Amrita News

Amrita News moved into blogs.amritapuri.org

2007-08-29T00:23:00.000+05:30

Om Namah Sivaya,

This Blog has now been moved permanently from here. All of Amma blogs are now integrated into this one single site — ‘http://blogs.amritapuri.org.’ From now onwards, new postings will appear here.

In Blogs.amritapuri.org, the main page shows the 10 latest blog postings. You can also view latest posts in each category (With Amma, Ashram Diary, Amrita News, Amrita Darshan).

We welcome your ongoing contributions, comments and support.

Thank you!

See you there...

Namah Sivayah

Mata favours temple entry for all

2007-08-25T23:11:00.000+05:30

Mata favours temple entry for all believers

Saturday August 25 2007 14:56 IST
KOLLAM:

Mata Amritanandamayi said that she favored the entry of all true believers to the temples.

Addressing a news conference at Amritapuri Ashram convened to announce the projects to help end farmer suicides on Friday, she said while restricting the temple entry only for believers from the Hindu religion, the authorities might have been stressing the need for preserving sanctity at the temple.

How ever, she said her personal view was that all devotees irrespective of religious faiths should be allowed entry in all temples. But she said while doing this, every care should be taken to protect the values attached to the temples. She said a true believer could never defile the atmosphere of the temple.

Mata said the Hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala was already open for all devotees from various religions.

When queried whether she would support the view that women of all age groups should be allowed in Sabarimala, she said she did not believe that any harm would happen to the Lord if women of all age group were allowed.

“My God has no discrimination towards man or woman” she said. “It is Woman who deliver the man, then how can she be banned from the abode of God,” she asked.

The hostile conditions like the presence of large number of wild animals and the hard terrain might have been the reason behind the ban on women’s entry into Sabarimala, she said. The argument that women of a certain age group lacked personal hygiene and purity was not valid as the devotee’s mind was of utmost importance, she added.

On self-financing colleges:

When queried whether she had any suggestion to end the turmoil on the self-financing education sector, she said the private managements had no resources other than the fee collected from students. She said they were giving scholarships to deserving students in Amrita Viswa Vidyalaya.

Mata said the Government should hold further discussions with the selffinancing college managements.

Projects to help farmers’ children:

Announcing various projects to help end farmer suicides, Mata Amrithanandamayi said the Math will provide educational scholarships to 30,000 children of farmers who committed suicides.

So far around 50,000 applications have been received. Children from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra which witnessed large scale farmer suicides, will be chosen for the scholarship.

Sixty percent of students will be from Kerala. As of now, students from fifth standard onwards studying in Government and aided schools only will be considered for the monthly scholarship of Rs 150.

Mata said 5,000 women’s self help groups (Amritashree units) from agricultural families will be given vocational training and provided necessary start up capital to begin small, home-based business.

The first list of names of selected students will be announced during Amma’s 54th birthday on September 27.

The first installment of stipends for both the projects will be distributed on that day.

Students and women meeting the criteria may send their applications to Mata Amritanandamayi Math in the address: Free Education Fund or Amrita Shree Project, Amritapuri P.O, Kollam dist, Kerala state.

Applications should be accompanied with a photo of the applicant and certificates proving age, class of study, annual income of parent and nonreceipt of any financial assistance from any other agencies.

The New Indian Express

Guru fights poverty of love

2007-08-23T03:40:00.000+05:30

Guru fights world's 'poverty of love,' one hug at a time

August 22, 2007 -- Updated 1606 GMT
By Delia Gallagher, CNN

* Story Highlights
* Mata Amritanandamayi's religion is rooted in Hinduism but not tied to it
* She uses hugs as a way to minister to people and teach service to others
* She believes the lack of love is more significant than financial poverty

KERALA, India (CNN) -- Mata Amritanandamayi is known as the "hugging guru." Some days, she will sit for up to 20 hours straight as tens of thousands of devotees line up to feel her embrace and hear her whisper motherly advice.

Followers come from all over the world to Amma's ashram, or spiritual center, in Kerala, South India, to get a hug; many choose to stay.

"There are two types of poverty in the world, financial poverty and the poverty of love; the second is more important," says Amritanandamayi, who goes by Amma, which means "mother".

Amma grew up poor, in the same seaside village on the southern tip of India where she built her ashram. Villagers believed she could cure sick cows. As a young girl, she was known to take what little food her own family had and share it with others.

Although Amma shies away from describing herself as psychic or magical, some followers think she is divine.

"I have only one feeling," says Navaratnama, a young girl from Mangalore, who traveled 11 hours on a train to see Amma. "That I have touched God."

Navaratnama says she hopes to become pregnant and decided to make the journey to Kerala after Amma appeared to her in several dreams. VideoFollowers flock to Amma's hugs »

Amma greets her followers with a steady gaze and a smile; she listens to their concerns or sometimes just hugs them. Many are too emotional to speak. On a typical weekend day, some 30,000 followers visit the ashram to feel her embrace. Amma says her message to each person she meets is love.

"I want to awaken motherhood in both men and women," Amma says, referring to selfless love. "Motherhood is something that is fast disappearing from the world."

Roughly six months each year, Amma leaves her ashram and travels the world, holding meetings in hotel ballrooms in major cities in the United States, Europe and South America. From these places, she gathers even more devotees, many of whom visit her ashram in India as volunteers.

Gautam is a fair-haired, freckle-skinned 31-year-old from California who has been living at the ashram for eight years. Before Amma renamed him, he was known as Brian Harvey and worked at Yahoo.

"Before I met Amma, I think it was the typical American lifestyle of living for myself, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible," Gautam says.

He was attracted by Amma's emphasis on selfless service to others, he says. Gautam now dresses all in white and works for free as one of Amma's aides. He has even picked up the local language, Maylayalam.

The ashram is mix of foreigners and locals working side-by-side. They send out Amma's newsletters, serve guests in the cafe (one for Western food, one for Indian food) and organize the thousands of visitors who come for a day, a week or several months.

Roughly 80 percent of India's 1.1 billion people are Hindu. The religion's rituals vary, but generally they are performed by male priests and consist of offerings of sweets, incense, fire and flowers.

Amma's ashram is rooted in the Hindu tradition, but not tied to it. Here you will find female priests conducting ceremonies in the temple. A picture of Jesus hangs in Amma's private quarters. Visitors of all denominations are welcome.

Amma has no formal education, and her philosophy is not of the intellectual kind. She teaches love of neighbor as a means to self-fulfillment and peace. Service, rather than study, is the focus of her work. Unlike many Hindu gurus, Amma does not preach any particular spiritual practice, such as yoga, meditation or chanting.

"Fundamentally, what everyone needs is mental strength and self-confidence, to manage the mind just as we manage the outside," she says.

An Indian newspaper reported that Amma's income was around $80 million last year, although her representatives would not confirm this figure. The money comes from private donations and the sale of books and CDs.

Much of this money is in turn given away to help the poor or the those affected by natural disasters. Amma has donated millions of dollars to help the victims of the tsunami in South Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the United States. She also runs a series of homeless shelters in 38 American cities.

"I have no desires, no pleasures," she says.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/22/hugging.guru/

Amma's Mantra helps

2007-08-20T17:32:00.000+05:30

Amma's Mantra helps the Parliament member in her decision making.

The former Cultural Minister of Finland, now a Parliament Member, Mrs. Tanja Saarela tells in the Finnish Evening Paper ILTALEHTI (August 17th, 2007) that the mantra, which she got from Amma, is helping her in decision making. The Evening Paper's story is based on the new book 'Finland in Mother Amma's hug'.

- I am a bit weak person and I am not able to empty my mind that easily. Here mantra helps me. It helps to concentrate to what is essential, the Parliament Member is saying. "Mantra is a very natural thing to me. I take a shelter in it, when I am under stress and tense. When I have been fighting for something in politics or I am faced with difficult things, my vibration level may be very low".

Meditation helps her to attain a suitable vibration level, which she feels in very important.

The new book 'Finland in Amma's Hug' which is released in Finland this week is interviewing the Parliament Member Mrs. Saarela and also many of Amma's Finnish devotees, among them the rock singer Satya Mikko von Herzen and film director Rishi Taavi Kassila. The aim of the book is to understand why Amma is so popular in Finland.

from The Finnish Evening Paper Iltalehti

Amma on Foxnews

2007-08-08T17:50:00.000+05:30

read the text

Hugging Saint Visits the U.S

2007-08-03T17:53:00.000+05:30

The "Hugging Saint" Visits the U.S
By Uma Pemmaraju, FoxNews.com
FoxFAN CENTRAL

A large New York crowd waits patiently for hours hoping to spend a few moments with a very special woman who's traveled thousands of miles from her native India, delivering a powerful message of enduring faith and hope.

These devotees are united in the belief that Mata Amritanandamayi is a saintly wonder. She draws millions of people around the world for spiritual relief that people say comes from her gentle touch. Affectionately called "Amachi" or "Amma," meaning mother, she reaches out to one and all with a simplest of gestures — a meaningful embrace. Her welcome is warm, her smile is sparkling and her white sari glows and offers up a hug, as if each person in her arms were the only person in the room. Amachi is known as the "hugging saint" by those who have experienced what they call the magic of her unconditional love for humanity.

It's estimated that on this summer day, at least 6,000 people have gathered to receive hugs as a "darshan," the Sanskrit word meaning a session or audience in the presence of a saint. It is indeed fascinating to watch the hundreds of people — Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus — kneel as they get closer to Amachi and her magnetic hugs. She embraces all faiths and describes herself as a servant of god.

Her outreach has a profound effect on those who receive her hugs. They come to heal and open up their hearts to a woman who has dedicated her life to spreading infinite compassion and motherly love throughout the world.

I asked many people to describe their feelings after receiving Amachi's hugs. Many people told me they were filled with peace and felt what they described as divine love. I saw a number of people wiping away tears of joy after their encounter with Amachi. This humble woman who speaks no English is teaching a universal lesson that transcends the spoken word — that the need for love is the common thread shared by all and is fundamental for the human spirit to thrive.

Her compassion knows no bounds. Born in a poor fishing village, Amachi was treated harshly as a child by her family for being different. When she was young, she was indeed unique. At six months she could walk and talk, and by the age of three she was constantly singing spiritual hymns and praising God. When she turned nine-years-old, she began to question the suffering she witnessed among the very poor and elderly. She immediately embarked on missions of kindness, often sharing her food with those who had none. She spent time with the homeless and offered up all of her worldly possessions so that she could give comfort and encouragement to those less fortunate. Soon, word spread that this woman had an unusual effect on people who felt uplifted by her presence. By the age of 21, she refused marriage and began her public philanthropic ministries.

Though she doesn't proclaim that she is a magnate for miracles, I spoke with a number of people at this gathering who didn't hesitate to say that they have seen and know people who had suffered from severe illnesses or disease and miraculously were healed after a hug from Amachi. Many people in this country and millions in India believe that Amachi can manifest miracles through the power of her healing touch. As a result, I met individuals with conditions, like paralysis, who had traveled hundreds of miles, just to receive her blessings with the hope that they too would be healed. That kind of faith is so inspiring.

In India she is known as the "Saint of Compassion" and amazingly often sits for 16 hours or more embracing people without interruption or pause for food and water. Similar scenes are being played out here in this country as she continues her U.S. hugging tour.

Her philanthropic efforts have raised millions for the poor. In India, she's established a number of orphanages, clinics, schools and an 800-bed hospital.

When Hurricane Katrina hit she raised more than a million dollars for the people of New Orleans and Mississippi. Her efforts are being recognized by the world stage. She's served as the President of the Parliament of World Religions, and she's addressed the U.N. several times calling on the world body to end poverty and disease.

When it came time for my interview, we talked via a translator and she expressed her deep concern for those less fortunate and troubled souls. As we chatted, she never missed a beat and continued hugging people in the long line. In our conversation, she told me that she believes compassion to the poor is our duty to God.

She also adds that when she offers a hug it represents the connection between the mother and child — the "umbilical cord of love." She says it's the essential bond that cannot be broken.

With that, Amachi hugged me and gave me her blessings in her own native Indian language. Her warm embrace was very special and as she looked at me with joy, I could feel what others have felt and reflected upon, that in this age of cynicism and doubt, there is one woman who continues to set an inspiring example offering this simple but potent message: with unconditional love anything's possible.

watch video from here
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291717,00.html

Amma projects to helps farmers

2007-07-31T14:24:00.000+05:30

Amritanandamayi initiates projects to help farmers

Yahoo News

By IANS

Tuesday July 31, 11:05 AM

Thiruvananthapuram, July 31 (IANS) Spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi has announced two projects to prevent the suicide of farmers and their families.

The project will target farmers from Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, where the failure of crops and the burden of debt has led to suicides not only by farmers but their relatives as well.

'This project would provide free education to 30,000 children all over India. The children of poor farmers or those who were forced to discontinue their education due to the lack of funds will receive priority.

'Children who lost their parents or were abandoned by them will also be considered for this project. Children of all castes between the ages of 10 and 15 who are studying in government schools will be eligible to apply for this project,' said a statement issued by the Mata Amritanandamayi Mutt.

The statement added that the children would receive a stipend every month, subject to their performance in their studies, until they completed their education. Initially, 60 percent of the children would be taken from Kerala, with the remaining from the other two states.

Amritanandamayi, popularly known as Amma, said that yet another generation should not give in to suicide, which she called an 'emotional weakness'.

'They should understand the need to develop self confidence. The future generation should have the mental strength to face life's challenges. An expert panel from the Mutt will study the causes of the increase in suicide rates amongst the farmers,' said Amma.

Along with the educational programme for children, the Mutt has decided to impart training in skills required for cottage industries to 5,000 women from agricultural families. After completion of the course, women will also be given the necessary capital to start businesses in their respective areas of training.

Amma's beautiful interview

2007-07-26T14:39:00.000+05:30

Amma's interview by Alan Steinfeld

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is one of the true living saints of today. She has hugged hundreds of thousands of people world-wide. Jane Goodall, presenting Amma with Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence said, "She stands here in front of us. God's love in a human body."

Immersed in mother’s work

2007-07-09T15:40:00.001+05:30

Immersed in mother’s work

By BRIGITTE ROZARIO
Malaysian Star.com

Miliee Kassim feels blessed to have met Amma and to be a trustee of her charity foundation.

With her only concern in alleviating her mother’s pain, Miliee Kassim decided to go see Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, the hugging lady affectionately known as “Amma” (or Mother), just to “try” and see if she could help.

After one visit, her mother said she no longer wanted the painkillers.

“We went to see the doctor and took an X-ray to see what actually happened. Her fractured arm had actually mended so she was not in pain anymore. She was not fully healed but she could move. That was all we were asking for – for her not to be in pain,” recalls Miliee.

Whether it was actually Amma’s work or if her mother’s arm healed by itself or even whether it was all in her mother’s mind, nobody will ever know.

Miliee’s mother passed away one year after meeting Amma.

Today, Miliee says she feels as if she has gained another mother through Amma whom she has become better acquainted with since.

In fact, Amma wanted to set up her charity foundation here in Malaysia and asked Miliee if she would agree to be one of the trustees.

“I think asking me to be a trustee is her way of telling people that she is beyond religion and race. I hope she also saw something in me but I know I am blessed to be asked to do such wonderful work.

“When she first asked me to be a trustee, I cried. All over the world, her charity work is such a huge success. Here in Malaysia it was going to take off and this (responsibility) was resting on my shoulders.

“I wondered if I could handle it. After all, I didn’t have social work in my background. I come from a background in business.

“Would I be able to handle it? I knew my friends would be ever willing to help, but would I be able to actually roll up my sleeves and do the work? That was something I didn’t know. But, Amma told me to take it one step at a time,” says Miliee.

Although she has her own business – a souvenir shop concentrating on corporate sales – Miliee says it is on the back burner now as she finds her work as trustee with the Amriteswari Foundation of Malaysia more fulfilling.

“Actually doing the foundation’s work makes me much more grateful to God and much more appreciative of what I have because I see the number of people who don’t have a fraction of what I have and to be able to assist them is fantastic,” says Miliee.

She is at the foundation’s support centre for single mothers in Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, every week to check if everything is okay and to see if anything is needed.

“Some of the families have no income, or if the single mother goes to work, there is no one to take care of the children. What we saw was children as young as 12 taking care of the younger siblings. So they were not going to school,” informs Miliee.

The Amriteswari Foundation has rented a place at Bandar Kinrara which acts as a support centre. It offers baking lessons and sewing lessons for the single mothers as well as tuition classes for the children.

“We find that some children go for tuition on empty stomachs so we also have a pantry and we make sure it’s stocked up with dry foods. When they go for tuition, if they’re hungry they say so and we make sure they have something in their stomach.

“Every Saturday, we have singing classes for the children and then we cook dinner so that at least once a week they eat well even if they haven’t eaten well the whole week,” says Miliee.

In addition, the foundation also hopes to start a free clinic in Old Klang Road soon. The foundation is now looking for a doctor to man the clinic.

“This is for those who are sick and cannot afford to go to other clinics or even for those who can afford but don’t mind coming to see the doctor by way of donation. If you come in and you don’t have money, it’s okay. We will take care of the basic medication for you. But if you want, you can also give back something. Give whatever you can afford.

“We are not giving out any medical certificates because we don’t want the clinic to be abused,” explains Miliee.

The foundation, she informs, also hopes to build a three-storey building which will serve as a vocational training centre and tuition centre.

The vocational training centre will help teenagers who find they are unable to study and leave school after Form Three. It will arm them with mechanical or electrical training so that they can work and be independent.

Miliee, who is not involved in any other social work, says she gets great satisfaction from working with the foundation.

“It’s extremely fulfilling and, yes, I have a very understanding husband who allows me to do what I am doing now and in fact, he encourages it. He says we have a very blessed life, God has been very kind to us, our children are healthy, we are all healthy, we can still do a lot of things and this (foundation work) is a way of saying thank you to God for blessing us with so much,” says Miliee.

Her husband is Mohd Kassim Sulong, founder of Kassim Chan & Co.

Is she at all concerned that people will talk because she is a Muslim while Amma is very much seen as a Hindu and some might even think Amma’s work is religious in nature?

In fact, Miliee says that in Cochin, Amma has built a lot of free housing for the Muslim single mothers. So she doesn’t only help those of a particular race or religion.

“I don’t think one should fear (that people will talk). If your intention is right – which is to help the poor and the suffering – then whatever people say doesn’t matter.

“But Amma is just love. She just gives love; love and compassion, that’s all it is. So, if people want to put her in a box, there’s nothing much anybody can do about it. What I would say is try to understand what Amma does. It is basically just giving love.

“I remember Amma said to me that when I take on this task, to have no expectations that people will praise me or say nice things to me. In fact, she told me to expect that people will throw rotten eggs at me and criticise me. She said, when you have those expectations then you will never be disappointed,” recalls Miliee.

The comments she has received have actually been quite good as she gets a lot of gratitude and appreciation from the single mothers and the children that the foundation helps.

Miliee, whose former life included high-tea and shopping, says she would not have imagined in a million years that she would be doing what she is doing now.

“I would have thought why not buy a new car, go for a holiday or buy new clothes? What surprises me about Amma is that she sits there day in and day out hugging people.

“She’s the most hardworking person you can ever find in the world. She’s always surrounded by people. She’s always there to wipe away people’s tears and to listen to their sorrows. All sorts of people come to see her. I’ve seen her doing that day in and day out. She has so much to give.

“I think if I can just give one tiny fraction of what she gives, that’s good enough for me. I’ll take it one step at a time. I find that the more I give, the more my capacity to do a lot more things,” says Miliee.

The mother of three says she now views things differently as her perspective on life has changed.

“I find that we take things for granted. We always want to acquire more things. But if you can, make your life simpler. You can live without all these wants. The more simple your life, the more peaceful you become because you get away from wanting to keep up with the Joneses and you become comfortable with what you are and what you have,” she adds.

Miliee can be contacted at 012-310 6398.

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2007/7/8/sundaymetro/17950115&sec=SundayMetro

Amma's visit can inspire people

2007-07-08T16:42:00.000+05:30

Thursday, July 5, 2007
OPINION
Our View -- Amma's visit can inspire people to serve others
Press citizen.com

Religion is necessary despite the fact people are only ready to die for it, not live for it. It provides a certain safety, like a fence. But you shouldn't just stay inside that fence always. That will be like getting into a boat to cross the river and then, once you reach the other end, not getting down. Or like pointing to a fruit on a tree but doing nothing else. Your hunger won't be appeased by just pointing at it. Only if you climb the tree, pluck the fruit and eat it, you will be satisfied. Same way, religion is only the vehicle. To attain god, you need to act." -- Mata Amritanandamayi in a 2002 interview with Rediff.com.

Mata Amritanandamayi -- the Indian religious leader better known as "Amma" or the "Hugging Saint" -- recently came to the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center and added a few more thousand hugs to the estimated 26 million she's doled out over the past 30 years ("'Hugging Saint' spreads mission in Coralville," July 3) -- if you do the math, that comes to about one hug every 36 seconds. On hand was Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, who officially welcomed Amma to Iowa, and Coralville Mayor Jim Faucett, who, after praising Amma's charitable work, declared July 2 and 3 to be known officially as "The Days of Amma the Hugging Saint."

It would be nice to believe in the power of a simple hug. And, at times, that experience can be as meaningful as nearly any material comfort. But a key lesson from Amma's visit also should be that those warm embraces need to followed by a willingness to provide for those in need. Amma has become an international sensation because of the grandmotherly way in which she physically wraps her arms around people -- greeting people with a broad smile and outreached arms, she envelopes them while chanting blessings in Malayalam, her only language, into their ear. But Amma has become someone even more worthy of her celebrity because she's provided millions of dollars in disaster relief, built thousands of homes for Indian families and helped people throughout Southeast Asia live longer, happier lives.

As recipient of the 2002 Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence and the Interfaith Center of New York's 2006 James Parks Morton Interfaith Award, Amma has been put in company with other religious figures of world renown -- most often, Mother Teresa. Skeptics may question whether Amma's hugs provide the "essence of love" that some of her recipients report, but few can deny the bettered lives that her philanthropy and generosity has engendered.

Our community would benefit most from Amma's visit and affection if she successfully inspires more people to offer more of their time, money and talents for the service of others.

Need a hug?

2007-07-06T16:16:00.000+05:30

Need a hug? Spiritual leader has one for you
By Michael Wamble
mwamble@dailyherald.com
Posted Friday, July 06, 2007
Sharyn and Steve Galindo Thursday drove from their Northfield home to the Marriott Oak Brook Hills Resort for a hug.

As their moment drew near after more than a hour of waiting, the Galindos walked into the pool of people surrounding humanitarian and Hindu spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi.

They knelt.

Then it was their turn to feel the 53-year-old South Indian woman wrap her arms around them.

“It’s a very loving embrace,” Steve Galindo said. “There is this … energy for lack of a better word.”

Amritanandamayi called it “transmitting pure vibrations of love and compassion” during the first six hours of her two-day marathon of hugging strangers. Her appearance continues today with two sessions — one at 10 a.m. and another at 7 p.m.

Organizers of the 10-city U.S. tour said they expected 10,000 people to travel to Oak Brook to see, hear and — most importantly — hug her.

As a humanitarian, Amritanandamayi already has raised more than $1 million in aid for Hurricane Katrina victims, in addition to pledging $23 million toward relief work in regions in India ravaged by the 2005 tsunami.

Her latest project is to create social and economic programs to reduce suicides among farmers in central India.

Promoting healing through personal embrace and social programs, Amritanandamayi said, are essential to serving humanity.

“I am trying to create a balance between the spiritual and the material,” Amritanandamayi said as she hugged the Galindos.

Finding balance is part of what people said they seek from Amritanandamayi.

In 2005, Dinesh Agarwal, of Naperville, suddenly was laid off from his IT job, his wife, Sangeeta, said.

“We almost broke down,” Sangeeta Agarwal said. “We just got a new house.”

Then, a week after the family went to see and be hugged by Amritanandamayi, Agarwal said, her husband got a new job.

Thursday was the family’s fifth visit to see “mother,” she said.

Yet, most people including Balan Nair of Oak Brook, who first met Amritanandamayi in 1987, said she doesn’t profess supernatural powers.

“Once someone feels good,” Nair said, “they attribute things to the hug.”

Still, Tom Szabo of Lisle, a research technician, said he’s heard similar stories at work.

“I don’t believe in coincidence,” Szabo said.

Szabo, who describes himself as spiritual rather than religious, said his first-ever hug “felt like ecstasy.”

http://www.dailyherald.com

Healing with hugs

2007-07-06T03:03:00.000+05:30

Healing with hugs

Manya Brachear The Seeker
A Chicago Tribune blog

At an Independence Day party Wednesday, I met a young girl who started conversations with strangers by hugging them. The gesture startled guests, but touched them too. I was reminded later that there are millions of people who crave and believe in the healing power of a hug.

Mata Amritanandamayi, better known as “Amma” or “the hugging saint,” will receive thousands of followers today and Friday in Oak Brook. Like the young guest at the party, Amma blesses each member of her audience with a healing embrace.

It is estimated that this holy woman has given more than 26 million hugs in this role since she was a teen. In fact, she has received and hugged more than 40,000 people in a single sitting. She does not turn people away or charge a fee. And she does not require recipients to abide by her Hindu faith.

“There is no harm in having many religions and faiths”, she has said. “But it is harmful to think they are different, and that one faith is higher and another lower.”

In a speech to the United Nations in 1995, Amma described the real source of world conflict as “lack of awareness of our true nature.” It is unclear if she hugged each ambassador.

A documentary about Amma's unconventional ministry debuted at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

But Amma’s humanitarian efforts include more than hugs. With official NGO status granted by the United Nations, Amma oversees aid to the needy, educational institutions for the underprivileged and other programs to help the planet.

Mother’s Kitchen, the North American arm of Amma’s charity, runs inner-city soup kitchens in more than 30 American cities including Chicago.

If you need a hug, you can catch Amma today and Friday at the Oak Brook Hills Marriott Resort, 3500 Midwest Road in Oak Brook. Morning sessions begin at 10 a.m. and last though the afternoon. Evening sessions begin at 7:30 p.m. and last into the night.

Chicago Tribune

TASTE: Sacred service

2007-07-05T14:59:00.000+05:30

TASTE: Sacred service

By CHRISTOPHER J. KOLON | For The New Mexican
July 3, 2007

As East Indian spiritual leader Amma attracts thousands of devotees at each stop on her tour, a tireless, traveling volunteer kitchen staff prepares delicacies around the clock

When East Indian spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (known to many simply as Amma, or Ammachi) comes to town, Julie Rose goes shopping.

Rose, co-owner of Bountiful Cow Cheese Company in Santa Fe, is one of about 100 local volunteers who help make the “hugging saint’s” annual visits run smoothly.

Rose was the official “shopper” for Amma’s June 23-27 Albuquerque visit. It was her fifth year in the position.

As Amma’s tour staff barreled east overnight from Los Angeles accompanied by a semi-truck full of equipment, Rose was arranging her initial purchases in the kitchen of the Hotel Albuquerque in Old Town: 800 pounds of potatoes, 700 pounds of rice, 170 pounds of lentils, 200 gallons of milk, 80 gallons of yogurt and hundreds of pounds of fresh produce.

And that was just the first day.

Amma attracts thousands of devotees, spiritual seekers and the just plain curious to her annual five-day New Mexico program. Her kitchen staff must be prepared to make as many as 1,500 meals each of the first two days and closer to 3,000 meals each of the subsequent three days.

The 36-person kitchen-tour staff managed to have the first day’s lunch ready at 12:30 p.m. — as scheduled — even though they had just arrived in Albuquerque at 5 that same morning, many with as little as one and a half hour’s sleep.

Even with the help of a hundred or more unskilled program participants volunteering an hour or more of their time in the kitchen as seva — or selfless service — that’s still a logistical miracle.

Volunteers keep the wheels moving

“Somehow it always magically comes together,” said Triptta, the kitchen manager. “There is a love and eagerness to serve Mother. I can do so much more here than I could ever do alone.”

Members of the kitchen staff commit two months of their time to tour with Amma. They meet in Seattle before the first public program starts on May 31 and travel cross country, making stops in 12 different cities before the tour ends in Toronto, Canada, on July 23. During that time, they prepare food for all the participants in the 17 programs on Amma’s summer tour schedule.

The tour staff interviewed for this article chose to use their spiritual names rather than their secular ones. But each of them also is an ordinary person — teacher, nurse, business owner — who volunteers to work 40 or more hours per week during the tour in service to their spiritual guru. Not only do they donate their time; they also pay for their own room, board and transportation on the road.

M.A. Math, Amma’s umbrella organization of international humanitarian services, funds a variety of charitable works including disaster relief, the construction of free homes in Amrita Kuteeram, India, and international health care and educational projects. Each penny earned through food sales on the North American tour goes to fund these projects.

Amma’s aid organizations have donated more than $40 million to tsunami relief and were one of the largest non-governmental contributors to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

The language of hugs and food

In the hallways outside the hotel ballrooms where Amma gives darshan — a Sanskrit term describing an audience with a holy person — to thousands of followers and other visitors by hugging them, a veritable bazaar of food, drink and information booths spring up.

Thirsty devotees can slake their physical — if not spiritual — thirst at Banana Leaf Espresso and the smoothie stand slyly named “Amba” Juice. Annapurna (no relation to the Santa Fe restaurant) will sell you a cup of aromatic chai to go along with your puri and chickpea curry. A variety of mainstream and vegan baked treats are available at Amma’s Snack Shop, along with savory items like pizza and raw food wraps.

Amma’s kitchen staff supplies each of these venues with freshly made vegetarian fare each day — in addition to preparing lunch and dinner daily. And they seem to do so effortlessly, with smiles continually on their faces even as they face mountains of vegetables waiting to be cut, trays of bhajis waiting to be fried and thousands of empty plates waiting to be filled.

“There is a dance that goes on here,” said Sri Pati, head baker, as he filled tray after tray of cookies with apricot jam. “We share work and duties among each other. Each venue presents its own challenges, but it all works out as we work together.”

Akshay, a tall, fair-haired German who lives at Amma’s ashram in India and speaks English with a disconcertingly lilting, Indian accent, has been in charge of making the Indian snacks since 2000.

“It makes me happy to make others happy,” he said. One of the ways he makes others happy is by crafting lightly battered bites of eggplant and cauliflower, called bhajis, which are fried and served with tamarind-apple or mint-cilantro chutney.

Another of his specialties is the south Indian idly sambar, which is rice and a kind of light-colored lentil called urad dal that have been ground together with water and left to ferment for a day. Steamed, they have a texture akin to cornbread; fried, they are more like heavy pancakes.

“They are much easier to digest than bread or dairy products for breakfast,” Akshay said. “They are so light and pleasant; once you have them, you will never go back.”

In addition to South Indian cuisine, diners are treated to a variety of Western fare, though all decidedly vegetarian.

During this year’s program, the kitchen produced savory ratatouille, minestrone, cornbread and Texas-style chili in addition to Indian dishes.

On Sunday afternoon, the kitchen was filled volunteers — cooking, cleaning and singing along to the Indian spiritual music playing on a boombox in the corner. Pictures of Amma were placed around the room.

The hotel kitchen’s standard supplies, such as pinto beans, canned tomatoes and ground beef, shared their space with cheeky visitors from the East: stacks of tofu, jars of tamarind paste and piles of papadams (a type of Indian bread).

Rose said that when Amma’s kitchen staff arrives, “The chef at the hotel usually bows out of the way and gives us space. We descend and take over.”

Hotel Albuquerque’s executive chef, Tony Trujillo, sat alone in his office, most of his staff having been delegated to other hotel venues. Many chefs are territorial, protective of their own sacred space — their kitchens. But Trujillo was relaxed.

“They are very clean, precise and tidy,” he said, “pretty darn amazing cooks. They make bakery items that you think had come from a French pastry shop, with such attention to detail. I don’t have any problem with them in here.”

Amma herself doesn’t participate in the cooking; she is far too busy spending hours hugging and comforting people. She does, however, personally serve the children and adults dinner on the second day of the retreat.

Meet the touring cooks

Niramayan, a San Francisco Bay Area importer of Brazilian furniture, has been cooking on tour for 11 years. Initially, he did not care for East Indian food and was not trained as a professional chef; now he is in charge of Indian dinner specialties.

“I really like pongol, which is savory rice and dal, spiced with cumin and black pepper. And our raita, which is made with yogurt, buttermilk, sour cream, grated zuccini or carrot, cucumber, paprika and salt,” he said.

When asked why he takes two months out of his busy life to go on tour, he answered, “Let’s put it this way: this is my life, serving Amma by feeding people. It takes me 10 months of work to be able to do this.”

Sri Pati concurred. “I have the opportunity to do it. I love being with Amma. I get to help support her charitable organizations and I help make people’s experience pleasant.”

“Why not?” he replied before going back to his cookies.

The 'Hugging Saint'

Born 53 years ago in a tiny fishing village in the state of Kerala, in Southern India, Mata Amritanandamayi, referred to by her followers as Amma, or Mother, is revered throughout the world as an outstanding humanitarian and spiritual leader. She travels annually through North America, Europe and India dispensing hugs to all who come to her programs desiring one.

Darshan is a Sanskrit term that literally means “to see.”

Traditionally, Hindu spiritual leaders who give darshan are seen, but not touched;

blessings may come from simply being in their presence.

Amma’s darshan is unique in that she embraces all comers with a long, motherly hug.

These hugs are considered by her devotees to be the embodiment of unconditional love.

While on these tours, Amma’s organization raises money to fund its charities

in India through sales at her food, book and spiritual goods stores and from fees for her spiritual retreats.

For more information, visit www.amma.org or contact the Santa Fe-based Amma Center of NewMexico by telephone at 982-9801 or on the Internet at www.ammacenter.org

http://www.freenewmexican.com

Hugging Saint spreads mission

2007-07-05T14:50:00.000+05:30

'Hugging Saint' spreads mission in Coralville

Thousands wait for embraces

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
By Brian Morelli
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Some people wept, others beamed and some closed their eyes and savored the warm embrace from the world- renowned humanitarian known as Amma, the "Hugging Saint."

Amma, known worldwide as the "Hugging Saint," pauses to smile at Theresa Murphy of Omaha, Neb., after giving her a hug Monday at the Coralville Marriott and Convention Center. Amma will be giving darshan, compassionate hugs with a blessing, in Coralville through this evening. Press-Citizen / Hannah van Zutphen-Kann

"If you are in the right frame of mind and really receptive, it is like eating or drinking something you have never had before," Kamal Bijlani, 46, said Monday of what it is like to get a hug from Amma. "Many people cry or spontaneously feel very happy, or it just brings up great emotion in them."

Bijlani originally is from India, but has become one of the thousands who tour with Mata Amritanandamayi, or Amma, a tranquil 53-year-old woman from Parayakadavu in the Quilon district of Kerala, India.

More than 2,000 people, including Bijlani, Coralville Mayor Jim Fausett and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge packed into an ornately decorated conference hall in the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Convention Center Monday to receive hugs.

"She arouses the feeling of love. She rekindles the fire of love in all of us," Bijlani said.

Bijlani was dressed in flowing white garments -- like many of her followers, he said, for simplicity.

Vendors packed the convention, as well, selling garments, CDs, pictures of Amma and books, and there was a ring of Indian foods being sold in a hallway surrounding the main room.

After a brief group meditation and chant, gatherers sat at Amma's feet and, one at a time, kneeled before her and received an embrace, which many consider a healing or blessing.

Raj Solanki and his partner Tracy Gonzalez wanted their son Makaiah, 3, to experience Amma, so they drove up from Fairfield for the event and got in line.

"I really wanted to my son to see her," Gonzalez said. "I hear she has a really big heart and gives great hugs and we wanted to share that love."

Although they hadn't received their hugs yet, visitors received tokens that kept order of first to last.

Amma has a reputation for making an impact in humanitarian efforts.

"It is not often we host someone of such international importance, especially someone who has done so much to bring the world together and improve lives of millions of people," Judge said.

Amma had events throughout Monday and there are additional events scheduled for today.

"Where as Amma is a renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader, who's sole mission is to help people ... (I) declare July 2nd and 3rd of 2007, the days of Amma the hugging saint," Fausett said in a proclamation.

---
http://www.press-citizen.com

Hugging saint visit to Coralville

2007-07-05T14:46:00.000+05:30

Tuesday, July 3, 2007 4:24 AM CDT
'Hugging saint' pays visit to Coralville

CORALVILLE (AP) --- Amma, the world renowned humanitarian, visited Coralville on Monday, drawing more than 2,000 people hoping to meet the "hugging saint."

Amma, whose actual name is Mata Amritanandamayi, is a 53-year-old woman from India who attracts followers who seek out her embrace, which many consider to be a blessing or have healing qualities.

"If you are in the right frame of mind and really receptive, it is like eating or drinking something you have never had before," said Kamal Bijlani, 46. "Many people cry or spontaneously feel very happy, or it just brings up great emotion in them."

Bijlani, originally from India, is one of the thousands that tour with Amma.

Among the crowd that gathered Monday in a conference hall at the Coralville Marriot Hotel was Mayor Jim Fausett and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge.

After a brief group meditation, gatherers sat at Amma's feet and one-by-one came up to get a hug.

Raj Solanki and his partner, Tracy Gonzalez, traveled from Fairfield so their 3-year-old son, Makaiah, could meet Amma.

"I hear she has a really big heart and gives great hugs and we wanted to share that love," Gonzalez said.

Judge said she was pleased that Iowa could host a visit from Amma, who has a reputation for making an impact in humanitarian efforts, disaster relief and building homes for the needy.

"It is not often we host someone of such international importance, especially someone who has done so much to bring the world together and improve the lives of millions of people," Judge said.

http://www.wcfcourier.com

An appeal for some Catholics

2007-07-05T14:20:00.000+05:30

An appeal for some Catholics

Some find Indian guru better for their souls than the Church

In June, the Indian guru Mata Amritanandamayi visited California, touring the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and spending several days at a center dedicated to her teachings in Castro Valley. She is called the “Hugging Saint” because, said the June 18 San Francisco Chronicle, for 35 years she “has dedicated her life to giving people big hugs,” embracing over 25 million people around the world

By hugging, Amma (“mother,” as she is called), teaches selflessness, according to a web page dedicated to her. “If you want to learn about serving the world selflessly, sit by Her side one evening as She embraces 12,000 people,” it says. (Pronouns referring to Amma are capitalized.) She teaches silence, beginning “Her birth itself” when “She entered this world in silence.” She teaches “renunciation, but only in the midst of a lifetime of refusing to consider Her own comfort.” Amma’s every breath bears “testament to Her inability to see any man, woman or child as different from Her own Self.”

Amma has an appeal for some Catholics. Musician Prashant Michael Rao is one of the former Catholics to take Amma as his guru. In California for Amma’s tour of the state, Rao, 56, shared with the Chronicle his reasons for exchanging Holy Mother Church for the Hugging Saint’s “Universal Motherhood.”

Rao, a native of Bangladesh, said as a Catholic he “used to go to church every Sunday. I did everything that Catholics do until I went to boarding school when I was 13,” he said, when he entered a Muslim school.

As a teenager, Rao was “influenced by the 1960s sort of philosophy that had nothing to do with religion -- it was more to do with spirituality. And so I dropped my Catholicism. I like the path of yoga and meditation.”

As a follower of Amma, Rao said his goal is to transcend the ego and the body -- as have “saints” like Amma, because “they live from their essence and know they are one with everything.” One has to know himself completely, said Rao, by stopping “the chatter” and stopping “thinking.” Masters like Amma “tell us that there is nothing to find. There is only stuff to remove. There are clouds to remove so that you can see that the sun is shining. There are doors to open so that you can see that it's daylight outside.”

Rao is not alone. According to a 2001 Reuters article, Catholic nuns in France went to see her. In 2004, Eric Perez, 33, a former Catholic, said he found in Amma a unique spirituality. “She’s the feminine face of God,” he told the New York Daily News. “This is the true meaning of religion.” Another former Catholic, Bill Gasko, 65, told the Chronicle during Amma’s 2005 visit to the Bay Area, Amma was “like Christ becoming a reality.”

However, Amma does not claim such high honors for herself alone. “Everyone is an avatar,” she said in 2005. “Everyone is self-realized. Everyone is enlightened. My god is people. My god is creation.”

California Catholic Daily

Embracing the world

2007-07-03T15:16:00.000+05:30

Embracing the world
Samantha Miller - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 7/3/07 Section: Metro
http://media.www.dailyiowan.com/
Thousands of barefoot people walked through the doorways of the Marriott Hotel conference room Monday, toward the song, lecture, and warm embrace of Amma, the "hugging saint."

Guru Mata Amritanandamayi, or Amma - meaning "Mother" - as she is affectionately called, has traveled the world delivering her message of love and self-believing, sealed with a hug.

"There is no guarantee for the next moment or for even the next breath," she told the crowd. "We must make the best use of the present moment."

Amma appeared in the hotel conference room twice on Monday, where she is scheduled to show again today, as part of her summer tour through the United States. She drew a crowd Monday of more than 1,000, said event organizer Toni Rubin.

As Amma entered through the large doorway and headed toward a stage inside the brightly adorned conference room, she passed thousands of empty shoes removed by those in the audience. She spent approximately three hours preaching and singing Hindu songs.

A large group flocked toward her as she entered. Amma's own bare feet were washed and worshipped during a ceremony called "pada puja," as conk shells bellowed, singing resounded, and some prayed.

In addition to their shoeless garb, a large portion of Amma's followers were clad completely in white.

"[The white dress] is a sign of respect in this specific tradition," said Melissa Ingram, a follower of Amma's teachings for 14 years.

Those teachings differ from one's typical guru, Ingram said, because Amma gives hugs as blessings.

"It's great because you get a wonderful hug and blessing at the same time," she said.

But before Amma administered the embraces on Monday evening, she preached to the crowd in Malayalam, the language of Kerala - her native state in India - which was translated for the audience into English.

She emphasized the internal struggles and strife all people go through, as well as the world's troubles with war and terrorism.

Amma said that before such issues can be resolved, people must get to the root of the problem.

"[The root] is hate and loathing in the human mind," she said. "War will go on as long as this exists."

After speaking and singing for nearly three hours, Amma began to embrace individuals within the crowd - the evening's main attraction.

The line for Amma's hugs stretched from the back of the conference room to the entrance. The guru greeted each person in the lengthy line with a wide smile before pulling each into a tight squeeze.

Smiles, laughter, and even tears met Amma's embrace.

Martin Ouseley came to the assembly not knowing what to expect, but he had heard good things about Amma and wanted to experience her presence.

"[The hug] was really nice," he said.

All those hugged Monday joined more than 20 million others worldwide that Amma is said to have hugged.

E-mail DI reporter Samantha Miller at:
samantha-a-miller@uiowa.edu

The power of a hug

2007-07-03T04:45:00.000+05:30

The power of a hug
Jul 2, 2007
By Molly Rossiter
The Gazette
http://gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070702/NEWS/70702018
molly.rossiter@gazettecommunications.com
CORALVILLE - Theresa Murphy struggled to keep her emotions intact after receiving a personal blessing - in the form of a hug - from India's hugging saint, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, or “Amma,” this morning.

Hug power:
A crowd gathers to hug Amma during the first day of a public event at the Marriott in Coralville today. Amma is known as a humanitarian and for traveling the world and blessing people by embracing them with a compassionate hug.

“It's almost indescribable,” the 36-year-old Omaha, Neb., woman said of her first encounter with Amma. ``It's overwhelming, it's light. It's the embodiment of love.''

Organizers estimated nearly 1,000 people were at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Convention Center to see Amma, a world-renowned humanitarian and recipient of the 2002 Ghandi-King Award for Non-Violence.

“This is really the smallest crowd that we've seen so far,'' said Randy Rutenbeck, a member of Amma's tour team.

Amma's Coralville stop includes a spiritual talk at 7:30 p.m. tonight, meditation and individual blessings at 10 a.m. Tuesday and a Devi Bhava service at 7 p.m. Tuesday, all at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Convention Center.

After 20 minutes of meditation this morning, Amma, seated in front of a stage, received those who came for miles to see her. Each of those waiting for an individual blessing dropped to their knees and waited their turn. She greeted each person with a broad smile and outreached arms, and enveloped them in a hug while chanting blessings in their ear.

“There's just something about her, it's just phenomenal,'' said Betty Dahmer, who drove from St. Louis to be hugged by Amma.

Amma doles out hugs

2007-07-03T04:40:00.000+05:30

Amma doles out hugs in Coralville
http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070702/NEWS01/70702005
Monday, July 2, 2007
By Brian Morelli
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Some people weep, others beam and some close their eyes and savor the warm embrace from the world renowned humanitarian known as Amma, the “hugging saint.”

“If you are in the right frame of mind and really receptive, it is like eating or drinking something you have never had before,” said Kamal Bijlani, 46. “Many people cry or spontaneously feel very happy, or it just brings up great emotion in them.”

Bijlani is originally from India, but has become one of the thousands that tour with Mata Amritanandamayi, a.k.a. “Amma,” a tranquil, 53-year-old woman from Parayakadavu in the Quilon district of Kerala, India.

More than 2,000 people, including Bijlani, Coralville Mayor Jim Fausett and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge, packed into an ornately decorated conference hall in the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Convention Center today to receive hugs.

“She arouses the feeling of love. She rekindles the fire in all of us,” Bijlani said.

Bijlani was adorned in flowing white garments “for simplicity,” as were many of Amma’s followers.

Vendors pack the convention as well. People sell garments, CDs, pictures and books, and there is a ring of Indian food sold in a hallway that surrounds the main room.

After a brief group meditation, gatherers sat at Amma’s feet like children and one-by-one came close and received an embrace from her, which many consider a healing or blessing.

Raj Solanki and his partner, Tracy Gonzalez, wanted their son Makaiah, 3, to experience Amma, so they drove up from Fairfield for the event.

“I really wanted my son to see her,” Gonzalez said. “I hear she has a really big heart and gives great hugs and we wanted to share that love.”

Amma has a reputation for making an impact in humanitarian efforts leading to disaster relief and building homes for the needy.

“It is not often we host someone of such international importance, especially someone who has done so much to bring the world together and improve the lives of millions of people,” Judge said.

Amma’s local programs are scheduled throughout today and Tuesday at the Marriott.

“Whereas Amma is a renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader, whose sole mission is to help people … (I) declare July 2nd and 3rd of 2007, the days of Amma the hugging saint,” Fausett said.

Hugging Saint embraces Los Angeles

2007-06-27T18:07:00.000+05:30

The 'Hugging Saint' embraces Los Angeles
PAUL CHAVEZ gets a hug from Amma and reaction from others in an asap video report
http://asap.ap.org/stories/1546032.s

Tuesday, 26 June, 2007, 17:20 EDT, US
LOS ANGELES

Mata Amritanandamayi greeted me with a big smile and open arms.

Amritanandamayi -- known by her followers as "Amma," which means "mother" in several Indian languages -- guided my head toward her right shoulder and wrapped her arms around me.

She rubbed my back up and down with her left hand and then started whispering in my ear, "More, more, more, more, more, more, more, more ... ."

Time seemed to stand still in Amma's embrace. At the end, she gave me an apple, a Hershey's kiss and a few flower petals.

I walked away weak-kneed and blissed out.

___

ABOUT AMMA

Born in 1953, Amma has developed a following throughout India and in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia and is known as the "hugging saint."

Her hug is called a "darshan," a Sanskrit term that typically signifies being in the presence of a holy person. Amma's version of a "darshan" is the embrace -- and devotees estimate she has given more than 25 million hugs over the past 30 years.

In India, she has been known to give up to 40,000 hugs in one day, never turning anyone away and not charging anything. She's currently on a 10-city summer tour of North America. Thousands of people in Los Angeles waited patiently at a recent hugging session that lasted nearly until 5 a.m.

She's making her first visit to South America this summer and said she also wants to go to Kenya.

Amma also is a tireless humanitarian. She has opened schools, hospitals, clinics, orphanages and has provided free homes for the poor as well as providing disaster relief funding for 2004 tsunami victims, Hurricane Katrina survivors and victims of a 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Her latest projects: helping sex workers in India and poor farmers who are committing murder-suicides in her home state of Kerala, India.

The Amritanandamayi Charitable Trust has centers in 15 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain.

watch video here
http://asap.ap.org/data/interactives/_lifestyles/amma/

LA labor leaders snub

2007-06-18T15:34:00.000+05:30

L.A.'s labor leaders snub 'hugging saint'
Indian spiritual figure Amma gets a cold shoulder over her refusal to honor a union boycott of the LAX Hilton.
By Joe Mathews, Times Staff Writer
June 18, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-hug18jun18,1,5527192.story

Amma, the renowned mystic known as the "hugging saint of India," arrived in Los Angeles over the weekend for five days of spiritual events, but the city's labor leaders are responding with the back of their hands.

The problem is Amma's choice of venue for her events: the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel.

Since August, the hotel has been the target of a boycott by Unite Here, a hotel workers' union that is seeking to organize workers at the Hilton and other hotels near Los Angeles International Airport.

The Hilton has been the most aggressive in opposing unionization.

Some groups, notably the California Teachers Assn., have canceled conventions scheduled at the hotel, and more than 30 elected officials, including seven of the 15 members of the Los Angeles City Council, have endorsed the boycott.

In a statement last week, hotel officials said the boycott could hurt workers, but that its impact on the facility has been minimal.

In an interview Sunday, while she dispensed hugs to thousands of her devotees at the Hilton, Amma — the name means mother — said she had learned of the boycott after arriving in the United States last month to begin a 10-city tour.

She said she felt "very sad and concerned" for workers at the hotel but decided to stay with her Los Angeles venue so as not to disappoint her 15,000 devotees here, and because she did not feel comfortable, as a foreigner and visitor to the country, taking sides in a local dispute.

"Suppose I tell the hotel people, will they change their policy? They won't," she said, adding, "I don't want to interfere with the local affairs."

Aides noted that the event was being held at the Hilton in the second year of a two-year contract, signed by her local followers before the boycott began in August.

Amma, 53, whose real name is Mata Amritanandamayi, spoke in Malayalam, the language of her native state of Kerala in southern India. Her longtime aide, Swami Amrit, provided translation.

Even without formal religious training, by the age of 21 Amma was attracting spiritual seekers drawn to her message, which is not aligned with any formal religion. She says her "religion is love."

She has given more than 26 million hugs in more than 30 years of spiritual work.

Asked why she hugs, she replied: "That's like asking the river, why do you flow?"

joe.mathews@latimes.com

Amma photos

2007-06-09T01:43:00.000+05:30

Amma the Hugging Saint photos from Bayarea

http://bayareanewsgroup.com/multimedia/cct/multimedia/flash/hugginglady/index.html

Embrace The Hugging Saint

2007-06-07T18:05:00.000+05:30

DEVOTEES EMBRACE 'THE HUGGING SAINT'

Hundreds flock to see humanitarian Amma
# CASTRO VALLEY: Those who visit woman from India -- who has hugged 26 million
--report sense of peace By Eric Kurhi
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_6082390

CONTRA COSTA TIMESArticle Launched: 06/07/2007 03:06:51 AM PDT

CASTRO VALLEY -- At the remote Mata Amritanandamayi Center on the outskirts of Castro Valley on Tuesday, the shoeless masses waited patiently in line.

Many huddled on their knees, inching forward bit by bit toward the woman known as the hugging saint. The center bears her full name, but she's better known simply as "Amma."

She hugs, thousands of times a day, for hours. She won't stop hugging until the last person seeking an embrace gets one.

"Seven years ago, she changed my life with a hug," said Nihsima Sandhu, a volunteer at the center. "When my sister and I were in her arms, we cried and cried. We grieved the loss of our mother when we didn't even know the pain was still there."

It is not an uncommon reaction. Many people were in tears before they even reached Amma; some broke down afterward. Others seemed dazzled, starstruck by the 53-year-old humanitarian who is considered a living saint in her southern India homeland.

The hugging was not always such a hit. The daughter of a poor fisher, Amma turned to charitable works at an early age.

While still in her teens, she became determined to start a mission of love.

But public affection was a big taboo. For a woman, even a holy woman, to physically contact others via a hug was unheard of.

Despite her detractors, Amma persevered, and the message grew, and, supporters say, it continues to grow.

It is said that Amma has hugged 40,000 people in a single sitting -- and more than 26 million in her lifetime.

Rob Sidon met Amma while vacationing in India.

"I was very impressed," he said. "It wasn't so much just the hug, it was the whole philosophy, the humanitarian effort behind it. Amma is walking the talk."

She has, indeed, been very active in charitable programs. If the hugs are a bit of an abstract expression, Amma's humanitarian efforts have yielded concrete results.

Her programs have raised orphanages, schools and a 1,300-bed hospital and shelter for thousands of victims of the 2005 tsunami in Indonesia. She made a million-dollar donation to the Hurricane Katrina fund. And earlier this year, Amma vowed to raise $46 million to help farmers in central India, where an economy devastated by drought has led to an epidemic of suicides.

"I was bowled over," Sidon said. "I wanted to know what I could do."

Sidon has been the press liaison for Amma for a decade now.

He's one of many who have been similarly inspired.

Sandhu said that before meeting Amma, she had a well-paying job "in the corporate world."

"When I met Amma, I was seeking a purpose," she said. "And it was a prayer that was heard so fast. ... She made me realize that I wanted to work with women and children."

Sandhu now is a jewelry designer and plans to create jobs for women in India, making jewelry and donating proceeds to orphans.

Judy White of Oakland received a hug from Amma for the first time Tuesday. She waited for about three hours and didn't have a life-changing experience, but she said she was glad she came.

"It was tranquil," she said. "I didn't understand what she said, but I could feel she's a very loving person."

White said she would likely return.

So did David Badstubner, 17, of Arnold. He traveled with his girlfriend and her mother for the experience.

"It was very peaceful," he said. "It was weird -- I felt my heart start beating really fast. It just feels good."

Reach Eric Kurhi at 925-847-2184 or ekurhi@cctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

# WHAT: Amma, the hugging saint, gives blessings

# WHEN: Sessions begin at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. through June 13. Also, a retreat June 12-15.

# WHERE: M.A. Center, 10200 Crow Canyon Road, Castro Valley

# CONTACT: http://www.amma.org

Hugging Saint' brings loving touch

2007-06-06T22:37:00.000+05:30

'Hugging Saint' brings loving touch to Castro Valley
By Laura Casey, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 06/06/2007 03:45:27 AM PDT

CASTRO VALLEY — Amma's embrace is like no other.

In her native India, hundreds of thousands of people line up for a hug from Mata Amritanandamayi, better known as Amma the "hugging saint." In the Bay Area, where Amma is visiting now until June 15, up to 10,000 people are expected to wait for hours to kneel at her feet and receive an embrace.

People cry as they lean against her shoulder. They often end the hug stunned and forever changed, they say.

San Francisco resident Sharanjit Sandhu, a yoga instructor, clearly remembers her first hug. She received it seven years ago, during one of Amma's twice-annual visits to the Bay Area that year.

"You can feel a transmission from her hug," Sandhu said Tuesday as she waited her turn for a second embrace from Amma. "It stays with you for a while. It softens you. It brings you back to your original nature. You feel at peace."

For Mill Valley resident Jerry Burt, the experience is nourishing. Burt, who works for a vitamin company, visits with Amma each time she comes to the the M.A. Center in Castro Valley, a spiritual retreat center. She quiets him. She calms him. She makes him feel restful.

"It was surprising because I felt so relaxed after the hug and that is something I don't normally feel," he said ofhis first hug from Amma.

Amma, a humanitarian, spiritual leader and teacher, is known in the Bay Area for opening "Mother's Kitchen," a soup kitchen for the poor which started in Oakland and spread to more than 30 cities nationwide.

Over the years she has raised millions of dollars for a variety of causes around the world, including disaster relief. Her more recent campaigns have raised money to help victims of the 2004 tsunami along the Indian Ocean and Hurricane Katrina. She's now trying to raise $46 million to help impoverished farmers in central India where dire economic conditions have led to a suicide epidemic.

She has received several awards, including the James Park Morton award, and oversees a network of charitable organizations.

Amma also loves to sing and does it daily, for hours, and followers say the woman hardly sleeps.

We were given a quick moment to ask Amma a couple of questions, including what she considers the most dire humanitarian crisis of today. Her answer? The environment.

"Protecting nature is the first and foremost thing that we human beings should focus on now," she said through a translator on her first day in the Bay Area. She next said that humans should eradicate poverty and live in a more natural fashion, embracing the earth and its resources rather than using poisons and pesticides to change its natural course.

Who needs a hug the most?

"Who doesn't need it?" she replied. She said that everything in this world is made of vibrations and the most beautiful and pure vibration is that of love.

"The vibration of pure love transforms you completely," she said.

Amma's arrival Tuesday was not shrouded in pomp and circumstance. She arrived seated in the back seat of a tan Lexus and entered the two-story wooden building quietly, touching the hands of followers who then pressed their hands to their faces. One follower quietly tapped a gong. Another blew in a conch shell.

After a 10-minute meditation session, the 53-year-old Amma began her routine embracing sessions.

Now, these are not just any hugs. Not the pat-on-your-back-and-goodbye-type hugs. Amma guides the head of the person she is about to hug to her right shoulder and presses it against her body. She dips her head to the person's ear and murmurs a personalized saying.

Amma smells like sage and spice. She is soft and warm. For a moment, though surrounded by hundreds of followers, it is just Amma and the person in her embrace.

The hug is a more prolonged affair here in the Bay Area than it is in India, as fewer people come to see Amma in the U.S. than they do in her homeland. Still, it is under the watchful eyes of hundreds who have waited hours for their chance at meeting and hugging Amma.

Amma usually first hugs people who have never received a hug from her — or darshan as her followers call it — before hugging repeat visitors.

She will be hugging people from today until June 13, starting at 10 a.m. and at 7:30 p.m. She will not appear June 11. Her final Bay Area public program will be at 7 p.m. June 15.

The M.A. Center is at 10200 Crow Canyon Road in Castro Valley. Call (510) 537-9417 for more information.

BayArea.com

Amma to visit US

2007-05-23T15:30:00.000+05:30

Amma, India's 'hugging saint', to visit US

New York, May 23 (IANS) Indian spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi, who blesses her followers with a warm and tender embrace, is to begin touring the US May 31 - and about 100,000 people are expected to descend on her California centre.
Amritanandamayi, better known as "Amma" or "Ammachi", is set to visit 10 American cities. The Mata Amritanandamayi Center, Bay Area, California, has organised the US tour.
Amma, 53, travels extensively to reach out to people. She has launched several charitable activities to help the needy and set up educational institutions for the underprivileged, the organisers said.
Her followers in the US have launched 'Mother's Kitchen', a soup kitchen project for the poor in 30 American cities. Local volunteers prepare and serve meals to hundreds of people every week at these centres.
Born the daughter of a poor fisherman in Kerala, Amma began to attract crowds even as a young mystic. International recognition followed.
Her signature 'darshan', or blessing with an embrace, has followers queuing up in large numbers. Known as the "hugging saint of India", Amma has been doing this, as a natural expression of love, since she was a teenager.
In 1993, she was selected president of the Centenary Parliament of World Religions. In 2000, she addressed the UN Millennium World Peace Summit and was conferred the James Parks Morton Award in 2006, particularly for her disaster relief work.
She begins her tour with Seattle (May 31), goes on to San Francisco Bay Area (June 5-15), Los Angeles (June 17-21), Albuquerque (June 23-27), Dallas (June 29-30), Iowa (July 2-3), Chicago (July 5-6), Washington, DC (July 8-9), New York City (July 11-13) and Boston (July 15-18). From Boston she moves to Toronto.
IANS

http://in.news.yahoo.com/070522/43/6g38m.html

Thinkin Aloud

2007-05-14T16:40:00.000+05:30

THINKING ALOUD

Every little squirrel helps in its own way
Sudheendra Kulkarni
Posted online: Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 0000 hrs

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/30786.html

“When I saw the Amrita Sethu, my memory went back to Rameshwaram. It is said that Lord Rama ordered the construction of a bridge at Rameshwaram Dhanushkody. His vanaras [monkeys] built the bridge in time for Rama’s troops to go to Lanka for waging the war against the evil Ravana, as mentioned in the Ramayana. Satellite pictures show that the remnants of a bridge still exist between Rameshwaram and Sri Lanka.”
Who said this? President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on December 20, 2006, when he inaugurated a unique seva project called ‘Amrita Sethu’ in Kerala. Inspired by Mata Amritananamayi (‘Amma’ or the ‘Hugging Mother’), thousands of her devotees had built, through voluntary effort, a bridge connecting Alappad Panchayat with the mainland. Alappad had witnessed massive devastation after the tsunami of 2004, with nearly 150 deaths. The bridge would help quick evacuation of its 25,000 residents in the event of a future calamity.
The president then said something deeply touching. “I have seen, in my younger days, how the Rameshwaram cyclones shattered the dreams of my father, a boat builder. So, friends, as a boatman’s son, I can understand this bridge’s importance. Amma has a noble mission. Every time I come to Amritapuri, I have found a unique thing. That is, give, go on giving. In giving, one gets pleasure, happiness, anand [bliss]. It’s not only money. You can share knowledge. You can remove the pain. And you can even go to the person who is suffering. Every one of us — the rich and poor — can give.”
Now we know why Dr. Kalam, a ‘People’s President’, has become one of the most popular occupants of the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan. If the people of India, and not just our MPs and MLAs, had a say in electing the next president, he would surely secure a second term with an overwhelming majority. But this column is neither about the politics of the upcoming presidential election nor about the current debate over Ram Sethu in Tamil Nadu. Rather, it is about that profound ethic of “giving”, best explained by the little story in the Ramayana about a little squirrel’s contribution to the construction of the mighty bridge to Lanka.
When Hanuman’s vaanar sena was busy building the bridge, a squirrel was seen doing something funny: rolling herself in the sand and then shaking off her body to deposit sand particles amongst rocks brought by the monkeys. When asked, she said, “I am making my own small contribution to build the bridge for ending the injustice against Sita.” The monkeys roared in mocking laughter: “We have never heard anything so foolish.” Seeing this, Rama remarked, “Blessed be the little squirrel. She is doing her work to the best of her ability. Therefore, she is quite as great as the greatest of you. Never despise those that are not as strong as you. What truly matters is not the strength one has, but the love and devotion with which one works.” Then he gently stroked the squirrel on the back, and it is believed that the marks of Rama’s three fingers are still seen on the squirrel’s back.
This story is cherished by all Indians except those who are not proud of their nation’s cultural and spiritual heritage. It is so much a part of India’s rich folklore that nearly every Indian language has a phrase to extol it. In Kannada, it is ‘alilu seve’ (squirrel’s service). In Marathi, it is ‘khaaricha vaata’ (squirrel’s contribution). Sadly, as our folk traditions get rapidly eroded by fake modernity, our ruling elite also seems to have rejected the moral of the squirrel’s story. In India’s current efforts to build a bridge to a brighter and more prosperous future, only the contribution of big companies and billionaire businessmen gets applauded.
Nobody cares for the “small” men and women toiling in their fields, factories, workshops etc. Neither is their “giving” acknowledged, nor are they getting their due share in the benefits of what they are building.
For example, when is the last time you saw a prime minister talking to the cart-puller in a busy bazaar? Do any of our business tycoons ever lend a helping hand to the sweeper cleaning their offices and homes? I have often seen arrogant political leaders, who give sanctimonious speeches on party building and nation building but treat their own ordinary karyakartas like dirt. Do we — you and I — talk to our chaiwala politely as we discuss the nation’s economic or security policy? Do we all really believe that every Indian, howsoever small, should have an honoured place in our society? Point is: there are ‘human squirrels’ all around us, but they are not made to feel that they too are making a valuable contribution. Despite talk of “inclusive growth”, there is little effort to promote an inclusive mentality. India can become a great nation only when the rich build bridges with the poor —emotionally, socially, and spiritually — and when all Indians are motivated by the culture of giving, with love and devotion.

The Power of a Hug

2007-05-10T16:45:00.000+05:30

The Power of a Hug
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3153307
An Indian Woman Draws Hundreds of Thousands of Devotees -- All for Her Hugs

Amma has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, and sometimes speaks to audiences that pack football-arena size spaces. Her devotees clamor for the spiritual relief they say is offered by her touch. (Amritapuri.org)

An Indian Woman Draws Hundreds of Thousands of Devotees -- All for Her Hugs
By VIVIAN HERNANDEZ ORTIZ and SARAH HODD
May 9, 2007 —
In the south of India lives a woman who has dedicated her life to helping others through the simplest of gestures -- an embrace. She is said to have blessed and consoled more than 26 million people throughout the world.
In Malayalam, Amma's native language, the name Amma means "mother" -- an apt name for the woman revered as a holy being.
Amma, known to many as the hugging saint, traveled to Chennai, the fifth most populous city in India earlier this year.
Chennai is blanketed with her image; her face is on street buses and there are larger-than-life posters of her around the city.
Amma's Winter Tour of Southern India
Having many devoted followers, Amma often addresses massive crowds -- as many as 200,000 packed into an outdoor space as big as a football field during her stop in Chennai. She has gained near superstar status among her followers around the world, all through her simple act of hugging.
After speaking to the overflowing crowd, followers rushed to the stage and patiently waited hours for their turn at darshan -- the Sanskrit term which means "vision" and is used to describe the meeting with a holy person. Through 16 straight hours, Amma hugged each and every person while offering advice and guidance to many troubled hearts.
She is not selling salvation or offering physical healing or a chance at prosperity. Instead, Amma seems to have tapped into a deep and essential human need -- the need for affection and the human touch.
Betsy Barnett, an American from New York, has been a devotee for the past 10 years. She described Amma as someone with infinite compassion and motherly love, who makes a relentless effort to uplift and to relieve suffering.
"Slowly, slowly I'm learning how to love," Barnett said. "To me that means to love without expectations, without attachment, but being able to really&feel purely loving toward others. And it's hard."
From Humble Beginnings to Devoted Followers
Amma is the daughter of a poor fisherman and a member of one of the lowest castes in India. She attended school until the fourth grade, but had to quit to help out her family. As a young girl Amma spent hours in meditation, singing chants to her God.
She began with small acts of charity at the age of 7 years old, inspired by the desire to ease people's suffering. She washed the clothes of her elderly neighbors, bathed them and even brought them food and clothing from her own home.
"I used to visit villages when I was young," Amma said. "In some of the homes there would be a lot of food available and everyone was happy. In yet another house, the mother and children would be huddled together and crying. When I saw that, I brought things from my house and gave it to them."
Amma has inspired and started many humanitarian services, from charities and orphanages, and founded an 800-bed hospital, schools of higher education and soup kitchens at home and abroad.
Her devotion to her cause is reflected in her followers. She travels with hundreds of unpaid volunteers who have gladly uprooted their lives to serve her.
Are Hugs the Answer to the World's Problems?
Amma's popularity, while impressive, is not a new phenomenon. There have been a number of Indian spiritual leaders who have become popular in the West. The Maharishi were made popular by the Beatles in the 1960s, Sai Baba has more than 30 million followers worldwide and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh was well-known for his popularity in the United States before his death.
For Amma, her life as a spiritual leader has also brought material benefits. Her headquarters in Kerala are indeed grand -- but according to her organization, the money comes from the sale of souvenirs, her personal effects and contributions.
While it is hard to know exactly how much money Amma has, she certainly spends a lot on her charities. She has been honored at the United Nations for her humanitarian service, and her charitable contributions have made international news. In February, she handed over the keys to 1,100 new homes in Nagapattanam for survivors of the 2005 tsunami.
Still her simple message is to love and serve one another, and most of her time is still spent hugging those in need.
"Love is not ordinary," Amma said. "Love is what sustains life. Whatever we do it is only to get love. There are two types of poverty in this world. The first one is, you know, financial. The second is poverty due to lack of love, the second one is more important. If we have compassion, we will automatically help."
Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3153307

Urged to help TN

2007-02-09T17:18:00.000+05:30

Mata urged to extend more help to TN

MADURAI: Sunday February 4 2007

Mata Amritanandamayi should come forward with more welfare measures for Tamil Nadu, said State Health Minister KKSSR Ramachandran, while attending a function organised by the Mata Amritanandamayi Math here on Friday.

Lauding Mata for the services she had done to the society, the Minister recalled that she had donated around Rs 200 crore for the welfare of the tsunami-affected.

“Mata has given financial assistance to about 50,000 poor people in Kerala. She should extend similar help to Tamil Nadu too,” he said.

The New Indpress

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20070204032605&Topic=0&Title=Southern%20News%20-%20Tamil%20Nadu&Page=T

Donates 400 more houses

2007-02-06T17:17:00.000+05:30

AMMA DONATES 400 MORE HOUSES
Nagapattinanam, Feb. 1 (NMG)- Mata Amritanandamayi, popularly known as Amma, handed over the keys of the houses constructed by Mata Amritanandamayi Mission for the survivors of tsunami, at a function held at the Valivalam Desikar Polytechnic here last evening, to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who will handover the same to the beneficiaries identified by the government.

About 400 houses were ready for occupation, in addition to the 1,400 already given to the fishermen of Nagapattinam. Mata Amrita Mission was alloted the construction of 2000 houses for the fishermen who lost their dwellings and belongings in the 2004 tsunami. The remaining 200 houses will be handed over to the beneficiaries during March or April.

Each house with a puja room, a bedroom, hall, kitchen and toilet cost about Rs. 2 lakh and has been designed by volunteer construction experts, said Swamy Abhayamrita Chaitanya, Chief Operating Officer of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and in-charge of rehabilitation of tsunami survivors in Nagapattinam.

The Mission had completed 20 per cent of the rehabilitation project entrusted to 88 NGOs and had completed its share of allotted work.

As part of the rehab of fishermen families affected by the tsunami, Amritanandamayi Mission, apart from providing houses had also given 700 boats with engines, each costing about Rs.2 lakh and 1000 nets to them.

The Mission, in view of reduction of fish in the sea due to the tsunami, has also taken up pisciculture by constructing large ponds in the shallow part of the sea near Amritapuri to breed fish which will be later released into the sea.

Projects for child and women welfare, education, medical care are functioning at tsunami affected areas by the Mission.

M. Karunanidi in his address lauded the work of Amma and said that he had no words to describe the love and dedication behind the work done by Amma and the sanyasis of Amrita Ashram.

Nagapattinam District Collector Tenkasi S. Jawahar, MP A.K.S. Vijayan MLA V. Marimuthu and others were present. After the hour long programme, Amma conducted bhajans.

1 Feb 2007, Nagapattinam
Star of Mysore
http://www.starofmysore.com/main.asp?type=news&item=12010

The new Amma

2007-02-06T17:15:00.000+05:30

The new amma in Karunanidhi's life

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M Karunanidhi, said to be a hardcore atheist and who had on several occasions reprimanded party men for flirting with religion now seems to have no problems with spiritual leaders.

A few weeks ago Karunanidhi shared the stage with godman Sathya Sai Baba and this time it was with spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi.

So unlike Tamil Nadu's political amma, former chief minister Jayalalitha, this amma has struck the right chord with the Chief Minister.

"Mata Amritanandamayi was born in coastal Kerala and she is like a pearl that the sea gives us. A pearl who takes care of the needy around the world,"Karunanidhi says.

The octogenarian Chief Minister had a battery of state and Central ministers at the function in Nagapattinam for tsunami victims.

Karunanidhi now boasts of a different image, of a man who had once told his ministers that wearing a tika on their forehead was an insult to Tamil rationalist leader Periyar's ideology.

2 Feb 2007, Chennai
Moneycontrol.com
http://www.moneycontrol.com/india/newsarticle/stocksnews.php?cid=1&autono=32594&source=ibnlive.com

An island of hope

2007-02-06T17:14:00.000+05:30

.....

. . . . . Some of the fisherfolk had come to attend a congregation at which the saint from Kerala, Mata Amritanandamayi, handed over the keys of 400 houses her trust had built for the fishermen of Keelapattinamcherry village.

In a symbolic gesture, she gave 10 keys to chief minister M. Karunanidhi, who presided over the function.

The 324-sq ft houses cost Rs 1.80 lakh each. The trust has pledged to build about 6,200 of them for tsunami victims in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar islands, earmarking 650 for Nagapattinam.
. . . . . . .

5 Feb 2007, Nagapattanam

M R Venkitesh, The Telgraph

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070206/asp/nation/story_7355372.asp

KKSSR to MK's defence

2007-02-06T17:13:00.000+05:30

KKSSR to MK's defence

Justifying the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi sharing a dais with Mata Amritanandhamayi, state Health Minister K K S S R Ramachandran has said the DMK chief saw "God" in those who served humanity.

Launching the Mata Amrithanandha Mayi Mutt's self help programme for the poor and physically handicapped and pension for widows and destitute, he said though 'Karunanidhi does not compromise on his principles, he sees God in the smile and joy of poor men'.

Earlier the Minister also released a souvenir- 'Amutha Malar' City Mayor Tenmozhi distributed the sewing machines to women under self-help scheme of the MATA being launched in Madurai.

2 Feb 2007, Madurai

Chennai Online

http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7B3DE0CB24-7B47-4A9B-9F60-F29E66819C34%7D&CATEGORYNAME=CHN

Mata inspects homes

2007-02-06T17:12:00.000+05:30

Mata inspects homes built for tsunami-hit
Friday February 2 2007 09:56 IST

NAGAPATTINAM: Mata Amritanandamayi on Thursday inspected the permanent shelters constructed for the tsunami survivors of fishermen colony in Keelapattinacherry in Nagapattinam district by her Math, the keys of which she handed over to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi at a function in the coastal town on Wednesday.

According to sources, as many as 650 families of the colony had lost their houses in the tsunami.

The Math undertook construction of 650 permanent houses for the victims at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore on a 35-acre site granted by the government at Sambathottam. The Mata handed over the keys of the 400 permanent houses completed as on Wednesday to the Chief Minister.

She inspected the residential complex, tagged “Amirthapuri,” and acquainted herself with the additional work to be undertaken to the houses.

Amritanandamayi also inspected the site, where the drainage work is to be undertaken and a sewage treatment plant is to come up.

She directed Swami Abhayamirtha Chaitanya, who is looking after the tsunami relief and rehabilitation activities, to take immediate steps through the government for the provision of roads, streetlights and drinking water lines in the complex.

Earlier, the Mata offered benediction to a large number of her followers at the Desikar Polytechnique in Valivalam and Maraimalainagar in Nagapattinam, from 6 pm on Wednesday to 9 am on Thursday.

New Indian Express
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20070201233507&Topic=0&Title=Southern%20News%20-%20Tamil%20Nadu&Page=T

Aikido fuels life of selfless service

2007-02-03T22:48:00.000+05:30

Aikido fuels life of selfless service

By ANGELA JEFFS
Contributing writer

Meet Kenkichi Futami, in many ways the archetypal Japanese salaryman of the postwar period whose sacrifice helped position Japan so productively in the world today.

For 35 years, five days a week, he rose every morning at 5:40 a.m. in order to leave his house in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, some 100 km from Tokyo. By 6:20 he was on the station platform to catch the commuter train into the capital. By eight he would be at his desk at electronics conglomerate TDK in Nihonbashi.

Making the reverse journey, Futami would rarely be back home before 10:30-11:30 p.m. Not much of a life, many would say. Yet he has no regrets. Rather, he is setting about making the best of his retirement with a similar sense of duty and purpose.

"Instead of serving my company, I'm seeking to serve society in the broader sense. I can teach aikido, travel as much as I like."

Aikido is a lifelong passion. In 1986, he launched a small magazine, Shunpu, to promote the martial art, and even while still at work, never missed an edition.

On the back of No. 240, he lists in English the rules of life as laid down by swordsman, calligrapher and Zen master Tesshu Yamaoka (1836-1888). "I do my best to follow his path of no regrets."

By this, Futami means that by living up to certain principles, he will have no regrets in later life.

Learning judo in high school, he found it hard as a small person to throw anyone of size. He switched to aikido after getting into college. "In judo, you grab the sleeves and the collar to effect throws," he explains. "Aikido uses wrists and elbows and applies pressure to joints, not to hurt, but to destabilize the opponent. There are strict rules to ensure it remains a peaceful nonviolent form of self-defense."

Gentle and selfless service has always been at the forefront of Futami's thinking. Maybe because of his aikido sempai's father, he thinks. "When I told him once that maybe in order to serve I should become a politician, he said there was a better way."

One Christmas Eve his sempai's father brought home his own mentor, Gisuke Shinagawa, to meet Futami. "I was 20, Shingawa-sensei was 76."

Futami's university had not been his No. 1 choice and he'd found himself quite isolated, with no one of a similar mind. Here was another strange person, he thought. But, he listened carefully.

"Shinagawa had been a college dropout whose own mentor had saved him by sending him to Hokkaido, where he collected juvenile delinquents and tried to give their lives some meaning. I thought, this is the guy to be my teacher."

Thus, he was led toward aikido and finding a place in the world. The founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1869), whom Shinagawa had known, dedicated himself to becoming strong after witnessing his father being beaten up by political opponents.

In 1925, Ueshiba was challenged to a duel by a naval officer and won by evading blows until his opponent fell exhausted. It was the realization that he had defended himself without even touching the other man that led to the formulation of aikido.

Futami belongs to the Tomiki School of Aikido, one of the five largest in Japan, with maybe a 10 percent following. His teacher, Kenji Tomiki, who died in 1979, was the first practitioner to be awarded the highest award of 8th dan by Ueshiba.

Tomiki was the founder of aikido competition and the Aikido Association, of which Futami is currently vice-chairman.

"Don't be impressed," he laughs. "It just means everyone else does the hard work."

A 7th dan, Futami spends much of his time now teaching, with three classes of 60-70 students in Hiratsuka, a class of 20 in Odawara, and smaller classes of mostly salaried workers, in Osaki, in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. He enjoys going abroad -- Malaysia ("when I was with TDK"), and teaching in Singapore, the U.K. ("twice") and Australia ("six times").

Last year, he went to India as a volunteer, taking along his wife, Ayako, a black belt in her own right. He was invited by Shantamrita Chaitanya (American Brandon Smith).

He is director of the Mata Amritanandamayi Center Japan and the nonprofit organization Amrita Heart, which serve Japan on behalf of Mata Amritanandamyi, nicknamed Amma, and known worldwide as the hugging saint. (Last in Tokyo, she hugged 8,500 people in three days and still had energy to spare. She'll be here in spring for four days of programs -- May 25-26 in Kobe, May 28-29 in Tokyo.)

"We were in Nagapattinam, where 20,000 died in the tsunami. Amma's organization was the first to start reconstruction there. Ayako and I went with 150 students from universities all over Japan, to help in rebuilding and introduce Japanese culture."

He says he and his wife will never forgot the faces of local children, who met them all with garlands of flowers. "They were so poor, and yet there was a vital sparkling light in their eyes-- Japanese children don't have this anymore. Sad, isn't it?"

Nor will he and his wife forget the excitement of Indian engineering students who were able to witness and experience aikido for the first time.

"I'd like to see more baby-boomers volunteering, and workers given time off by their companies," says Futami. "If students can go, why not business people?

"Those students who went last year returned fired up with enthusiasm to serve on a regular basis."

And Ayako? How did she get on? "She was in shock. Not because of the damage and conditions, but by the fact there was something she could do. That was a big realization for her. Now she has a volunteer job, typing up manuscripts so they can be transferred into Braille." They both like to keep busy, he says.

"Do you know the true meaning of the characters for isogashii? They mean losing your mind or heart." How apt. For 35 years he lost his mind to business. Now he is losing his heart to help others.

The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved
Feb. 3, 2007

An image makeover

2007-02-02T17:16:00.000+05:30

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, the doyen of Dravidian politics is arguably the most prominent atheists. It seems compulsions of real politics are forcing the senior leader to go for an image make over.

In the recent past the chief minister was seen sharing platform with spiritual gurus like Satya Sai Baba and Mata Amritanandamayi and sought their assistance in completing some of the social projects in his state.

A few years back no one could have imagined M Karunanidhi in such close proximity with spiritual leaders like these. He went a step further and equated Satya Sai Baba to God and called Mata Amritanandamayi “a pearl”.

Well, the change in the veteran politician is certainly for a reason.

Mata Amritanandamayi Mutt handed over 450 houses constructed for tsunami affected people of Nagapattinam. Karunanidhi had also sought the Baba's help for the Rs 1,000 crore project for cleaning the polluted Cooum river in Chennai.

The developmental projects executed by both these spiritual leaders have helped Karunanidhi enhance his own image as a statesman. The veteran politician is playing his cards right and appeasing the majority community in the state.

2 Feb 2007
Dhanya Rajendran
Times Now.tv
http://www.timesnow.tv/An_image_makeover/articleshow/1553157.cms

Amma: The 'hugging saint' - USA TODAY

2006-07-19T23:10:00.000+05:30

Amma: The 'hugging saint'
Updated 7/19/2006 7:16 AM ET
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
MCLEAN, Va. — On an ordinary summer day, in a hotel ballroom, thousands of seekers, sufferers and beatifically smiling followers find wordless joy and solace in the embrace of "the hugging saint."

They need no money, no knowledge of any holy text or ritual practice, no special strength or beauty or spiritual fine-tuning.

They need only come to tiny Amma — the endearing nickname for Mata Amritanandamayi ("Mother of immortal bliss").

Her arms are open to all: infants and elderly, wiry collegians, hippies gone gray, dudes in Dockers or saffron robes, Christians and Jews, Hindus and Buddhists, children and the childlike — anyone longing to be enveloped in perfumed softness.

No questions asked. One lesson offered: Open your heart to the world.

They leave glowing, tears on their cheeks, perhaps with a gift from her, a rose petal or an apple in hand or a smudge of sandalwood powder on the photo of a loved one, extending Amma's blessings to that distant soul as well.

So many are so grateful for their encounter, they make donations unasked, small gifts that add up to millions of dollars for Amma's worldwide philanthropies.

In the past 18 months alone, she has committed $23 million to tsunami relief and $1 million to Katrina relief, as well as support for schools, hospitals, orphanages, and services to the sick and poor. International humanitarian honors pour down on her.

The modest mystic and philanthropist from Kerala, India, a daughter of a lower-caste fisherman, says she has been driven since early childhood to "make an offering of myself" to the poor, the abandoned, the sick and sick at heart. By age 21, she had refused marriage and begun her public philanthropic ministries.

"Just by feeling (someone's) pain you cannot resolve it," she says. "You have to do something. If you see a blind person who is crying, why suffer for him when you can hold his hand and help him across the street?"

Now 52, she has been to the podium of the United Nations, the Parliament of World Religions and countless interfaith gatherings, where she's praised for knowing no boundaries with her spiritual message or earthly assistance.

A movie about her that premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival will be released in the USA in August. It's called Darshan, Sanskrit for an audience with a holy person. But in a radical departure from Indian tradition, Amma's darshan consists of her embrace.

She hugs to spread the idea of motherly love and compassion "felt not only towards one's own children, but all people, animals and plants, rocks and rivers — a love extended to all of nature, all beings."

Three years ago, on her birthday in India, "she hugged 75,000 people in 23 hours, 20 minutes," says Padmini Pooleri of Germantown, Md., one of legions of volunteers who staff and underwrite Amma's tours in the USA and Canada.

It is still an oddity in a traditional Hindu culture for a single woman to touch strangers, much less distribute such intimate personal blessings. Yet Amma has hugged more than 27 million people in her life, says volunteer John Graff of Washington, D.C., a computer consultant and practicing Catholic. He sees no conflict between his church and a mystic who inspires universal love and charity; he says he has seen clergy of all faiths visit Amma.

People line up hours early to kneel before her, and her welcome is as warm, her smile as sparkling, her white robes as untainted by sweat as if each person in her arms were the only person in the room.

She whispers sonorous chants in their ear, massages their backs with child-size hands, presses into their hand a rose petal, a candy Kiss or maybe an apple.

While keeping up a three-hug-a-minute pace, she's looking up at a line of people on one side who have written questions on small orange slips of paper. A translator reads them in her Malayalam dialect.

Most questions are deep, wrenching, particular: Should I leave my husband, my wife, my job? My daughter is sick. My mother. My dad. My hands shake and I'm scared. Where am I going?

Yet Amma never flinches from the tide of pain and confusion. Answers are "different for each person. You cannot open all boxes with one key," Amma says.

"What is beyond the universe?" asks 9-year-old Sierra Bradshaw-Kreimer of Hillsborough, N.C.

"Love," Amma tells her.

A reporter asks, "Does she have a message for Americans?"

Amma tilts her head back, fixes her bright black eyes on the questioner and replies. "We have to regain our original faces rather than wearing masks. ... We go more and more after the external world and we miss the inner self."

"Amma does not issue predictions or play fortune teller or faith healer. She just has a larger consciousness than we have access to," says Ann Deruiter, 48, of San Francisco, who flew cross-country so she can "develop my spiritual practices" during Amma's prayer, meditation and teaching sessions.

What does Deruiter do when she's not following Amma?

"I pine to be with Amma."

Proceeds go to charities

Last week in suburban McLean, Va., the eighth stop on Amma's 11-city tour, the hotel ballroom and lobby were transformed into an Indian ashram, marketplace and food court.

There were tables of books with her speeches and displays about her charities, plus silks, handicrafts and clothing once worn by Amma, from lavishly brocaded silks to gauzy white daily robes ($75) to her itsy-bitsy (size 3-4) sea-foam-green terry slippers.

All proceeds go to her charities (detailed at Amma.org), which were described in a film clip. On a dais musicians played Indian music.

Her U.S. charities, including Mother's Kitchen, with soup kitchens operating in 30 cities, are run under the auspices of the M.A. Center, a registered public charity based in San Ramon, Calif.

The tour, now in Boston, ends July 26 in Toronto.