Amma

Amma or "Mother" is a what some would call a modern-day Saint. "The Hugging Saint". Although she laughs at that suggestion. She says there is no difference between creation and God. Like the waves the ocean forms are different but they are one and the same. She does not adhere to a particular religion, and her room at her Ashram has a picture of Jesus Christ, a Menorah, and a verse from the Koran. But she has been known to cure leprosy and turn butter into pudding. Although she is quick to note that we all have the same power, we just don't know it. She does not like to perform miracles, like tricks to entertain, preferring to pass her love to people individually, thru the power of  human touch. She has been known to hug 50,0000 people in one day, in 20-hour stints, without benefit of food, water, or bathroom breaks. It is estimated that she has hugged 26 million people in the last 36 years. She's been asked to speak to organizations the world over, and her charitable organization has provided for orphanages, hospitals, schools, giving 46 million dollars to the tsunami victims in Malaysia alone. She has never sought to convert anyone, and states her religion is love and service.

Born in a poor fishing village 56 years ago, her mother claims there was no pain with her birth. She was known as an "odd" child because she would give the family's food away, touched lepers, and would often stop what she was doing and go into "trance-like" states with her lips moving, a smile playing on her face. She says they were silent prayers and "when one beholds the entire universe as a play of consciousness, what else can one do but smile?"


Whether you believe Amma is a Saint, or just a person who has managed to collect a following of millions, her message is simple and worth noting:

The mission of every human being is to realize his true Self or "know who we really are."

"Love is the foundation of a happy life. Knowingly or unknowingly we are forgetting this truth. It is important to feel love but also to express it. After all, love is our true nature. When we do not express love in our words and actions it is like honey hidden in a rock - it's of no use to anyone."

These things should start in the home - only then will there be peace and harmony at home and in society.

The last sentence really hit home for me. Having studied the family for so many years, I truly believe our home is the microcosm of everything else. Having a happy home changes everything.