I rode on the overhead luggage rack overnight from Pondicherry to see Amma, the "hugging saint." There were a few lawless drunks in my car and so I only let myself fall asleep halfway, clutching my bags the entire time. Although it was the second time now that I've ridden long distance in 2nd-class unreserved, it was the first time doing so overnight, which was an altogether different experience. There were far fewer passengers on the overnight, but the diversity in the people was about the same. The first time, I was in the middle of a 5-person sandwich trying to fit on a bench for 4. It was miserable. Eventually, I caught on to riding on the overhead luggage rack, but I found myself feeling very isolated from the rest of the passengers.
I think having just read an biography on Amma, and learning about her message of human unity, and spending 3 weeks in Auroville, and intentional community that also has the same vision for its purpose, I found myself actually enjoying the different characters this time. The practice is to see yourself as the same as others. So when I saw an old wrinkled lady, I'd say to myself, "Wow, I'm really old and wrinkled. I'm probably going to die soon." When I'd hear Indian women talking so loud they seemed like they are screaming at each other, I'd again remind myself, "I'm really loud, but I guess this is normal here."
The observations continued.
"I'm drunk. I'm crazy. I'm crippled. I'm diseased. I'm starving. I'm deformed."
Realizing, that if I wasn't so lucky, I could have been born as any of these other people, really helped me to accept them and practice compassion. Especially in India, people who are born in lower classes don't have any many chances to succeed. In many ways, they can't be held responsible for where they are at in life, so to judge them, would be to make a false assumption.
Speaking of assumptions, I hope you're not making one now in regards to how realized I think I am in this practice. This is not just something that we can decide on. Most of us have grown up in places where we are conditioned to see ourselves as being separate from one another. We have to work hard, develop ourselves, and compete with others in order to succeed. To undo this conditioning, we have to do the work, and it takes time. I still found myself being annoyed by the loud people and disgusted by the deformed freaks, but then, if I was mindful, I'd remind myself that I'm essentially no different. We are all in one human family, and inside of us, we all have beating hearts. When the judgments, come, you can then practice being aware of the judgments, simply by labeling them as so. In this way, we can practice mindfulness, acceptance, compassion, and non-duality all at the same time, and it can really help to make a somewhat uncomfortable situation more manageable.
When I arrived at the Yesvantur station in Bangalore, I knew I had to take one last short distance train to Bangalore City station. I found out what platform I could expect the train on, and made the mistake of boarding the first train with a "Bangalore City" sign on it and didn't realize the mistake until it was too late. After we left the station, I was feeling a little uncertain about my decision and asked a guy who seemed friendly enough to help. "No, this train just came from Bangalore City, and is now going in the wrong direction. The next stop is an hour out."
I had to act quickly, as we were getting farther and farther from where I need to go. I stood in the open doorway, looking down over the large jagged rocks go by the line the tracks. I was feeling sick to my stomach. I had a couchsurfing host lined up and plans to meet him at the Bangalore City station an hour later. If I had to wait another hour to get off the train I was on, and then possibly wait some time for the next train going back to Yesvanpur, I was going to be really late and possibly miss out on the opportunity to have a nice place to crash for 2 nights.
I knew the train was going too fast to jump, so I decided that if it slowed down a bit, I'd take my chances. I had my big pack on, and a smaller backpack on my chest. The train slowed down. Unsure if I could "run it out," I made a leap of faith. As it turned out, we were going too fast to run it out, and with the two bags on, I was probably too awkward to do so anyhow. I took one step with my left foot and slammed down hard on the rocks. I put my left hand down to catch my fall, and then the right side of my body took the rest of the impact as I sort of rolled and bounced up. It was about 6:30 in the morning, and I hadn't slept much the night before, and my frame of mind was needless to say, a bit delirious. The shock of what I had just done left me stunned, and my reaction was just to start laughing.
As soon as I got myself a few feet from the passing train, I looked up and made eye contact with the conductor, who had somewhat ironically slowed way down, probably also in shock at what he had just seen. His eyes were big and so was the smile on my face. It was only after the train wizzed by that I felt the pain. I had already started to book it back, not wanting to waste any time, and realized that I had a pretty good limp going. Still in shock, I just kept moving. I looked down at my left had and realized that it was bleeding pretty bad, and had been cut in a few places. I was wearing two shirts, and could see a little blood coming through on top of my right shoulder. My knee hurt too, but the long pants I was wearing prevented the skin from breaking. It was only after looking in a mirror later that I realized I also had a red spot and a bump on the side of my head.
I was still in good enough condition to jog back to the station, and caught the next train to Bangalore City. Whenever a beggar approached, I'd just smile and hold up my bloody left hand and they'd instantly turn around. I guess them seeing me banged up sort of put us on the same level, which somehow made the practice of seeing myself in others complete. I took advantage of the free medical clinic at the station and got myself cleaned up. The young doctor was really friendly, but couldn't accept the fact that I was from the US and wasn't a Christian. He cleaned me up, gave me a free cup of chai, let me use his cell phone, and added me on facebook before making me promise to take another look at the Bible before he let me go.
My couchsurfing host's meeting ended up going a bit longer than expected, so he had me take a short rickshaw trip to the hotel where he was and wait in the lobby. The place was super nice, probably 5 star, and had a badass doorman that had huge chops and was super friendly. I kind of just walked in and made myself at home, and the service was so good that they didn't treat me any differently for looking like a hobo and sitting in the lobby with my bags for an hour or so. They even gave me the password for the wi-fi, and so I took advantage.
My couchsurfing host ended up being a really nice guy who is well-off and has made me feel right at home. I even have my own bedroom with private bathroom and he had his assistant/maid make all of our meals yesterday. Today, I woke up early and went clear across the city to Mata Amritanadnamayi Math Ashram, to see Amma and participate in her Darshan.
Darshan is a Sanskrit word that means something like an auspicious viewing. Basically, this Amma woman is believed to be one with the divine, and travels the world so her devotees can come to see her at these events. In the morning, there is a program of Bhajans (devotional singing) and a few different people who give a talk. Then, in the afternoon, she starts the hugging. She gets her nickname from the fact that she hugs each devotee, one by one, every time. What this means, when thousands come to see her, is that there is a line of people waiting to be hugged that can last late into the night. Apparently, she was still hugging last night at 3am.
The reason why I dropped everything at Sadhana Forest to come 10 hours overnight to be hugged by this woman is that the experience is said to be nothing shy of magical. After having been hugged by her tonight, I can't disagree. She is an endless source of compassion and love, embracing each devotee as if she was full of energy and there is nothing else in the world she'd rather be doing. Just watching the line of people and the mass surrounding her made me uneasy. I was tired and my cue to get in line wasn't until about 7 hours after the hugging began. To my surprise, by the time I got to her, she was just as enthusiastic and present as she was for the very first person.
She wore the biggest smile on her face that one could ever wear, and the fact that it lasted as long as it did was an indication of just how genuine it was. How is it possible for someone to sit there, cross-legged, for such a period of time, hugging random strangers, and not have to get up to use the bathroom or take any sort of break? The only food she would eat was if one of her devotees brought a piece of candy or something in which she would just pop it in her mouth. She would eat anything you brought her, even though her entourage was almost like a Hindu version of the secret service. She is very well protected, but once you see her, she has complete trust in you.
There are stories of people who have tried to kill her, and anyone who wants her dead is just as welcome in her eyes as those who love her. She really does treat each and every person the same, as a child of God. Those who have tried to harm her have never succeeded, except for her own family as she was growing up. They basically made her the servant of the family and beat her mercilessly until it was obvious who and what she really was. One time, a man came to poison her, and knowing that it was poison, she still drank it, and continued hugging as if nothing happened. A few minutes later, she apparently turned to the side and vomited out the poison and carried on with her Darshan. Another time, her cousin tried to stab her in the chest with a knife. As the tip of the knife reached her skin, the man froze, and suffered severe pain the same area on his own body that had tried to stab Amma in. He later ended up dying from this strange injury, but not before she forgave him for trying to kill her. She said that he had to pay the consequences for his actions, but she never treated him differently before he passed.
I'm not here to say whether or not Amma is in fact one with the divine, but just that this woman is truly special and that if you ever get an opportunity to go see her, I highly recommend it. The actual experience of going on stage and hugging her was something I'll never forget. She is just like a child, full of life and completely spontaneous. While interacting with a kid a few feet in front of me, she bugged out her eyes and made the craziest face I've ever seen. I couldn't stop laughing, and when it came time my turn, I felt as though I had entered a dream. The look on her face was as though she was possessed, which in a way, is exactly what many believe her to be, possessed by God.
According to her website, she has hugged 32 million people worldwide and visited 20 countries last year alone. I don't expect you to have any sort of blind faith in her, neither did I. That's why I knew I had to come see for myself, and although I didn't have any expectations, I wasn't disappointed. It's not something that looks good on paper, it's an experience. It's something that only the heart can know and the mind will never understand. If nothing else, it is proof of the kindness and compassion of the human spirit, someone who had devoted their entire life for others, without expecting anything in return. This is good-will, without a trace of the ego, and something that we can all be inspired by. I know I am, and I can only hope that my future actions will show it. If nothing else, I'm setting the intention now to practice seeing the good in people, seeing our inherent oneness, and treating others accordingly.
Learn more about Amma's future travel plans and humanitarian programs at:
www.amma.org
I think having just read an biography on Amma, and learning about her message of human unity, and spending 3 weeks in Auroville, and intentional community that also has the same vision for its purpose, I found myself actually enjoying the different characters this time. The practice is to see yourself as the same as others. So when I saw an old wrinkled lady, I'd say to myself, "Wow, I'm really old and wrinkled. I'm probably going to die soon." When I'd hear Indian women talking so loud they seemed like they are screaming at each other, I'd again remind myself, "I'm really loud, but I guess this is normal here."
The observations continued.
"I'm drunk. I'm crazy. I'm crippled. I'm diseased. I'm starving. I'm deformed."
Realizing, that if I wasn't so lucky, I could have been born as any of these other people, really helped me to accept them and practice compassion. Especially in India, people who are born in lower classes don't have any many chances to succeed. In many ways, they can't be held responsible for where they are at in life, so to judge them, would be to make a false assumption.
Speaking of assumptions, I hope you're not making one now in regards to how realized I think I am in this practice. This is not just something that we can decide on. Most of us have grown up in places where we are conditioned to see ourselves as being separate from one another. We have to work hard, develop ourselves, and compete with others in order to succeed. To undo this conditioning, we have to do the work, and it takes time. I still found myself being annoyed by the loud people and disgusted by the deformed freaks, but then, if I was mindful, I'd remind myself that I'm essentially no different. We are all in one human family, and inside of us, we all have beating hearts. When the judgments, come, you can then practice being aware of the judgments, simply by labeling them as so. In this way, we can practice mindfulness, acceptance, compassion, and non-duality all at the same time, and it can really help to make a somewhat uncomfortable situation more manageable.
When I arrived at the Yesvantur station in Bangalore, I knew I had to take one last short distance train to Bangalore City station. I found out what platform I could expect the train on, and made the mistake of boarding the first train with a "Bangalore City" sign on it and didn't realize the mistake until it was too late. After we left the station, I was feeling a little uncertain about my decision and asked a guy who seemed friendly enough to help. "No, this train just came from Bangalore City, and is now going in the wrong direction. The next stop is an hour out."
I had to act quickly, as we were getting farther and farther from where I need to go. I stood in the open doorway, looking down over the large jagged rocks go by the line the tracks. I was feeling sick to my stomach. I had a couchsurfing host lined up and plans to meet him at the Bangalore City station an hour later. If I had to wait another hour to get off the train I was on, and then possibly wait some time for the next train going back to Yesvanpur, I was going to be really late and possibly miss out on the opportunity to have a nice place to crash for 2 nights.
I knew the train was going too fast to jump, so I decided that if it slowed down a bit, I'd take my chances. I had my big pack on, and a smaller backpack on my chest. The train slowed down. Unsure if I could "run it out," I made a leap of faith. As it turned out, we were going too fast to run it out, and with the two bags on, I was probably too awkward to do so anyhow. I took one step with my left foot and slammed down hard on the rocks. I put my left hand down to catch my fall, and then the right side of my body took the rest of the impact as I sort of rolled and bounced up. It was about 6:30 in the morning, and I hadn't slept much the night before, and my frame of mind was needless to say, a bit delirious. The shock of what I had just done left me stunned, and my reaction was just to start laughing.
As soon as I got myself a few feet from the passing train, I looked up and made eye contact with the conductor, who had somewhat ironically slowed way down, probably also in shock at what he had just seen. His eyes were big and so was the smile on my face. It was only after the train wizzed by that I felt the pain. I had already started to book it back, not wanting to waste any time, and realized that I had a pretty good limp going. Still in shock, I just kept moving. I looked down at my left had and realized that it was bleeding pretty bad, and had been cut in a few places. I was wearing two shirts, and could see a little blood coming through on top of my right shoulder. My knee hurt too, but the long pants I was wearing prevented the skin from breaking. It was only after looking in a mirror later that I realized I also had a red spot and a bump on the side of my head.
I was still in good enough condition to jog back to the station, and caught the next train to Bangalore City. Whenever a beggar approached, I'd just smile and hold up my bloody left hand and they'd instantly turn around. I guess them seeing me banged up sort of put us on the same level, which somehow made the practice of seeing myself in others complete. I took advantage of the free medical clinic at the station and got myself cleaned up. The young doctor was really friendly, but couldn't accept the fact that I was from the US and wasn't a Christian. He cleaned me up, gave me a free cup of chai, let me use his cell phone, and added me on facebook before making me promise to take another look at the Bible before he let me go.
My couchsurfing host's meeting ended up going a bit longer than expected, so he had me take a short rickshaw trip to the hotel where he was and wait in the lobby. The place was super nice, probably 5 star, and had a badass doorman that had huge chops and was super friendly. I kind of just walked in and made myself at home, and the service was so good that they didn't treat me any differently for looking like a hobo and sitting in the lobby with my bags for an hour or so. They even gave me the password for the wi-fi, and so I took advantage.
My couchsurfing host ended up being a really nice guy who is well-off and has made me feel right at home. I even have my own bedroom with private bathroom and he had his assistant/maid make all of our meals yesterday. Today, I woke up early and went clear across the city to Mata Amritanadnamayi Math Ashram, to see Amma and participate in her Darshan.
Darshan is a Sanskrit word that means something like an auspicious viewing. Basically, this Amma woman is believed to be one with the divine, and travels the world so her devotees can come to see her at these events. In the morning, there is a program of Bhajans (devotional singing) and a few different people who give a talk. Then, in the afternoon, she starts the hugging. She gets her nickname from the fact that she hugs each devotee, one by one, every time. What this means, when thousands come to see her, is that there is a line of people waiting to be hugged that can last late into the night. Apparently, she was still hugging last night at 3am.
The reason why I dropped everything at Sadhana Forest to come 10 hours overnight to be hugged by this woman is that the experience is said to be nothing shy of magical. After having been hugged by her tonight, I can't disagree. She is an endless source of compassion and love, embracing each devotee as if she was full of energy and there is nothing else in the world she'd rather be doing. Just watching the line of people and the mass surrounding her made me uneasy. I was tired and my cue to get in line wasn't until about 7 hours after the hugging began. To my surprise, by the time I got to her, she was just as enthusiastic and present as she was for the very first person.
She wore the biggest smile on her face that one could ever wear, and the fact that it lasted as long as it did was an indication of just how genuine it was. How is it possible for someone to sit there, cross-legged, for such a period of time, hugging random strangers, and not have to get up to use the bathroom or take any sort of break? The only food she would eat was if one of her devotees brought a piece of candy or something in which she would just pop it in her mouth. She would eat anything you brought her, even though her entourage was almost like a Hindu version of the secret service. She is very well protected, but once you see her, she has complete trust in you.
There are stories of people who have tried to kill her, and anyone who wants her dead is just as welcome in her eyes as those who love her. She really does treat each and every person the same, as a child of God. Those who have tried to harm her have never succeeded, except for her own family as she was growing up. They basically made her the servant of the family and beat her mercilessly until it was obvious who and what she really was. One time, a man came to poison her, and knowing that it was poison, she still drank it, and continued hugging as if nothing happened. A few minutes later, she apparently turned to the side and vomited out the poison and carried on with her Darshan. Another time, her cousin tried to stab her in the chest with a knife. As the tip of the knife reached her skin, the man froze, and suffered severe pain the same area on his own body that had tried to stab Amma in. He later ended up dying from this strange injury, but not before she forgave him for trying to kill her. She said that he had to pay the consequences for his actions, but she never treated him differently before he passed.
I'm not here to say whether or not Amma is in fact one with the divine, but just that this woman is truly special and that if you ever get an opportunity to go see her, I highly recommend it. The actual experience of going on stage and hugging her was something I'll never forget. She is just like a child, full of life and completely spontaneous. While interacting with a kid a few feet in front of me, she bugged out her eyes and made the craziest face I've ever seen. I couldn't stop laughing, and when it came time my turn, I felt as though I had entered a dream. The look on her face was as though she was possessed, which in a way, is exactly what many believe her to be, possessed by God.
According to her website, she has hugged 32 million people worldwide and visited 20 countries last year alone. I don't expect you to have any sort of blind faith in her, neither did I. That's why I knew I had to come see for myself, and although I didn't have any expectations, I wasn't disappointed. It's not something that looks good on paper, it's an experience. It's something that only the heart can know and the mind will never understand. If nothing else, it is proof of the kindness and compassion of the human spirit, someone who had devoted their entire life for others, without expecting anything in return. This is good-will, without a trace of the ego, and something that we can all be inspired by. I know I am, and I can only hope that my future actions will show it. If nothing else, I'm setting the intention now to practice seeing the good in people, seeing our inherent oneness, and treating others accordingly.
Learn more about Amma's future travel plans and humanitarian programs at:
www.amma.org
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