Amma's people have stepped in where governments have failed-for example, raising $46 million in relief after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. They feed the hungry provide education, disaster relief, health care, and public health services and have recently launched a new green initiative. Her nonprofit network, Embracing the World, supports and builds hospitals, schools, orphanages, and homes throughout India. Not only is Amma spreading good juju through these embraces, but the hug-a-thons also pour money into her charities, which are some of the most robust in India.

Occasionally youРІР‚в„ўll hear nasty gossip-like an article that claimed that 'some of her closest followers back-stab each other for her attention'-but Amma herself remains pure, as she hugs our sweaty, suffering, seeking, trying-to-love-enough selves, one after another, for weeks. Said to embody the essence of the Divine Mother, she is best known throughout the world as the hugging guru, for her annual marathon embracing tour she has hugged more than 30 million people so far. ( That we know of, says the crabby voice.)Р”Р„nd so far, so good with Amma, or Amachi, or Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi.

As a result of his love and shakti (energy) lighting their lives, he transitively touched every one of us who's climbed on a yoga mat. When I hear stories from Ram Dass, Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das, and others whose guru ( Neem Karoli Baba) rocked their lives with Р“Сber-love in the 1960s and РІР‚В70s, I believe. (Or as my crabby little brain sometimes thinks, the ones who just never had their scandals come to light.) You surrender completely to someone who loves you unconditionally, apply their wisdom to your flailing life, and watch the lessons bloom you into something more beautiful? Sounds like a relief! The critical thinking, skepticism, and doubt built into a modern seeker's life can be downright exhausting. Especially when you hear about the good examples. The whole 'Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely' thing seems to be a universal truth humanity just can't get past-the rise and fall of the revered transcends boundaries of faiths, politics, and nations.Р”Р„nd yet, in the spiritual world, it's so tempting to believe. I have a complicated relationship to gurus and so-called enlightened beings.

Amma guru