La Stampa

The Power of an Embrace

People come from all over Italy to be hugged. Thousands of people in Collegno want to meet Amma.

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 metres 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 realisation 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.

Patrizio Romano
La stampa