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http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=215034 & src=2

 

Spiritual leader spreads message one hug at a time

 

 

 

Thousands flocked to Lombard Saturday to feel the power of a single embrace.

 

Humanitarian and spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi of India, also known as

Amma, spent hours giving out her signature hugs to those who knelt before her.

 

Some went to her Saturday with specific concerns they hoped she could ease for

them. Others said they simply wanted to feel the sense of peace that comes from

her touch.

 

Shirley Bremer of Wilmette has visited Amritanandamayi for the past five years,

wanting to feel the " openness and her pure love that just radiates from her " and

she hopes that feeling will extend to her children as well.

 

Amritanandamayi, 54, is considered by some to be among the world's most

influential religious leaders, working for numerous charities worldwide to build

hospitals and orphanages, provide disaster relief, feed the poor and most

recently, fight the epidemic of farmer suicides in India.

 

On an even more personal level, she is estimated to have given more than 27

million hugs to those who visit her.

 

She currently is in the midst of a 10-city U.S. tour, including this weekend's

programs at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center that are expected to draw

thousands.

 

On Saturday, she said through a translator that she is trying to instill self

confidence and faith in those she meets and also calls upon them to be role

models for others.

 

" They are not like a candle that needs to be lighted but they are self luminous

like the sun, " she said. " They have infinite inner capacity, the strength and

self confidence to face the greatest challenges of life. "

 

Sheila Clark of Urbana felt Amritanandamayi's embrace for the first time

Saturday and said it was " amazing. " She has issues both with her health and from

her childhood that she is working through and hoped the spiritual leader could

help.

 

" I'm still vibrating from it. It's this amazing energy you feel go through your

entire body, " Clark said, her eyes glistening.

 

Jay Chennat of Ann Arbor, Mich. has been visiting Amritanandamayi for the past

10 years and said her hugs give him a " great love and serenity and a feeling you

are being cared for. " He calls her a " spiritual inspiration. "

 

" She is a very direct person with a lot of compassion and sincerity and she does

what she preaches, " Chennat said.

 

Amritanandamayi will be in Lombard again today from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and

7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Westin, 70 Yorktown Center. The program is free and

open to the public.

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