Feeling physically stretched lengthened and opened by an intense hatha yoga class that a friend and I took, we slowly walked outdoors across the Monroe Ananda ashram in N.Y. to take our shoes off and join the homa.
It was June 1, 2014, an idyllic summer day, with a few puffy white clouds scattered across the embracing blue sky. A large white tent, sitting on the top of a grassy hill that overlooked a lake was surrounded by majestic, grand, old pine and oak trees. Smoke billowed out of the tent to initially block my view, but the smell of sage, rose and pine wafted up to subsume me. As the smoke cleared, I saw Amma dressed in a white sari, bejeweled with a huge, sparkling nose ring, sitting crossed legged on a raised throne, making offering to the sacred vedic fire that was composed of brick in a square shape. Through Amma’s offerings to the fire, she invocated Hindu divinities by chanting prayers and mantras. Initially reminding me of attending Catholic Church as a little girl, there were about two hundred devotees surrounding Amma under the tent.
Amma Sri Karunamayi is a revered saint and an embodiment of compassion, wisdom, and unconditional love. Throughout her life, Amma has embraced and comforted more than 34 million people. She inspires, uplifts, and transforms through her embrace and her spiritual wisdom. Amma’s religion is love. Amma was leading a grand homa, which is a sacred vedic fire ceremony. This homa was dedicated to world peace, prosperity, and healing.
Unlike my experience in Catholic Church, when I entered the tent, I experienced a loving embrace that was transmitted by a short glance from Amma, which contained a wise twinkle in her deep, brown, soulful eyes. Her presence and brief glance embodied pure love and warmth. I felt an opening to my true spiritual family.
Amma is revered as a goddess, a living embodiment of the divine on earth. Amma, a fountain of compassion and beauty, made offerings into the fire to encourage kindling and consecration. Along with two hundred devotees, mostly dressed in white, we chanted various mantras, following Amma’s initial chanting. The mantras were for wisdom, Amma spook sweet words and hymns of supreme knowledge. The hymns were to Sri Maha Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of beauty, wealth, love, prosperity (both material and spiritual) and Durga Devi, the supreme Hindu goddess, Shakti. Shakti is the concept of divine feminine creative power. Other mantras we chanted were for physical, mental, and spiritual healing for surrender to Divine Mother for truth, light, peace and happiness.
The energy emanating from the ceremony was intense and healing. After chanting for several hours, I took a much needed nap on the lawn outside the tent. The tent was on a rolling hill and I fell into a deep sleep on a blanket outside under an immense pine tree that was home to a nest of energetic, active, chirping blue jays. My friend startled and awakened me by shaking my shoulders. She told me she was going home as she did not feel well. Sorry to see her go, I fell back asleep, but eventually awoke feeling refreshed in the late afternoon sun.
After speaking in English about honoring women in the world and fostering peace, Amma offered us shaktipat or third eye opening. In Hinduism, “shakti” means psychic energy and “pat” means to fall. So shaktipat is the conferring of spiritual energy by a spiritual leader to another. This spiritual energy can be transmitted through a sacred word, mantra, a look, touch or to the third eye chakra. I had received shaktipat from other spiritual leaders, but this experience would be like no other.
There was a jostling of people, pushing to get into line in front of Amma. When Amma stood, I noticed her small stature of 4 feet 11 inches which contrasted with her great force of energy she infused simply by standing close to her. Her devotees struggled to replace her throne more into the center of the tent amongst us trying to get out of their way. I found myself to the right of Amma and witnessed her open the third eye of a pretty young woman who was crying and trembling in pure joy. After attending to two other women and beyond my expectation, Amma turned to me, I instinctively bowed, and she brushed my hair off the left side of my forehead in the most loving soft touch I have since felt. What grace I experienced; I have been divinely blessed and touched by a living emanation. In a powerful moment, she placed ashes on my third eye and I was overcome with a strange tidal wave of inner peace, comfort, calm, and security. She had me on my knees and brought me back to a place where I more deeply connected with the divinely feminine within me. Divine feminine nature is passive. It is this passivity and peace which opened my heart and soul to be better able to receive. In Hebrew, Nina means "God was gracious" or "God has shown favor". Amma reminded me of my true inner gracious state. It felt auspicious and an intense honor to be held within Amma’s divinely feminine energy. My inner sense of grace remained with me throughout that sacred day.
Amma’s simple yet profound conviction – that each of us has a responsibility to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate – resonates deeply within my soul. Amma and I accept the Hindu idea of karma that the suffering of the individual is due to her own actions performed in the past. But Amma refuses to accept this karma as justification for inaction on the part of others. Amma questions “If it is one man’s karma to suffer, isn’t it our dharma (duty) to help ease his suffering and pain”? Recalling the loving touch of Amma that idyllic day brings me back into that graceful state.