Thankful for Amma’s grace and the planetary alignment that enabled me to capture the Devi’s arrival to “AMMA Central” in Marlborough, Mass., I rushed back into the stark trade center for the start of the program.  Inside, the padapuja was underway, a traditional Hindu ceremony worshiping the feet of a guru. Amma’s senior disciple, Swami Amritaswarupananda, bathed her feet with blessed water, anointed her arches with oil, placed blossoms between her toes, then piled loose flower petals high on her feet.  Devotees adorned her with long garlands of brilliant blooms, one after another, until she seemed to be covered in flowers, then waved burning incense and oils before her.  All the while, chanters recited the 108 names of Mother.

(We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the padapuja, but check out this video of the ritual from Amritapuri TV, the Amma organization’s broadcasting network.)

‘Compassion Is Becoming Extinct’

When it was time for satsang, Amma delivered her teaching in her native language of Malayalam, and Swami Amritaswarupananda, one of her earliest followers, translated it.  A Spanish translation was shown on monitors mounted throughout the massive hall.  Amma would speak passionately and animatedly for 10 minutes or so, then Swami would interpret, and so on for about an hour. A combination of poor sound, an echoey hall, and Swami ‘s slight accent made it difficult to discern all the words, but the overall message was a familiar one.  Amma spoke of a society reeling in chaos and heartache because of a creeping lack of compassion, kindness and respect for one another.

“Compassion is becoming extinct,” she said. “Society without compassion is like a spacecraft without a booster rocket.  We need a booster rocket of compassion.”

She implored us to turn away from negative habits and cultivate an attitude of gratitude and understanding for all beings. She urged us to not “become our emotions,” and to practice meditation to control our reactions to life’s challenges.

“Emotions are like clouds in the sky,” she said. “They are always changing from moment to moment. We are not those fluffy clouds. We are the sky they pass through.” Meditation, she said, helps us be the sky.

Amma’s message is encapsulated in the oft-repeated Hindu prayer chant that has become the motto for her humanitarian organization (Embracing the World):  “Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu,” which translates roughly to “May all beings everywhere be happy and free.”  Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

7 Amma-isms to Live By

Speaking gently but firmly, with liberal sprinklings of parables, metaphors, and personal stories from her life, Amma spoke of love, intellect, ego, karma, and grace. Here are seven of our favorite quotes from the program:

“We are not individual islands, but links in a common chain.”

“Ego brings us bad karma. All of our actions should bring joy and happiness to others.”

“The intellect is like a sharp pair of scizzors cutting through the heart. Humility is more important than intellect.”

“Love gives meaning and sweetness to life.”

“We must all become lights in the lamp of the world.”

“Just like food and water, spiritual understanding is necessary for life.”

“Without grace, nothing is possible.”

When the satsang was over, Amma settled into her seat and her swamis took their places on stage around her.  Musicians appeared from the wings and joined the “band” on stage.  It was time to sing…

Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of blogs from our evening with Amma on July 14, 2012.  Please see the links at the end for the rest of the series. 

There is something surreal about driving into “AMMA Central” at the Best Western Royal Plaza and Trade Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts.  I was there to see Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, the spiritual leader and global humanitarian known simply as Amma (aka the “Hugging Saint”).  It was the first Public Program in the last stop of her annual US tour.

The first thing you see upon arrival is a huge flashing marquee declaring “NEW ENGLAND WELCOMES AMMA.”  This somehow reminded me of the signs you see in convention towns, like “San Diego Welcomes CPAs.”

The trade center itself  is a cavernous industrial space with concrete floors, bright flourescent lighting and stark white-tile walls reminiscent of a train-station bathroom.  It felt a bit incongruous with the spirit of satsang (spiritual discourse) and darshan (blessing) from a woman revered as an avatar of the Divine Mother herself.

The Amma Phenomenon

Whether or not you buy into that belief, to sit with Amma in satsang, to sing age-old bhajans (devotional songs) along with her and to witness her darshan — hugging 1,000+ people of all ages, colors, and religious backgrounds for hours on end and straight through the night — is to witness a contemporary Spiritual Phenomenon, unfolding before your eyes.  It’s hard not to be spellbound by it all.

This was only my second time being hugged by Amma, a plump brown-skinned South Indian woman with smiling eyes and the compassionate, nurturing nature of everyone’s favorite aunt.  I have to admit, the first time I went to see her — last year in Marlborough, for Devi Bhava, the extravagant ritual that caps off each of her multi-day tour stops — I went mostly out of an innate fascination with this kind of “spiritual spectacle” (no disrespect meant).  It’s the same curiosity that has drawn me to events like John of God at Omega or even Deepak Chopra conferences; the sense that something’s happening here — the seeds of societal transformation perhaps? — that seems really important yet is unknown to the vast majority of society.  I had gone to Devi Bhava with my reporter’s cap on, determined to objectively review this “Amma Phenomenon” and see for myself what all the fuss was about.  (That story is coming soon…)

That was last year, almost to the day.  This time around, I went with a lens cap as well as my reporter’s cap, packing a press pass from the Amma organization and my new Nikon D3100 SLR with a 300 mm zoom (almost a real camera!).  My goal:  immerse in the bhav of Amma’s blessings, and come out with a few good photos, maybe even a little video.  I was particularly excited to experience Amma singing bhajans, something she didn’t do at the Devi Bhava I attended.

Graced by the Goddess

Clear on what I could and could not shoot (press operate under specific restrictions), I headed outside to try to catch Amma’s arrival to the center.  With no time to spare, I situated myself at the far end of the red carpet that had been stretched between the parking lot and the side door to the hall, and proceeded to set up my shot through the viewfinder.

Instantly, a staff person approached me.  He greeted me cordially (“Om Namah Shivaya”), inspected my (way-too-small) press-pass/nametag, and politely asked who had “authorized” me.  (Anyone holding a camera at an Amma event gets scrutinized — I was approached two dozen more times over the next couple hours). The staffer scurried back to the orange-robed swamis — Amma’s senior disciples — and a discreet conversation ensued as I watched, somewhat trepidatiously, from the other end of the carpet.  After some consultation among the group, I was given a decidedly unenthusiastic thumbs-up, but with a smile that assured me all was okay.  Whew.

A moment later, Amma pulled up in a white sedan.

The planets aligned and the crowd parted just long enough for me to snap a few clear shots of her coming down the red carpet, radiant in a gown of pure white, arms outstretched to touch the hands of the devotees who reached for her from both sides.  She looked straight at me and smiled, gracing me with The Perfect Shot — and taking my objective reporter’s breath away.

I put my camera down as she neared and reached my hand out to meet hers.  An indefinable warmth settled over me, a feeling that all really was okay…

But I didn’t have time to bask in it for long.  Inside, the padapuja was underway…