"Where there is compassion, God is there. God dwells in the hearts of the compassionate...if one has compassion for his fellow beings, it is like gold with fragrance. Its value and greatness is beyond all words."
- Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
- Mata Amritanandamayi Devi
Every day thousands of people travel to an ashram in South India, where they stand in line, often for hours, to be embraced by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi - such is the spiritual power of her presence.
Born into a poor family in a remote Indian village, Sudhamani - now known affectionately as Amma - showed all the signs of being a very special child. Displaying a passionate, heartfelt reverence for Lord Krishna from a very early age, as a young girl, whenever she could, she spent every waking moment immersed in the divine - meditating, chanting, dancing or praying to God, even though she was badly ridiculed by her elders and treated as a servant by her family and relatives.
She writes, 'from birth itself I had an intense liking for the Divine Name. So much so, I would repeat the Lord's Name incessantly with every breath, and a constant flow of divine thoughts was kept up in my mind irrespective of the place where I was or the work I was attending to...'
A deeply compassionate child, although she had a hard and difficult life, the suffering of those around her often led her to give what little she had to others - selfless acts which regularly resulted in more hardship for her, from her family.
It wasn't until Amma was in her twenties that her true spiritual worth and vocation was finally recognised. Spiritual seekers began searching her out and a community of devotees and followers built up around her, which today has extended to the hundreds of thousands.
Her selfless acts of service to others has seen dozens of humanitarian iniatives started, such as universities, schools, hospitals, vocational and medical training centres, counseling services, food, housing and flood relief programs, and earth care projects.
Amma has continued to be recognised, 'by the international community as a treasured repository of practical spiritual wisdom, who has the capacity to guide the world towards a better, brighter future. She has been a featured speaker at the United Nations on three occasions, most recently when she was presented with the 2002 Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence. Presenting the award, Dr. Jane Goodall referred to Amma as “God’s love in a human body'.
To learn more about Amma's work, head to http://amritapuri.org
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