Judith Cornell writes in the authorized biography of Amma, Healing The Heart of the World, about Amma’s birth: “Amma’s entire birth was silent and Damayanti (Amma’s mother) said she felt almost nothing. When she looked at her newborn girl, Damayanti was shocked to see that her skin was dark blue. Remembering her last baby, who had not survived the birth, Damayanti was horrified, assuming that since this baby was silent and blue, that it was also dead. Damayanti began to cry. At that moment, a woman from a neighboring house happened to stop at the open door of the Idamannel house. Quickly realizing that Damayanti had just delivered a child, she hurried to make mother and baby comfortable. She assured the shaken mother that the baby was alive and breathing. Damayanti again looked at the baby’s face and was amazed to see the baby’s dark eyes looking directly into hers with a penetrating gaze and a benevolent smile on her tiny face.

“Damayanti, however was still not convinced that her child was all right. The child’s legs were locked in a cross-legged position, like the lotus posture used for meditation. Her little thumbs and forefingers touched, each tiny hand forming a circle. Neither woman noticed how similar the baby’s hand gestures were to the finger position yogis used to represent the ego merging with the Higher Self. Instead, they both thought she had some kind of skin and bone disease like other babies who had been born in the village and needed splints to straighten them out.

“Hundreds of years ago,” Cornell wrote, “a prejudice toward fair-skinned people had infiltrated Indian consciousness as a result of foreign invaders. This dark child, then, seemed predestined to live a life of hardship and misunderstanding. From the time she was an infant, Sudhamani was given no love and was treated poorly and impatiently by her parents and siblings.”

Amma commented on the early years of ill treatment by her family: “From all those experiences I clearly understood that the world is full of sorrow. We have no true relations, for all our relatives love us only to fulfill their own selfish needs. Human beings love each other out of desire. Nobody loves us selflessly. Only God loves us with selfless love.”

Sudhamani spent the years of her childhood and teens immersed in intense spiritual practices in order to present a living example for the world. Even as a small child, she could often be found absorbed in deep meditation, totally oblivious of her surroundings. By the age of five, she had already begun composing devotional songs laden with deep mystical insight.

Amma was forced into servitude as a victim of racial prejudice in her own family. She discovered that her divine calling very early in life was to comfort others; she began to demonstrate her love and compassion toward her fellow human beings. Though only a child, Sudhamani did whatever she could to ease the suffering of her elderly neighbors. She washed their clothes, bathed them and even brought them food and clothing from her own home. This giving away of things from her family’s house landed her in deep trouble. However, no amount of physical abuse or punishment could stop the expression of her inborn compassion. “I used to visit villages when I was young,” Amma said. “In some of the homes there would be a lot of food available and everyone was happy. In yet another house, the mother and children would be huddled together and crying. When I saw that, I brought things from my house and gave it to them.” She later said, “An unbroken stream of love flows from me towards all beings in the cosmos. That is my inborn nature.”

Amma has inspired and started innumerable humanitarian services. She has earned international recognition for her outstanding contributions to the world community. She is recognized as an extraordinary spiritual leader by the United Nations and by people all over the world.

Although Amma makes no claims herself, those who watch her closely notice that she is the greatest example of her teaching. Her disciples and believers imbibe her teachings by just watching her.

For the past 35 years Amma has dedicated her life to uplifting suffering humanity through the simplest of gestures – an embrace. In this intimate manner, Amma has blessed and consoled more than 25 million people throughout the world – black, white, yellow and brown; rich and poor; healthy and sick; from all spiritual traditions. The elderly, the handicapped, mothers, babies and, in some cases, whole families have knelt before her. Amma does not preach but hopes that people find renewed faith in their own path. Amma explains, “As a child, I always wanted to know the cause of misery of mankind and thought that if sorrow is a truth, then there must be a cause and a way out. I realize my purpose is to console – to personally wipe away tears through selfless love, compassion and service.”

Without a break, Amma spends most of her waking hours receiving the distressed and all who come to her for comfort, day after day. Recipients of one of Amma’s hugs have described that they were filled with peace and felt “divine love.” Others can be seen wiping away tears of joy after their encounter with Amma and yet others experience a deep meditative state. This humble woman who speaks no English is teaching a universal lesson that transcends the spoken word — that the need for love is the common thread shared by all and is fundamental for the human spirit to thrive.
Amma says, “Real love exists in the heart. This love cannot be spoken and cannot be put into words. Words are in the intellect. In words, there is no love, only ego. Go beyond words and language to the heart.”

An evening with Amma consists of satsang (spiritual discourse), bhajan (devotional music), meditation and darshan (Amma’s personal blessing). Using simple parables, her talks focus on elevating love over negativity, peace over anger. “Serving others should not be viewed as a tireless endeavor, but rather as an opportunity given to us by God. We should be happy and thank God for providing such opportunities.” Amma continues, “Real service is the power that sustains this world. When human beings serve nature, nature serves human beings.

“No work is insignificant or meaningless. The amount of love, the amount of heart which you pour into your work, makes it significant and beautiful.”

Once a press reporter asked Amma how was it possible for her to embrace each and every person in the same loving way, even if they were diseased or unpleasant. Amma replied, “When a bee hovers over a garden of varied flowers, what it beholds is not the difference between the flowers but the honey within them. Similarly, Amma sees the same Supreme Self in each and every one.”

As Dr. Jane Goodall, while presenting Amma with the 2002 Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence said, “She stands here in front of us. God’s love in a human body.”

The following is excerpted from the book From Amma's Heart translated and written by Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri:”

Amma’s life is her message. In other words, Amma does not teach anything that she herself does not practice. Living from moment to moment in a constant state of supreme happiness, Amma warmly embraces thousands of people day after day, wiping their tears, giving them her divine guidance and offering solace to all who come to her. Amma recommends the path of selfless-service through the example of her own life.

Amma says, “The beauty and charm of selfless love and service should not die away from the face of the earth. The world should know that a life of dedication is possible, that a life inspired by love and service to humanity is possible.

“Meditation and studying the scriptures are like two sides of a coin. The engraving on that coin is selfless service and that is what gives it its real value. Our compassion and acts of selflessness take us to the deeper truths. Through selfless action we can eradicate the ego that conceals the Self. Detached, selfless action leads to liberation. Such action is not just work; it is karma yoga.”

Amma always points out that the purpose of one’s life is to realize who we really are. She says, “By realizing our own Self we become full, with nothing more to gain in life. Life becomes perfect.”

To attain this goal, Amma says that no particular path or spiritual practice can be recommended for all. “Just as a doctor gives different dosages or even different medications to patients with the same ailment according to their constitution, so does a Spiritual Master prescribe different methods to different people to reach the same goal. Spirituality is the practical science of life. Apart from taking us to the ultimate goal of self-realization, it also teaches us the nature of the world and how to understand life and live fully in the best way possible.”

However, Amma says that the path of devotion and selfless-service is the safest and most conducive path for many people. Amma continues, “Just by feeling (someone’s) pain you cannot resolve it. You have to do something. If you see a blind person who is crying, why suffer for him when you can hold his hand and help him across the street?”

Amma says that “The real purpose of life is to experience what is beyond this physical existence. However, each one looks at life differently. Most human beings see life as a constant struggle for survival. Such people believe in the theory, The fittest will survive. They are satisfied with the normal way of living – for example, getting a house, a job, a car, a wife, a husband, children and enough money to live. Yes, these are important things, and we need to focus on our day-to-day lives and to take care of our responsibilities and obligations, small and big.

“But there is more to life, a higher purpose, which is to know and realize who we are. By knowing who we are, we gain everything. A feeling of complete fullness, with absolutely nothing else to gain in life. That realization makes life perfect. Spirituality is not blind faith; it is the ideal that eliminates darkness. It is the principle that teaches us to face any adverse circumstance or obstacle with a smile. Spirituality is the teaching for the mind.”

Amma’s outreach takes two principal forms: first, the darshan programs where she reaches out on an individual basis and second, her charities which are designed to improve peoples’ lives on a broader scale. Teaching by the example of her own life, Amma blends spiritual awareness with practical social service. As she shows us, when service is accompanied by love in the form of a compassionate smile and kind words, those who give and those who receive are uplifted by the sense of universal kinship. “Compassion to the poor is our duty to God,” Amma says. “If you do spiritual practice without performing selfless actions, it will be like building a house without any doors.”

In this spirit, Amma’s tiny village home has been transformed into the headquarters of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MA Math) whose broad goal is to help alleviate human suffering, wherever possible. Given the crushing poverty in India and the larger availability of volunteer resources, Amma’s charitable projects

have focused there. However, Amma actively encourages devotees to serve selflessly in their own countries and communities.

Amma’s charitable programs are expanding rapidly. The most prominent and widespread program is the Mother’s Kitchen project. Started in 1996, the project annually serves over 50,000 lovingly prepared meals to the inner city poor in over 40 North American communities. Our local Mother’s Kitchen is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan and is coordinated by the Amma Center of Michigan.

Amma has inspired innumerable humanitarian activities all over the world. Some of them are free food and clothing programs, shower programs for the homeless, volunteer opportunities in battered women’s shelters, charitable hospitals, hospices, disaster relief programs, free homes for the poor and the needy, medical camps, prison projects, orphanage, schools, educational institutions, widows’ pension fund, free legal advice, preservation of nature and so on. The list is long and growing everyday.

In India, Amma’s compassion has inspired hundreds of thousands of individuals throughout the nation to volunteer their time and talents in order to assist those in greatest need, regardless of caste, language or religion. Despite limited resources, Amma’s charitable efforts continue to grow and expand day-by-day, bringing solace to those in the most disadvantaged sectors of society.

With utmost care and attention, Amma directs the programs and ensures that not a single rupee goes to waste. Today, her philanthropic movement is so broad that it defies brief description; nevertheless, some examples of how her love and practical compassion express themselves include: The Green Friends Network inspires youth to take an interest in ecological issues with the awareness that humankind is a part of Mother Nature, not separate from her; educational and vocational programs; free food; health services, including the internationally-recognized AIMS – Amma’s super-specialty, 1300-bed hospital – as well as a new AIDS Hospice in Kerala.

The past few years have seen natural disasters of calamitous proportion, ranging from destructive earthquakes and floods worldwide, to hurricanes and the devastating Southeast Asian Tsunami. These disasters claimed many lives and left countless individuals destitute and displaced. Led by Amma herself, Amma’s organizations immediately reached out to those in need, offering essential aid and fiscal support. With the power of many dedicated volunteers, every aspect of disaster relief was addressed, from emergency work to long-term rebuilding and rehabilitation. In response to the terrible devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, MA Center and its affiliates initiated disaster relief efforts and provided food, clothing, school supplies and emotional support to survivors.

Amma says, “There is nothing preplanned about Amma’s mission. All her projects have been spontaneously compassionate responses to the sorrow and suffering that she sees around her. There is no question of ‘how’ or ‘why.’”

She also says, “Compassion to the poor and the needy is our duty to God. Through selfless service, we should be able to construct a bridge of love that will bring all of us together. The world consists of many different countries, cultures, languages, races and people. But for Amma, there is just the world – there is only one.” Through the example of her own life Amma has inspired people from all over the world to walk in the path of selfless-service and compassion towards all beings.

Judith Cornell sums it all up: “Amma’s force for good in the world is helping to bring us back into balance. If Amma does nothing more than she has already done, she will be remembered as a great humanitarian and one of the greatest healers and spiritual leaders in the history of religion.”

To learn more about Amma and her charitable projects, please visit www.amma.org.