Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma) on Compassion

Not long ago, a young boy handed me an envelope containing 300 euros. He said he wanted it to be used to help the orphans at our ashram. I asked him to keep the money, which he had won in a music competition, but he refused.

Two weeks later, his little sister came to me with an envelope containing her ice-cream pocket money. She told her parents: “I eat ice cream all the time. This time I want to give to the orphans, like my brother.” The sister’s compassion was awoken by her brother’s moral integrity.

During the government shutdown in the United States, a man mowed the lawn around the Lincoln Memorial as a service to his country. He was a moral leader. The universe is like a vast net; if one corner is shaken, the vibration pervades the whole.

Notes:

I really responded to this excerpt of Amma's response to the New York Times on who our moral leaders are.

Two sentences in particular stuck out: “The sister’s compassion was awoken by her brother’s moral integrity” (on the girl who donated her ice cream money after seeing her brother donate his music competition winnings) and “The universe is like a vast net; if one corner is shaken, the vibration pervades the whole.” (on the man who mowed the Lincoln Memorial).

She really illustrated how generosity and compassion can spread.

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