On the back waters to Alleppey

After meeting my friend Peter from the Sivananda Ashram on the beach of Varkala we decided not to get too much involved in the lethargic atmosphere of this place -- eating, drinking, sun bathing, shopping -- but keep moving. We toke a boat heading north on the famous backwaters of Kerala. I had no idea, that traveling by boat on the still waters would be so relaxing and comfortable. After a 3 hours ride we reached "Amma´s" Ashram, a place which hosts so many people that it reminded me more of a city rather than en Ashram. Mata Amritanandamayi is famous for her commitment to humanitarian aid projects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mata_Amritanandamayi) and spreading unconditional love by giving a hug to everyone who would come near her. We knew that we would miss her by one day, as she just had started a trip around India together with a big group of people following her, but we preferred to visit this place and get some idea of it while it was less crowded and agitated. It was very impressive to see how much of a difference one person can make among the community around her…
Please don´t start worrying about me, I have not become a devoted follower of what ever ideology, but I am quite interested in how organizations like this work and what draws people towards them.
The next day we moved on by boat to Alleppey, the main gate to the Kerala´s backwaters, happy that we already had experienced the great atmosphere of moving smoothly through a landscape of mangroves and small fisher villages.