Durga Michelle Morais (Brazil)
“Thank you, Amma, for helping me see that nothing is impossible for anyone, no matter what problem they have.” —Durga Michelle Morais
Durga, who is from Brazil, was 22-years-old and studying to become a doctor at the Amma’s AIMS Medical College in Cochin at the time of Amritavarsham50.
In her speech, Durga explained how it had been Amma who’d, to her shock, encouraged her to study medicine at AIMS. Even though adjusting to India is not easy, she explained that Amma has helped her to feel that she really has a choice, and that becoming a doctor is as more about faith and effort than intelligence.
“During my first week of medical studies, I was really distraught,” she said. “I couldn’t understand my teachers, classmates or books. I just wanted to give up. So I decided to talk with Amma at the next chance I had back at the Amritapuri Ashram.
“A classmate translated a note detailing my situation for Amma. I was feeling so hopeless that I felt my heart was completely broken. Amma said that when She asked me to come [to study medicine in India], there was a purpose behind it, and that I could do it, but I had to believe it. While Amma was talking to the translator about my situation, I was thinking to myself that I was not intelligent enough to be a doctor.
Just then the translator relayed Amma’s message: ‘To be a doctor, intelligence alone is not enough; it requires making effort. You have to want this.’ Then Amma turned to me and said in English, ‘Try, try, you try. OK?’
“I would like to thank Amma for everything, even every obstacle, because the difficulties have helped me to see how capable I can be in every situation, and to see how strongly I can feel Her grace in my life when I surrender everything to Her. Thanks, Amma, for making me learn how to be self-confident, independent, strong and faithful. Thank you for helping me see that nothing is impossible for anyone, no matter what problem they have, when Your grace and blessings are behind them. I hope in five and one half years, when I receive my degree, that I will be able to offer my gratitude to Amma by serving the world through the medical profession. Your grace has helped me to see with my heart as well as my eyes. Amma, as You already know, I love You very much.”