Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Saturday applauded the spiritual guidance and humanitarian initiatives of Mata Amritanandamayi as her charitable trust announced a Rs. 25 crore relief and rehabilitation package for victims of the devastating floods in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Minister who arrived here Saturday to take part in Amma's 61st birthday celebrations also formally handed over the keys of the houses that the Mata Amritanandamayi Math has built in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, for 250 families that lost their homes in the flash floods in June 2013.
"Amma has been spreading the message of oneness, love and compassion through her teachings and her guidance will help India rise as a nation that leads to spiritual awakening globally," said Singh while addressing a huge gathering of devotees at her ashram near here.
As part of the relief efforts in Jammu and Kashmir, the Math will build houses for the flood affected persons.
Since 1998, the Math has constructed 45,000 houses for the homeless at more than 75 locations across India.
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, described Amma as an epitome of virtue and love, and said she is a strength to the society and her birthday celebrations serve to spread the message of goodness and peace to the world.
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Chandy presented the Mata Amritanandamayi Math's (MAM) Amrita Keerthi Puraskar, consisting of a cash award of Rs 1,23,456 and a sculpture of Goddess Saraswati, to devotional poet S. Rameshan Nair.
He also launched the Amrita Sphuranam, a solar electrification project of MAM in partnership with the Live-in-Labs [LiLa] programme of the Amrita Center for Wireless Networks and Applications (AmritaWNA) at Amrita School of Engineering, Amritapuri. The project has helped electrify the remote tribal village of Mothakkara in Wayanad district of Kerala.
Among a host of charitable initiatives unveiled by the Math as part of her 61st birthday, is the extension of a widow pension scheme which currently has 69,000 beneficiaries.
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala formally extended the scheme which will benefit another 30,000 destitute women.
Earlier in the day, in her address to the huge gathering of her followers Mata Amritanandmayi said, "I have only one thing to tell: our lives should be of some benefit to the world. We should sincerely love and console at least one life, for at least a moment, without any expectations."