Considered a living Saint in her homeland, Amma, 50, has quietly gained an extraordinary reputation over the last 30 years as a result of the extensive charity institutions she has established. Sleeping merely a couple hours per day, she teaches by the constant example of her own life, emphasizing selfless social service. At the United Nations in Geneva, Amma was recognized with the prestigious Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence, an award previously given only to Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, and Dr. Jane Goodall.

“Mata Amritanandamayi…is fast becoming a world-renowned spiritual leader like Mother Teresa or Mohandas Gandhi.” (Reuters News).

At the invitation of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Amma addressed the United Nations at the Millennium World Peace Summit, in 2000 as part of a select delegation of “preeminent religious leaders”.

Free Public Programs, Darshan.
It is expected that thousands will visit Amma for her darshan programs. Darshan is a Sanskrit term describing “audience in the prescence of a holy person”. In a radical departure from Indian tradition (particularly for a woman), Amma’s darshan consists of a long tender embrace. She has been doing this, as a natural expression of love, since she was a teen. It is estimated that Amma has given approximately 24 million hugs in her life.

In India, vast crowds usually assemble to the point where Amma may individually receive and hug over 35,000 people in one day, sitting continuously. She will never turn anyone away, nor charge any money.

Timothy Conway, Ph.D., author of the book Women of Power and Grace and authority on spiritual figures, describes Amma as “one of the most glorious lights to appear in the history of religion. Just her stamina—embracing these millions of people one by one, day after day, without a break, all over the world—is some kind of divine gift. No mere human resources could accomplish this.”

At the Geneva UN gathering, Dr. Jane Goodall (sharing the podium with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the late Sergio Vieira de Mello) described Amma: “Here she stands before us, God’s love in human body.”

Humanitarian Institutions: “Compassion to the poor is our duty to God”
Amma’s humanitarian efforts extend via an expansive organization of two distinct types: 1) direct aid to the poor and 2) educational institutions designed to help the underprivileged help themselves. The latter include a vast network of elementary, secondary, vocational, and graduate schools ranging from remote tribal classrooms to advanced vocational certification (i.e. industrial engineering, computer sciences).

Direct aid activities include programs offering 25,000 homes for the poor, women’s shelters, monthly pension plans for widows, orphanages, hospices, clinics, and an extensive Gujarat Earthquake relief effort (including the “adoption” and reconstruction of three entire demolished villages)…just to name a few.

The most ambitious of these is the 800-bed Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) hospital, which offers state-of-the-art medical treatment including open-heart surgery, neurosurgery, and organ transplants—free of charge to the needy. Without operations, many poor would otherwise die.

In 2003, in recognition of Amma’s works, The President of India, the Honorable APJ Abdul Kalam bequeathed his entire salary as a donation to the poor, via Amma’s charities.

Mother’s Kitchen
In an effort to extend Amma’s example of volunteerism in the U.S., numerous charitable projects have been launched, the first being “Mother’s Kitchen,” a soup kitchen project for inner city poor. Since beginning in Oakland in 1996, the success of this initiative has expanded to 30 cities (including Oakland, San Francisco, and Nevada City) wherein local volunteers caringly prepare and serve thousands of meals on a weekly basis.

Unity of all great religions
Though born into the Hindu faith, Amma steadfastly supports all great religions, encouraging aspirants to go deeper in their own traditional path. “There is no harm in having many religions and faiths”, she says, “but it is harmful to think they are different, and that one faith is higher and another lower.” In her speech at the U.N., Amma described the real source of historical world conflict as “lack of awareness of our true nature”.

Personal History
Born in 1953, the daughter of a poor fisherman in the Kerala backwaters (a remote coastal area in South India along the Arabian Sea), Amma has heeded the call to help others since early childhood. At the age of ten, her schooling ended as she was forced into full time family chores. Though treated as a “household slave”, Amma dwelt in constant remembrance of God and never complained, although she adamantly refused to be married-off by her family.

As a young mystic, she began to attract crowds drawn to her God-intoxicated states. In the early phases of her life, she confronted a traditional Indian society, including members of her own family, who vehemently condemned her unconventional behavior. (In India, the notion of a young holy woman hugging strangers is so unorthodox that some even attempted to kill her). Amma did not waver in her direct compassionate approach, and eventually former detractors became supporters. Amma recently broke tradition by becoming the first recognized spiritual leader to allow women to serve as priests in the traditional temples.

Recognition in the West
In 1995 Amma was chosen as a featured speaker at the United Nations 50th Anniversary Commemoration, and in 1993 she was a selected President at the Centenary Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. Though well known throughout India, Amma has only recently become introduced to the western media, where she has been the subject of glowing news stories in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times, and as well as in lengthy TV stories from the likes of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX, BBC, etc. She speaks only in her native Malayalam tongue, but interviews can be arranged via a translator.

Program Schedule:
Free public program will take place beginning at 10am at the Sheraton Ferncroft Resort, 50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, MA 01923 with a quick meditation followed by darshan, which runs to mid-late afternoon. Evening Sessions begin at 7:30PM, with a talk (approx 40 min) followed by a unique set of devotional music (approx 90 minutes) led by Amma. Darshan begins around 9:30PM and goes late into the night according to the number of people present. Amma will not leave until everyone who wishes to receive her personal blessing has been received.

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