Going along with my “Just Say Yes” principle for traveling in India, and perhaps now for life as well, I was invited by some friends I made in Tiruvannamalai to go with them to Amma’s ashram in Kerela. A stammering “maybe” followed by a “yes” emerged and a 2 hour taxi, a 12 hour sleeper train, and a 20 minute rickshaw later I find myself here at Amma’s ashram. Many of you may know of her, but if not, she is commonly referred to as “The Hugging Saint,” having hugged in the area of 30 million people over her lifetime. She does so tirelessly, sometimes 20 hours/day.
Anyway, I write because I had decided to not get a hug from Amma (they call it Darshan here) on my first day because I wanted to simply settle in first and get a feel for the place. So last night I went to sleep (sharing a room with two friends, Paul and Marcus from England) and in the middle of the night I had a dream. I didn’t remember it until I was walking to breakfast this morning, but in my dream I received Darshan from Amma and it was very powerful. In the dream I was being hugged by Amma and I was thinking that this is OK but that it didn’t seem like anything special. She then squeezed me tightly and held me for a long time and while she did so, there was an explosion of energy between our hearts accompanied by an incredibly brilliant white light, which settled into a light yet rich blue.
This morning, it feels to me like a deep love has passed between us and that there is a much more open space, physically, where my heart dwells in my chest. There is also more of an ease in my heart and less guardedness. I spent some time meditating in the temple this morning and tears came more easily than usual. I feel the need to rest a little in this place to integrate what happened last night. I got my Darshan token so I could have an actual hug from Amma today, but my heart tells me that I already was hugged by her and perhaps there is no need for anything more. The path of miracles unfolds again, and always they seem to come from the “yes.”
6 replies on “Nocturnal Amma Hug”
That’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing it. I’m glad you got your hug, but it would be wonderful to get another in person from Amma.Light and Love!
Wow Ted you are really covering the territory of the heart. I got hugged by Amma two years ago and she took one look at me (I was sobbing) and kept me at her side on the stage for two hours. Guess I was in a critical condition and required intensive care.Amma is a powerful Goddess, may you continue to be so wonderfully blessed on your journey, love Willow
You almost never say maybe!
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Dear Ted- I came to see your photography website by way of reading your comment about Amma. She will be in Chicago at the end of June 2010, I am glad to have the chance to experience what you did. Love the pictures, take care, thank you for following your heart.
I always motivated by you, your views and way of thinking, again, appreciate for this nice post.
– Mark