Mata Amritanandamayi to hold public prayer retreat in Washington on July 5, 6

‘Amma’ to hold a special prayer for world piece.

By Sithara Sethumadhavan

Humanitarian and spiritual leader Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will hold a two-day public prayer for world peace called Devi Bhava in Washington, DC, on July 5 and 6.

This will be the 20th visit to the US capital for Amritanandamayi, known as Amma, or Mother, to her legion of followers worldwide.

The retreat will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott (1700 Jefferson Davis Highway) in Arlington, VA, according to Amritanandamayi’s official website. On both days, there will be a morning program beginning at 10 am and an evening program starting at 7 pm, according to the site.

Devi Bhava, a special program that begins with a prayer ceremony for world peace, will be held on the evening of July 6.

At the program, after a short meditation exercise, she will welcome visitors by embracing them – known as darshan, a unique gesture that earned her the name “hugging mother.”

Amritanandamayi arrived in the United States last month for a 11-city North America tour, which began in Everett, WA, on May 31. So far she has held retreats in Castro Valley, CA, and Los Angeles. Besides Washington, other cities she is scheduled to visit include Santa Fe, NM (June 20-23); Dallas (June 25-26); Atlanta (June 28-29); Chicago (July 1-3); Marlborough, MA (July 9-10); New York City (July 12-14) and Toronto (July 17-20).

The purpose of Amritanandamayi’s latest tour is to highlight a range of critical global issues, such as conserving the planet, fighting terrorism, cross-cultural tensions to poverty and women’s rights.

In Los Angeles, on June 14, the Kerala, India,-born spiritual leader was honored with a Golden Goody Award (Oscar for Social Good) for her Worldwide Humanitarian Charities. Accepting the award, she said, “In reality, this award is an offering to my children for all the selfless service they do all over the world.”