Radio Top

"I Got Convinced."

The traffic was heavy and I entered the hall thinking that I should be able to finish the whole report in about an hour. Then I thought, oh, lots of people for 10 am on a Monday morning! And then I suddenly see her. Amma, the Mother, sitting on a chair like a throne, surrounded by hundreds of people. (…) "I am impressed that it is so peaceful despite of the big crowd. You feel at ease because you can do whatever you feel like and at the same time there is this concentrated silence that Amma radiates.: (…) "I feel peaceful, silent, just within myself". "I feel very comforted and totally accepted." (…).

(…)Amma lives in India in a monastery. She is trying to help the needy as much as she can: The hungry, the homeless, the orphans. She maintains different huge projects. She wants to give love to people not only through physical contact, but also in a more concrete way. And yet, when observing the people in the hall kneeling with eyes closed you are reminded of a sect. Amma's answer to that is, "If love and compassion are a sect, yes, then I am a leader of a sect." And you take her words for that.(…)

(…) In India Amma embraces up to 15,000 people 18 hours a day. Setting a living example, she embraces to the point of exhaustion. (…) I also laid myself in her lap. For 30 seconds I let myself be hugged, caressed and blessed by a strange woman. She pats your cheek, prays tenderly into your ear, glances at you with a deep, loving look and then gifts you with a flower petal and a candy. Behind you hundreds of others are waiting. What's funny is that this woman doesn't seem a stranger to you. She is very special, electrifying. Well, I got convinced.

(Translated from regional Swiss radio station Radio Top) (excerpted)