Amma's Visit to Washim, Vidharbha

Vidharbha's Tragedy

When Amma visited Washim, thousands upon thousands of people came for her darshan.
The majority were from impoverished agriculture-based families

Amma's programme
When it was rumored there was a possibility that Amma would hold a programme in Washim, 125 people went to a local temple to offer archana, [prayers] for the visit. Then during her Tour of Europe in the Autumn of 2007, Amma finally sent a message that she was ready to visit Washim.

When the committee heard the news, 1,000 women volunteers gathered to invite the local populace to come and meet Amma. This they did in the traditional way, going in groups of five from house-to-house. The first lady placed a sticker of Amma on the door, the second applied kumkum powder to the forehead of the lady of the house, the third bowed to her feet, the fourth offered her the invitation, and the fifth would took down the family's name and address. These personalized invitations assured that most of Washim's 100,000 population came to meet Amma.

From the beginning the programme was the people of Washim's own, and everyone there got involved, including many non-Hindus. The people of the region are of many sects, many religions and have many family gurus, but all felt that Amma was their own mother On the morning of the programme, 150 of them performed a traditional ceremony with oblations to the local deities of the town-Balaji and Madhyameshwar-requesting that there be no obstacles in the function. They also invited the deities to come to the programme for Amma's darshan!

Darshan in Washim

Hundreds of children enrolled in MAM's Vidyamritam scholarship Programme in Washim- each received a kiss from Amma

A group of villagers from the Muslim faith arranged for banners to welcome Amma in their language-Urdu-something never seen before. A Muslim man donated 30,000 oranges to use as prasad [consecrated offerings] that were given away free. Another man donated chai [tea] for 10,000 people. Amma's visit to Vidharbha Even the rickshaw drivers got into the spirit, announcing that they would charge half prices on the night of the programme. One man offered to donate all the milk needed for the programme from his dairy. The man said that a few years before his brother, a farmer, had committed suicide due to the burden of debt. Saddened by the fate of his brother and so many other Vidarbha farmers, the man offered the milk, praying it would help their souls find peace. This 'giving' is integral to the traditional spiritual culture of these people. Although the people have become separated from their traditional ways of life, that spirit lives on.
Seeing the purity of their devotion, Amma asked the leaders, 'What do you want children?' They responded, 'Only Amma. If Amma comes, all will come.'”
The scholarship enrolment table was busy all night

During Amma's darshan, the children performed traditional dances of the Vidarbha Region

THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS EVOLVES

Br. Eknath:
"After the programme, life in Washim continued to revolve around Amma, Everyone was talking about Amma, discussing Amma, crying over Amma. I felt then that Amma started the development process because of the peoples' sincerity.

"I saw how things began to unfold, and I was amazed. The day after the programme, the government, who had been debating its railway policy, decided to extend a new railway line from Akola to Nanded. Washim will now get a railway service. This will give the area a tremendous boost economically.

"Offers of help also came from industrialist devotees of Amma. One, from Nagpur, was so impressed by the peoples' devotion, he wants to open a factory in Washim, for soya processing. Amma gave the project her blessings. Amma asked the devotee to give shares to local people. Another devotee from Indore also wants to start a soya factory there.

"Amma has offered 200 places for people who would like to come work at the Ashram's AIMS Hospital in Cochin, Kerala. 5,000 children are being enrolled now for scholarships. We aim to register 30,000 by the end of 2008. Local people are helping to monitor the families, and the list is kept by MAM.

Everything has gone so fast I can barely keep up with the work. The money we give will be paid into accounts in the names of the mother and child. At first the local bank branches were not helpful, as it's a lot of work for them. But Amma has devotees who work in the big banks and they urged the local branches to help the people.

"I believe it's the people's faith that is drawing this help."

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