On November 2, 2023, Amma delivered the Distinguished Global Enlightenment Lecture as the 2023 World Leader for Peace and Security Award Recipient, at the BGF at Harvard University Loeb House. Here are its key messages:
Amma bows down to all of you, who are embodiments of Pure Love and the Supreme Self.
At the outset, Amma wishes to thank the Boston Global Forum for conferring this prestigious award on her. Amma feels that if she has made a positive impact on the world, it is solely because she has children who have chosen to selflessly love and serve others. Therefore, this acknowledgement and accolade should go to them. Amma’s only wish is to offer solace to the suffering, wipe their tears and comfort them until her last breath.
God has bestowed upon all living beings an exquisite and eternal divine flower. This undying flower is our sole shelter – planet Earth. Our Earth has an amazing power to provide us everything we need to overcome any challenge thrown at us by the changing seasons and weather. But God has also made us responsible for taking care of Earth and ensuring that her beauty, color, vitality and fragrance do not fade. What are we doing instead? Are we protecting this rare boon, or ruining it?
Externally, the gap between man and machine is decreasing. Internally, revenge, hatred and anger are eating away at the human mind. With advancements in science, man has learned to fly like a bird and swim like a fish, but has forgotten how to walk and live like a human.
We end up destroying ourselves when we fail to handle science and technology with proper discernment. Science and technology do not have any awareness or discerning power of their own. We need to have the right values to direct them.
Humans believe that they can conquer the entire universe using science and human intelligence. This is similar to the ignorance of a child who sees the sky through his bedroom window and claims it to be his own. In reality, what man’s intelligence has discovered is nothing but a small speck of this infinite universe.
Human beings are like waves that frolic on the surface of the boundless ocean yet know nothing of its depth or vastness. Waves are born and die in the ocean. All living beings are waves in the infinite ocean that is God. We are born, live, die in this infinite ocean. Just as the wave and the ocean are essentially one, man, nature and God are essentially the same.
We should learn to have gratitude towards everything in life. We are indebted to everything in this world—to all the creatures that helped us grow and made us who we are today. This Earth is our mother. Nature is our mother. We should never forget our debt to our mother. We should not walk away, refusing to pay heed to the cries of our brothers and sisters in pain. We should do what we can to help them. To help those in need, we may not need position or wealth. All we need to do is offer a loving word, a compassionate glance, a helping hand. Just these simple acts can make our life and theirs, bright and meaningful. It is what we give—not what we take—that determines the value of our life. If we can bring a moment of happiness to just one person’s life, it will greatly enrich our own. May all you children be able to achieve this. May divine grace bless you all.
Please watch Amma’s Distinguished Global Enlightenment Lecture here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXeC6T1ubeY&t=46s
Amma spoke at the 90th Birthday Celebration of Governor Dukakis, November 2, 2023, at Harvard University Loeb House.