Monday, January 31, 2011

AWAKENING IN MANKIND

Mata Amritanandamayi Devi was born Sudhamani Idamannel in the small village of Parayakadavu (now partially known as Amritapuri),Alappad Panchayat, Kollam District, Kerala in 1953. Her schooling ended when she was nine, and she began to take care of her younger siblings and the family domestic work full-time.

As part of her chores, Sudhamani gathered food scraps from neighbors for her family’s cows and goats. Amma says at these times she was confronted with the intense poverty and suffering of others. She would bring these people food and clothing from her own home. Her family, which was not wealthy, scolded and punished her. Amma also began to spontaneously embrace people to comfort them in their sorrow. It was not permissible for a 14-year-old girl to even touch others, especially men. But despite adverse reactions by her parents, Amma continued. Regarding her embracing of others, Amma has said, “I don’t see if it is a man or a woman. I don’t see anyone different from my own self. A continuous stream of love flows from me to all of creation. This is my inborn nature. The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my duty is to console those who are suffering.”

Despite numerous attempts by her parents to arrange marriage for her, Amma rejected all suitors. In 1981, after various seekers had begun residing at her parents' property in Parayakadavu for the sake of being Amma's disciples, a worldwide organization, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, was founded. Amma serves as chairperson of the Math. Today the Mata Amritanandmayi Math is engaged in many spiritual and charitable activities.

In 1987, at the request of devotees, Amma began to conduct programs in countries throughout the world. She has done so annually ever since. Countries Amma has held programs include Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Dubai, England, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States of America. She also makes annual tours of India.

Darshan means “to see” in Sanskrit. In the Hindu ritual tradition, it refers to seeing the sacred. This typically corresponds to seeing the sacred in the image of a deity while at temple. In beholding the image of a deity, onlookers absorb through their eyes the powers of that deity. Darshan hence has the capacity to bring good fortune, well-being, and grace to those who participate in the act. Members of Amma's following use the term specifically in reference to the coveted ritual of receiving a hug from Amma.

Amma has been giving darshan in this manner since her late teenage years. As to how this began, Amma says, "People used to come and tell [me] their troubles. They would cry and I would wipe their tears. When they fell weeping into my lap, I used to hug them. Then the next person too wanted it… And so the habit picked up."[13] Amma's organization, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, claims Amma has embraced more than 29 million people throughout the world.

When asked, in 2002, to what extent does she think her embraces help the ills of the world? Amma replied, "I don’t say I can do it 100 percent. Attempting to change the world [completely] is like trying to straighten the curly tail of a dog. But society takes birth from people. So by affecting individuals, you can make changes in the society and, through it, in the world. You cannot change it, but you can make changes. The fight in individual minds is responsible for the wars. So if you can touch people, you can touch the world."

Amma's darshan is the centerpiece of her life, as she has received people nearly every day since the late 1970s. With the size of the crowds coming to seek Amma's blessings increasing, there are times when she gives darshan continuously for more than 20 hours. In a conversation recorded in the 2004 book From Amma's Heart, Amma says: "As long as these hands can move a little bit and reach out to those who come to her, and as long as there is a little strength and energy to place her hands on a crying person’s shoulder and caress and wipe their tears, Amma will continue giving darshan. To lovingly caress people, console and wipe their tears, until the end of this mortal frame is Amma’s wish."

Teachings

In the book The Timeless Path, Swami Ramakrishnananda Puri, one of Amma's senior disciples, writes: 'The [spiritual] path inculcated by Amma is the same as the one presented in the Vedas and recapitulated in subsequent traditional scriptures such as the Bhagavad Gita."Amma herself says, “Karma [action], jñana [knowledge] and bhakti [devotion] are all essential. If the two wings of a bird are devotion and action, knowledge is its tail. Only with the help of all three can the bird soar into the heights.” She accepts the various spiritual practices and prayers of all religions as but various systems for the single goal of purifying the mind.[18] Along these lines, she stresses the importance of meditation, performing actions as karma yoga, selfless service, and cultivating divine qualities such compassion, patience, forgiveness, self-control, etc. Amma says that these practices refine the mind, making it fit for assimilating the ultimate truth: that one is not the limited body and mind but the eternal blissful consciousness that serves as the non-dual substratum of the universe. This understanding itself Amma refers to as jivanmukti [liberation while alive]. Amma says, "Jivanmukti is not something to be attained after death, nor is it to be experienced or bestowed upon you in another world. It is a state of perfect awareness and equanimity, which can be experienced here and now in this world, while living in the body. Having come to experience the highest truth of oneness with the Self, such blessed souls do not have to be born again. They merge with the infinite consciousness."

Amma's world-wide charitable mission comprises a program to build 100,000 homes for the homeless, three orphanages, relief-and-rehabilitation in the face of disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, free medical care, pensions for widows and disabled people, environmental-protection groups, slum renovation, care homes for the elderly, and free food and clothing for the poor, amongst others. These projects are managed and run by various organizations, including the Mata Amritanandamayi Math (India), the Mata Amritanandamayi Center (USA), Amma-Europe, Amma-Japan, Amma-Kenya, Amma-Australia, etc. All the organizations collectively are known as Embracing the World.

When asked about how her charitable mission's development in 2004, Amma said, "As for the activities, there was no planning. Everything happened spontaneously. One thing led to another on seeing the plight of the poor and the distressed. As Amma meets each and every person, she sees their problems face to face and tries to do something to alleviate their suffering. Om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu is one of the important mantras of Sanatana Dharma, which means, 'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy and peaceful.' The spirit of this mantra was put into action."

The majority of work is done by volunteers as a form of spiritual practice. "It is Amma’s wish that all of her children should dedicate their lives to spreading love and peace throughout the world. Real love and devotion for God is to have compassion for the poor and the suffering," Amma says. "My children, feed those who are hungry, help the poor, console the sorrowful, comfort the suffering, be charitable to all.”

Amma is well known for her devotional singing. There are more than 100 recordings of her singing bhajans in more than 20 languages. She has also composed dozens of bhajans and set them to traditional ragas. Regarding devotional singing as a spiritual practice, Amma says, "If the bhajan is sung with one-pointedness, it is beneficial for the singer, the listeners, and Nature as well. Later when the listeners reflect on the songs, they will try to live in accordance with the lessons enunciated therein."[21] Amma says that in today's world, it is often difficult for people to get one-pointed concentration in meditation, but through devotional singing such concentration can be attained much easier.

Amma's disciples have transcribed her conversations with devotees and spiritual seekers to create approximately a dozen books of her teachings. The addresses she has delivered at various international forums have also been published in book form. Senior disciples including Swami Ramakrishnananda Puri, Swami Turiyamritananda Puri, Swami Paramatmananda and Swamini Krishnamrita Prana have also written books about their experiences with Amma and their understanding of Amma's teachings. Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, the Vice-Chairman of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, has written a biography about Amma. The Mata Amritanandamayi Math also publishesMatruvani, a monthly spiritual magazine, as well as Immortal Bliss, a quarterly.

Positions

  • Founder & Chairperson, Mata Amritanandamayi Math
  • Founder, Embracing the World
  • Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University
  • Founder, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS Hospital)
  • Parliament of the World's Religions, International Advisory Committee Member
  • The Elijah Interfaith Institute, Member of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders

Awards and honours

  • 1993, 'President of the Hindu Faith' (Parliament of the World's Religions)
  • 1993, Hindu Renaissance Award (Hinduism Today)
  • 1998, Care & Share International Humanitarian of the Year Award (Chicago)
  • 2002, Karma Yogi of the Year (Yoga Journal)
  • 2002, Gandhi-King Award for Non-Violence by The World Movement for Nonviolence (UN, Geneva)
  • 2005, Mahavir Mahatma Award (London)
  • 2005, Centenary Legendary Award of the International Rotarians (Cochin)[34]
  • 2006, James Parks Morton Interfaith Award (New York)
  • 2006, The Philosopher Saint Sri Jnaneswara World Peace Prize (Pune)
  • 2007, Le Prix Cinéma Vérité (Cinéma Vérité, Paris)
  • 2010, The State University of New York awarded Amma an honorary doctorate in humane letters on May 25, 2010 at its Buffalocampus.

Addresses at international forums

  • 1993, 'May Your Hearts Blossom,' the Parliament of the World's Religions 100th Anniversary (Chicago)
  • 1995, 'Unity Is Peace,' Interfaith Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations (New York)
  • 2000, 'Living in Harmony,' Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious & Spiritual Leaders (UN, New York)
  • 2002, 'Awakening of Universal Motherhood,' the Global Peace Initiative of Women, (UN, Geneva)
  • 2004, 'May Peace & Happiness Prevail,' Parliament of World's Religions (Barcelona)[41] ·
  • 2006, 'Understanding & Collaboration Between Religions,' James Parks Morton Interfaith Awards (New York)
  • 2007, 'Compassion: The Only Way to Peace' (Cinéma Vérité Festival, Paris)[43]
  • 2008, 'The Infinite Potential of Women,' keynote address of the Global Peace Initiative of Women (Jaipur),
  • 2009, 'Cultivating Strength & Vitality,' inauguration of Vivekananda International Foundation (New Delhi)

Documentaries

Video from the international conferences

Quotations

"There is one Truth that shines through all of creation. Rivers and mountains, plants and animals, the sun, the moon and the stars, you and I—all are expressions of this one Reality."
"In today’s world, people experience two types of poverty: the poverty caused by lack of food, clothing and shelter, and the poverty caused by lack of love and compassion. Of these two, the second type needs to be considered first because if we have love and compassion in our hearts, then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food, clothing and shelter."
"Everyone in the world should be able to sleep without fear, at least for one night. Everyone should be able to eat to his fill, at least for one day. There should be at least one day when hospitals see no one admitted due to violence. By doing selfless service for at least one day, everyone should help the poor and needy. It is Amma's prayer that at least this small dream be realized."
“Children, God has given us the necessary faculties to become like him. Love, beauty and all divine qualities exist within us. We should make use of our faculties to express these divine qualities in our lives."
“Whatever form of meditation we do, whether we focus on the heart or between the eyebrows, the goal is the same: one-pointed concentration."
"Only when human beings are able to perceive and acknowledge the Self in each other can there be real peace."
"Sorrow is the guru which takes you closer to God."
"Asking how many times one should chant the mantra is like asking how much water should be given to a plant for it to yield fruit. Watering is required, but the amount of water depends on the nature of the plant, the climate, the quality of the soil, and so on. Water alone is not enough. The plant needs sunlight, fertilizer, air and protection from pests as well. Similarly, on the spiritual path, chanting the mantra is just one facet. Good deeds, good thoughts, and satsang [association with virtuous people] are also necessary. When all of these are present, then one gets the benefit according to God’s will."
"Bhakti [devotion] towards an object or towards the work that we are doing is important. This feeling comes only when one does the work with concentration. It is a feeling of oneness, of merging in the work. In the same way, although God’s name has a power of its own, when we chant it with bhava [feeling] or concentration, it becomes more powerful."

Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is known throughout the world as Amma, or Mother, for her selfless love and compassion toward all beings. Her entire life has been dedicated to alleviating the pain of the poor and those suffering physically and emotionally. Amma inspires, uplifts and transforms through her physical embrace, her spiritual wisdom and through Embracing the World. Throughout her life, Amma has embraced and comforted more than 30 million people. When asked where she gets the energy to help so many people while simultaneously running a massive humanitarian organization, Amma answers: "Where there is true love, everything is effortless."

AMMA'S BIOGRAPHY:

Amma was deeply affected by the profound suffering she witnessed. According to Hinduism, the suffering of the individual is due to his or her own karma - the results of actions performed in the past. Amma accepted this concept, but she refused to accept it as a justification for inaction. Amma contemplated the principle of karma until she revealed an even more profound truth, asking a question which she continues to ask each of us today. "If it is one man's karma to suffer, isn't it our dharma (duty) to help ease his suffering and pain?"

With this simple yet profound conviction - that each of us has a responsibility to lend a helping hand to those less fortunate - Amma moved forward with confidence in her life of service and compassionate care for all beings, uniquely expressed by the motherly embrace she offers to all who seek solace in her arms.

In Amma's community, it was not permissible for a 14-year-old girl to touch others, especially men. But despite adverse reactions by her parents, Amma followed her heart, later explaining, "I don't see if it is a man or a woman. I don't see anyone different from my own self. A continuous stream of love flows from me to all of creation. This is my inborn nature. The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my duty is to console those who are suffering."


Amma says that love expressed is compassion, and compassion means accepting the needs and sorrows of others as one's own. More than 20 years ago, the administrators of a local orphanage confessed to Amma that they were out of funds. They told Amma that before long, they would have no choice but to turn the children out on the street. Amma diverted the money that had been saved to build her ashram's first prayer hall and used it to assume the care for the orphans instead. With this, Embracing the World was born.

Today, Amma's birthplace in Kerala has become the worldwide headquarters of Embracing the World. Home to 3,000 people, thousands more visit every day from all over India and the world. The center's residents and visitors alike are inspired by Amma's example and dedicate themselves to making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

Amma is widely regarded as India's foremost spiritual leader and one of the guiding lights of Hinduism, Amma says that her religion is love. Amma has never asked anyone to change their religion but only to contemplate the essential principles of their own faith and to try to live accordingly. Amma often comments, "In today's world, there are many who are willing to die for their religion, but no one is willing to live according to their religion's principles."

During the last 15 years, Amma has been regularly invited to speak at international forums. In 1993, the Parliament of the World's Religions Centennial named her President of the Hindu faith. She delivered a keynote address at the United Nations' Millennium World Peace Summit and was presented with the 2002 Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence. In 2006, Amma - along with 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed El Baradei - was presented with the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award by the Interfaith Center of New York for her role as an outstanding spiritual leader and humanitarian.

Every year, more and more people are drawn to Amma. Truly a citizen of the world, she travels throughout India, Europe, the United States and Australia, as well to Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Africa and South America. Wherever Amma goes, she holds free public programs including a talk, devotional singing and guided meditation. In her talks, she offers words of wisdom and guidance on both personal fulfillment as well as the most pressing matters of our time. And to this day, she concludes every program by embracing each person attending the event. It is this singular act that has become both catalyst and symbol for a movement that grows stronger with each passing day.

California businessman Stephen Parr has traveled a long way for a hug. He

is one of thousands of people flocking to a sports stadium in southern India this week seeking spiritual fulfillment in the arms of religious leader Mata Amritanandamayi, a Hindu woman who hugs her devotees. Her followers claim she has given 30 million hugs in 30 years.

Amritanandamayi, known by her followers as ``Amma,'' which means ``mother'' in many Indian languages, is marking her 50th birthday with a weeklong celebration starting Wednesday.


Organizers of the event expect half a million people, including India's President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to attend, looking for spiritual transformation and encouragement to help those less fortunate.

Planned activities include forums on conflict resolution, interfaith dialogue and peace building - and lots of hugs.


``Outsiders might find it crazy. But those who have experienced her hug know that they go back transformed,'' said Parr, 50, who runs a film archive in San Francisco.

``As we make more and more money, we are less and less in control of things. Peace comes from living for others. Life is all about showing love. Once she hugs, you know,'' Parr said.

A maternal figure who hugs her devotees in a gesture of blessing, Amritanandamayi has admirers in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. She travels most of the year, meeting people from several cultures and religions.

Parr, who wore an Indian loincloth around his waist and a loose shirt, said he has not given up his business but finds himself increasingly drawn to spiritual quest.

He said Amritanandamayi, whose full name means ``Mother of Absolute Bliss,'' welcomes all religions.


Her disciples are hoping this week's celebration - which has attracted some of India's top politicians, artists, executives and poor villagers - will bring new people into her embrace.

Dressed in the traditional orange and saffron sacred Hindu colors, they carry cell phones to direct thousands of volunteers, erecting the stage, cooking, and cleaning toilets.


Many of her followers have quit their careers and traveled to dusty Indian villages where she works, although her organization does not say how many are full-time participants.


Prem Nair, 46, said he quit his job as a professor of medicine at the University of California to serve in a hospital set up by Amritanandamayi's organization, the Amrita Ashram.


The 800-bed hospital treats people for free in Cochin, a city of 1 million, 1,320 miles south of New Delhi, India's capital. The bulk of the organization's operations are focused around the city in southern Kerala state, but aid work is done throughout India.

The organization plans to launch orphanages and set up a lawyers' consultancy for the poor people during the event.


Amritanandamayi chants the name of the Hindu deity Krishna on a stage as her devotees sit cross-legged, singing songs from different religions, in which the name of a god is not specified. Many of them say they believe she herself is a god, which has drawn criticism from more conservative Hindus.


Elizabeth Rose Raphael, 40, a New York-based writer, said she spent four years at the ashram before rejoining her family and will probably keep returning to India.


Followers say they often face ridicule from friends and family when they talk about their devotion to the so-called ``hugging saint.'' But they say her work has been increasingly appreciated amid news of disaster and conflict.


``After Sept. 11, there is a big change. People know that Amma's message of love is the answer,'' Raphael said.

Some have traveled many miles to the Boston suburbs, from upstate New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey. All come to spend time in her presence – and to receive the tender hug she has given to some 30 million people in several countries.

The small, smiling woman in a white sari is on her yearly tour across the US, drawing thousands at each stop. People sit in line for hours just to be enfolded in that motherly embrace, perhaps asking her a fervent question about a decision that troubles them or the deeper purpose of life.

Amma – the affectionate name for Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi – has been dubbed“the hugging saint” by international media. But her unconventional spiritual practice and her teachings aim at a deeper impact.

The Indian guru wishes to comfort wounded hearts through an expression of unconditional love, but also to awaken in people what she calls the “healing qualities of universal motherhood.” Both men and women can express these qualities, she teaches. “The love of awakened motherhood is a love and compassion felt not only towards one’s own children, but towards all people … to all of nature,” she says. “This motherhood is Divine Love – and that is God.”

For her devotees, it is Amma’s example that draws and holds them. “She is compassion in action,” says Rob Sidon, an American who first encountered Amma during a trip to India, and now acts as a spokesman for the Mata Amritanandamayi (M.A.) Center in Castro Valley, Calif. (This and two regional centers in Santa Fe, N.M., and Ann Arbor, Mich., offer the public a contemplative environment, classes, retreats, and volunteer opportunities.)

In addition to her hugging sessions (which can last for hours, a full day, or overnight, depending on the number of people), she has spurred a host of humanitarian activities in India and elsewhere. They include charitable hospitals and hospices, free housing for the poor, a widow’s pension program, orphanages, and schools for destitute children.

According to Amma’s followers, funds for humanitarian activities come from donations, sales of items on tours, and books and CDs of her talks, sayings, and devotional songs.

The M.A.center in the US donated $1 million to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. And Amma committed $23 millionfor rebuilding after the South Asian tsunami.

Yet for 35 years, this daughter of a poor Keralan fisherman has been dispensing hugs as the central gesture of her life. As a child pulled out of school to work for her family, Amma felt compelled to ease the suffering of elderly neighbors. She washed their clothes and bathed them.

Experiencing physical abuse at home, she says she always knew there was a higher reality beyond the physical. As a girl, she spent hours in meditation and composing devotional songs. She decided not to marry but to devote her life to embracing the world.

Amma – who has also traveled to Europe, Africa, and Australia on that mission – has been coming to the US since 1987. Many at this three-day retreat at a Marlborough, Mass., hotel have seen her before. “Friends recommended I go five years ago because her amazing presence tends to open people’s hearts,” says Monica Martynska, a singer from Princeton, N.J. “She’s changed my life.”

Ms. Martynska has taken up meditation and chanting. “It’s designed to quiet the chattering mind and turn us inward … so we can act from the center of the heart instead of being so reactive,” she explains.

As Amma receives individuals or couples in the main hall, a swami teaches her meditation method in another room. Born within a Hindu context, she emphasizes that love and compassion are the essence of all religions. Amma set up temples in India, stirring controversy by consecrating women priests as well as men.

“She wants womanly qualities to rise up and take their rightful place in the world,” says Beverley Noia, now known as Janani. Formerly a professor of comparative religion at Regis University in Denver, a Catholic institution, she serves as Amma’s videographer and archivist, recording the guru’s global experience. “She’s taught me to be a feminist without anger.”

An independent filmmaker has produced a documentary on the teacher titled“Darshan.” Premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, it will be released in the US in August. Darshan is Sanskrit for “audience with a holy person” and is the name given to the lengthy hugging sessions.

Amma’s inclusive outreach has brought her stature on the world stage. She was invited to speak at the UN’s 50th anniversary in 1995 and at the Millennium World Peace Summit in 2000. In 2002, she won the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence, and in May 2006, an interfaith award previously given to the Dalai Lama and Bishop Desmond Tutu. Many compare her to Mother Teresa.

While some people tend to deify her, the guru says that everyone is divine, and that each one must seek to get rid of the ego and find “their real Self.”

“We human beings are just instruments of God so we should not be egoistic,” Amma emphasizes in an interview. “We should have the awareness that ‘I am just like a pen in the hand of a writer, or a brush in the hands of a painter.’ “

The tireless teacher responds to questions through an interpreter (her native tongue is Malayalam). With each query she turns to smile and communicate eye to eye even as she continues to embrace the faithful. Afterward, she bestows on this reporter a warm hug, a gentle backrub, and a laughing kiss on the cheek.

In addition to the three regional centers, there are small groups across the US, called satsangs, where devotees meet weekly for meditation and singing. But they must also live out their spiritual practice through seva – selfless service.

Chinmayi Ruiz, for instance, who hosts a satsang in Concord, Mass., joins with other volunteers for Mother’s Kitchen. On a regular basis, they cook food at home and take it to serve at various community shelters.

In Amma’s words: “It is through selfless sharing that the flower of life becomes beautiful and fragrant.”
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