Faridabad (Har), Aug 19 (PT) Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi on Friday celebrated the festival of Janmashtami with a group of little children dressed as Lord Krishna, her followers and admirers, including several foreigners drawn from multiple countries, in the campus of the soon-to-open Amrita Hospital here.
Affectionately addressed as ‘Amma’, she sang along and gestured, sitting on a dais, as people around her danced to the tunes of devotional songs.
Many little children, boys and girls, dressed as Lord Krishna in shimmering costumes sat around her on the dais, while some made merry in the crowd, gyrating to lilting music that added to the vibe of spirituality on the festive occasion.
Mata Amritanandamayi, whose main ashram ‘Amritapuri’ is based in Kollam in Kerala, has arrived in Faridabad ahead of the opening of a state-of-the-art hospital being built under the auspices of the Mata Amritanandmayi Math. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to inaugurate it on August 24, hospital officials said.
On the auspicious day of Janamashtmi, which marks the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, “a ceremony of 108 ‘homas’ was held by 80 women priests and 28 male priests in the hospital premises. This will open a new chapter of compassionate and inclusive care as espoused by the Math”.
“This is the first time after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in India that she has travelled out of her ashram in Kollam, situated between the Arabian Sea and the backwaters. And, she prefers travelling by road, so she arrived in Faridabad from Kerala via road only. A large number of staff, and followers from ‘Amritapuri’ have travelled along side her, while many of her followers and admirers from foreign nations, who are in India, have also come to Faridabad,” an official told PTI. Many of her followers from India and abroad, dressed in simple white or light saffron clothing and sporting a saffron head band, took part in Janamashtmi celebrations held in the premises of the hospital later in the evening. ‘Amma’ joined the people in the nearly hour-long festivities as people sang, danced, and celebrated the holy day, chanting in praise of the divinity.
Young and old, Indian and foreigners all came together bound by the thread of spirituality as ‘Amma’ blessed them all with her presence. Otherwise, there is a designated ‘darshan’ time when she meets her followers on regular days, hospital officials said.
Among those who joined in the celebrations was French mother-daughter duo Aurelia Chartier (38) and Lioba Stutz (17), and both said they felt “entranced by the magic of ‘Amma'”.
“I had first met ‘Amma’ in 2007 in France, when my daughter was just two years old. I consider her my spiritual guru, and when I was dancing along, it felt I was dancing with the God. Hindu religion is deep and complex but ‘Amma’ has condensed the essence of the Sanatan Dharma and she metaphorically says, there is no religion but love, which I so relate to,” Chartier told PTI.
The French woman, who was clad in a blue saree at the event, said she and her daughter have Indian names too, after she started following teachings of ‘Amma’.
“So, my Indian name is ‘Gautami’ while my daughter is also called ‘Jnanada’, ” she added.
Her daughter says, she along with her monther, had first come to India in 2015, before returning shortly.
“In 2019, again we came to India, and had planned to stay for nine months but then Covid happened and we got stuck in lockdown in 2021. We have been residing in India for the last few months in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, and came here to join ‘Amma’ in celebrations,” Stutz said.
Chartier said ‘Amma’ to her is like “an incarnation of God, and celebrating the divinity in her presence make us feel the power of spirituality”.
“India is an ancient land of spirituality and that is what draws us from the West, to it. And, this spirituality is in temples and also on the very land on which we stand in this wonderful country with so much cultural heritage and diversity,” she said.
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