Sri Anandamayi Ma

[Davino]

I recommend you to search about Sri Anandamayi Ma, the only recorded case in history where a being was born egoless and remained this way till her death. There was no beggar or so called enligthened Guru that was not astonished by her simplicity and presence. If you pay real attention and read closely, undressing the words to what they point to, you will see that a very clear message of God-Realization is being transmited. 

 

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Evolution in nature means becoming step by step. You dwell in the world of nature (prakrit jagat) where one views everything according to the spectacles worn over one's eyes. 

So long as one lives in the realm of form and quality, one is bound to be subjected to the opposites of happiness and pain.
In the world of nature there does exist this interplay between joy and sorrow. 

The Lord stages a play, Himself playing all the parts. The world is created by a mere stroke of God's imagination. 

In the Upanishads it is explained that the mouth does not eat, the feet do not walk- 
He alone exists. 
He transcends Maya and yet appears subjected to Maya. 
He is playing according to His will.

Try to become singleminded, mindless as it were. You can either take the path of neti, neti, "not this, not that" or the path of "Thou art this, Thou art that". He who takes care of everybody is the one and only Brahman.
Rama, Krishna, Kali, all represent the same Being, everything is contained in each.

If you look upon a tree as divine, God will be revealed even there. Where is God not?
The One-with-Quality (Saguna) becomes Himself the Quality. For the sake of His play, He assumes the guise of Maya. 

- Matri Satsang. 
Conversation with Ma Anandamayi 
Swami Bhagavatananda Giri

 

 

Quote

There are five sayings that Ma repeated so frequently, they could be considered as Her ‘Mahavakyas’ or Great Sayings:

•There is only one Brahman without a second.
• In the Divine is everything with no omission.
• To find one’s Self is to find God and to find God is to find one’s Self.
• All is the Lord.
• The Lord can be defined in whatever way you will: All is He.

- Anandamayi Ma
The Teachings
Swami Mangalananda.
Mountain Path. July 2011.

 

Quote

The most consistent theme which can be taken as Ma’s continual message was the repeated statement that all is a manifestation of the Divine. All that we experience, see or hear is only God in His manifest forms. 

“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.”

“In all forms, in all diversity and disparity is He alone. The infinite variety of appearances and manifestations, of modes of becoming and states of being, of species and types, all the numberless distinctions as well as all identity are but He Himself. All things are but an expression, a guise of the One.”

- Anandamayi Ma
The Teachings
Swami Mangalananda.
Mountain Path. July 2011.

[LSD-Rumi]

The teal swan of india?

 

[Davino]

@LSD-Rumi

With all the respects, what a preposterous comparation

[Davino]

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Perfect vision denotes omniscience while happiness that depends on anything is bound to change into sorrow. 

When a child is born, everybody rejoices, but when he dies, there is grief. 
When happiness is derived from wife, son, home or anything of the world, distress will follow without fail.

Where complete Independence of circumstance is, there alone can be perfect happiness. When the relationship of the servant to the Lord is established, this indeed is happiness. 

Vigraha (Concrete External Presence as form) means acceptance in a special form. Essentially Hari (God) and the Jiva are not separate. Looked at from a certain angle, who is it that is born? 
There is in fact no birth.
To acknowledge birth is to bow to ignorance. All worldly relationship, be it that of friend or foe, is based on one's attitude of mind.

- Matri Satsang. Ananda Varta Vol.XXV.
Conversation with Ma Anandamayi 
Swami Bhagavatananda Giri
(Translated from Bengali)

 

[Davino]

[The Mystical Man]

Interesting figure:

Thanks for sharing.

[UnbornTao]

Interesting

[Davino]

There is nothing whatsoever outside of THAT.
================================

When you speak of non-duality, is not the idea of duality implied?

But in the realm of Pure Consciousness, 
if you say "Maya exists", so it does ; 
and if you say "there is no such thing as Maya", it is equally correct; 
for nothing can be excluded.

Non-duality, which cannot be conceived of, is as true as that which one is capable of conceiving. 
For all is THAT, 
and where THAT is, 
there is no contradiction. 

The false as such must vanish. 
How can one speak of advaita and include individuals, the world? 
Since there is non-duality, 
can there still be individuals, 
can there still be the world?

In that state, where do these find a place?
Where exclusively Oneness is, 
how can there be room left for ‘two’? 

Furthermore, is it not said : 
"Wherever a man is, there is Siva, and wherever a woman, there is Gawri*."
From this point of view you should now try to ponder over all this.

Nevertheless, whatever anyone may say from any standpoint, everything is right, nothing can be outside of THAT. Whether you say there is or there is not the appearance of Maya - actually speech cannot express it.

Using words or not, seeing or failing to see, is merely a matter of angles of vision.

On the other hand, where THAT is, there can be no angles of vision. Problems are born through want of knowledge, due to the veil of ignorance. Until one is established in one’s own Essential Being ( Svarupa), it is natural that queries should arise.

In the realm of phenomena there is much differentiation, such as ‘above’ and ‘below’. But There - what is and what is not?

 Where ascent and descent can still be spoken of, what will you call such a state? Must you not admit that various directions have remained? If you speak of descent and ascent, it is implied that there must be a place to descend to; but whither can He descend?

To Himself alone of course.

Ascending and descending are one and the same thing, and He who ascends, is He who descends, and the acts of ascending and descending are also He.

Although you speak of Divine Descent(Avataran), He surely does not become divided. You see fire flare up here and there, but this does not affect its unity: fire as fire is eternal. This is how you should under-stand it.

No simile is ever complete.

He who descends, whence He descends, and whither - all are one.

There is nothing whatsoever outside of THAT.

~ WORDS OF SRI ANANDAMAYI MA
TRANSLATED AND COMPILED
BY ATMANANDA

[Davino]

I recommend this film if you feel curious about Sri Anandamayi Ma. If you study carefully her life, you will see something distinctively different about her. It's honestly breathtaking.

[Davino]

[Davino]

[Davino]

Quote

 

The letter: While I was near you, I forgot all about my home. I did not give a single thought to my family affairs and cares. But the nearer the train carries me to my home, the more my domestic hopes and worries crowd into my mind. 

Mataji's reply: Just as thoughts about your home crowd into your mind as you draw nearer your dwelling-place, so also the closer you get to God, the greater grows the joy derived from the ever-increasing varieties of experiences of the Divine.
Indeed as you advance towards your real home, you realize more and more of this Joy. 
You are on the way to finding yourself, be it as a servant of the Lord, or as a part of Him, or as the ONE SELF. 
You must seek what will take you to EKA RASA, the state of undifferentiated Being, of Oneness, where nothing remains to be known, to be attained. 

 

 

[Davino]

The understanding of this quote is enough for God-Realization. The reader is invited to reflect on each word and the overall meaning.

I like how the possibility of being God is open in this quote yet it is said that even in so called "not being God" God is all there is, alone.

[LSD-Rumi]

@Davino I read about another woman guru from Kashmir, what was her name? Yeah, Lal Ded. She left her family and adopted the monk life which people refused profoundly but she didn't care. She was as awake as it comes.
Here are some quotes from her:

"I have discovered the Divine within my own heart. I have realized that He is not confined to temples or holy places. He resides in the purity of my thoughts, in the love that flows through my actions, and in the silence of my soul. The true pilgrimage is the journey within, where I dissolve in the infinite ocean of divine consciousness."

"In this world of illusions and attachments, I have learned the art of detachment. I have let go of my ego, my desires, and my identification with this temporary body. I have realized that true freedom lies in surrendering to the will of the Divine. In the emptiness of self, I have found the fullness of God."

"Do not be fooled by the trappings of external rituals and ceremonies. The true worship is not in the external offerings but in the purity of the heart. Cultivate love, compassion, and selflessness. Let your actions be an expression of devotion. The true temple is the temple of your heart, where the Divine resides."

"The world is a mirror, reflecting back to you your own thoughts and intentions. If you see beauty and goodness, it is because you have cultivated those qualities within yourself. If you see ugliness and strife, it is a reflection of the darkness within. Purify your own heart and watch as the world transforms before your eyes."

"Awaken from the slumber of ignorance and realize your true nature. You are not the body, nor the mind, nor the roles you play in this world. You are the eternal soul, a spark of divine consciousness. Realize this truth and be free from the chains of suffering. Dive deep within and discover the eternal truth that sets you free."

[Davino]

Question: Which is the best path to Self-knowledge?

Mataji: All paths are good. It depends on the man's Samskaras, his conditioning, the tendencies he has brought over from previous births. Just as one can travel over to the same place by plane, railway, car or cycle, so also different lines of approach suit different kinds of people. But the best path is the one which the Guru points out. 

Question: when there is only one, why are there so many different religions in the world?

Mataji: Because He is infinite, there is an infinite varieties of conception of Him and an endless varieties of path to Him. He is everything, every kind of belief, and also the disbelief of the atheist. Your belief in non-belief is also a belief. When you speak of disbelief it implies that you admit belief. He is in all forms and yet He is formless. 

Question: From what you said I gather that you consider the formless nearer to truth than God with form?

Mataji: Is ice anything but water? Form is as much He as the formless. To say that there is only one Self(Atma) and all forms are illusion would imply that the formless was nearer to truth than God-with-form. But this body declares: every form and the formless are God and God alone. 
 

[Davino]

As she was moving from ward to ward of a hospital, she remarked:
"this also is a temple with God's images.
It is He who manifests in the shape of disease as well.
In every one of these temples the gods and goddesses are giving darshan.

The sense of want, of emptiness and one's true being are in exactly the same place
- in fact, they are That and That alone. 

What is this sense of want and what is "true being"? 
He and nothing but He. 

For the simple reason that there is one single seed, which is the tree as well as the seed as well as all its various processes of transformation 
- truly the One alone.

You attempt to appease want with want; hence want does not disappear, nor does the sense of want. 

When man awakens to the acute consciousness of this sense of want, only then does spiritual inquiry become genuine. 
You must bear in mind that only when the sense of want becomes the sense of the want of Self-knowledge, does the real Quest begin. 

Whether you call it the One, the Two, or the Infinite, whatever anyone may say, all is well.
 

[Davino]

[Brandon Nankivell]

She's the real deal

[Davino]

"The realization of the Brahman is a state beyond joy and dejection. 

Just as when you see a wet earthen vessel from a distance, you presume it is filled with water because generally an earthen pot of full water looks wet, similarly knowers of the Brahman give the impression of being steeped in joy. 

But this is not the ordinary joy or happiness. 

What that state is like cannot be described in words."

~ Sri Anandamayi Ma

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“With untrammelled energy one must forge ahead towards the discovery of one's own Self.

What is wanted is genuine Awakening, an awakening after which nothing remains to be attained.

To become fully conscious is not enough, you will have to rise beyond consciousness and unconsciousness. 

That which Is has to shine forth.

In essence it is none other than your own Self.”

[Davino]

"When a person's earthly possessions are lost or damaged, the victim feels disturbed, which gives evidence of the stranglehold that sense objects exercise over men's minds. This is what is called 'granthi' - the knots constituting the I-ness. By meditation, 'japa' and other spiritual practices, which vary according to each one's individual line of approach, these knots become loosened, discrimination is developed, and one comes to discern the true nature of the world of sense perception. In the beginning one was enmeshed in it, struggling helplessly in its net. As one becomes disentangled from it, and gradually passes through various stages of opening oneself more and more to the Light, one comes to see that everything is contained in everything, that there is only One Self, the Lord of all, or that all are but the servants of the One Master."