Tracing the Footsteps of a Saint
Posted by Tahirah Farris on Jun 26, 2005 - 10:12:00 PM
LOS ANGELES - From her homeland almost 8,000 miles away, humanitarian Mata Amritanandamayi, better known as Amma or 'the hugging saint,' made her yearly journey from India to the United States to embrace thousands of her followers. She visited Los Angeles June 21-25 at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport, providing free public programs.
Darshan, a Sanskrit term meaning “audience in the presence of a holy person,” is Amma's act of healing. Amma's offering of darshan, which is not typically performed by women, is considered a drastic break from Indian tradition with her long and compassionate embrace. The programs in Los Angeles consisted of various sessions, including darshan, a spiritual talk either led by Amma or one of her senior disciples, devotional singing (or bhajans), a ceremony for spiritual advancement of the world, and continued darshan until the final visitor was received by Amma. Priority for darshan was given to those meeting Amma for the first time.
Amma, who is 51 years old, is considered a living saint, after dedicating the past three decades of her life to social causes to help underprivileged people around the world. She began her spiritual career studying as a young child and giving healing hugs when she was a teenager. She has given over 25 million hugs in her lifetime. She often draws crowds totaling over 35,000 people in one day, never turning away a visitor.
Through her selfless acts Amma has inspired humanitarian actions around the world. Her pledge of one billion rupees ($23 million) to help the tsunami relief effort after the December 2004 catastrophe that struck India and Asia, gained international recognition. Under Amma's supervision, direct aid has been established for institutions such as hospitals, women's shelters, orphanages, and housing for the poor. She has also founded a network of elementary, secondary, vocational, and graduate schools to promote improvements in education. In 2002 Dr. Jane Goodall presented Amma with the Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence at the UN in Geneva.
Amma's increasing influence in North America is represented in various projects such as Mother's Kitchen, a soup kitchen for inner city poor. The project began in 1996 in Oakland, CA and has spread to 40 US cities including Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Jose, and San Francisco. Thousands of meals are prepared and served on a weekly basis by local volunteers.
Mukti Silberfein of Mother's Kitchen in Los Angeles, who would not be involved in the project if not for Amma, expressed, “Amma is the true definition of 'practice what you preach'. I see how devoted she is to everyone, especially the less fortunate. By watching her only makes me aspire to do the same. I started doing Mother's Kitchen four years ago. Making food for those who otherwise cannot afford it and passing out clothing to people who are truly desperate for a clean pair of socks makes me see how much one person can tremendously affect other's lives. Anytime I need help I will think to myself 'What would Amma do?' The answer always comes back- be generous, be supportive, be compassionate, be loving, and be giving. Because of her, this way of living is how I try to live in my day-to-day life. And I have to tell you it makes life a whole lot easier.”
Growing up with a humbled lifestyle, Amma has always had the desire to support underserved people. Amma, the daughter of a fisherman, was born into a poor family in the coastal state of Kerala, India. She was forced to give up her schooling at the young age of ten to tend to full time family chores. She was seen as a dissident in her own family, refusing to be married-off by her parents. Her spiritual behavior was at first looked down on in the conventional male-dominated Indian society, as it was unacceptable for a young holy woman to hug strangers. However, Amma remained devoted to her cause and became the first influential spiritual figure in India to allow women to serve as temple priests.
For more information on Amma, visit http://www.amma.org/
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