The very first Brahmasthanam temple Amma installed is located in Kodungallur. 13 years ago Amma breathed life into its unique four-sided murthi (image) [symbolizing the one Supreme Being underlying all the various names and forms of the Divine]. This kind of temple has now spread to all parts of India and even abroad. (The first foreign temple was inaugurated in Mauritius in 1998)
The people of this small town four hours’ drive from Amritapuri have had years of experience with Mother’s visits – and their enthusiasm seems only to grow, as the crowds get bigger and more eager. Every day this year, during Amma’s darshan, the line of women, clad in colorful saris, stretched at least a kilometer from the ashram grounds. At the other side of the ashram premises a line of men had formed, stretching equally far.
This was the scene during all three days of the programme: huge crowds, darshan from noon until at least five, an evening programme at seven-thirty, and darshan until four in the morning. When the last darshan was finished and Mother rose to bid her children farewell, she looked out over a sea of loving faces and reaching arms. “Om Amriteshwaryai Namaha,” the devotees were chanting, the same words with which they had greeted her arrival.
Mass Prayer
When the devastating earthquake struck, Amma was in Kodungallur, Kerala. Amma’s heart went out to the victims, and she urged her devotees gathered at the programme, numbering over ten thousand, to offer special prayers for the earthquake victims.
During the bhajan programme, Mother suddenly stopped singing and asked the devotees to pray with her for the people who had died in the earthquake, for the peace of their souls. She also asked them to pray for all those who were still alive and were suffering. She then ended the programme with the song:
Amme Yi Jivende kannuneeroppuvan
Amme e jeevanu mukti nalkan, ……..
[Oh, Mother of the Universe, there is no one other than You who can wipe the tears off this face, who can liberate this soul].