to Amma. You are the embodiment of the teaching of our Creator. We sing praise to Mother Earth, Father Sky and Grandmother Moon. We honor the Four Seasons, the Four Directions, the Four Cycles of Life, the Four Races, and the Four Colors of Peace. We honor you as a great spirit that walks in beauty among us, healing us with your compassion and love. We honor you for the countless contributions you made to our wounded earth and for founding Embracing the World, a global network that exists to alleviate the suffering of the poor by offering food, shelter, healthcare, education and livelihood.”
The next invited guest, a Seattle native and architect who uses innovative strategies to end homelessness, Rex Hohlbein, founder of Facing Homelessness, also spoke a few words: "Thank you, Amma, and all of you for this moment. Day to day it can be difficult to remember, but never forget that love is truly the answer.” Mr. Rex’s work stood as a shining example of social innovation rooted in compassion.
Finally, during a special puja, Amma shared her expansive vision for world peace, "Humankind and nature are in an agitated state. Only through prayer and meditation can we make a change to the current state of things. Meditation is as precious as gold. It is one of the best ways to attain material prosperity, spiritual progress, peace and liberation. If, along with our meditation, we develop compassion, it would be like gold becoming fragrant — something priceless and utterly unique."
Amma’s first stop thus began on a happy note for all.
San Ramon
Amma’s second stop of the North American tour took place at the beautiful MA Center in San Ramon, Amma’s first ashram in the United States. Once a barren landscape, MA Center is now is a pure example of Amma’s vision to bring harmony to nature through sustainable and compassionate techniques for the cultivation of land and resources. Amma’s wish to plant 1,000 fruit trees on the ashram grounds was finally realized when she blessed the 1000th sapling after the question-and-answer session at the retreat. Amma also fed the swans, geese and goslings that reside in the ashram pond that lovingly flocked towards her.
During the question-and-answer Amma spoke a few words about nature, saying: “The creation and the Creator are not two, for when we see Mother Nature as the embodiment of God, we will automatically serve and protect her. There are sparks of love inherent in everyone, and God’s grace is everywhere. Children, try and see the oneness in all of creation.”
Los Angeles
The third stop of Amma’s 2019 North American Tour took place at the LAX Hilton in Los Angeles.The three-day, high-energy program buzzed with international celebrities from Hollywood & Bollywood, sweet darshans, and satsangs by Amma and the swamis. Those gathered in the full-capacity ballroom experienced exciting new bhajans and powerful meditations for world peace. Amma said "To awaken spiritual unity––and to spread to others the love that is our inherent nature––is the true goal of human life."
The MA Center LA., located in Redondo Beach, contributes to the local community through service projects. Officials from Redondo Beach thanked Amma for visiting Southern California and praised the humanitarian works extended through her local Ashram. Alumni from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amma’s top-ranked private university in India, also dropped by to see Amma and expressed their gratitude for the holistic education they received at her institutions in India. LA was the last stop of Amma's West Coast tour.
Stay tuned for more excerpts from the tour. Amma is now in the New York city and the evening program is now going on with literally thousands attending the program.