Inspiring all Iowans to act as well as hug

By Iowa City Press-Citizen

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“Religion is necessary despite the fact people are only ready to die for it, not live for it. It provides a certain safety, like a fence. But you shouldn't just stay inside that fence always. That will be like getting into a boat to cross the river and then, once you reach the other end, not getting down. Or like pointing to a fruit on a tree but doing nothing else. Your hunger won't be appeased by just pointing at it. Only if you climb the tree, pluck the fruit and eat it, you will be satisfied. Same way, religion is only the vehicle. To attain god, you need to act.” - Mata Amritanandamayi in a 2002 interview with Rediff.com.

Mata Amritanandamayi - the Indian religious leader better known as “Amma” or the “Hugging Saint” - recently came to the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center and added a few more thousand hugs to the estimated 30 million she's doled out over the past 35 years. If you do the math, that comes to about one hug every 39 seconds.

It's the fourth time in five years that Amma has passed through Coralville.

It would be nice to believe in the power of a simple hug. And at times that experience can be as meaningful as nearly any material comfort. But a key lesson from Amma's visit also should be that those warm embraces need to be followed by a willingness to provide for those in need.

Amma has become an international sensation because of the grandmotherly way in which she physically wraps her arms around people - greeting people with a broad smile and outreached arms, she envelopes them while chanting blessings in Malayalam, her only language, into their ear.

But Amma has become someone even more worthy of her celebrity because she's provided millions of dollars in disaster relief, built thousands of homes for Indian families and helped people throughout Southeast Asia live longer, happier lives.

As a recipient of the 2002 Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence and the Interfaith Center of New York's 2006 James Parks Morton Interfaith Award, Amma has been put in company with other religious figures of world renown - most often, Mother Teresa. Skeptics may question whether Amma's hugs provide the “essence of love” that some of her recipients report, but few can deny the bettered lives that her philanthropy and generosity has engendered.

The Iowa City/Coralville community would benefit most from Amma's continued visits and affection if she successfully inspires more people to offer more of their time, money and talents for the service of others.

Offering donations to the people facing flooding in western Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska would be a good place to start.

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