Amma's New Year's Message

New Year's Eve — Amritapuri

What a pity, my children. We are welcoming the New Year with a heart heavy and immense grief. In this moment, as the first morning of the New Year dawns, we are not able to rejoice. However, this is not an occasion to rejoice. This is the moment to awaken the love and compassion within us. This, indeed, is the time to pray with our hearts and work with our hands. We cannot restore the lives of those who left us. Even so, each one of us can discharge our responsibility of consoling and pacifying those distressed souls who are alive. At this moment of deep sorrow, let us lend a helping hand to those who are grieving and thus light lamps of kindness and compassion. This, indeed, is our duty and responsibility at this moment.

We always lament about the losses in life. We should never forget that we have the great treasure of life in front of us. So we should think about the great gains that can be achieved in life. Amidst sorrows, the only thing that enlivens us is optimistic faith. We should never lose that faith.

The New Year reminds us of the incessant flow of time—a moment when we have to be aware of the value of time. Like a shadow, death is always behind us. We may have to vacate this rented house of the body at any moment. Before death overpowers us, we have great things to accomplish. This is the time to introspect and evaluate our life by reflecting on the past and also the time to move forward by performing right actions.

Why have we taken up this journey of life? What is the goal of this journey? Are we travelling along the right path? Or have we taken the wrong road? This is a time to introspect and find the answers to these questions.

Just like a businessman keeps an account of his profits and losses, we also need to take account of the losses and gains we are accruing in life. Lat year, how much did we progress along our spiritual path? How much time did we waste unnecessarily? Did we put efforts to overcome our vasanas [negative tendencies] and bad qualities? Were we able to fill ourselves with qualities like love, compassion and dispassion? At least this year, we should try to spend each moment intensely focused on the goal. Let us take a pledge that we will surely put efforts in this direction.

We should not be depressed seeing the obstacles on our path. My children, you should not fear the darkness that you see outside. You have a lamp with you, the lamp of faith. Light it. Then, as you take each step that light of divine grace will guide you.

Every failure is a lesson for us to learn. The lesson is that instead of getting depressed or frustrated, we should gain more strength and put more effort. Always remember that when dusk arrives, it already has the child of the dawn in its womb. Darkness cannot remain for long. When it is time, dawn will surely break out and shine.

We should never forget that we are never alone in this journey. God is always with us. We should allow God to hold our hands. If we have surrender, we will surely be able to experience grace and success.