Amma with the flag

real Freedom is to give comfort to others.

Amma watching the performance of the students

Bharat Mata: Students of Amrita University performing a dance

Students of Amrita University performing a play. A scene from Maha Bharata.

Becoming an Indian: a boy from the west while taking part in the celebrations.

“Real freedom is the freedom to remain as our True Self, not the freedom to chase our likes and run from our dislikes” Amma said in her address

Students of Amrita University performing a dance

Students of Amrita University performed dramas and dances inspired by India%u2019s culture, history and current events.

Students of Amrita University performing a dance

Welcoming Mata

“The word mama—‘mine’—is death; it is bondage,” Amma said. “The words na mama—‘not mine,’ but the Lord’s—are freedom and liberation. My children should remember this always.”

Students of Amrita University presenting a patriotic music

Bharatamba: a university student dressed as Bharatamba standing In the centre of a huge map of the Indian subcontinent with the National Flag.

Students standing along the borders of huge map of India with lamps in their hand.

“May this love towards our motherland remain with you no matter where you find yourselves in the years to come,” Amma said in her address.

“We should not only love and respect our own motherland, but the entire creation. The reason is: there is nothing that is not God. This is what India’s culture teaches us. This mental attitude itself is the path to true freedom. Through the example of their own lives, the rishis—who were embodiments of austerity, renunciation and universal love—revealed to us many great ideals. The true way of expressing our love and dedication towards our nation is imbibing these ideals and putting them into action in our own lives.”