In late afternoon heat swamped Kerala, walking carefully along the main street with a bundle of pineapple, finger bananas and samosas, I was struck by the idea of busing south to get a blessing from the hugging saint. Now, the timing was perfect as, only the day before, we had completed planning and paying for a cool mountain getaway in the opposite direction. Hmm.
A few hours of chauffeured careening along the palm canopied highway south, we jumped out, late evening, at the foot of a massive granite bridge connecting the roadway with the ashram grounds. We traversed the bridge, passed through the gates and, like Alice, left the world behind. At 54, I had few notions of the world community ever becoming the excellent, whole, spiritual family of the dreams of my activist youth when boom, here I was feet first in the family of Amma. I was swept up.
The peace, the chanting, the slow moving crowds, the extravagant icons sucked the sourness from my heart which I was holding gently in my outstretched hands. We walked into the gathering hall and welcomed the rhythm of the chanting and drums, the sound of the India of my western fantasies. In the center of a grouping of followers and supporters sat Amma, singing and waving her arms, a playful child-like spirit, the mother goddess, the saint.
I can ask myself, “Self, I thought you had no strong notions about these things?” I placed myself openly in front of a warm loving spirit who had hugged millions of souls just like me, presented warily, and driven by spirit. Amma hugged me. I changed. I became willing to acknowledge and could personally express the experience of being close to one human being who sees past and reaches beyond the mediocre to touch and participate in the realm of love we usually reserve for the gods. The saint holding me in her arms confirmed that I am the only one holding me back from being love in my life, my family and my community.
Amma’s ashram revolved around the message, the hugs and the thousands of local people touched on a daily basis by her tangible works in health care and housing. I watched a family bring their newborn child to be touched by Amma, securing the same warming for this child, as early as possible, preparing her path. Today, my body is here on the other side of the world, though now, my roots are planted in the shores of Kerala.
