Mata Amritanandamayi “Amma” smiles during a “Darshan” in Toronto. She is also referred to as the “Hugging Saint”. (Pictures by Mahesh Abeyewardene)
Watch your tongue since a single word may cause a lethal ripple effect around the world, says Mata Amritanandamayi, “Amma”, at a Darshan held in Richmond Hill, Ontario, during her eighth visit to Canada recently.
For Amma, also known as the ‘Hugging Saint’ for the loving embrace she gives everybody who attends her ‘Darshans’, the world is like a net, when shaken in one place, the vibration is felt throughout.
A volunteer gestures as Canadian actress Lisa Ray is seen shortly after meeting Amma.
“One word uttered by a person can cause a lot of problems in the world. It can manifest itself in all sorts of violence. We have to be very careful when we say something or act – we have to be alert,” Amma told The Sri Lanka Reporter through her interpreter Swami Amritswarup as hundreds gathered in a line for a Darshan (embrace).
Canadian actress Lisa Ray was seen in the crowd, grasping an apple and a packet of ash given to her by Amma following an embrace. The actress successfully battled against multiple myeloma and declared herself cancer-free in April.
HIGH DIVORCE RATES, ISOLATED LIVES
Many people who were battling illness attended the Darshan while more devotees thronged the hotel banquet hall to seek compassion and connection in an increasingly individualistic world.
Volunteer Thiru Mahesan (Center) with Amma during a Darshan.
“As divorce rates as high as they are, people say they don’t feel connected. Even in the same household family members live like isolated islands,” said Daniel Marshall, a volunteer who travels with Amma.
“In reality, we are not isolated islands, but links in chain. That link is won by love and Amma is trying to offer unconditional motherly love. That’s what most people need”. She says we need to awaken that feeling in all of us so we can share it with others. People think the key to happiness is to fulfill one’s own desires, that is true to an extent. However, we shouldn’t forget about the desires and needs of other people,” Marshall added. Amma has hugged more than 25 million people so far.
SRI LANKA VISIT IN 2006
Amma visited around four villages in a three-day visit to Sri Lanka following 2004 Asian tsunami disaster. According to Amma’s charity Embracing the World, both government soldiers and LTTE cadres attended her Darshan in Ampara. Around 96 homes she funded were built by 2007.
