Cuddling Up To Amma The 'Hugging Mother' Guru
Trip Start
Sep 29, 2007
1
183
221
Trip End
Ongoing
Amritapuri,
Kerala,
India
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Amma's dream is that "everyone in the world should be able to sleep without fear, at least for one night. Everyone should be able to eat to his fill, at least for one day. There should be at least one day when hospitals see no one admitted due to violence
beautiful Amma
. By doing selfless service for at least one day, everyone should help the poor and needy. It is Amma's prayer that at least this small dream be realised." Amritapuri is now the headquarters of Amma's worldwide mission and the spiritual home for Amma's monastic disciples and hundreds of householder devotees. All the residents of the ashram have dedicated their lives for realising God and serving the world. We were very happy to know that Amma would be home at the ashram when we intended to visit because she tours all over the world for most of the year. Nice one.We were in for a hug!
Ann the doctor, Sandra & Chris (going for a secong hug), Nadine and i took a train to Amritapuri, then a rickshaw and walked across the white bridge Amma built over the water so residents of the local village could be evacuated quickly in case of another tsunami. This area was hit hard during the last major one. The rickshaw driver had a shrine dedicated to Amma on his dashboard, Amma is adored here. There was a little bit of a strange vibe as we took in the atmosphere of the ashram whilst residents dressed all in white floated around the place performing selfless service. It was peak time. They were most happy because their beloved Amma was there at home doing darshan.
We checked out her temple and ate at the canteen. Everything was labelled with Amma's name in front of it. Amma's gift shop, Amma's university, Amma's canteen, Amma's toilet. We recieved a token that was to mark our place amongst the line up of people waiting for their hug. Locals first, internationals after that unless you had to leave early in which case she would see you immediately because she doesn't want anybody to miss out
the main temple
. I saw evidence of odd behaviour from the residents such as a woman sniffing her chair then wailing and somebody eating some straw from a pile of hay but i think they are just drunk on Amma's overflowing love. Once we were closer to the stage where Amma was hugging i could start to feel a presence from her and really needed to cry. There was lots of people on stage around her protecting her and helping with the ritual and you could only catch an occasional glimpse of her. We saw one guy who was helped off the stage as his legs had gone wobbly and he couldn't walk after recieving his hug. Whilst waiting we listened to the beautiful music being played by live musicians in the hall and took in the feeling of being in Amma's space. Some people were meditating near the stage. Amma's helpers were very strict with controlling the line up of people there to see her and you had to hand over any phones or cameras, pass throuigh a metal detector and have your bags hand searched before getting to the stage. We were moved closer to the stage from where you could definitely feel the love. Some people had questions for Amma, asked her for a personal mantra or gave her an offering of coconuts or flower garlands, all of these things bought you a few more precious moments in front of Amma. I noticed an older woman walk passed us then went onto the stage, the woman was old but had extremely youthful skin and looked and moved like she was a true angel on Earth. This woman would have to be one of Amma's angels, these people protect her all day everyday. Another odd thing was that we watched a wild eagle fly into the hall, land on the stage near Amma and watch over the pilgrims in the crowd. It stayed for some time.
Once up on stage with Amma we could see the process of darshan as people recieved their hug, some were overwhelmed by the experience
nice one
. Amma was also all the time discussing something with about four guys who were close to her face and hanging on every word she was saying. At one point i saw someone put a mobile phone up to her mouth and she spoke a few words into it as though making a decision. Then i realised that Amma hugs all day continuously and has to do business at the same time, she barely stops to sleep or eat. We were given a tiny piece of cake to eat and told to sit with our legs uncrossed. I was completely starstruck by her. People or angels? dressed in white were gathered on the floor all around her praying and meditating. It all happened very quickly and was a bit surreal. We were asked our language then all of a sudden you were in front of her kneeling on the floor, your head was pushed down and she hugged you, she whispered something into your ear, a piece of candy and some powder was thrust into the palm of your hand then someone behind you whisked you backwards and onto your feet, it was all over very fast. We were invited to stay and sit with Amma on stage for awhile and we stayed there until we were asked to leave about twenty minutes later. Most people feel a temporary high energy rush when they meet her but i really just felt her strong presence of love the whole time we were close to her. A little bit dazed and confused and vague in the brain. We had drunk love shots from Amma's bar.Considering we had waited such a long time for the hug it was quite funny that none of us really had any idea what she had whispered into our ears
Amma books and photos
. All i heard was 'muurrrddeeerrrr,myyderrrrrr, myyderrrrrrrr' that Ann translated into the words 'my child' 'my child'. I bought some prayer beads, a keyring and some photos, there is even one of her feet and if they had have stocked Amma snowdomes i would have bought one off those too.This village on a small island cradled between the backwaters and the Arabian Sea has obviously become the centre of a silent spiritual revolution. Amma is the queen of the empire. Amma may be a multi-millionaire but she gives all her money away for charity. The projects she bank rolls include humanitarian aid in the form of disaster relief, free homes, orphanage, free food, medicines and pensions, sponsored weddings for the poor, free legal aid and care homes for the elderly. Also, healthcare like an institute of medical sciences, hospitals, hospices, Ayurveda natural medical care and education like universities and institutes, vocational training, schools and special needs. This woman does alot for humanity and i don't believe she drives a ferrari in her spare time.
In my opinion after the hugging experience i think that Amma is a true saint, the real deal even if her ashram and it's residents are a little scary and cult-like.
Love and serve.- Amma
It's better get worn out than rust away
Amma's ashram
. - AmmaLove is our true essence. Love has no limitations of caste, religion, race or nationality. We are al beads strung together on the same string of love. - Amma
May the tree of our life be firmly rooted in the soil of love. Let good deeds be the leaves on that tree. May words of kindness form its flowers and may peace be its fruits. - Amma
To see if Amma is in her ashram now or for for information visit www.amritapuri.org
