I remember vividly the first time that I saw Amma, the hugging saint, over a decade ago. Born Mata Amritanandamayi, Amma (which means “mother”) travels the world (or did until covid) giving people hugs. The experience is called darshan, or vision of God.
A friend had suggested I visit her, and while I had never heard of her, I agreed.
The room was filled with people who were clamoring to see her. At that time, I was (and still am to some degree) quite a contrarian, resisting the pull of whatever was most popular. So while I was excited, I also felt that, whatever the reasons for the crowd’s adulation, they had to be overblown.