More about Amma!

645. Om sarva-vedanta-samvedyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is known by all of Vedanta

 I found such a brilliant article on Amma...and what's more, one of my favourite pictures too of Amma! It's from this site:
Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, lovingly known as Amma, was born Sudhamani Idamannel on September 27, 1953 in a small fishing village in the southwestern state of Kerala in southern India.
She was deeply in love with God since birth. As a young child, she would stay awake late into the nights singing songs to God, and she would often be found immersed in blissful meditation.
When her mother became ill, Amma stopped going to school after the fourth grade to look after her family. She was also drawn to look after the poor and elderly in her limited spare time. She was already finding herself in service to the world when she was only a child.
Amma is another rare case Self-realization without the assistance of any external spiritual support. Although she had no teachers or access to spiritual texts, her commitment to her incessant pull to God brought her into absolute union with God. In her early teens, people began to come and receive her darshan (sight of God) to be closer to Lord Krishna.
Then one day she had a vision of the divine mother. She became obsessed with the divine mother, calling and crying out to be with her. Eventually she came to know the divine mother intimately. Since then, she has been the living incarnation of the divine mother. She sees all of humanity as her children. Although her name, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is very fitting, meaning the divine mother of love and bliss, her "children" simply call her Amma (mother).
Anybody that spends time with her will see that her life is her miracle. Her life is in tireless service to the comforting and awakening of her children. In the west, she is known as the hugging saint, because she travels from city to city receiving millions of individuals with a hug. She regularly hugs thousands of people in one sitting. And amazingly, as people all around her begin to tire, she becomes brighter and brighter! If you have the opportunity, do your best to spend some time with the rare and great gift. She is The Heart. She lives Pure Love. She is such a clear manifestation of God in form.

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, lovingly known as Amma, was born Sudhamani Idamannel on September 27, 1953 in a small fishing village in the southwestern state of Kerala in southern India. She was deeply in love with God since birth. As a young child, she would stay awake late into the nights singing songs to God, and she would often be found immersed in blissful meditation. When her mother became ill, Amma stopped going to school after the fourth grade to look after her family. She was also drawn to look after the poor and elderly in her limited spare time. She was already finding herself in service to the world when she was only a child. Amma is another rare case Self-realization without the assistance of any external spiritual support. Although she had no teachers or access to spiritual texts, her commitment to her incessant pull to God brought her into absolute union with God. In her early teens, people began to come and receive her darshan (sight of God) to be closer to Lord Krishna.

Then one day she had a vision of the divine mother. She became obsessed with the divine mother, calling and crying out to be with her. Eventually she came to know the divine mother intimately. Since then, she has been the living incarnation of the divine mother. She sees all of humanity as her children. Although her name, Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is very fitting, meaning the divine mother of love and bliss, her "children" simply call her Amma (mother). Anybody that spends time with her will see that her life is her miracle. Her life is in tireless service to the comforting and awakening of her children. In the west, she is known as the hugging saint, because she travels from city to city receiving millions of individuals with a hug. She regularly hugs thousands of people in one sitting. And amazingly, as people all around her begin to tire, she becomes brighter and brighter! She is one of the greatest saints of all time and a great blessing for humanity. If you have the opportunity, do your best to spend some time with the rare and great gift. She is The Heart. She lives Pure Love. She is such a clear manifestation of God in form. Amma's unparalleled selfless service has led many to support Amma's mission by giving generously of themselves to help create many charitable activities and organizations from medical facilities to schools and orphanages to housing and disaster relief projects to general social support and support for the earth." Om Amriteswariye namah!

Amma's unending compassion!

644. Om jnana-vigrahayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is the embodiment of Knowledge itself

Everyone's thoughts and prayers are with those who are suffering in Nepal. Amma's compassion of course knows no bounds. And so, I read here that: 'Amma has directed to send 50 tons of wheat, 2,000 sets of warm clothes and medicines to Kathmandu‬ as immediate aid for survivors of the devastating earthquake there, most of whom are afraid to sleep inside the structures that are still standing. She has also sent a senior representative to study the situation on the ground and look for more ways to support aid efforts in the coming days. Our Amrita Hospitals telemedicine unit, ambulances and a team of doctors and paramedics are also preparing to make the trip from Kochi to Nepal.'
Amma's thoughts are always with those suffering and needing Her grace. Even nature can turn against us but Amma, our divine Mother, is always there protecting us from harm. She shields us from the slightest destructive wind and we should all be grateful for the divine shelter She provides in our lives. Thank You Amma for Your unending compassion and selflessness!

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Realms of Amma-consciousness!

643. On jnanadayai namah: I bow down to Amma who gives knowledge of the Self.

Thank You Amma! I took one small step towards You and You took so many steps towards me. What a beautiful gift You have given me. And what you've given me even bigger than that is the lesson that optimistic faith is the right road always. You will always be my beacon, guiding me ahead. I have so many routes to traverse and I know in each of them there will be many ups and downs. I will walk each route safe in the knowledge that You are guiding me and leading me by the hand. You have smiled upon me and I know I am taken care of. Thank You, Amma!
'Don't forget God for even a second. If we lose our money while traveling, think how frantically we search for it! In the same way, if we are unable to do japa even for a brief moment, we should grieve: "Alas, Lord, I have lost so much time! " If there is such anguish, even the time we spend sleeping will not be wasted. Children, even if we lose a million dollars, we can recover it. If we lose one second, we cannot get it back. Every moment that we are not remembering God is lost to us. Chanting replaces other thoughts with that particular mantra. Just as saline water loses its salty taste by constantly adding fresh water, through constant repetition of a mantra, the number of thoughts can be reduced. In due course, all thoughts can be eliminated excepts one, that is God. Love will spring through japa if one has complete faith and intent to reach the goal. Mantra japa, done with the proper understanding of this principle will ultimately take us to the Source. At this point, the seeker realizes that the form he has been meditating on, as well as all other forms that exist within himself, are the manifestations of the Self.': AMMA
May we spend all our life lost in the realms of Amma-consciousness. 

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Optimistic faith and Amma!

642. Om apari-cchedyayai namah: I bow down to Amma whose limits cannot be ascertained.

Optimistic faith. Putting everything in Amma's hands and surrendering every thought and word to Her. I'm currently undergoing a small health issue and I'm really trying hard to surrender every doubt, every fear, to Her. I've told myself a few times that I am not the master of my fate. Amma is my shepherd and I will willingly follow. If I am going through this, it is because She deems it necessary for me to have this experience. It's the brick She wants me to place on my spiritual foundation and then apply the cement of faith. I'll do it, Amma. You know best and I have already decided that my life is now a dedication to You. Like putty in Your hands, decide whatever You need me to do. You have sent me a few teachers who have taught me to strengthen my faith. Who have shown me clearly that when we repose our entire faith in You, things will always unfold for the better. Who live every beat of their heart as their surrender to You. I want my life to only have Your music, Your words, Your thoughts. And then, let me walk a path that lets me illumine others' worlds.

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Amma's temples!

641. Om dhyana-gamyayai namah: I bow down to Amma who is to be attained through meditation.

How fortunate I have been to have seen Amma's Brahmasthanam temple at Delhi being consecrated by Her in 1995. When I think back about that whole event, I'm so thrilled to realise that the crowd was so much smaller and I was one amongst the few lucky people! I had no idea just how big the entire event that I had witnessed, actually was! That I was in the presence of a universal, divine leader. I had been Amma's daughter for almost 5 years by then but I had still not understood the full power of Her divinity. In fact, I always wonder if we will ever know the complete extent of Amma's divinity! I remember standing by and seeing Her do the prayers. And I prayed myself to the Gods above. Once again, my ignorance at not realising that saakshaat Devi Herself stood before me. This week, Amma consecrated the 22nd Brahmasthanam temple in Manjeri. I found a note about Amma's temples in the amritapuri.org site:
'Traditionally, if you wanted the benefits of a particular puja, you had to pay a priest to perform the puja for you. But Amma reasoned that if you are the person who is suffering, you must perform the puja yourself. “If you are hungry,” She said, “It’s not enough that someone else eats.” After so many years of listening to people’s problems, Amma determined that, generally, people experience sorrow or difficulties when their lives are under the influence of Saturn, Mars, or Rahu.
In another revolutionary move, Amma initiated mass pujas, guided by Herself or one of Her monastic disciples, in which each participant performs the puja for him- or herself. Amma asked everyone to join in these pujas, without any distinction of caste, religion, age or gender. Amma wanted to removed the oft-misused authority of the priesthood, letting the people connect with God directly.'
Well, we're lucky. We have in every which way, such a powerful and direct connection with the supreme Goddess Herself!
Om Amriteswariye namah!

A chain of love!

640. Om vag-adhisvaryai namah: I bow down to Amma who presides over speech

I have heard it said many times that words have the power to kill. And we are clever beings with the power to discriminate. Yet we hardly think it through when we mercilessly wound each other with words. We do it almost everyday, using speech mindlessly. As much as we hurt, we also have the power with these very words, to spread joy and happiness. To make at the very least one person in a day happy. Amma's darshans are such a powerful experience. Amma hugs us and whispers something wonderful and soothing in our ear. She heals us with Her words. If we tell Her our problems, Amma will always say something that will heal our wounds. All of Amma's words are only aimed at spreading the love and at healing. What a lesson to learn from Amma! We are not be capable of being such rivers of love but maybe we can use our words ot make one person happy each day. What a chain of love we'd start then!

Om Amriteswariye namah!

Destroyer of the demons!

639. Om avaradayai namah: I bow down to Amma who destroys the unholy demons.

Let the unholy demon You destroy be our ego and all the negative energy we gather around us, Amma. It's high time we realised that we are not the doers. We are the instruments by which You orchestrate life on earth...a life in which each of us has to complete our cycle of karma before the final, grand exit. The day we let go of the steering wheel, the ride will be so much smoother. I guess then we can actually sit back and enjoy the ride instead of constantly doing some very pointless backseat driving. I was talking to a friend today about Amma and about Her question: do we pray out of fear or love? Do we look at Amma with fear or love? I used to worship Amma with fear. I saw Her as Kali, with the power of destroy. But over time I realise Amma is a Mother. Why would She destroy Her children? I can sometimes throw a tantrum and ask Her for a thing or two. Amma always obliges. She'll always be a Mother first. To me, Mother is divine anyway. The bond a Mother shares with Her children is a different one altogether. There's something very blessed in that. And thankfully, my Guru is my darling Mother, who will destroy all the unholy demons that threaten my peace.

Om Amriteswariye namah!