Amma, Ammachi, Mata Amritanandamayi

The Amma Story by Moses Siregar III

I first saw Amma back a long ways back when I was 19 years old, and my life has certainly never been the same. At the time I had been turned onto Hinduism through the classic, Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. I fell in love with the stories of young Mukti putting all aside to be with his guru and seek God-realization. I was, myself, passionate about the idea of meeting a sat, or true, guru, and thought I was going to have to travel to India to find one. I soon found out about Amma, and that she came to us in the U.S. every summer during a coast-to-coast tour. I saw during her next tour, opened to her as my guru, received a mantra, and, following a dramatic high speed chase (a long story, see below) to see her off at the airport in Boston, I received from her my spiritual name.

I was quite devoted to her as my guru for some months, but eventually realized that the guru-disciple relationship was not perfectly suited to me. Nonetheless, I feel as connected to her as ever, and always feel her presence and guidance in my life. She certainly feels like a powerful guiding force behind Grace Flower Essences, and I hope that GFE is a vehicle for carrying her grace, through vibrational remedies, to others.

The Long Story

My first time with Amma was quite dramatic. I first saw Amma for a number of days in New York with my good friend Trey. We lived in Athens and Atlanta, Georgia, but made the journey to my Grandmother's in New Jersey to see her. The first night we saw her we weren't quite sure what to make of it all, but we were basically impressed. Well, when we woke up the next morning, we were definitely impressed! We both woke up buzzing with an incredible energy, and an amazing feeling. We went back. As is common, many miracles occurred while spending time with Mother. During one program, I experienced a profound glimpse -- a completely open and non-judgmental heart towards the thousands present (a nice 'kiss' from Amma). Other great experiences and revelations would come to me at each program. On another day, Trey and I passed around some bread to the people we were sitting in line with (you sometimes sit for many hours in line for darshan); later that night, on our way home we passed a man who pointed us to two huge bags full of bread. Instant Amma karma! On the last day, my skeptical cousin came along and experienced a nagging bodily pain instantly disappear. On the last night that Amma is in a city, she holds her Devi Bhava. This is when she more fully embodies the Divine Mother, and when she is at her most powerful. During Devi Bhava, one can ask to receive a mantra, and thereby accept Amma as one's guru. I took the plunge that night, and my life was forever changed.

All that remained was to ask Amma for a name. Amma devotees often ask her for a spiritual, Sanskrit name. I was told that to get a name from Amma can be quite a task. She tests the devotion of someone who seeks a name, and it usually takes a while. I was completely surrendered to her, and determined to do what I could to receive a name from her. So we followed her onto Boston, with another devotee that we met named Anandi.

Boston was, of course, great. We slept, with the other wandering devotees, in a local yoga center. I began pursuing the spiritual name, but came up empty. The last stop on her U.S. tour was a retreat in Rhode Island. We didn't have the money for the retreat, but we figured that if we went, something good would happen, and we would be let in. Nope. Access was denied. But there was still one hope: the Devi Bhava during the Rhode Island retreat would be open to the public. So I knew I could still see her once more before she left the states. We decided to hang out in New England for a few days and wait it out.

We spent one uncomfortable night on a beach in Maine before Trey got sick. It's normal for people spending a lot of time with Amma to go through various kinds of purification, including bodily cleansing. My tongue, for example, hurt so badly I could hardly speak or eat. Well, Trey got really sick, and needed to go home. I drove him back to my Grandma's in New Jersey, stayed the night, then headed back to Rhode Island through the dreaded toll booths of New York and Connecticut for one last night with Amma.

It was a powerful night, but by the end, I still did not have my name. I figured I would have to wait until next year. The next morning Anandi and I were talking, and someone shared with us that Amma would be giving a private satsang somewhere in Boston the next day, before flying on to Europe. We didn't know how we would do it, but we decided that we would somehow find her. We headed back to Boston, where we would be looking under every stone to try to find a jolly, little Indian saint. The odd were not good.

Our only lead was the yoga center. But it was closed. Nothing. Then we looked over our materials and found an address for the local Amma satsang group. It was our only hope. We found the street, and the home, and approached the door. To our joy, we found one of the local devotees, sweeping the front doorway. We asked her if she knew if and where Amma was coming, but she would not tell us. Apparently Amma's whereabouts were supposed to be a secret. We decided that she must be coming to this very house, because after hanging around for a while, there were still devotees inside. Although they didn't let us in, we decided to sit on the sidewalk in front of the house, so that if she came by, we would see her for a brief time.

Well, it seemed like a long time had gone by. We were still sitting on the sidewalk, and no Amma. Anandi and I decided that maybe Amma wasn't coming (she was late) because the group wasn't letting us in. But, then, one of them came out, and told us to come inside--maybe they started thinking the same thing. Upstairs was the meditation room where around twenty devotees were sitting around waiting for Amma to show up on her way to the airport. Minutes after we were admitted, Amma showed up, and gave a brief darshan. Victory! But, still, no name for me.

Amma and her Swamis hurried downstairs to get on their plane. Anandi and I looked at each other briefly, then quickly ran after them. We hopped in our car, and pulled out into traffic. Hence, the high speed chase (you'd be surprised how fast Swamis can drive!) I felt like a race car driver as I kept close to them all the way there (I didn't know my way to the airport, so if we lost them, we were lost). At one point we pulled up side by side with her car, and said a jubilant hello. The Swamis looked pretty displeased, but Amma was laughing pretty hard.

We made it to the airport. The Swami-mobile dropped everyone off at the door, and I dropped off Anandi. At that point I was just hoping that I would find them after having to drive away and park. I ran in to the airport, and there was a crowd of people there who had gathered to see Amma. She was laughing and having fun with everyone. As I walked in she turned in my direction, and we started walking towards the escalator, hand in hand. This was my big chance.

"Amma, can I have a name?"

"Name? You want name?"

"Yes"

Amma told something to the swami beside her, and then she kept on. I walked with the swami, and he told me that she gave me the name, Preman, which means love. After driving all over New England, following sketchy gossip, waiting for Amma for hours on a city sidewalk, and surviving a high speed chase, I finally had my spiritual name. While I don't really use it today, I still cherish the name and the adventurous journey I undertook to receive it.

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