Harsha you mentioned Amma,

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

I have an open mind on what she is or isn't, but her work speaks for

itself.........ONS..Tony.

 

Thousands turn out for 'hugging saint'

Amma embraces 8 1/2-hour marathon

Makes final local appearance tomorrow

 

 

LESLIE SCRIVENER

FAITH AND ETHICS REPORTER

 

Come to Amma! We have — some 5,800 of us, barefoot and on our knees.

 

Our glasses and purses have been put aside, and not only are we

facing the hugging saint of south India, we are being enveloped by

her. We cannot breathe. We are pressed into her pillowy bosom. She

is murmuring "daughter, daughter, daughter."

 

We are ready to get up, but Amma holds us still. We have been hugged

enough. A big, warm kiss, and we are released. Amma is laughing, her

teeth startlingly white. Our knees are trembly, our heads light.

 

Amma hugs all night. On Monday, 5,800 people were each given a

number to line up for a hug in a Mississauga hotel starting at about

10:15 p.m. Though it's not known how many stayed till the end, Amma

definitely did. She continued until every last person who could stay

awake had been enfolded in her arms. The last hug was at 6:45 a.m.

Some wept. Some laughed. Some clung to her as if she was love

incarnate.

 

Her full name is Mata Amritanandamayi, which means mother of

immortal bliss, but she is known as Amma, or mother. She is 50, and

the story of her childhood in an impoverished Indian seaside village

in Kerala is the stuff of tragedy. She was abused by her family, who

thought her to be crazy and treated her as a servant.

 

Her visit to Toronto ends tomorrow, when thousands more will likely

come to meditate, chant and be wrapped in her arms.

 

Her reputation has spread mostly by word of mouth. In the last 30

years she has drawn more and more attention for the particular kind

of devotion — bhakti it's called in Hindi — that she inspires in her

followers.

 

But she also teaches compassion for the poor and has helped build

25,000 low-cost homes, a well-equipped, 800-bed hospital, and a

large ashram in south India.

 

"She is a self-realized person, a saint with a message of love,"

says Raman Nair, a retired engineer who is the contact person for

the Toronto centre of Amma's international organization. Since they

first met in 1989, Amma and the charitable work that she urges her

followers to perform have become the focus of Nair's life.

 

"She just hugs and kisses, something no saint has done — they

usually keep their distance. She says, don't even say `I love you,'

say `I am love.'"

 

Nair says Amma, who has been staying with him on this visit, wants

people to do some practical good in their everyday lives. "People

ask about releasing kundalini energy and tantric practices. Amma

says not to worry about that. Do what you can for others."

 

 

Speaking through a translator — one of several black-bearded, orange-

robed swamis seated with her on a stage hung with gold, red and

green bunting, and a string of brilliant white lights — Amma told

the overflow crowd that we should love everyone equally. Love is the

foundation of a happy life.

 

Like many in the hall, Swapna Natarajan, a former social worker and

a Burlington mother of two, had heard of Amma from her family in

India and was anxious to meet her. She added that her mother had

died last year and she was suffering from the loss.

 

"I was told she carries lots of divine energy and brings peace of

mind," she said. "I almost didn't come, but something pulled me. I

do feel happier, and everyone's smiling and that's a good thing."

 

Her father, Krishna Swamy, is a retired commodore in the Indian navy

who's here on a visit. He said he was interested in coming because

Amma's reputation isn't based on miracles but on her message of

love.

 

Volunteers were anxious that reporters meet a range of Amma's

followers, and introduced a microbiologist and stockbroker.

 

"The bliss of being in her lap was a moment of transformation," said

John Weiss, the stockbroker, from Tucson. Like Amma and many of her

followers, he was wearing white.

 

Toronto microbiologist Bipin Nair, is drawn to her life of service

to humanity. He acknowledges that many doubt the powers of so-called

holy people.

 

"Skeptics come, saying this must be another farce, and they go away

completely transformed. As Amma says, ` One has to be receptive to

God's grace. You have to open the windows of your heart.'"

 

The story of her life, as recorded by Swami Amritaswarupananda,

begins with the revelation that Amma was born the colour blue, the

same colour as the Hindu deity Krishna. As she grew, her family

would find her lost in trances, and they thought she was crazy.

While other children in her family were educated, she did not go

beyond Grade 4.

 

In her 20s, affected by visions of the divine, she spent days in

meditation, and lived on leaves and water for months. Local people

came to recognize her as an enlightened being, and devotion to her

followed.

 

She now receives international accolades. In 2002, she was awarded

the Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence. This month she delivered the

keynote address at the Parliament of the World Religions in

Barcelona.

 

Amma's final public program in Toronto takes place tomorrowat 6:30

p.m. at the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre, 6750

Mississauga Rd. Admission is free. More information is available on

the Web at http://www.amma.org.