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Recently I heard somebody talking about "Amma", a popular female spiritual leader from India. After a brief search, all I found out about her is that she likes to hug people. In fact, she's called "the hugging saint." She talks about self realization through selfless service, but I haven't heard any mention of God or Krishna.
She is a teacher with followers all around the world. She is probably most well known for hugging thousands of people who have come to see her. Her organization also does charity work. When she was a young girl growing up in a village in India she had a lotof religious sentiment and in her early teens had visions of participating in pastimes with Krishna. At least that is what I have heard. I am neither a follower nor do I particularly feel one way or the other about her, but I do know that many people are inspired by her.
Teachings http://www.amma.org/teachings/index.html
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.
During the Gold Coast Retreat, Amma held a question-and-answer session with all of the devotees. Towards the end of the session, many people were still raising their hands. For the last question, Amma pointed to a man standing way in the back of the crowd. When he took the microphone, he humbly asked, “Amma, I have seen so many spiritual masters. Can you please answer the question I have sought from all of them: How can I know—not believe—but know that God exists?”
Hearing his question, Amma laughed and said, “You yourself are the proof, because you are God.” Amma then explained that to deny God’s existence is like using one’s tongue to deny the existence of the tongue. Amma then called the man to her. When he approached, she said, “Open your heart and love like a child. Then you will know God.” Hearing this, he leaned forward and laid his head on her lap.
Hmm... "No particular path or spiritual practice can be recommended for all?" Harer nama harer nama harer nama eva kevalam kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatah. The scriptures emphatically state, "chant the holy names of God. There is no other way, no other way, no other way!
No Prabhu Amma is not Even Mayavadi She is a First Class 'PASANDI'
She is the Biggest Woman Alive Offender on Earth.
They havent studied vedas in Deep like our Great Acharyas and Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada's Disciples.
She don't even know the importance of sampradaya.
She is a 'Varna Sankara'.A Uncivilised People.
We don't have talk about her.She is a Mundane.
Her phlosophy is Total Stool.
Haribol
Actually Amma has come to Mauritius.She is the hugging saint and sing some songs as well. I really do not know about her philosophy. One thing is sure she gives much emphasis on demigods,demigoddess. Someone who is really suffering from material miseries can easily fall prey to such actions as hugging and kissing.In all appearance she is not a bonafide guru. Some claims she is 'Durga'. Do we need to search elsewhere when we have got ourself connected to Krsna Consciuossness? After reading Sirla Prabhupada's books, my mind has never been attracted to other religious philosophies and other representatives of religious movement. I find them dull and without meaning.
Hare Krsna. Very nice answer. Thanks for writing. Actually, I've been thinking about deleting the whole Amma topic because at first I was only mildly curious. Now I have no interest to learn more. Thanks again. Hari bol.
Amma comes often to Los Angeles and thousands line up to get that warm Hug from her, people feel connected when they get this Hug, specially when they are obsorbed in this material world and tied down with their unending problems. lately she is getting the same kind of attention as Satya Sai Baba and like some recent past Swami from India. Sadly none realy surpassed Srila Prabhupada and there can be none unless again Lord Sri Chaitanya sends one of a like Srila Prabhupada once again to this mundane society. Srila Prabhupada is the proven example as one of Lord Sri Krishna's special empowered personality who has time and again taught us to keep Krishna as center in all our activities.
Where as most of Modern Swamis and Devis have not STRONGLY ADVOCATED WITHOUT DISTORTING BHAGAVAD GITA AND MENTIONING THAT LORD SRI KRISHNA IS THE PERSONALITY OF GOD HEAD. I am not defaming them but I feel their purpose of spritual advise to the common man is incomplete. Just imagine for a moment Srila Prabhupada with Forty Rupees coming to America... does that money have any value in America, came on a boat, had two strokes in the middle of voage with not medical attention.... Just The Hare Krishna Mahamantra and His Bhagavatam Books.... proved beyond doubts that KRISHNA ALONE AND KRISHNA IS THE ONLY SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GOD HEAD AND WE NEED TO SURRENDER AND SERVE HIM ALWAYS.
So to sum up , I feel one should admire such Swamis and Devis, who like Srila Prabhupada preaches only about Real Krishna and always and only about Lord Sri Krishna as The Supreme personality Of God Head.
With no offences to anyone, kindly forgive me, if by virtue of my reasoning if I have hurt anyones feelings.
Hari Bol
Your humble servant
Chandra Pandula
Krishnasevak
I dont understand why people feel the way they do around Amma or why I feel the way I do. But in this materialistc world people need that physical touch to know its real and to see God do his thing through a being. If I had a chance to meet all the great masters from the past I would maybe I have. My first teacher or guru opened the door to Krishnas heart for me. He left his body in 1973 Neem Karoli Baba. Me not knowing anything about Krishna or gurus I dived right in I was 19 and 22 now and everything changed from then on I became aware. But my faith not being that strong and my guru knowing this even though I never met him. He blessed me with a hug from Mother. I drive to Chicago every year now to recive that hug and to be around Ma. If it was not for either of these people or Krishna bless their giant hearts I either would not be alive or rotting away in my mind and what all I thought life was. Now i Iook for truth in every thing and Krishna always shows up nothing else my teachers have shown me that. Amma only speaks of love for all her children and the earth is that not what Krishna wants from all of us to love him and in loving him you cant do nothing but be aware of what you not only do to yourself but to others and the earth everything is the great Krishna he created all beings and things knowing what all would do and 2 of those beings he created made me love him. I drop everything at your louts feet for we are all Krishna....... HARI KRISHNA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
amma-matha amrithanandamayi loves everyone and teaches to love everyone.
she tells a lot of stories of krishna,siva,ram,hanuma,devi.....
pranams to amma.
radhesyam
No Prabhu Amma is not Even Mayavadi She is a First Class 'PASANDI'
She is the Biggest Woman Alive Offender on Earth.
They havent studied vedas in Deep like our Great Acharyas and Srila Prabhupada and Srila Prabhupada's Disciples.
She don't even know the importance of sampradaya.
She is a 'Varna Sankara'.A Uncivilised People.
We don't have talk about her.She is a Mundane.
Her phlosophy is Total Stool.
WHY DONT YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE WAY YOU JUDGE PEOPLE AND REMBER THIS IS JUST A PART OF YOUR EGO AND ABOUT HOW GREAT YOU THINK YOUR GURU IS. YOUR THOUGHTS ARE LIKE A SES PIT STAGNET AND SMELLY YOU HAVE NOT BEEN LISTENING TO YOUR GURU VERY WELL UNTIL YOU LOVE EVERYONE HOW WILL YOU LOVE KRISHNA
GLORIES TO AMMA FOR THE LOVE SHE SENDS THE WORLD THROUGH COMPASSION NOT THROUGH JUDGMENT AND TERROR TO HELP HER DISCIPLES BE MINDFULL TO OTHERS
First of all Amma is not a Bona Fide Spiritual Master.(Does she coming from any Disciplic sucession?)
As Lord Krishna has said in Bhagvad Gita that This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.(4.2).
Other thing is that there are 4 Authentic,Authorised Sampradaya and one should Should follow them and while all other Sampadayas or institution or organisation initiation and mantras are useless.
See these...
Padma Purana-
Sampradayavihina ye mantraste nisphala
Matah
Atah kalau bhavisyanti catvarah
Sampradayinah
Sri brahma rudra sanaka vaisnava
Ksitipavanah
Catvaraste kalau bhavya hyutkale
Purusottamat
Ramanujam sri svichakre madhvacaryam caturmukhah
Srivisnusvaminam rudro nimbadityam catuhsanah
Translation-
All mantras which have been given (to disciples) not in an authorised Sampradāya are fruitless. Therefore, in Kali Yuga, there will be four bona-fide Sampradāyas. Each of them were ignaugurated by Śrī Devī and known as the Śrī Sampradāya, Lord Brahmā and known as the Brahmā Sampradāya,Lord Rudra and known as the Rudra Sampradāya; and the Four Kumāras and known as Sanakādi Sampradāya. Śrī Devī made Rāmānujācārya the head of that lineage. So too Lord Brahmā appointed Madhvācārya, Lord Rudra appointed Viṣṇusvāmī and the four Kumaras chose Nimbāditya (an epithet for Śrī Nimbārkācārya).
Amma is not from any of these Authorised sampraday which are coming from Lord krishna.
So whatever Amma is doing is all useless as per Vedas.
Is there any Thing there in Shastras where it is said that a Person need to get a Physical touch to feel God or Spiritualism???
Hugging dosen't make a person God conscious.Only by chanting The Holy Mahamantra and Following the 4 regulative principle will mke person God conscious.
God Conscious is more important than Hug conscious.Amma is just a Disturbance to the Society.She is Propogating God in a very Wrong way.God never said to Hug People.
Here is a Shloka from Srimad Bhagvatam where it is mentioned abt those people who Dosent follow the Vedic Injunction and Worship Lord in there own way.....
TRANSLATION
[Someone may say that aside from devotees, who always seek shelter at the Lord's lotus feet, there are those who are not devotees but who have accepted different processes for attaining salvation. What happens to them? In answer to this question, Lord Brahmä and the other demigods said:] O lotus-eyed Lord, although nondevotees who accept severe austerities and penances to achieve the highest position may think themselves liberated, their intelligence is impure. They fall down from their position of imagined superiority because they have no regard for Your lotus feet.
Hence Amma is Not a Bonafide to Represent God.Neither she is following any Authentic Vedic Scriptures.
Amma might show compasionate to People just like Some people show compasionate to there Pet animals but that Dosen't make the person God Conscious.
So people start chanting 'Amma' 'Amma' 'Amma' and Not Krishna Krishna Krishna.
Amma is not Scriptural or Godly name.Rather she should ask people to Chant The Holy Mahamantra
Hare Krishna hare krishna Krishna krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
'He is the most advanced one of devotion to the Lord [an uttama] who sees bhagavan (lord) and self, in all. He second to that, on the middle platform [the madhyama], is of love to the Supreme Lord, of friendship to the persons of advancement, of mercy to the neophytes and of disregard to the envious ones. He who certain of worship to the Lord faithfully engages with the deity [the mûrti] but is not so towards the devotees nor towards the people in general, is a materialistic devotee [a prâkrita or a beginner].
so according to this, Amma (literally means mother) should be bhagavathothama (she should be very dear to lord shrikrishna). she tells so much of puranakathas. she loves everyone and teaches to love everyone. she teaches to see lord in all.she is a devotee of shrikrishna and inspired many on the path of devotion. she is pure love.
please dont tell that whatever she doing is useless. please dont call her uncivilised. The words used by Bhakt Abhay (in his reply on Nov.1) is non-cultural and is not the culture we obtained from our ancients. May lord krishna enlighten our intelligence and mind.
pranams to Amma and to all.
srikrishnaparabrahmane namah
hari Krishna
thank you for your incouraging words I have seen Amma 3 times now its not her hug that makes me feel God or spirtual. its the love that I feel for God and the love people can have for one another and God that inspires me to go see Amma. I will continue to go see Amma and continue to love Krishna and only hope the whole worlds vale will be lifted to see the heart of God in everything and our self. Until then I will love God in every way he is presented to me and If krishna does exsist, Wich I truely feel in my heart that he does then I am doing more then enough. I dont claim to be enlightend nor do i feel will any one be any time soon so lets just all love God or what ever makes us want to live and figure out how to get along.
thank you and love to all
and towards the one
I apologise for the ego's spouting off about disciplic succession. Actually the disciplic succession they talk about is also false, its a organisation that 'votes' the guru in. Srila Prabhupada was a uttama-adhikari and an eternal associate of Sri Krsna, since he left the planet we have only been cheated.
Ofcourse a true practitioner or madhyam adhikari would not be so judgemental and ofcourse the true practitioners see all living entities as parts and parcel of the Supreme Lord.
As for Amma it is the same as with following or worshiping any fallible human, it diverts attention away from connecting to your eternal relationship with the Supreme and therefore is better avoided. I am sure Amma would be humble enough to propound the same teaching as she is quite advanced.
