AMMA-INDIAN DIVINE MOTHER

"Amma, who is frequently called the Indian Divine Mother, will celebrate her 50th birthday in September 2003. In India, Amma is considered to be a Saint.

This woman, who comes originally from a humble background, finances today more than 25,000 homes for women, mobile medical camps, as well as the Amrita Institute of Medical Science an Research Hospital (AIMS), which stands out as one of the best hospitals in India. She also manages orphanages and many schools. She finances her programmes with the donations that are collected during the celebrations (Puja, Homa, Bhajan, Darshan, Devi Bhava) that she organizes through the world. Her initiatives are appraised even in our western world (she was awarded the "Gandhi-King prize for non-violence" in October 2002). On the occasion of her fiftieth birthday, more than a hundred thousand people will gather for an exceptional four-day celebration, in Koshi, in Kerala, in the South of India. The film will more particularly focus on the celebration of the Darshan, during which Amma will be hugging several thousand people one by one, for more than 10 hours at a stretch. But what is "really" happening or going on, during this embrace?"

http://www.amma.org/events/darshan-film.html