Tactile tonic

If Mahesh Yogi's trademark is Transcendental Meditation and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's is Sudarshan Kriya, Amritanandamayi's spiritual USP is a simple, warm hug. As the Herald Tribune wrote in a front-page report, when Amma visited Japan, "if there were a world record for hugs, it would surely go to Mata Amritanandamayi, a small, dark woman with a radiant smile". The Independent had this to say when she visited London a few years back: "There were no rousing speeches, no religious messages, no strong-arm fund-raising tactics; just a round-faced woman in 
an armchair, smiling and dispensing tactile tonics."

No one has counted but a popular estimate is that she would have hugged more than two crore people. And, every day the record is being broken. Disciples say there have been times when she has hugged over 20,000 people at a stretch in 20-hour sessions.

It is no exaggeration. Visit Vallikkavu whenever she is in the ashram and you can see people queuing up for her embrace. If the queue is longer, she quickens the pace. But never does she get up till the last man or woman has got the hug.

Earlier, Devi Bhava or the special darshan when she dresses up as a goddess, used to be three days a week. Now, it is only on Sundays. Starting in the evening, these sessions often stretch to the following morning.

With a friendly pat on the back, she brings disciples, sometimes two at a time, close to her ears, allowing them to whisper their innermost anxieties. She kisses and consoles them, whispering, "my darling son". Grown-up people bury their faces in her lap and cry unashamedly. Disciples pass on packets of prasad to her from behind. Sometimes she gifts people a candy or an apple.

There is no attempt to put on an air of superiority. Sometimes she sympathises. Sometimes she taunts people for sobbing like kids. Or she shows genuine concern. Like when it was a French woman's turn, recently. Amma told those around her, alarmed: "Do you know this lady is completely off her mind? Anybody from France around?" She then gave instructions that the woman be put up only on the ground floor and that she be given her medicines regularly.

A student is there to seek her permission to join a particular course. A retired professor wants to name his school after her. A young girl from the west wants to clear her spiritual doubts. Sitting on a platform on the floor, she obliges everyone. First-timers find it irksome that they have to go down on their knees to come face to face with her. But her joyful demeanour and the warm hug dissolve such misgivings.

As she retires to her room, waving and extending her arms to the disciples, some of them crouch and kiss the spot where she sat, to capture some of the grace.

Is there a psychological explanation for the way the devotees behave? Dr Philip John, clinical psychiatrist in Kochi, points to the fact that Amma represents a mother figure. "There is a subcultural perception of comfort and security in the mother's bosom. In a spiritual setting, the devotee looks forward to a symbol of this relationship. Amma has translated the hug into that symbol. The hug is therefore a perpetual reminder of that relationship," he says.

"When she listens to the confession or plea and smiles, it abruptly takes away the weight on the chest, making the devotee cry. This catharsis, besides giving comfort or solace, provides hope which keeps that person going," he says, adding that the enfolding presence continues even without her physical presence