Amma, the Hugging Saint
Indian Sage Mata Amritanandamayi Devi Heals the World with Her Hug
Apr 12, 2007
Mata Amritanadamayi Devi is not your average spiritual leader. Born in 1953 in a small fishing village in Kerala, India, her family never imagined that their smart, eccentric, crazy-seeming daughter would eventually be known as “Amma,” the mother, or that she would become the fulcrum for a spiritual group that would include not only people throughout India, but devotees around the world.
Who is Amma?
From childhood on, Amma was obsessed with devotion to a higher spiritual power. At the age of three she began composing hymns to the Hindu gods, and as a teenager she shocked the people who had always believed her crazy when she manifested the faces and behavior of first Krishna (one of the primary Hindu Gods) and then Devi (Goddess).
Amma is an enlightened spirit who heals people with her touch. She tours India, North America, Europe and Asia almost annually, leading retreats and giving darshan in the form of her transformational hugs. Literally translated at “vision,” darshan is the word used to describe a meeting or personal contact with a holy person.
Many of Amma’s devotees, who follow her as their guru, believe she is the Goddess incarnate. The name Amma means mother, and Amma acts in lieu of a mother to each person she embraces, showering them with unconditional love and affection. There are ashrams devoted to Amma in Asia, North and South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.
Although she was raised Hindu and her retreats and events bear many of the trappings of Hinduism, Amma says she has no religion. People from every background and with any and all beliefs are welcome in her programs. Even those who have personally attacked her are forgiven and made welcome. “Love and compassion are the very essence of all religions,” Amma says.
What is Amma’s Seva?
Amma speaks often of the importance of selfless service, or seva, in any spiritual path.
She walks her talk. In 2002, Amma received the Ghandi-King award for Non-Violence for her numerous humanitarian initiatives, which include free food and clothing programs, charitable hospitals, disaster relief programs, free homes for the poor and the needy, medical camps, women’s shelters, pensions, orphanages, schools, and higher educational institutions.
Most recently, the Amma Foundation has been responsible for the construction of 4500 new homes for tsunami victims in India and Sri Lanka. Mata Amritananda Math, the organization responsible for coordinating the tsunami relief efforts, has been awarded special consultative status by the United Nations.
What are Darshan and Devi Bhava?
Amma’s darshan is powerful and has the ability to heal and change people. With a hug, she has been known to take on people’s karma and physical diseases, and in so doing, clear them of their pain and illness by clearing it through her own body.
Hundreds and sometimes thousands of people have been known to attend an event at which Amma gives darshan. Numbered tags are distributed and the crowd hangs around all day or even overnight while prayers and bhajans (devotional songs) are sung, waiting their turn to be close to Amma.
Amma herself will sit for twelve hours or more at a time, without sleep or washroom breaks, hugging the multitudes of people who come for her blessing, for her healing, or simply to be in her loving presence. Devotees and laypeople alike share stories of how Amma’s compassion and the healing they found in her embrace changed them.
During Devi Bhava, she takes on the presence of Devi, the Goddess, bringing even more powerful transformation and healing to those who are ready for it. Devi Bhava events usually run all night and into the morning.
Amma says, “My sole mission is to love and serve one and all. Amma's only wish is that her hands should always be on someone's shoulder, consoling and caressing them and wiping their tears, even while breathing her last.”(www.amma.org as accessed April 8, 2007)
Amma will be touring North America this summer in June and July. Further information and schedules can be found at the website of The Amma Foundation.
