Amma embracing the world

Amma was deeply affected by the profound suffering she witnessed. According to Hinduism, the suffering of the individual is due to his or her own karma - the results of actions performed in the past. Amma accepted this concept, but she refused to accept it as a justification for inaction. Amma contemplated the principle of karma until she revealed an even more profound truth, asking a question which she continues to ask each of us today.  "If it is one man's karma to suffer, isn't it our dharma (duty) to help ease his suffering and pain?"
With this simple yet profound conviction - that each of us has a responsibility to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate - Amma moved forward with confidence in her life of service and compassionate care for all beings, uniquely expressed by the motherly embrace she offers to all who seek solace in her arms.

In Amma's community, it was not permissible for a 14-year-old girl to touch others, especially men. But despite adverse reactions by her parents, Amma followed her heart, later explaining, "I don't see if it is a man or a woman. I don't see anyone different from my own self. A continuous stream of love flows from me to all of creation. This is my inborn nature. The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my duty is to console those who are suffering."

Amma says that love expressed is compassion, and compassion means accepting the needs and sorrows of others as one's own. More than 20 years ago, the administrators of a local orphanage confessed to Amma that they were out of funds. They told Amma that before long, they would have no choice but to turn the children out on the street. Amma diverted the money that had been saved to build her ashram's first prayer hall and used it to assume the care for the orphans instead. With this, Embracing the World was born.