World’s Best Hug
Is love definable? For some, love is a sentiment. For many, love is a behavior. For others love is a bartering tool. For me, love is the most delicious thing in the world. On Friday night Brian and I went to Los Angeles to experience the purest form of unconditional love that we know about, being in the presence of Amma, the hugging saint from India.
A dozen years ago I went to receive a hug from Amma and asked her to heal my heart of anything “that might stop me from finding my soulmate.” A year later (June 22, 1998) she married Brian and I in a Hindu ceremony.
Amma has blessed more than 28 million people around the world by hugging them. That alone is an amazing feat. She often sits for 12 hours or more hugging people, wiping away their tears, laughing with them, feeding them chocolates. But that is only part of her mission. Amma is one of the greatest humanitarians of our time. She builds hospitals, schools, orphanages, old age homes and so much more. After the Tsunami in 2004 she donated millions and helped rebuild entire villages.
Her mission is all about seva – selfless service.
One of the things I enjoy most about being in Amma’s presence is watching how her face lights up each time someone new is sitting before her. She smiles broadly and her eyes twinkle with delight as if to say “you are the most precious, wonderful being I have ever set eyes on.” It is simply amazing to witness, experience and most importantly, feel her unconditional love.
Between now and the end of July, Amma will be visiting New Mexico, Boston Toronto, Dallas, Chicago, Iowa, New York and Washington, DC. The hugs are free. For details, please visit www.amma.org
Wishing you love, laughter and Amma’s hugs,
Arielle
