Amma the Hugging Saint

     On Amma's recent tour to Toronto in July I had the opportunity to meet her and receive her darshan. I felt wonderful upon hugging her as she said a prayer out loud for me. I had heard of Amma before this but never got a chance to learn about her work. After having a puja, the swami who performed the ceremony for me who was a follower of hers recommended I see her the following week. Before going I researched her background and found out all the humanitarian work she was doing. I felt a strong desire to attend and receive the benefit of being in her energetic field. There was a spiritual talk by one of her devotees and then she sat on the stage in her usual cross legged position and sang beautiful songs of worship. Even after hugging thousands of people, it was incredible that when I got onto the stage to hug her she still smelled of lavender. In honour of her incredible contribution to humanity and helping the world's most vulnerable, I am posting an astrological chart analysis so that you can see the excellence with which she is living out her karmic life purpose.




Vedic chart analysis


Rasi

     Ascendant is Libra and Saturn sits exalted in the first house. Saturn exalted in the first house is known as sasha yoga and confers tremendous discipline, responsibility, work ethic and desire to serve. The ascendant is in Vishakha, a nakshatra known for its ambition, determination, courage and ability to break through boundaries. In Amma’s case, her fiery ambition was directed towards spirituality and consciousness raising. She breaks through all social boundaries, helping people from a great diversity of backgrounds.

    The 1st house ruler Venus is placed in Leo in the 11th house, in the nakshatra Magha. The 11th house represents humanitarian work, social causes, revolution and large groups. Amma has humanitarian organizations all around the world whose mission it is to help the poor and destitute. Efforts of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math include disaster relief, food distribution, environmental programs, scholarship funding, medical treatment and vocational training. The Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is a multi campus teaching and research university in India that has been accredited 'A' by NAAC. Leo represents generosity, warmth and authority, and so it is fitting that Amma is known as a warm and generous world leader. Magha means “the great one”. Magha expects good things to occur and has the potential to be a spiritual guide for others.

     Mars is conjunct Venus in the 11th house. The placement of Mars in a chart shows where we channel our ambition, drive, and vitality. Mars in the 11th house can produce a fighter (Mars) for social justice (11th). Mars as ruler of the 2nd house and placed in the 11th is a traditional aspect of great wealth. The wealth becomes personalized as Venus ruler of the 1st is conjunct Mars, creating a 1st, 2nd and 11th connection. The 2nd is what we earn and the 11th is expansion, dreams and wishes. The other part to the 2nd house and 11th house connection is that it often produces philanthropists. The 2nd is what we value and how we spend our money, the 11th represents humanitarian causes. Consequently, this connection may create people interested in donating to make underprivileged people’s lives easier. For example, in 2015, Amma donated $30 million dollars for construction of toilets in India. She says “Water, a symbol of life, is one of the five elements of nature that the Indian culture deeply reveres. Though the lives of millions of Indians today depends on the Ganga, this sacred river has only 25% of the original water left – the rest is sewage and factory waste. The unhygienic conditions prevalent in villages on the river banks cause diseases like cholera and diarrhea as people drink water from the river. Being a person born and brought up in a coastal village, I have personally seen people suffering from the scarcity of clean drinking water.”
http://www.amritapuri.org/49104/15-ganga.aum

Some of her other donations include:
$46 million to the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004,
one million dollars each to Hurricane Katrina and the Earthquake/tsunami in Japan feeding more than 10 million people in India everyday
more than $60 million in free medical care in India
vocational training for hundreds of thousands of people
 
http://amma.org/global-charities
 
Amma has done more than governments have done for people in need living in India and around the globe.
 
    Interestingly, Amma has a couple of daridra yogas; the lord of the 11th house is in the 12th house, the lord of the 12th house (Mercury) while also housing a dusthana lord (Sun) is also placed in the 12th which can usually cut down the wealth a person has. Amma has avoided this by spending money on types of people represented by the 12th house (poor, oppressed, marginalized). By doing this, she is able to overcome the negative effects of the daridra yoga. Her wealth continues to expand as she selflessly works to help people who need it the most.

     The Moon is at 5 degrees Taurus, only 2 degrees away from its maximum exaltation point (3 degrees Taurus). This placement emphasizes all the best qualities of the Moon, the prime one being its mothering instinct. Amma is known as the Mother because she nurtures everyone who comes to her and helps people in need. People with an exalted Moon are able to comfort people and make them feel loved and cared for very naturally. She listens to their problems, encourages them and inspires them with a new vision for their lives. The Moon rules her 10th house so these qualities are visible in her public career. The Moon is placed in the 8th house which is a dusthana and in her case represents the variety of people who she is able to help who are in a state of extreme suffering. The 10th house ruler in the 8th house also shows a research orientation- her university is world famous for cutting edge research on a variety of subjects.

     In the 12th house we Sun and Mercury in Virgo. Mercury at 25 degrees Virgo is about 10 degrees away from its maximum exaltation point at 15 degrees Virgo, very powerful for her intelligence and ability to communicate (Mercury) as well as ability to uplift humanity by showing compassion (12th). Numerous books have been written detailing people’s experiences with Amma as well as documenting her teachings. The Sun’s placement shows where we express our creativity and individuality. The Sun as ruler of the 11th house and placed in the 12th house shows that Amma’s focus is on enlightenment, helping those who are in grief and despair (12th) and expressing universal unconditional love through humanitarian causes (11th). Virgo is a sign that represents healing and service. The Sun is in Hasta, a nakshatra that means “the hand”. People with Hasta can have healing hands, in Amma’s case, her hands are used during the hug for healing by simple touch. Hasta can have a powerful urge to correct injustices, especially against the oppressed. Where many people would give up in the face of the tremendous adversity in impoverished areas, this seems to inspire Amma to work even harder. The Sun-Mercury conjunction is a Surya-Buddh Yoga and emphasizes intelligence, and ability to skillfully convey messages and teachings. Since the Sun is at 10 degrees Virgo and Mercury at 25 degrees, they are not combust and therefore Mercury retains its full power.
 
     Jupiter is in the 9th house in Gemini. Gemini rules the arms, shoulders and hands, interesting as Amma is called the Hugging Saint, as she says, her arms are open to everyone. She communicates (Gemini) her spirituality (9th) primarily through her hugs which are a blessing on all who receive them. Another expression of this placement is the fact that she founded a multi campus University. The 9th house is places of higher education and Jupiter is luck and fortune. People who have Jupiter in the 9th usually have a good experience with teachers and continuing their education. The founding of the University can also be seen by the fact that the 4th house ruler Saturn is strong and favourable and placed in the 1st house. Saturn also rules the 5th house, both the 4th and 5th houses are connected with education. Rahu is in the 4th house, suggesting a school that is progressive, future oriented and having affinity with the latest technology and cutting edge research.  According to the school’s website,

"Amrita University has always given paramount importance to research. Amrita is a partner in various international bilateral governmental research programmes and initiatives, such as Indo-US Initiative (Cyber Security, Cyber Crimes, & Cyber Forensics), Indo-European Union (Erasmus Mundus, India4EU programs), Indo-Japan Initiative in Wireless Networks & Applications, Indo-Brazilian bilateral programme on Wireless Networks and Techniques with Applications to Societal Needs, Indo-Italy bilateral Science and Technology Co-operation in Robotics, and Indo-Brazil programme in Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy.
Many centres of excellence have been started in cutting-edge areas like Wireless Networks & Applications, Cyber Security, Computational Engineering & Networking, Virtual Labs, E-learning, Haptics, Educational Technologies, Nanosciences & Molecular Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Cancer Prevention & Cure, Biostatistics, and Environmental Sciences and so on.”
Amma believes “Science, technology, and spirituality must unite in order to ensure a sustainable and balanced existence of our world.” 
https://www.amrita.edu/research
 

Navamsha

     In the Navamsha, the 1st house contains exalted Sun in Aries. As you recall, the rasi chart had exalted Saturn in the 1st house. Having an exalted planet in both the rasi and navamsha show that this person has a special physical presence meant for a higher benefic purpose. In her case, she hugs millions of people worldwide, thereby blessing them with darshan. Her hug conveys the Mother’s unconditional and pure love. The Sun participates in a Parivartana yoga with ascendant ruler Mars in Leo, further strengthening it. Mars is conjunct Mercury in the 5th house showing her destiny involves a great deal of teaching and communicating with the public. The 5th house is past life credit and also relates to spiritual development through various forms (meditation, affirmations, pujas, song, prayer, bhajans, yoga, devotional study, worship). Jupiter is closely opposing the ascendant, Jupiter’s aspect on the first house is said to remove most of the blemishes of the chart. It contributes to a generous, benefic personality who enjoys helping others.

​     Rahu is in the 12th house in Pisces. This is a placement that gives a deep interest in spirituality and enlightenment. It also tends to make the person enjoy foreign traveling. In Amma’s case, her foreign travel was to advance her spiritual work across the globe. The Moon is in humanitarian Aquarius in the 11th house. This gives Amma the emotional need to contribute to humanity on a worldly scale.
 

Dashamsha

    In the dashamsha, Ketu is in the first house in Taurus. Ketu in the first house could denote a spiritual or metaphysical career. This is especially true for Amma as Ketu is the 10th house of her rasi chart. The ruler of the 10th house in the rasi, the Moon, appears in the 10th house in the dashamsha, this helps promote fame and ability to attract supporters to her cause. The 10th house contains the Moon in Aquarius, similar to the Navamsha. The Moon in the 10th house is favourable for popularity and mass appeal. People with this placement are able to connect with the public on an emotional level. The 10th house ruler is Saturn which is in the 7th house in Scorpio conjunct Venus and Rahu. Saturn is yoga karaka for Taurus ascendant (9th and 10th house ruler) and Saturn opposing Venus connects the 1st, 9th and 10th house ruler. The connection between the 1st and 10th houses show proclivity for fame and the connection with the 9th combines higher education, world travel and spiritual teaching, all of which Amma is famous for. The 11th house ruler Jupiter being in the 2nd house is favourable for accumulating wealth and philanthropic spending, similar to the rasi chart.

    I am grateful to Amma because her elevated consciousness level is able to counterbalance so much of the world's negative energy. It is amazing to witness the power of her pure heart and a dedication to service. May her life be an inspiration to all of us of the immense power one person's vision can have in giving hope to the hopeless.