Tag: Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma: In whichever direction you may turn your gaze, you will find One Eternal Indivisible Being manifested. Yet it is not at all easy to detect this presence, because He interpenetrates everything. As a king is known by his majesty, as fire is known by its heat, so the Unmanifest reveals Himself through the world of manifestation. The analysis of the substance of all created things, if carried sufficiently far, will lead to the discovery that what remains is identical and equally present in all creatures: it is He, it is That, which is styled as Pure Consciousness.

The Universal Body of the Lord comprises all things – trees, flowers, leaves, hills, mountains, rivers, oceans, and so forth. A time will come, must come, when one actually perceives this all-pervading Universal Form of the One. The variety of His shapes and guises is infinite, uncountable, without end. Just as ice is nothing but water, so the Beloved is without form, without quality, and the question of manifestation does not arise. When this is realized, one has realized one’s Self. For, to find the Beloved is to find my Self, to discover that God is my very own, wholly identical with myself, my innermost Self, the Self of my Self.

Anandamayi Ma: Divine happiness, even the tiniest particle of a grain of it, never leaves one again. And when one attains to the essence of things and finds one’s Self – this is supreme happiness. When it is found, nothing else remains to be found. The sense of want will not awaken anymore, and the heart’s torment will be stilled forever. Do not be satisfied with fragmentary happiness, which is invariably interrupted by shocks and blows of fate. But become complete, and having attained to perfection, be Yourself.

Anandamayi Ma: Man thinks he is the doer of his actions, while actually everything is managed from “There”. The connection is “There”, as well as the power-house – yet people say: “I do.” How wonderful it is!

When in spite of all efforts one fails to catch a train, does this not make it clear from where all one’s movements are being directed?

Whatever is to happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, is all fixed by Him. His arrangements are perfect.

ABOUT ANANDAMAYI MA, from memories of Melitta Mashmann

Ma is so beautiful because her body is transparent due to the divine light which is the source of all beauty. Years ago I said to her: I am such an extrovert that I cannot see God within myself, but sometimes I see Him in your face.

That night I made a note in my diary: During the evening darshan, Ma glanced at me. Suddenly her face which had looked tired became radiantly beautiful, irradiated by the inner light. For an hour she sat silent without moving on her couch. No one dared to talk. Each cell of her body vibrated in the joy of a mysterious Presence. Is it allowed to try and interpret such a situation? But perhaps when Ma glanced at me she remembered my remark that morning: Sometimes I see God in your face. And there He was, called by my loving longing to see Him.

ABOUT ANANDAMAYI MA, from memories of Swami Mangalananda

In 1929, a National Congress of Philosophers was held in Dhaka. Many of the participants in this gathering had heard the tales of the young Bengali Mataji and came to see her. They were told that she was virtually uneducated and very simple. The assembled group plied her with many complicated philosophical questions from the scriptures. To their amazement, Ma, sitting serenely and radiantly before them, answered every one of their queries without a moment’s hesitation. The depth and profundity of her replies so impressed them, that in the end they folded their hands and told her, “We have studied dry scriptures. But, we now see before us, a living embodiment of all that is contained in our holy books of wisdom.”

Anandamayi Ma: Happiness that depends on anything outside of you, be it a wife, a child, money, fame, friends cannot last. But if you find happiness in God who is everywhere, all pervading, who is your own self, that is real happiness.

Anandamayi Ma: The delight in the things of this world, in sense objects is fleeting indeed. It does not last. It is impermanent. But where God and God alone stands revealed, there is no such thing as impermanence. Your attention is directed towards the world, not towards the eternal. You are identified with that which is transient in constant flux. What is revealed thereby? The perishable. In the perishable there is no self-revelation. How can Reality, true being be in that?

Continue reading “The light which is eternal can never be extinguished”

ABOUT ANANDAMAYI MA, from memories of Swami Mangalananda

Once, I witnessed an event that might seem insignificant but had a wonderful charm to it. In the dead of night, we were waiting on a railroad platform in a small town in Uttar Pradesh. There was just a small group of us with Ma, and someone brought a chair out and placed it on the platform for Ma to sit on. I saw that sitting right next to the chair was a little village woman, squatting on her luggage. Ma leaned towards her and started a friendly conversation.

Continue reading “Сasual conversation with God”

Anandamayi Ma: Meditate on God all the time, whatever you may do, wherever you may be. Remember, whatever you see, whatever you hear is his manifestation. Pain exists because you believe yourself to be separate. Don’t consider anyone as separate from yourself. Regard everyone as your friend. Consider yourself to be God’s tool and think that He is moving you. Dedicate yourself entirely to Him, feel all the time that He is doing everything. Even when you walk, feel that He is moving your legs.

Whatever work you do, offer it to Him, then you will be incapable of any baseness, for how can you offer anything ugly to your Beloved. The little knowledge you possess, you have to give up to Him and in return, because there is nothing left, He will give you all.

ABOUT ANANDAMAYI MA, WHEN SHE WAS EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD

Her appearance at this time was also striking. She was slim and graceful, her long, black hair hung below her knees, and her tangible spiritual radiance evoked awe in all who saw her. Once, the new couple was invited to attend a celebration of Durga Puja. When Ma, who at that time was unknown to the local people, entered the gathering wearing a red saree, the people assembled there were awestruck and proclaimed, “Durga Herself has come into our midst,” and began making obeisance, by kneeling and touching their heads to the ground. Continue reading “Durga Herself”