Amma explains, "In India, women are expected to remain in the background. In Amma’s community, however, it was not permissible for a 14-year-old girl to touch others, especially men. 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. “If it is one man’s karma to suffer, isn’t it our dharma (duty) to help ease his suffering and pain?” Amma contemplated the principle of karma until she revealed an even more profound truth, asking a question she continues to ask each of us today. Amma accepted this concept, but she refused to accept it as a justification for inaction. According to Hinduism, the suffering of the individual is due to his or her own karma - the results of actions performed in the past. Responding to her affectionate care, they began to call her Amma (Mother).Īmma was deeply affected by the profound suffering she witnessed. She also began to spontaneously embrace people to comfort them in their sorrow. She was undeterred by the scolding and punishment she received from her family for doing so. Where Mata Amritanandamayi encountered people in need, she brought them food and clothing from her own home. As she went door-to-door gathering food scraps from neighbors for her family’s cows, she was confronted with the intense poverty and suffering that existed in her community, and in the world beyond it. When she was nine years old, her mother became ill, and Mata Amritanandamayi was withdrawn from school in order to help with household tasks and the care of her seven siblings. Despite her tender age, her compositions revealed remarkable depth and wisdom. She also composed devotional songs and could often be seen singing to the divine with heartfelt emotion. Mata Amritanandamayi was born in a remote coastal village in Kerala, South India in 1953.Įven as a small girl, she drew attention with the many hours she spent in deep meditation on the seashore.
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