A rumor came to our careful ears last summer. Is it true that a nurse was raped at AIMS by a Swami in June 2016? Is it true that the hospital held the victim against her will to silence her and control the media damages? It is so hard to discriminate between malicious rumors and true facts. Anyway the United Nurses Association (UNA) has refered the case to the competent authority for investigation. Their petition has been ignored. No probe, no inquiry, nothing.
It is a little bit scary to realize that whatever happens in her institution, no probe ever takes place. Whether financial, social or political, any wrongdoing suspicion is simply swept aside, swiftly replaced by blind faith in her all-pervasive compassion. The Amrita Corporation seems to be blessed with neverending innocence.
Anyway, if you are a devotee or an ex-devotee then you are surely used to these kind of moving scenes. She loves humans, she loves animals, she loves plants... She loves everything. She is lovingly feeding her elephants to celebrate Onam festival.
So why selling her old "beloved" friend?
The very one she used to feed with her own hand!
Indeed since February 2017 the Facebook group Kerala Suffering Elephants is calling for action against the Mata Amritanandamayi Math :
"The elephant Raman under the custody of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math has been transferred illegally to the Uttoly Group in Thrissur. A spiritual leader who preaches compassion for all living beings has in the first place had two elephants in captivity and now has sold it to a group where he will undergo further abuse. The mahout in the picture is the inventor of the infamous capture belt – a spiked belt used to control elephants"The petition Send Raman, illegally transferred (with cruel capture belt, trained for festivals by bullhook) back to the Math! has already collected almost 2000 signatures. Just like numberless calls did before, this text also asks for the traditional inquiry against Amma. We bet that it will follow all the previous requests and be silently flushed down the divine drain.
Strange to learn that "Kerala has been blacklisted as one of the two most notorious states in India for elephant abuse". The unfortunate animals are trained using cruel means, in order to entertain the crowds during religious festival (like Onam?). Forced into parades and arduous strength demonstration, starved or deprived of water to repress their musth tendencies, they sometimes run amok, hurting themselves and killing people.
Love and respect for all living beings? As regards elephants, Amma is no exception on Earth. She acts like any careless Keralan temple manager. Let's hope that Raman won't have to shed too many tears before being allowed to enjoy a peaceful life.