I had the privilege of seeing Amma on her tour in 2018. My son really likes hugs and when I heard about Amma--who is known for many things, including having hugged more people than anyone else in the world--I figured it would be a good cultural experience. My husband, son and I went and it was a wonderful experience. She hugged us: first son, then son +husbnad, then son+ husband+me. I didn't know what to expect but it was quite moving. If you visit when Amma is here, you get an intro video that explains her work (impressive), some meditation (nice). Newbies are invited to sit at the front and you get hugged early on. After that, you can shop the visiting vendors and buy some yummy food they set up outside. The grounds are beautiful too. Try to arrive early. Identify yourself to the greeters as a first-time visitor. Amma's volunteers do lots of interesting things on site when she isn't here: gardening, making food for those in need, recycling projects. They also COOK FOOD AND DELIVER IT EVERY SATURDAY. This can be combined with delivery of fresh fruits harvested from the Amma center. Check out the Food From Home Yelp review for more information on that. read more

Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandaymayi Devi) is a God-Realized being who has nothing to gain from us, or anyone. She is the spiritual mother to millions traveling the world to give solace, advice and comfort to those that seek it. She is only here on this earth plane to uplift all of humanity, and does so through a simple glance, Her embrace, Her very breath. One is not required to follow the religion of Her birthplace which is called in the west "Hinduism", but in reality is Sanatana Dharma -- eternal wisdom -- a philosophy that welcomes all regardless of their spiritual path or religious orientation. Amma's religion is Love. Amma owns nothing and every cent donated goes towards supporting Embracing the World -- all of the charities and initiatives created by Amma. Donations are strictly voluntary. Amma never asks anyone for money. The majority of the staffing is also voluntary, with no salaries in most areas. Amma Herself monitors how every penny is spent and every resource is utilized and emphasizes the importance of minimizing waste. read more

I typed the M.A. Center into Yelp mainly as a joke, and was actually surprised to see a listing here. In a way it's funny in a disturbing sort of way, but I guess that's where we're at in the SF Bay Area - deep spirituality is open to getting reviewed like the local dry cleaner. What is the problem with that? Well, for starters reviews come from the ego. The ego trying to be witty and clever. The ego judging. It makes the Amma experience a commodity or an entertainment piece that can be rated by stars, as if the rater has any qualifications to make such a rating, much like an imbecile rating Albert Einstein. Nevertheless, I will, since I found this, add my own experience. I don't consider myself a "spiritual" person. I met Amma by synchronistic accident (though many would say there are no accidents) back in 1998 here. I was dating this rather wild women who had gone to see Amma here 6 months previously (she visits twice a year usually) and she did nothing but rave about it for months and how it had transformed her life. Since I am willing to do just about anything once, I decided to go, and it did indeed change my life. What to say about Amma? Guru simply means "teacher" in India and people need spiritual teachers just like a physics student needs a physics professor to guide them in their study of physics. It's like that in EVERY field and yet we get all weirded out in America by spiritual teachers. The reason for this is that there are charlatan teachers and naive students. Then students who get burned get turned off of spirituality or try to go at it alone. There are three main limbs of spiritual yogas - bhakti, jnana, and karma. Bhakti is the yoga of devotion, and an example of that would be a heart centered practice of say to Jesus or Mary. Jnana is the yoga of knowledge, and an example might be the rigorous study of vedanta or perhaps some other inquiring philosophical tradition like the Gurdjieff work. Karma is the yoga of action, and it mostly centers around self-less service of other. Amma falls into the bhakti and karma camp and they go well nicely together. The bhakti path scares a lot of westerners, but with the right teacher it can be very heart opening and transformative. I find you judge a teacher by their actions, not their words, and in the fifteen years that I have been here, I have found Amma's actions impeccable and objectively of the highest care and integrity. Further, as a former student of psychology at UC Davis with an interest in cult psychology, I have found none of the various signs of cult-like behavior here. I have always come and gone as I pleased; gotten involved at deeper or more superficial levels as I pleased. Never had to or been pressured to pay any money for anything. Meals are always reasonable and fantastic. There is the Amma store, which as J.M. pointed out, the proceeds go to her humanitarian work, but he is wrong to state that they are expensive or the implication that he gives that this is some kind of money making machine. If you feel moved to buy something, then buy it. If not, then don't. Her charities are recognized and have been honored by the United Nations and the government of India for having the highest amount of money going to the actual causes rather than overhead (salaries, etc), so I never have an issue buying things because I know that everything is done by volunteers, there are no bloated salaries, etc, etc like in most charitable organizations. People are generally very very friendly out there and I have met some truly quality folks over the years. A few are good friends. Amma attracts all kinds of people from all walks of life. Her darshan is otherworldly, powerful, and she clearly is not human in the way that the rest of us are. Nevermind that she stay up all night til 11 in the morning hugging 10,000 people with a palpable spiritual energy that never wanes nor wavers, without potty breaks, foods, or getting tired. She is pretty amazing, but none of my words or anyone else's can replace the actual experience, so check her out when she comes around next. You can't lose and you just might have an amazing time. read more

If you know about Amma, and are considering going for darshan, this is a great place. The ashram itself is a beautiful spot, nestled in a valley with partially wooded hills rolling away on all sides. If you're new to the scene, it can seem surreal, foreign, or carnival-like. And yet, it's incredibly calming just being there. Even with a crowd, you can't help breathing a little easier and smiling a bit more. Notice all the goings on, notice your own reaction to it, and just go with the flow. And yes, arrive EARLY, if you're there before 9:30 am you could get darshan by early afternoon. Of course, they try to be very accommodating, especially if you're a first-timer, have small children with you, or have some other need. read more

Amma, the hugging guru~saint joy*fully welcomes everyone to a hug in her ashram that's tucked away in the idyllic hilly land of far off San Ramon. It's almost a small pilgrimage getting to the ashram since you take the BART to Castro Valley and look for a vehicle that might be headed to the MA Center. If you drive, you're supposed to have at least four people in your car or else you're asked to go back to the BART station and look for people. Upon arrival, there are throngs of people singing, meditating, waiting in line for a delicious Indian meal plus chai, and generally buzzing about the little village. Expect to spend the whole night (we got hugged at 8:30 in the morning). And enjoy it! sing, dance, hike around in the middle of the night. Eat, take a nap, and be happy :] everyone else is. When you finally hug her you may not feel a strong spiritual connection to her, or you may! For me, it was the whole package that made this night one of my most memorable bay area experiences. Blessings for you! read more

Ammaji seems like a spiritual powerhouse, laughing, stroking and hugging all who approach her. The warm welcome she gives is as if she personally knows each individual. Aside from her big personality, the feeling of this little village is that of a spiritual marketplace. Everything is for sale and at ridiculously high prices, apparently to fund her humanitarian efforts in India and elsewhere. This is spiritual materialism at its most deceptive. My understanding is that the responsibility of a Brahmin to give knowledge freely. Then why not here in America, the home of the brave and spiritually famished? read more

This is regarding J.M's review. I agree with the review that there is lots of stuff for sale. Some are unique items that cannot be found elsewhere easily. Others are stuff that may be sold at a higher price than Wal-Mart or your neighborhood store (but typically similar what you pay at restaurants, sports/entertainment events, airports, natural food stores etc). Some items are marked up like at boutique stores. Always buyers beware. One has to use discrimination in buying wherever one is, and not buy stuff that is not essential if one wants to conserve money (i.e. control our desire/urge to possess). The programs are FREE on most days (8 out of 10 or so); one can bring their own food and drink; and there is no compulsion to buy anything. I have been attending programs for years without buying any paraphernalia, including food! If I like a devotional song, I purchase a CD (you can also buy it from iTunes). Sometimes I make a donation. Any money I spend is voluntary. A couple of other points regarding the comments in J.M's review (1) Amma is not a Brahmin, and is not promoting Brahmins/Brahminism. (2) This is the US of A, not India, from where Amma comes. The USA may be (according to JM) spiritually starved and brave, but materially very wealthy compared to India (or Haiti/SriLanka/Africa etc where Amma's organization does charitable work). The USA will close down the facility if they don't pay property taxes. Trucked in water, port-a-potties service and property maintenance has to be paid for else facility will be unusable. The free programs costs 10s or maybe 100s of 1000s of dollars. Someone has to pay for it, if not you or me. Yet they have opted to not charge any admission fee (ala Dalai Lama speaking fees etc) to keep it really FREE for people who don't have any money, or do not want to pay. It seems this is a consciously chosen compromise - either charge admission fee (will exclude people who cannot pay) or have a free program and raise money by selling things (at mark up) that no one is compelled to buy. Unfortunately there is no real free - free just means someone else pays, not us. And wanting things free (for those of us who can pay) just means we want someone else to pay for stuff we want to use/experience. I am an immigrant from India to USA and have always been impressed with the generosity, broad vision and self reliance (not expecting things from others when we can do it / afford it ourselves) of the people of the USA, and on the whole this country has been giving to rather than taking from the rest of the world when it comes to material stuff. And M.A.Center also runs soup kitchens in USA where food is served FREE (of course the cost of those meals has to be paid for by raising money through donations and. /or selling goods/services above cost - and the best opportunity to do that is of course when Amma is giving her hugs and there are lots of visitors)! read more

This place is beautiful and experiencing Amma in person is an amazing gift. People from around the world travel to be with her, and the fact that she is here in the Bay Area twice per year is phenomenal! For the reviewer who commented about the 'spirtual marketplace,' it has always been my experience that everything spritual there is free. If you want to buy food or music or clothes, then yes, they charge for it, why wouldn't they? But, if you just want to visit and meet Amma, there is no charge. And, yes most of the stuff they sell are donations, and all proceeds go to her charities in India and around the world. I think the whole concept is wonderful and a welcome change from the usual American way of life. Go see her! read more

amma thank you for creating this place for family and friends to gather an remember what is important

Blessed place. Great for learning about charity in the purest sense. Great for learning and experiencing the truest part of yourself.

If you are into seva, this is a wonderful place to serve. Ammachi has great bhava. The best moments of my 65 years of life happened here in service to Amma. read more