The Power of An Embrace
La Stampa (Italy)
-- Patrizio Romano
November 2002
Thousands have come to Collegno to be hugged, to be embraced by
Amma. And for three days - Wednesday to yesterday [Friday] - the
Palazzetto dello Sport (indoor stadium) took on the hues of India
during the Italian stop on the European tour of this 49-year-old
woman, born in a small village on the western coast of the South
of India (Kerala) and who's been travelling around the world for
almost 30 years now.
Her charitable foundation has built hospitals, rest homes, schools,
homes for the needy and orphanages. "We don't ask people for
anything, you can come here to get darshan (Amma's embrace) and
then go away without paying anything," explains swami Rama
Krishna. "Of course, there are cases of gurus that exploit
the weaknesses and problems of people, but not Amma." And all
those stalls, a bit like a seaside promenade? "All revenue
goes towards charity work," says the swami, with his olive
skin, long beard and orange dot on his forehead. And Amma? "She
sleeps very little, just over an hour a night, eats like a little
bird and spends her time comforting people, relieving them of their
problems."
Amma (don't dare call her a "guru"!), sitting on a draped
armchair, welcomes all. They come from all over the North of Italy,
by car and train. And they make the last few meters towards her
on their knees. Then the embrace. "What am I looking for?"
- asks Luigi Pescini (45) from Brescia. "Her happiness. My
wife's left me, after 26 years... Perhaps Amma can give me back
that energy I've lost and open up my heart again." A single,
simple hug.
Thursday evening, 7:30 PM, the Palazzetto is full, more than a
thousand are waiting to see Amma. And then, when she enters, they
all stand and line up on either side as she passes. They touch her,
just brushing her, as though she were a living divinity. They greet
her in silence with their hands held together in prayer. She smiles
in her white gown, surrounded by swamis, her monks in orange robes.
She goes up onto the stage and sits in the "lotus" position.
Below, on the floor and stands, young and old alike, families and
groups of friends watch her and smile, like finding an old friend.
"I first met here in '94 in Assisi," says Roberta (44)
from Milan. "I was a bit sceptical, I thought she was a simple
fishmonger, what with all that folklore. I still see that now, but
it's fallen into the background. Because what strikes you is the
sincerity of this woman and her love."
Silence. The meeting starts. A young disciple tells of her own
experience. "I bow to the feet and will of Amma," she
says. "She gave me my first embrace in a state of grace. For
her sake, I gave up drinking and so here I am today." Silence.
Around the edges of the hall, the stalls bearing portraits of Amma,
books, T-shirts and Indian objects are all covered with red sheets.
This is the moment for reflection.
She starts to speak. Only children have the right to run and play.
"We're like that man on the train who doesn't want to set down
his suitcase, saying "I've only paid for me"," explains
Amma. "But God is the train and carries both, so just trust
your burdens, your anxieties to him. Let's learn how to abandon
ourselves in Him."
Meanwhile, outside, people continue to arrive. They leave their
shoes in a large tent outside the entrance. "We're a group
of six from Bergamo," says Corrado Salvi (30), a sales rep.
"Yes, it's true. Many come here to find a solution to their
problems, at times very serious. Do they find it? When it's meant
to be, they do. For me, it's just a lovely experience. Different
each time."
Back in the hall, the notes of Bhajans can be heard, the devotional
songs. The most faithful sing, reading the words written in Indian
in their books. Others just listen and clap their hands in time
with the rhythm set by Amma with her two wooden sticks. "Put
your notebook down and just enjoy it. Only that way can you understand
it," says a young girl, before returning to her singing. Who
knows. "It's difficult to explain what you feel," says
Maria Montaro (28), a graphic designer from Turin. "A strong
emotion, but everyone has their own way of experiencing it. No,
I'm not expecting anything."
For some, Amma is the end to a human and professional search. "I'm
a psychotherapist," says Silvana Dallera (49) from Milan. "And
both my work and my life are a constant search for comprehension
and the realization of oneself. Amma? It's been the first real embrace
I've ever had: neither my mother nor any of my loves have ever given
me so much. Afterwards, I cried: I just surrendered myself to her."
The room becomes dark, the "Puja" (purifying rite) starts,
followed by meditation. Just candles light up the faces of the "faithful".
Then the light comes back on, the stalls are uncovered and the "darshan"
starts. All in line for a hug. Hundreds of them. Just a few seconds
in Amma's arms, then a sweet and rose petal. "It's the first
time," confesses Marilena Lamberti (43), a nurse from Fossano.
"I'm looking for help. She seems to have so much strength and
so much love." "My mother told me about her," says
Claudia Calascione (22) from Collegno. "What am I searching
for? A word of love." And so she joins the queue: number 500.
But "mamma" Amma continues all night long. The power
of an embrace.
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