You are mesmerized as you watch a small Indian woman dressed in a simple white sari take each person in the line before you into her arms, beam at them and then embrace them as if she was their own mother. Before you know it you are in her arms and she is whispering, “My darling child. My darling child. My darling child.” in your mother tongue no matter which part of the world you grew up in. The hug ends sooner than you would like and in your hand, you find a rose petal and a chocolate. You feel happy and peaceful…almost joyful.

This is the basic storyline that many share after meeting Amma for the first time. She has been traveling the world embracing people for 26 years and has hugged nearly 32 million people to date. “When people come to see me, I understand how much they are suffering,” explains Amma. “When I see them crying, I wipe their tears. My main goal is to console them and help them experience peace and love.”

Growing up,  Amma expressed great compassion for the suffering and needy. While the embraces have always been a draw, Amma has emphasized the need for volunteer service and the reach of her humanitarian efforts has become truly remarkable. What started as a young girl collecting food scraps to feed the hungry in her village, today is a global organization that has been recognized by the United Nations.

Amma’s international collective of charities, Embracing the World, is active in 30 countries and has spent over $50 million in disaster relief, responding immediately to earthquakes in Japan, Haiti and India, the 2004 South Asian Tsunami  and Hurricane Katrina in the United States. There is free medical care, orphanages in Kerala and Kenya, pensions for widows and disabled people, environmental protection groups, care homes for the elderly and scholarships for the young.
    
“Om Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu is one of the most important mantras of Ancient India,” says Amma. “It means may all the beings in the world be peaceful and happy. The spirit of this mantra has been put into action.”
    
For Amma’s part, she sees no end to her mission embracing those who come to her and expanding her humanitarian work. Amma says that she is trying to awaken love and compassion, qualities that she feels are essential for world peace and harmony. “In today’s world, people experience two types of poverty: the poverty caused by lack of food, clothing and shelter, and the poverty caused by lack of love and compassion,” Amma says. “Of these two, the second type needs to be considered first because if we have love and compassion in our hearts, then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food, clothing and shelter.”

The recently opened MA Center New England located in Boylston, MA  will  bring people together for humanitarian work throughout New England and will also be a residential facility. The center plans to hold regular satsangs, mediation and yoga classes and community service projects. Boylston was selected as a location for the center because it is a beautiful community and residents and officials seem to be accepting of the humanitarian center.

Amma will be in the Boston area from July 14-17th offering darshan in the unique form of a loving embrace. Amma has hugged 32 million people in 20 countries around the world. All are welcome to attend. Programs include inspirational music, meditation, spiritual discourse, and personal blessings.

Free programs are on July 14th at 10am and 7:30pm and July 17th at 7pm at the Best Western, 181 Boston Post Road West in Marlborough, MA.

Numbered tokens for individual blessings are distributed one hour before programs begin. Tokens are limited by time constraints.

For more information, please visit www.ammanewengland.org, call 781-519-2297or email ammanewengland@gmail.com

For  information on Amma's charitable activities, please visit http://embracingtheworld.org/ 

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