Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi) took birth in a small poor fishing village in the south of India, Sept. 27, 1953.

She is known to the world media as 'the hugging saint'. She offers a hug to everyone who approaches her and in India she has been known to individually hug over 50,000 people in a day, sitting sometimes for over 20 hours. Worldwide, Amma is said to have hugged at least 30 million people in the past 30 years.

The Mata Amritanandamayi Math (organization) runs around 100 schools, 20 temples, one super-speciality hospital in Kochi, feeds thousands during mass kitchen, provides pension every year to over 15,000 widows, builds 25,000 houses annually for the homeless and has 35 Amma welfare centres all over the world to spread her spiritual message.[14]

Mata Amritanandamayi Math announced a billion rupees (23 million dollars) in aid to the victims of the 2004 tsunami.[15] The Math's relief work is happening in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Andaman & Nicobar islands and in Sri Lanka.[16]

The bliss and tranquility of being in Amma's presence is unique and indescribable.

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