I am sitting here in my kitchen, listening to NPR.
Marketplace was just on, and I was actually only half-listening.
Then the last story came on and it totally caught my attention... It was a piece about
Amma, also known as the "
Hugging Saint."
What is this hugging saint business?
No, Amma is not dead, like a Catholic saint would be. Amma is quite alive and well according to the story. The story talked about her and her work, which is largely philanthropic.
No, Amma is not dead at all nor was she dead in the summer of 2006. I know this quite well for one reason.
I hugged her.
Or is it better put...
Amma hugged me.Yep. That is it.
So what was this Rosary toting Catholic doing at an Amma event? And getting hugged no less? Oh do let me tell you, should you care to know. If you don't care, that is cool. I am grateful to have my memory jogged and to be able to write about this one day in my life.
A woman I worked with invited me to come to see Amma with her.
(I was still in NYC at the time.) This woman, someone I was briefly close with, but not regularly in touch with now, is someone who was sent to me by the angels indeed. In our brief acquaintance, she really drew my attention to some amazing things and things that changed the course of my life. Thank you KW for that. I see her on FB now and then, that makes me happy. I always wish for good things for this person.
So KW invites me to come see Amma and I am totally game for this. Catholic or not, I love the spiritual, the esoteric, so that alone was enough for me. We met on a very, very hot day. KW was wearing all white, I had on red pants
(really fun red pants that I had bought on the beach in Eilat a few weeks earlier.) I came to realize that white was the way to go, but who knew? Oh well. My hug was not denied due to red trousers.
(Most people at Amma events wear white.)KW was insistent that we meet and go early and so we did. We got there and were directed to a line in order to get a ticket. Each ticket had some numbers and letters on it. I think ours was like J8 or something like that. Little did I know then that J8 at 8am would mean I would be getting my hug at 3:15.
The place was an old theatre in NYC. All the seats were removed from the main floor. At what would be the "back" of the theatre was a market of sorts, selling all sorts of Amma inspired goods. Saint or no saint - there are goods to be sold. And don't worry - you can
get some too. For good or ill, Amma's empire fuels many philanthropic causes - many causes. She was one of the first to spring into action after the tsunami in 2005 and did amazing things. Whatever -I am just saying.
(this is what it looked like, but this is not the place where I was.)
The middle bit had seats in it,but they were all taken. That said, the front was just open and we sat there on the floor and waited.
(KW had advised me to bring my yoga cushion, so I did.) There were talks going on up on the stage, music, slides and video. People were up and about and walking around. The time went quickly. We kept going back and forth to the shopping area. It was pretty cool. There were many people there, many from India and many other people as well.
In general the atmosphere was fun and there was a definite vibe of healing and spirituality in the air.
Finally it came time for Amma to come out and start her hugs. They started to call out number/letter combos to get in line. A1! A2! A3! and so forth. Remember, we are J8. I think it went from A1-10 and then B1-10, etc. And there were probably about 50 people per group. So it was a lot of people and a long, long time.
Then it was our time. My heart quickened. I went from not taking this so seriously to really wondering what this was all about. Now, I believe that God was made most manifest in Jesus Christ. I don't doubt however that God can be made manifest in many ways. Why not in Amma?
Amma's message is all about service and love - love and service, period. That is very clear from the start and I am always in need of love and trying to work out how to serve. My more basic selfish instincts are strong, so I like them challenged by these directives... Maybe I should say by these invitations. God never forces anyone to do anything ever, as I see it.
We are now in line. I am as nervous as a cat. I am praying as we slowly work our way up. Basically you kneel at Amma's feet - she is sitting in a low chair, close to the floor, sitting somewhat lotus-style.
She says something to you in Hindu
(I think it is Hindu), just a few words, she looks you directly in the eye in a way that I will never forget. The look Amma gives you is a look imbued with as much love as I can imagine. (
Fine, you can all think I've lost my mind, I am just telling you what happened to me.) Then she hugs you. It is the hug of the eternal mother-goddess-wisdom-healing-peace. It is a hug which envelops you completely and totally. It is the hug that changes your life.
One other element is that Amma has this scent - it is very Indian-Sandalwood-Incense like. To me it is like the
odor of sanctity, and I must say I found it spiritually sensual, moving and a big part of the experience.
Poof - and then it is over. The whole transaction is about 10 seconds long. Time simultaneously stood still for those 10 seconds and also sped ahead. It was amazing.
I will tell you this - something happened. I'll get to that in a minute.
When I was listening to Marketplace, it said that Amma was only 55. I would think she is about 80 - there was something profoundly grandmotherly, in the best sense of that term, about her. And that is what the hug is like - the grandmother of all grandmothers has come to heal you in the deepest places, where the wounds truly are.
So what happened? Well, being the sacramental person that I am, meaning that real presence and encounter mean everything to me, I can tell you that I experienced
something profound that day.
I don't believe in magic. Yes, each time I go to Catholic mass, I do believe in transubstantiation occurs and that I am consuming the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It isn't magic, it is transcendent and not at all supersticious to me.
Think of it as a chemical reaction if you will... Something changes and it does so profoundly. And for that change to take place, one must both give and receive in that sacramental moment during that encounter with the divine.
So something shifted in me that day. It wasn't just about Amma, but also about me and where I was at. I am deeply grateful, not just for the presence of KW in my life for a brief and powerful time, but for the great gifts she bestowed upon me, Amma being one of them.
The Marketplace story called Amma's fundraising
"recession-proof."And why wouldn't it be - in these times, perhaps rather than a dime, a hug is what is needed to be spared. And spared often, spared generously.
Amma, can you spare a hug?
That is It's Margaret - with +Gene, freshly taken!
(this is what it looked like, but this is not the place where I was.)
