Amma, Embracing the World

As I’m motioned towards the floor, pleasantly asked to kneel behind other huddling devotees, the overwhelming tempest of activity swirling around this single individual sparks mixed emotions of apprehension and exhilaration. Crowds of believers, both young and old, have descended on Toronto’s Doubletree by Hilton hotel, all to bear witness to the worldwide spiritual leader now sitting before me. The woman known as “mother;” the woman now offering me her embrace: Amma.

It wasn’t until I casually strolled into the congested lobby, however, that the scale of the night’s event actually revealed its weight. A seemingly endless line of chatter and anxious anticipation filled the foyer: a mass congregation for Amma’s Devi Bhava, and the final night of her 25th North American tour. Read more