Mata Amritanandamayi (Mother of Bliss) who is also known as "The Hugging Saint," or Amma (mother), is seen by millions of devotees in India and elsewhere as the reincarnation of Ramakrishna, or the incarnation of the Divine Mother Kali. This devotional work presents an up-close and personal look at her life through the eyes of Swami Krishnamrita Prana, an Australian woman who has served her for the past 24 years. The text includes poetic passages from the author as well as ample quotations from Amma. There are also a varied selection of stories about Amma's extraordinary ability to transmit love through her nurturing powers.

Amma is called "The Hugging Saint" because people have been healed and transformed spirituality just by being hugged by her. According to Amma, "When you behold everything as God, you are always in a worshipful mood. When there are no feelings of otherness, your whole life becomes an act of worship, a form of prayer, a song of praise." Once, the author heard Amma state that grace is behind every action we perform. All three trillion cells in the body function properly thanks to divine presence. Without the grace of God, we cannot move a muscle.

Here is a teaching story that gives you a glimpse of the material in this book: "She called a young teenage boy into the car with Her. He sat next to Her and said, 'Amma, please promise me that you will take a vacation some day.' Amma laughed and pulled his head down onto Her shoulder. She then said, 'Son, this is Amma's vacation. We come into this world with nothing and we go out of this world again with nothing. The body will get diseases, even if we take lots of rest, and it will collapse when the time comes, no matter what we may do. Let us at least try to do some good things in life, something good for the world while we are here, to try and show our gratitude." Amma's words are matched by her actions. See the excerpt and keep in mind that she has established over 200 ashrams, a monastic order, orphanages, a state-of-the-art hospital, thousands of homes for the poor, and a monthly pension fund for 50,000 destitute women.

The Sacred Journey adds new insights into the life and work of Amma and the true meaning of the disciple-guru relationship.