Written by Anne Lariviere
April 10, 2005
Here Ammachi, “Beloved Mother,” is shown hugging one of her devotees. As you can see, Amma’s following is not uniquely South Asian, but rather she attracts an international following.
On Tuesday nights, when most of the city is still at work or sitting down for dinner, a group of men and women meet at an apartment on Central Park West. From 7 to 9 p.m. this group sits together in the living room facing a framed picture of Ammachi. Ammachi, called “Mother” by those who attend these weekly satsangs or meetings, is guru of international renown. She is an actual being, as opposed to a divine spirit, but her devotees regard her as God. She travels around the world regularly to meet her followers.
The Ammachi group gathered on Central Park West is made up of a variety of ages, races, and backgrounds. There are young professionals who clearly hustled to the satsang from work and there are old retirees who look as though they have been followers of Ammachi since they emigrated from India. Sujata, the host of the satsang, is a westerner and has a motherly quality herself. She is endlessly welcoming: those attending the satsang do not even knock when entering her apartment. It is as if all the people in attendance are in their own home, even though Sujata lives alone.
Upon arriving at Sujata’s building, tell the doorman that you are headed to her apartment and he will know why you are there. Don’t be surprised if he expresses interest in the proceedings of the satsang. Once outside of Sujata’s apartment, remember to remove your shoes as a sign of respect and courtesy. You will most likely be seated on the floor, so appreciate the fact that the grime of the New York City streets is left outside. The people who attend satsang are friendly, welcoming people, so it is likely that they will motion to you where to sit. If you have bad knees, then don’t try to sit on the hard, wooden floor for two hours, rather cross the living room to that large white couch or seat yourself on one of the folding chairs lining the wall. Take a moment to appreciate the appeal to your senses. Everywhere you look there are pictures of Ammachi. The air is filled with the smell of incense. If you choose to sit on the floor there is an individual pillow filled with sand or beans for you to sit on, and its silk cover is smooth to the touch. There will either be a movie playing with the sounds of Ammachi’s devotees singing or Ammachi herself chanting.
Blue songbooks are scattered around the room. Most likely someone will hand you one, but if not, pick one up to see the songs and chants that will compose the service. There is also a handy description of the Ammachi group’s beliefs on the first page of the book. The service will begin with announcements about local Ammachi events. Then the group will settle into their seats and begin chanting. They will chant all of Ammachi’s many titles. This chanting will be done in antiphonally—first the leader, then the group–and the words can be read phonetically out of the songbook. If you get lost, someone around you will happily point you to the right spot on the page. Ammachi’s titles are chanted in Sanskrit, but the words are transliterated into English on the page so that you can participate without difficulty.
After the chanting, musicians and various people seated on the floor will lead songs, which will each have a number in the songbook. Again the singing is done in a pete-repeat manner and generally the song will be short, but repeated many times. There will be a pause in between each song while the leaders decide on the next song to sing. Though you should try to be on time, there are a handful of people who come in after the service has started and the people already present greet them with smiles and gesture them to find a seat. These songs are forms of worship to Ammachi, whom her disciples view as a God. The devotee’s goal is to reach enlightenment and the Ammachi group believes that when your body is singing, your mind is clearer than at any other time, thus open to the possibility of enlightenment. From my understanding, the group uses the term “enlightenment” to mean the complete acceptance and understanding that Amma is the source of all love.
Here Ammachi is shown in her traditional clothing at a gathering of her followers.
As well as greeting each individual with a hug,
Amma also leads the group in songs and chants.
The lights will be turned off near the end of the service and two devotees will go up to the picture of Ammachi and circle a tray of flowers and oil lamps around her image (the arati ceremony). The group will sing while this goes on and once the circles are finished the group will chant Om repeatedly for about 10 minutes. At a certain point the lights will be turned on and regular conversation will resume. People are eager to chat and explain things.
At the end of the service you will be handed rose petals and chocolate. Enjoy the taste of a Hershey’s Kiss that has been blessed by Ammachi. Decide for yourself whether you think the chocolate tastes any sweeter with a blessing. In Hindu temple worship this would be called prasad—food that has been offered to the image of a deity and thus blessed by its proximity to the God. Yet Ammachi’s followers don’t use this terminology. They just explain that the last time Ammachi was in New York City she handed out Hershey kisses to everyone she hugged.
Sujata’s Tuesday night satsang is just one of many local satsangs in the New York metropolitan area. Three are listed on the Ammachi New York website (www.ammany.org) and more can be found on a handout distributed at the Tuesday night satsang. Two other useful websites in answering questions about Ammachi are www.amritapuri.org and www.amma.org.