Sri Anandamayi first came to the public’s attention in the West through Paramahansa Yogananda’s book, "Autobiography of a Yogi". Upon first meeting Anandamayi Ma, Yogananda was aware of the high state of samadhi she was in. He told of having met many men of God realization, but never had he met such an exalted female saint. When Yogananda asked her to tell Him something of her life she replied: "My consciousness has never associated itself with this temporary body. Before I came on this earth, Father, I was the same. As a little girl, I was the same. I grew into womanhood; Still I was the same. When the family in which I had been born made arrangements to have this body married I was the same, and Father, in front of you now, I am the same. Even afterward, though the dance of creation changes around me in the Hall of Eternity, I shall be the same."
These are not just idle words. Upon reading Her biography and Her teachings, this is exactly how she lived. I have personally just recently become aware of Sri Anandamayi Ma and I am very impressed with Her life and message. What is interesting is that She was totally uneducated and all Her knowledge and wisdom came directly from inner revelation. I don’t even think She ever read a book, yet Her beautiful teachings could have come right out of the Vedas and Upanishads.
She lived completely as the Eternal Self. It was almost like She had no ego. What I mean by this is that ideally for most people, the ideal is to integrate one’s ego and spirit. I am not talking about negative ego here, I am talking about the ego. The ego being that part of ourselves that takes care of and understands the physical body. That tells us to sleep, eat, watch out for physical danger.
Sri Anadamayi Ma was so totally identified with the Atman or Eternal Self that in her adult life she wouldn’t eat unless one of her devotees fed her. She was just the Self, with no ego to take care of her physical body. Her husband and devotees took care of her physical body, because she was too immersed in spirit. I am not saying this is the right path for most people, however, I do feel that it was the perfect example that She was supposed to set for mankind.
Often, for days, she would stay in a divine trance, scarcely breathing or even winking. In this sense and in Her general demeanor, She was like a child saint. Her only interest in life was union with God and this is where she lived. She frequently described Herself as a detached onlooker performing voluntarily a play in the theater called Earth life.
She was born on April 30, 1896 in Bangladesh. She was given the name Nirmala Sundari, which means immaculate beauty. In Her entire life she only attended two years of school because her family was so poor. She is a living testament to the fact that wisdom is not based on book learning.
She had no formal religious education either. She was very mystically inclined, even as a child and was often seen talking to plants and invisible beings. Her parents arranged for Her to be married at the age of 13, to a man by the name of Bholanatha (a name for Shiva). They did not live together, however, for five years.
Even from a young age Sri Anandamayi Ma was very joyful, and was a hard worker. When her husband first tried to approach her sexually, he got such a violent electrical shock that he put the thought out of his mind. In the entire marriage, they never consummated it sexually. Even from that relatively young age, Sri Anandamayi Ma had no sexual desire. her consciousness was already attuned to God.
On a couple occasions through out their marriage her husband, had an occasional thought about her and when he did, She went immediately into a death trance. Bholanath would feel so frightened he would start repeating the name of God over and over again, and this was the only thing that would bring Her out of the trance. As they grew into adulthood, She became his guru.
She never had a guru, and was completely unaware of any religious scripture, because I don’t think she could even read. She would go into trance, however, and start repeating mantras and yoga postures. She was also a channel for an inner voice and teacher of some kind. She would also be given all kinds of inner visions.
Sri Anandamayi Ma was obviously some kind of Self realized yogi or yogini in a past life. During one stage and period in her life, she was able to miraculously heal people with just the touch of Her hand. Her spiritual practices would go on for hours at a time just spontaneously from Her inner guidance.
Soon she was chanting long Sanskrit stanzas she had never studied with her conscious mind. Friends and relatives who were not spiritually inclined, thought she was crazy and possessed. They had an "exorcist" come and when the exorcist touched her he fell writhing to the ground in pain. Sri Anandamayi removed the pain and the family never tried that again.
Sri Anandamayi was not crazy, She was God intoxicated. In this respect She was much like the great Ramakrishna. Her spiritual practices grew in intensity. During this phase she was hardly aware of her physical body and need to sleep or eat. In 1922 she spiritually initiated her husband in accordance with the rules of the scriptures, even though she had never read the scriptures. For three years after this Sri Anandamayi remained in almost complete silence. It was after this that her exalted status spread and she began to attract Her first disciples.
She never participated in animal sacrifices and said the true meaning of this rite was to sacrifice one’s own lower animal nature. Her disciples became convinced that Her body was possessed by Divine forces. She lived so completely in the Eternal Self that when She would refer to Herself, she would say, "this body", or "this little daughter of yours". People began to refer to Her as the "bliss permeated Mother". She would never eat fruit unless it had fallen from a tree in a natural way. If someone picked it from a tree she would not eat it. Another time She had a Divine vision of how all the chakras work and gave a detailed explanation that even advanced scholars on the subject couldn’t match. Sri Anandamayi Ma did not see Herself as a guru, however, did give a great deal of counseling and teaching when disciples and people in need asked questions. I have read a number of Her books, and the clarity of Her understanding is remarkable, given that She never studied any religious material.
On one occasion during a spiritual pilgrimage they passed over an area in some jungle region and Sri Anandamayi went into a trance and said that the area in which they were walking was hallowed ground. They told the authorities and excavations were done and several temple ruins were discovered.
In later years of Her life She would have serious health problems, however, she lived in such a transcendental and non-dualistic reality She would say, "For this body there is no cause whatever for inconvenience or discomfort. This (ill health) is also a fine play."
In Dr. Alexandre Lipski’s book, "Life and Teaching of Sri Anandamayi Ma", he tells of an Italian devotee, Miriam Orr, who described Sri Anandamayi Ma in the following manner. "Mother is not a human being like all the others. She is Divine Light clad in a human form."
Sri Anandamayi Ma never condemned anyone, for she saw all people as souls, tarnished with egotistical tendencies, but still souls. She was very universalistic in Her acceptance of all religions, and within Her own personal feelings, abhorred the caste system.
The essence of Her teachings is that there is only one God who is Brahman and all people are, in truth, Atman, the Eternal Self. Realizing God is the cure all for all worldly suffering and human imperfection. Happiness can’t be found in the world. Permanent happiness and peace can only be found in God. If people seek to find happiness in fame, money, power, or human love, they are just binding themselves to the wheel of rebirth.
Everything in the world is achieved through will power. When we don’t own our power, in service of God, we become victims to our moods, cravings, desires, and impulses. Sri Anandamayi Ma saw the average man like a cow which is tied by a rope to a post. Within the limits of a rope the cow has freedom. If the cow can break free from the rope he will have total freedom, similarly a person can cut the rope of delusion and false happiness through spiritual practice and perseverance.
She saw prayer as a means of often times overcoming karmic debts from this life or past lives. She discouraged people from spending too much time concerning past lives for the Eternal Self is existent through eternity.
She guided all disciples to accept all circumstances as coming from God, and to accept them with equanimity and equal mindedness. All suffering was seen as a guide towards spiritual liberation. Everything that happens was seen as a product of one’s karma. All human attachments needed to be given up or eventually they are taken away, to remind the person of their true home.
Sri Anandamayi Ma also warned her disciples not to spend excessive time mourning and grieving over loved ones. This can be an obstacle in the path for both the deceased and the survivor. The deceased is kept earth bound by the thoughts of the mourner, and the survivor is indulging in too much worldly attachment.
RSS 2.0