Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, Vice-Chairman of Mata Amritanandamayi Math, has announced that preparations for the grand celebration of the 70th birthday of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi have come to an end. The birthday festivities will take place on a specially constructed stage at the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham campus in Amritapuri on 3 October 2023. As a prelude to the grand day, there will be meditation sessions under the leadership of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, prayers for world peace, the announcement of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s new research projects, and the release of the Ashram’s new website along with other print publications on 2 October, at 5:00 PM. The birthday celebrations of 3 October will start off with a Maha Ganapati Homa (fire ceremony) at 5 AM, followed by Satsang (spiritual discourse) at 7 AM and a musical tribute by the well-known music director Rahul Raj and his band at 7:45 AM. At 9 AM, there will be Guru Padapuja (ritual worship of the Guru). Following this, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will deliver her birthday message, which will include meditation and prayers for world peace.
The cultural symposium set to take place at 11 AM will be graced by the presence of representatives from 193 countries who are part of the United Nations. Dignitaries such as Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey, Central Ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and V. Muraleedharan, Deputy Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly Chittayam Gopakumar, and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan will also be in attendance. Additionally, the Boston Global Forum and the Michael Dukakis Institute of the United States will join hands to present the ‘World Leader for Peace and Security Award’ to Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. Furthermore, there will be the distribution of the Amrita Keerti Puraskar (Amrita Fame Award), the inauguration of the AmritaSree program’s expansion in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and the distribution of achievement awards to the first 5000 women who completed training at the AmritaSree Skill Development Centers across the country. This will be followed by the distribution of clothing to four lakh people and 108 mass weddings. Apart from the humanitarian activities carried out by Mata Amritanandamayi Math every year, Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri announced that this year, the Math will also provide medical assistance to 300 patients who require life-saving procedures such as liver, heart and bone marrow transplants, cancer treatment, and more. Additionally, 70 representatives from 193 countries will participate in the birthday celebrations sharing messages of peace, also known as “Grains of Peace,” carrying the soil and flags from their respective nations.
Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri also mentioned that the soil collected from various countries mixed with Indian soil will be used to create seed balls, which will then be distributed back to their respective countries. Furthermore, the birthday wishes of 70 prominent individuals from different parts of the world will be displayed at the birthday celebration venue.
