Christmas with Amma

It is Christmas Day and I am at Amma's ashram somewhere in the backwaters of Kerala. There are thousands of devotees, both western and Indian, here to celebrate the holiday in Amma's presence. I have witnessed Amma hug hundreds of people since the time I arrived yesterday at 11 am until 2:00 a.m., when I finally ceased witnessing the spectacle all around me in the giant auditorium. Last night, there was chanting and dancing from numerous devotees around the world. They even sang silent night. Kinda like an open mike. Amma was there at the center stage radiating love and light and I STILL couldn't believe that not even once did she get up to use the toilet or eat. She's back at it again today. I went for a two hour nap.
If I have to be anywhere that is not home for Christmas, I am quite happy to be in a place where everyone gathers freely and believes that this woman is capable of chanelling love directly from "the divine source." I like it b/c this is really what the Christmas spirit should be - celebration of life, love, differences and faith in healing, kindness and service.
So, a brief blog just to say happy holidays one and all. I hope your year is filled with love.
I waited three hours yesterday for my hug and she smelled good and felt soft. That's really all I can say. No miracle occurred, but everyone is here for love. Isn't that nice? I have one more hug tonight then head off for Tiruvanumali tomorrow to circumnavigate Mt. Arunchala before Pondicherry's Int'l Yoga Festival. I then may head up near Varanasi to hear the Dalai Lama discuss compassion before heading back to Bombay, Bangkok for five days, then home.
I look very forward to the next phase of my life. I miss CA and my people. At the present moment, however, I thank the universe that I have such an incredible, lucky, open life. The kind of life where I can pop into the ashram of a "living saint" for christmas just to get some love not just from the saint, but from the thousands of pilgrims that are here to celebrate exactly the same thing: love. What a life!