An embraceable ministry (Baltimore Sun)

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An embraceable ministry

Amma: The Indian humanitarian is said to dispense

spiritual energy in her hugs.

 

By Matt Whittaker

Sun Staff

Originally published July 16, 2004

 

After giving an estimated 24 million hugs over the

past three decades, Indian mystic Mata

Amritanandamayi's embrace is still warm, unhurried and

personal -- even though she sits for hours or even

days on end, never turning away those who throng to

her seeking spiritual blessing.

 

At La Fontaine Bleu in Glen Burnie, thousands came

from across the nation yesterday for an impartation

from the visiting humanitarian, popularly known as

Amma. The 50-year-old is considered a living saint in

her homeland and has been compared to Mother Teresa

and Gandhi.

 

"The lady who told us to come said it's like if you

had a chance to see Jesus on Earth," said Kelly Mixon,

who came from the Lake Norman area of North Carolina

with her husband, Pat, at the urging of an Amma

devotee. "She hugs you like you're the only person

she's hugged all day."

 

Amma's visit to Glen Burnie is part of a U.S. tour and

came two days after she gave the closing address at

this year's Parliament of the World's Religions in

Barcelona, Spain.

 

Her spokesman, Rob Sidon, said that in addition to the

individual blessings that she has given in 20

countries, she has inspired several international aid

initiatives, including hospitals, homes for the poor

and environmental protection.

 

"If she's in India, she's pretty much mobbed wherever

she goes," said Sidon, who added that Amma has been

known to sit for 20 hours straight, embracing as many

as 40,000 people in a day.

 

Yesterday's gathering drew an estimated 5,000 people

throughout the course of the day, and some were

expected to stay well past midnight. The events

typically last until the morning of the next day,

Sidon said.

 

Amma attributed her stamina to an otherworldly force.

 

"I am not a battery that may die away," she said in

Malayalam, a dialect from her home state of Kerala in

southern India, through a translator.

 

As she spoke, she continued her embraces, handing out

candy and sometimes giving fruit and sprinkling flower

petals on those who knelt in front of her. "I am

eternally connected to the power source, the supreme

consciousness."

 

Sidon said Amma has been known to say: "Where there's

love, there's no effort."

 

In addition to the embraces that are part of her

ministry of darshan -- a Sanskrit term describing

"audience in the presence of a holy person" -- she

answers questions, including ones about spirituality,

health and relationships, Sidon said.

 

"She's imparting part of her own spiritual energy," he

said, adding that people who have been embraced by her

report a "sense of unconditional love enveloping them,

awakening to their own higher self."

 

On entering La Fontaine Bleu, visitors observed the

Indian custom of removing their shoes at the door,

where a stick of incense burned in a nearby

potted-plant container. Orange-robed Indian swamis

mingled with devotees and newcomers, some of whom wore

white Indian-style loose-fitting robes, dresses and

shirts.

 

Sara Stanek, 23, of Pittsburgh, said she felt empathy

for those at the gathering because it seemed as if

they were all seeking personal guidance.

 

"It's strange because a lot of these people I've never

met, but I feel like I have something in common with

them," Stanek said.

 

Vendors sold Indian food, and inside a spacious

conference room, rows of chairs were set up facing a

stage, where a group sang Indian devotional songs

accompanied by a drum, electric bass guitar, keyboard

and small cymbals.

 

Tables were set up to sell handmade dolls in the

likeness of Amma, which she had blessed, with tokens

from something she has worn or used placed in their

heads. Other items included holy basil plants blessed

by Amma, journals wrapped in silk from her clothing,

and jewelry she had worn and blessed. A sign at a

table selling aromas said the purchases contributed to

her humanitarian projects.

 

After taking a number and waiting in line, people came

to Amma for darshan, and some brought items for her to

bless, including books, jewelry and photographs of

loved ones, believing that her energy stays with the

object.

 

Amma sat under a row of bright lights, swathed in a

white sari and with a yellow and red bindi painted on

her forehead to represent the third eye of

consciousness. She pressed her cheek against those she

embraced and kissed a baby who was set on her lap.

Some brought her gifts of flowers or fruit.

 

Her central message is simple.

 

"The greatest message is to know who you are," she

said. "The biggest security is to practice spiritual

values in your life and to live accordingly."

 

She said asking why she does this "is like asking

water why you are flowing."

 

Anna Heymann, an 18-year-old recent high school

graduate, came from northern California to see her

grandparents -- but "mostly to see Amma."

 

She said she has been coming to Amma gatherings since

she was a year old. She has been to them in

California, Washington, New York, Rhode Island,

Massachusetts, Washington and three times in India.

 

"It's something I want to do," Heymann said. "She's

just like a part of my life. She brings peace to me."

 

 

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I'm outta here tomorrow, going to NYC! I won't be

online to moderate over the next few days, and from

July 26-30 during the Toronto retreat, so please play

nice. Please watch the _long_ postings such as

commentaries about the Vedas, Ramayana, etc. that are

not taken from Amma's writings. They can take a long

time to download and to scroll through before you even

decide to hit the delete key. Some of us on this list

still have slow dial-up connections and/or obsolete

computers. Some folks may not even own a computer and

only have limited time online, i.e. at a public

library or internet cafe.

 

Keval