May Your Hearts Blossom Chicago Speech

When Love Overflows And Is Expressed Through Every Word And Deed, We Call It Compassion. That Is The Goal Of Religion. When Someone Is Full Of Love And Compassion, He Cannot Draw A Line Between Two Countries, Two Faiths Or Two Religions. He Has No Ego. He Simply Forgives And Forgets. Compassion Is Love Expressed In All Its Fullness. An Address At The Parliament Of World's Religions, Chicago, September, 1993. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

When Love Overflows And Is Expressed Through Every Word And Deed, We Call It Compassion. That Is The Goal Of Religion. When Someone Is Full Of Love And Compassion, He Cannot Draw A Line Between Two Countries, Two Faiths Or Two Religions. He Has No Ego. He Simply Forgives And Forgets. Compassion Is Love Expressed In All Its Fullness. An Address At The Parliament Of World's Religions, Chicago, September, 1993. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

Keynote Address During The Closing Plenary Session Of The Parliament Of World's Religions In Barcelona, Spain On July 13th, 2004. Amma Was To Give The Keynote Address During The Closing Plenary Session Of The Seven Day Parliament. Her Theme Was Pathways To Peace, The Wisdom Of Listening, The Power Of Commitment. Amma’s Speech Begins By Explaining How To Look Upon Our God Given Talents. By Increasing Our Innate Spiritual Power, Rather Than Just Power In Its Various Material Forms, We Can Achieve Real Peace And Contentment. Instead Of Merely Blaming Religion For The Perpetual Frustration Humanity Faces In Its Search For Happiness. The Speech Provides A Fresh View On Religion And Spirituality, A View That Is Badly Needed In Today’s World. Exhorting All To See And To Understand The Essence Of Religion From A Spiritual Perspective. Amma Reminds Us, Where There Is True Spiritual Experience, There Will Be No Division, Only Unity And Love. She Warned Against Religious Bigotry, And Addressed The Subject Of War, And Poverty. In Conclusion She Calls For A Clear Commitment From Her Children To Selfless Service. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

For The Past 30 Years, Amma Has Dedicated Her Life To The Uplift Of Suffering Humanity Through The Simplest Of Gestures, An Embrace. In This Intimate Manner, Amma Has Blessed And Consoled More Than 30 Million People Throughout The World. Wherever She Travels, Be It In India, America Or Europe, Thousands Flock To See Her. They Seek Her Boundless Love And Compassion, Her Comfort And Her Advice. This Book Is A Collection Of Amma’s Answers To Questions Asked During Her Programs In The West Since 1999. Some Were Put To Her In A Formal Setting, But Most Were Asked As She Was Giving Darshan, By Those Sitting At Her Side And Those Resting In Her Arms. Here, Amma Speaks On A Vast Range Of Topics, Including The Nature Of Birth And Death, Worldly Relationships, War And Peace, And Spiritual Practices And Philosophy. No Matter The Question, Amma Answers In Her Own Inimitable Earthy Style, Full Of The Love Of A Mother And The Wisdom Of A True Spiritual Master. She Presents The Most Esoteric Of Spiritual Truths In A Manner So Simple That Even A Child Could Understand. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

Let Our Effort To Discover Our Own Essential Nature, That Indwelling Universal Power, Be A Characteristic Feature Of The New Millennium We Are About To Enter. Let This Be Recognized As One Of The Important Goals Of The Next Century. An Address At The Interfaith Celebration In Honor Of The 50th Anniversary Of The United Nations, New York, October 21, 1995. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

The Essence Of Motherhood Is Not Restricted To Women Who Have Given Birth; It Is A Principle Inherent In Both Women And Men. It Is An Attitude Of The Mind. It Is Love, And That Love Is The Very Breath Of Life. No One Would Say, I Will Breathe Only When I Am With My Family And Friends; I Won’t Breathe In Front Of My Enemies. Similarly, For Those In Whom Motherhood Has Awakened, Love And Compassion Towards Everyone Is As Much Part Of Their Being As Breathing. An Address At The Global Peace Initiative Of Women Religious And Spiritual Leaders, Palais Des Nations, Geneva, October 7, 2002. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi Through Her extraordinary acts of love and self-sacrifice, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi or “Amma” (Mother) as She is more commonly known, has endeared Herself to millions around the world. Tenderly caressing everyone who comes to Her, holding them close to Her heart in a loving embrace, Amma shares Her boundless love with all—regardless of their beliefs, their status or why they have come to Her. In this simple yet powerful way, Amma is transforming the lives of countless people, helping their hearts to blossom one embrace at a time. In the past thirty-eight years, Amma has physically hugged more than twenty-nine million people from all parts of the world. Amma’s tireless spirit of dedication to uplift others has inspired a vast network of charitable activities, through which people are discovering the deep sense of peace and inner fulfillment that comes from selflessly serving others. She teaches that the divine exists in everything, sentient and insentient. Realizing this truth is the essence of spirituality—the means to end all suffering. Amma’s teachings are universal. Whenever She is asked about Her religion, She replies that Her religion is love. She does not ask anyone to believe in God or to change their faith, but only to inquire into their own real nature and to believe in themselves.

An Address At Cinema Verite's 2007 Film Festival, 12 October 2007, Paris, France. Inspired By The Depiction Of Amma In Jan Kounen’s 2005 Documentary Darshan: The Embrace, The French Film Association Cinema Verite Presented Amma With Its 2007 Prix Cinema Verite For Her Contributions In Fostering World Peace And Harmony. The Award Was Presented To Amma In An Art Theatre In Place De La Bastille, Paris, By Academy Award-Nominated Actress Sharon Stone. Compassion: The Only Way To Peace Is Amma’s Response To Cinema Verite’s Request For Amma To Deliver An Address On The Increasing Occurrences Of War, Violence And Natural Disasters Seen In The World Today. In The Address, Amma Presents A Realistic And Constructive Analysis Of The Current Global Situation, Pointing To Specific Areas Of Disharmony And Explaining How Only A Compassionate Outlook Can Bring About Their Rectification. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.