Retain Mental Strength and Unity to Face Disasters

Amma's Message on the First Anniversary Observation of the Tsunami

Srayikkad, India
December 26, 2005

On the first anniversary of the Tsunami, Amma walked to the Azhikkal cremation grounds today. Two days after the Tsunami, bodies of several men, women and children were cremated here. Their photographs, draped with garlands, rested near the individual pyre sites. In their midst, Amma planted a small peepal tree and then led all those who’d accompanied her in circumambulating the cremation grounds. Amma then sat down on the sands of the cremation grounds and asked everyone to chant Om lokaha samastah sukhino bhavantu (May all beings in all the worlds be peaceful and happy). The sound of all the 10,000 people chanting the mantra filled the air for the next five minutes. The only other sound was that of a few women, who had lost members of their family, breaking down.

Amma then addressed all the attendees:

"Life becomes complete when humankind and Nature move in harmony, hand in hand. When melody and rhythm complement each other, music becomes beautiful and pleasing to the ear. Likewise, when people live in accordance with the laws of nature, the song of life becomes sweet.

There is an order to everything in the cosmos. There is a rhythm to everything — the wind, the rain, the waves, our flow of breath and heartbeat. Similarly, there is a rhythm in life. Our thoughts and actions create the rhythm and melody of our lives. When the rhythm of our thoughts is lost, it reflects in our actions. This will, in turn, throw off the very rhythm of life.

The rhythm of Nature depends upon humanity. It’s necessary to maintain the rhythm of the mind and body for the sake of our health and life span, for the sake of humankind and Nature. But this rhythm is being lost. This is reflected in Nature and in society by natural disasters like the tsunami.

Death is part of life. All of us must face it today or tomorrow. The important thing is not how we die, but how we live. God has given us the freedom to laugh or cry. Even if we are completely surrounded by darkness, we must keep the light within aflame. Even if we cannot completely remove the suffering of others, sorrows lessen when they are shared with others. But when we console others using our smile and kind words, our capacity for kindness doesn’t lessen but increases. Every poor person has a right to the unlimited wealth of kindness. Just as water from a perennial spring never dries up no matter how much we draw from it, the more kindness we give, the more it will increase.

Just because our loved ones have died doesn’t mean that we should grieve forever. Our scriptures refer to death as a step into a new life. It’s like the period that comes at the end of the sentence. It’s not only departed soul’s near and dear ones who have prayed for their well-being; many, many children from all over the whole world have prayed too. Those prayers will never be wasted. Children, you should gain strength thinking of that. Pray to God for these departed souls to attain a superior life.

Natural disasters are not under our control. No matter how technologically advanced we become, we will never be able to prevent such disasters from taking place. But seeing how you children are rising up to the occasion and facing these obstacles with courage and unity, Amma is filled with tremendous hope. If we are able to retain this mental strength and unity, we are paving the way to a bright future. It is not enough if you children have good houses; you should also have a vision of life built upon a strong spiritual foundation.

May the wounds the tsunami has inflicted upon my children heal quickly. Amma prays to the Paramatman that the lives of all those affected by the tsunami blossom again and become filled with peace and happiness."

------

Sixteen days shy of a year ago, the road that Amma walked on, "Beach Road" was full of broken things—broken houses, broken boats, broken people. It was a place where even the idea of hope had yet to take root. In contrast, today the road was marked, not with tragedy or joy, but, markedly, with normalcy:

A man pumping air into the rear tire of his five-year-old son’s new bicycle...
The sound of someone’s grandmother chanting bhajans over a temple speaker...
Teenage boys playing cricket on the beach...
Chai shops turning the day’s business...
A young girl using the boundary wall around her house as a balance beam...

--- www.amritapuri.org

Gujarat Video