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Meet the saint who hugs all

CHANDIGARH: All that this violence-filled world needs to set things right is love.

Meet the saint who hugs all

A yajna being conducted at the Exhibition Ground in Sector 34, Chandigarh, on Friday. Tribune photo



Sai R Vaidyanathan

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 16

All that this violence-filled world needs to set things right is love. And no love is purer than that of a mother for her child. Unfortunately, we — on growing up — forget this simple, yet profound truth.

But all is not lost. Just as a child can run up to his mother, climb on her lap, cling to her bosom and speak his heart out, residents of the tricity will get to meet Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, lovingly called Amma.

She will not only remind the tricity about a mother’s unconditional love, but also demonstrate it by embracing one and all.

“Tears flow out uncontrollably out of many people’s eyes when they approach Amma,” said Nihsima Sandhu from Punjab who met the world-renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader during her visit to the US.

“When Amma meets devotees, no distance separates the two. She gathers everyone in a tight embrace — one at a time — without any break or rest till the last man standing in the queue,” said Brahmchari Amit from Jammu. In the past 30 years, Amma has comforted over 37 million people.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam once asked Mata Amritanandamayi about her unending energy. She is said to have answered: “I am connected to the transformer above. I am not a battery that needs regular recharge!”

From 11 am on March 18, Amma will embark on a marathon session of meeting “her children” — rich and poor, the ruler and the ruled — at the Exhibition Ground, Sector 34, Chandigarh. Governor and Chief Minister of Haryana Kaptan Singh Solanki and Manohar Lal Khattar, respectively, and Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh will also meet her at the venue.

Amma will also announce several new social projects for the villages she has adopted in the region — Maira in Hoshiarpur district (Punjab), Indpur in Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh), and Pandori in Kathua district (Jammu and Kashmir).

The Mata Amritanandamayi Math has been conducting a range of social work in these villages, including tuition centres for students, tailoring classes for women, construction of toilets, yoga classes, health check-ups for residents, planting of trees etc.

“Like a mother, Amma sets things right for her children despite having a language barrier in between,” said Ashok Gandhi who hails from Kurukshetra.

“Amma is able to communicate through the language of love because she understands people’s hearts—their deep-seated sorrows, their hidden pains. And just as importantly, she also knows how to forever heal those hearts as well,” said Amma’s head disciple Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri.

Mamta Singhal from Mumbai said, “For my first meeting with Amma, I was late. In 1993, her programme was in Pune. I and my family got delayed on the way and by the time we reached, the event had ended. As our car entered, we saw a dark woman in a white sari and a glowing nose pin coming towards us barefoot. It was as if she knew that we were coming to meet her and had overstayed at the venue for us.”

Jani from Israel has been with Amma ever since she met her in the US in 1987. “I have travelled with Mata Amritanandamayi all over the world. I know that she is one who walks the talk.”

“The feeling of being hugged by Amma cannot be described in words. It has to be experienced — just as the tongue can experience sweetness but cannot describe it,” says Veda from Ireland. “On Sunday, the tricity has the opportunity to be hugged by Amma. I hope you won’t miss it,” she said.

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