Anandamayi Ma – Divine Mother

 

“Everything that happens is an expression of God’s grace; truly everything comes from His grace. Anchor in patience and enduring everything, observe His name and live in joy.”

Anandamayi Ma has been described as “the most perfect flower that the land of India has given to the world.”

Paramhansa Yogananda translated the name Of Anandamayi as “a state of permanent joy”. This name was given to him by his devotees in 1920. Thus, they described how they perceived it as being in a permanent state of divine joy and ecstasy.

His life

Anandamayi Ma was born in East Bengal, present-day Bangladesh in 1896.

Her mother had several auspicious dreams about gods and goddesses before Ma’s birth, as a sign of the coming of a special being.

Among the gifts with which she was endowed are foresight and miraculous healings.

She was married at an early age to Mohan Chakaravathi, who later became her disciple and Guru before his death due to tuberculosis. She renamed him Bholanath.

He never struggled to achieve anything, never had a guru, and never consulted scriptures or books on yoga. It simply happened that, sitting in her room at night, after impeccably performing the household chores during the day, an inner guidance brought through her ancient Sanskrit verses and sacred phrases (mantras) that she had never heard, as well as images of various aspects of God.

When he asked who or what this inner guidance was, the answer came:

“Your Shakti- The Divine Power”.

Then it was revealed to her – Ma, “You are everything “, after which, as she stated:

” I realized that the universe was all my manifestation. I found myself face to face with the One who appears just as many. “

Due to her spiritual qualities, her body spontaneously sat in difficult yogic positions (asanas) for long periods of time and spontaneously forms complex tantic positions of the hands (mudras) and gestures.

Likewise, she could fast for long periods of time. He kept a lot of fasting, but he didn’t need much food for the rest.

I most often referred to herself impersonally as
“this body”
or “
this little girl of yours”
, she usually warmly greeted her married visitors as “Father” or “Mother” and everyone else as “Children” or “Friend”.

Visitors and followers of Ma came from all ages and from all walks of life and from different religions and nations.

Those who visited her described her as magnificent, mysterious, divine in human form, as a attentive and comforting mother, with strict discipline (whose advice has always proven to be the best way of acting), as a confident woman, as a playful, cheerful, sometimes severe girl.

For Ma everything is God’s game, it’s not a matter of pain or worry. It would urge them to trust in God, which is the deepest reality, to merge their attention into him who is so formless and manifests himself as all these forms, and to let any work or duty flow spontaneously through the body without being attached to the fruit of the action.

Anandamayi Ma did not write books.

She traveled extensively throughout India and established many ashrams, giving women the opportunity to follow the celibacy life called brahmacharini .

He would attend festivals wherever he went and often attend Kumbh Mela. Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu faith pilgrimage in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river. Bathing in the river at these events cleanses one of all sins .

Although Anandamayi Ma did not officially consider herself a guru, she had many ashrams and devotees.

Speaking of the high significance of the singing of the Holy Name of God, Ma said one day:

“It is not suggested to leave everything behind and run away. Be with the world and its various requirements, but keep a fiery fire — the fire of His name. If He chooses to bless you, then this fire will burn all the impurities and lead your pure soul to Him. Live your life in this world, but keep Him.”

She was once asked
“How do you get rid of sadness?

Isn’t there an end to be desired? “

He told me:

“You live in a foreign country and you are unhappy. Find out your homeland, find yourself again, and your unhappiness will end. And the foreign country is the product of its own desires and desires. They will disappear when you find your own territory, your own self. “

About spirituality and family

Speaking of Brahmacharya (the life of celibacy), she said that it is better to become an ideal family man than to become a purposeless brahmachari (celibacy). In her vision “There is nothing wrong with leading a virtuous family life. It is good for some people to strive to approach God through marriage.”

Ma indicates that he felt that there was no contradiction between family life and the pursuit of spirituality. In her opinion, we should act according to the situation.

About reaching out to God while leading a family life, she said:

“Turn your home into a temple of God. Whoever stays in my home is a picture of God and I will serve him as an administrator. If you can live in this spirit, there is every chance that you will become a true servant of God in time. ” As for peace, she said, “Peace does not lie in wealth and does not rule men. You can never achieve peace unless you have the feeling that you have an undisturbed identity, it is knowledge and it is consciousness. “

As for the different religions, Ma pointed out that, in essence, every religion had the same message.

One day, speaking of God’s ways, she said:

“You frequently complain about the righteousness of God when you are joined in sorrow; but the point is that he dispels danger only by creating danger. No one would move toward Him unless He went through suffering.” – Socrates

About Gandhi’s death

When he received the shocking news of Mahatma Gandhi’s death, Ma’s immediate reaction was ” It is like Jesus Christ “.

Speaking of Gandhi, Ma said:

“Jesus Christ absorbed all the violence from his own body before he implemented it. He had no animosity even towards violence. Similarly, Gandhiji defeated violence with his force by Ahimsa (the practice of non-violence). He fell quietly taking the name of Ram, with his palms united in prayer.

 

About fear

Asked how we can overcome fear, Ma said:

“You can overcome fear if you think of God. He is the soul – the life force. You cannot fail to remember Him, whether you are alone or in the company of religious persons. If you don’t call him, you can’t free yourself from the shroud that covers you. Never try to yourself bribe the way to God. If you try to deceive, you will be deceived yourself. “

 

End of life

Towards the end of his life, signs of attrition resulting from the constant dedication and journey and the various diseases that he had over the years began to appear. One of the phases or gifts of divine incarnations is that they can take over the sickness and sufferings of their followers.

Her condition deteriorated from day to day, but even then she was visited by many followers.

On the night of July 23, Ma said, “Tomorrow morning this body will move into Ashram Kishenpur.” Upon arrival in Kishenpur the next morning, she was seated on a chair held in the courtyard to be taken directly to her room. Anandamayi Ma remained there until the end of his existence, on the morning of August 28.

When someone was complaining about his death, Ma said:

“ Who leaves – who else gets it? What is the distinction between life and death? One who passes, in fact, merges into the One who is always existent. “

Quotes

Below we offer you some excerpts from the personal advice and advice offered by Anandamayi Ma to her disciples in different situations. They represent true pearls of wisdom and contain the savor of the deep truth and simplicity from which they sprang.

“Human birth – it does not usually mean to face desire, passion, pain, suffering, old age, illness and so on. Yet it is man’s duty to bear in mind that he existed only for God—to serve him and to accomplish him.”

“To say ‘I don’t know, I don’t understand’ is just ignorance, it’s the wave of ignorance that causes agony and unhappiness.”

“The force of character is man’s greatest power. If he uses it in his dealings with the world, he will be victorious in everything he does.”

“You cannot find the (Divine) Mother until faith awakens in you, that whatever a Mother does is best for Her child.”

In response to the question asked by Paramahamsa Yogananda, “Ma, tell me a little of your life”, Anandamayi Ma replied:

“Father, there are few things to say. My consciousness has never been associated with this temporary body. Before I came to this earth, Father, “I was the same.” I became a woman, but still “I was the same.” When the family I was born into made arrangements to marry this body, “I was the same.” And, parent, in front of you now, “I am the same.” Even after that, although the dance of creation changes around me in the hall of eternity, “I will be the same.”