INDIA | Tuesday, 22 December 2009 | Views [938]
We spent two days at the IMMENSE ashram of "Amma, the Hugging Mother" (pictured here)-- a Hindu saint who gives darshan (blessings) by hugging anyone who comes to see her. Often she is up all night hugging hundreds into thousands of pilgrims! In addition to running all kinds of schools and programs to benefit the poorest of the poor around the world, she raised 42 million dollars to build homes for refugees after the South Asian tsunami -- and was the single largest non-governmental contributor to fund Hurricane Katrina relief. Her generosity seems to know no bounds -- and her hug truly was indescribably other-worldly.