A young woman came into my life recently, eager to know more about Tantra and the spiritual life in general. Her curious yet cautious approach reminded me of the very early days of my own journey. At the time, I had just begun taking a course on the Tao Te Ching and had stumbled on a book about the Indian Saint, Anandamayi Ma.
Learning about Lao Tzu and the Tao gently introduced me to a new way of looking at the world. A way of looking deeper, not just at life, but at the motion of life. Like how the vaporous white tops of the sea swell point at the unseen forces of wind and tide. The constant rhythm of wind and tide, hinting at something deeper still, in the movements of sun and moon, and so on.
But if the Tao was a gentle introduction to a new way of perceiving the world, discovering Anandamayi Ma revealed a radical new way of being in the world.
At first, it was her raw, magnetic beauty that pulled me in. The photos of her were mesmerizing, suggesting a quiet ecstasy and hinting at a connection with something that, at the time, was a great mystery to me. A new unseen force entered my life.
Before Kālī was, Anandamayi Ma.
Many of her close disciples collected stories and paid tribute to all the stages of her life and her luminous presence. I remember reading as much as I could about her.
She claimed not to be a teacher, yet her teachings resound to this day. She claimed not to be a guru, yet some heads of state considered themselves her lifelong devotees. People flocked to her from every corner of the world; scholars, seekers, householders, and ascetics, all drawn by an invisible pull. They came burdened with questions, sorrows, and longings, and in her presence, those burdens melted away, not because she answered their questions, but because she became the answer.
In the words of Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, Anandamayi Ma was the purest flower the soil of India has ever produced.
Like many other female Indian saints, she seemed to stand on the edge of several religious traditions, and in the midst of none. She did not teach in the conventional way but spoke with the authority of direct experience; she did not establish a doctrine, nor did she demand anything from her devotees.
Ram Dass summarized Anandamayi Ma’s teachings beautifully:
Life and religion are one. All that you do to maintain your life, your everyday work and play, all your attempts to earn a living, should be done with sincerity, love and devotion, with a firm conviction that true living means virtually perfecting one’s spiritual existence in tune with the universe. To bring about this synthesis, religious culture should be made as natural and easy as taking our food and drink when we are hungry and thirsty.
Her gatherings, according to those who witnessed them, were not orchestrated or rigidly planned; they simply happened. People were drawn to her, sitting at her feet for hours, sometimes in laughter, sometimes in tears, sometimes in silent awe or in a deep state of absorption. She fed them all; not only with food but with love, with stillness, with the simple touch of her gaze. When asked why so many came to her, she simply said, They are all my own.
Those near her experienced her presence as the ever-giving power of nature itself, like a river that never runs dry, never claiming anything. Those who came empty were filled; those who came full were emptied of illusion. And in this endless exchange of giving and receiving, Anandamayi Ma remained ever the same: overflowing yet untouched, offering all yet holding nothing.
She welcomed all with the openness of the sky, allowing them to find their own path through the light of her presence. This, the absolute light of understanding, shining upon all who came to her; I see you dear. I feel your fear and anxiety and I love you all the more for it. I sense your frustration and despair and love you all the more for it. Let go now child and let my peace reign in your weary heart.
Although many stories have been shared about the miraculous happenings around her, it was the pure simplicity of her being that is the only miracle that strikes me today. Her surrender was so complete that she had become the valley through which the stream of grace moved effortlessly. She saw the Divine in everything and in everyone at all times. She would sit in silent ecstatic rapture for hours, completely absorbed in the One, her eyes glistening with the sweetness of the unseen.
She was known for laughing often, as if she knew a secret the world had forgotten. And despite her wisdom, she carried the innocence and wonder of a child who has never left the garden of the cosmic play. She had nothing to attain, no mission to accomplish, no kingdom to build. She was simply awake. She lived, and in living, she revealed.
He alone is, she would say. Whether you worship Christ, Krishna, Kali or Allah, you actually worship the one Light that is also in you, since It pervades all things.
This is the Tao of Anandamayi Ma. It is the Tao of Neem Karoli Baba. And it is the Tao of St-Francis, Siddhi Ma and every great saint who has ever walked among us. It is the way of Grace and does not require a head full of teachings but rather a heart full of faith and courage; to surrender so absolutely that which is most precious to that which is most ineffable. And in that surrender, a wellspring of love and devotion gushes forth.
The way of Grace is not a path to be followed, nor is it an admonishment for those on a different path or none at all. There’s no chiding here, no call to action or strive with greater intensity. The way of Grace demands nothing and offers everything.
Anandamayi Ma is a blessing from on high, Grace’s exultation, an effervescent and fragrant reminder that we, are loved. That each and every one of us is held in the great heart of all hearts, always and forever.
In Anandamayi Ma’s cosmic playground, no child is less worthy of a mother’s love than any other. In this playground, we work and play, we marry and we mourn, sometimes stumbling, and sometimes hurting a little too much. And when that moment finally arrives, when we find ourselves in the depths of anguish and sorrowful confusion, the slightest turn towards the light is enough. Grace comes rushing forth, like a father towards his lost daughter or a mother towards her prodigal son.
Like the many saints before her and those yet to come, Anandamayi Ma is a beacon, forever lighting the way home. And just as the vaporous white tops of a sea swell hint at the unseen forces of wind, tide, sun and moon, Anandamayi Ma points us so exquisitely toward the ineffable Grace behind all things.
In her words:
Whether you know it or not, I am your nearest and dearest - your very own Self.
Your sorrow, your pain, your agony is indeed my sorrow. This body understands everything.
When by the flood of your tears, the inner and the outer have fused into one, you will find Her whom you sought with such anguish, nearer than the nearest, the very breath of life, the very core of every heart.
If you cannot do anything else, at least morning and evening at the appointed time, lay down your body, mind, and life before Him in salutation and surrender, and think of Him just a little.
So this is my only request to you: to make a place for me in your hearts.
Read about Anandamayi Ma:
A Goddess Among Us: The Divine Life Of Anandamayi Ma
The Gospel of Shri Anandamayi Ma: Conversations with the Divine Mother
Mother of Bliss: Anandamayi Ma
On Ma Anandamayi’s teachings, articles by her disciple Swami Vijayananda
Translation and Interpretation of the Tao Te Ching:
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