You may have heard of Mata Amritanandamayi [1], or Ammachi. She’s a small, stout Indian woman who hugs hundreds of people per day (about 250,00 each year) while murmuring “ma, ma, ma” to impart unconditional divine-mother love. Her basic message is classic and consistent: “Contentment ensues from egolessness. And egolessness comes from devotion, love and utter surrender to the Supreme Lord.”

And her compassion isn’t limited to hugging. In India she’s opened a $55 million heart transplant hospital with 800 beds, a 600-child orphanage, and given 5,000 houses to the poor.

The latest issue of What is Enlightenment [2] features a rare interview [3] with Amma. Below, some excerpts from the two-hour conversation.

WIE: What is ego?

MA: …The ego consists of our thoughts and our mind. Our thoughts are our own creation. We make them real by cooperating with them. If we withdraw our support, they will dissolve. We simply have to observe our thoughts… You may see clouds drifting by that look like faces of the gods or different animals or sailing ships. A small child may believe that these shapes are real, but, of course, they are only illusions. In the same way, our ever-changing thoughts drift through the mind, which is the ego. They assume different forms, but they are no more real than the shape of a cloud in the sky. If we simply witness our thoughts as they drift by, they will no longer have any effect on us or influence us in any way.

WIE: You are revered by so many as the embodiment of unconditional love, and you literally hug everyone who comes to see you. But I have heard that you can also be very fierce with your students. How do these two very different methods of teaching go together?

MA: For Amma [note: she often refers to herself in the first person] there are not two different methods; Amma has only one method, and that is love. That love manifests as patience and compassion. However, if a deer comes and eats the tender flower buds in your garden, you cannot be gentle with the deer and say softly, “Please deer, don’t eat the flowers.” You have to shout at it and even wave a stick. It is sometimes necessary to show this type of mood in order to correct the disciple. Kali [the Hindu goddess of death and destruction] is the compassionate mother in her disciplining mood. But look into her eyes—there is no anger there.

WIE: Some Western psychotherapists and spiritual teachers believe that we must develop strong egos before we seek ego transcendence… [Do] we first need to build up the ego before we endeavor to transcend it?

MA …The ultimate cause of all emotional wounds is our separation from the Atman, from our true nature. It may be necessary for a person to go to a psychologist, and that is fine—but to put spirituality aside in order to first strengthen the ego is to perpetuate that sense of separation, and it will only lead to further suffering. What is the use in thinking, “I will go to the doctor as soon as I feel better”? To wait for either the inner or outer circumstances to be “just right” before we embark on the spiritual journey is like standing on the seashore waiting for the waves to completely subside before we jump into the ocean. This will never happen. Every moment of life is so utterly precious, such a rare opportunity. We should not waste it.

Who was the last person you hugged? How often do you hug? Have you been hugged by Amma? Tell us about it in the comment box below.

Image: Ammachi.org [4]