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The Essential Sri Anandamayi Ma: Life and Teaching of a 20th Century Indian Saint
Anandamayi Ma has inspired millions of individuals of diverse faiths and circumstances from Prime Ministers, artists, and industrialists to shopkeepers, beggars and monks including Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Jawarharlal Nehru, Former Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the Queen Mother of Greece, and the Former President of India, Ragendra Prasad.
152 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2007
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About the author
Anandamayi Ma
12 books55 followersSri Anandamayi Maa was an Indian saint from Bengal. Swami Sivananda (Divine Life Society) described her as "the most perfect flower the Indian soil has produced." Precognition, healing and other miracles were attributed to her by her followers. Paramhansa Yogananda translates Anandamayi as "joy-permeated". This name was given to her by her devotees in the 1920s to describe what they saw as her habitual state of divine joy and bliss.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 28, 2019
Great book for anyone who wants to quickly understand the essence of Hinduism. Though I am not in agreement with some of Ma’s beliefs, especially her prohibition on widow remarriages, woman and man only getting to know one another after marriage, but then understanding the day and age she came from, this book is an awesome read, transmitting Ma’s teachings loud and clear, through the flowery pen of one of her most devout followers.
August 7, 2011
Darśana (दर्शन), literally 'sight,' is from the Sanskrit root dṛś, 'to see,' as in beholding something divine, such as a deva, an especially holy person, or the subtle form of one's mantra (mantradarśana).
Even meditating on a photo of a saint is a form of darśana. It is said that photos of Anandamayi Ma lend themselves especially well to that pursuit.
There are a couple of stories about darśana that reveal how it is revered in Indian culture.
The first story concerns a disciple who was studying at the feet of his guru. Although he was in close proximity to the teacher, he nevertheless felt moved to ask him the value of darśana.
The guru instructed him to walk hundreds of miles to the coast, to find a sailing ship, to sail around the world to a distant land, to walk to the ruling city of that foreign land, to locate the castle of the king of that land, and to knock on the front door.
At that moment, to the disciple's astonishment, a bird, which had been singing delightfully on a branch of a tree, fell to the ground, dead.
Nevertheless, the disciple picked up his gear, walked to the coast, boarded a ship, sailed to the foreign land, walked inland, located the castle of the king, and, years after having departed on his journey, knocked on the front door.
The king opened the door. "O, King," declared the disciple, "what is the value of darśana?"
The king look intently at the disciple and replied, "I was the bird."
The second story concerns two disciples who were going to the ashram of Shri Ramakrishna. As they walked along, they passed through a red-light district of town, and one of the men said, "Why don't we enjoy ourselves here for a while, and then go on to the ashram?" His friend did not think that was a good, idea. And so while the one friend continued on to the ashram, the other man entered a house of pleasure and enjoyed congress of the flesh.
When he had finished, he hurried to Ramakrishna's ashram, where he found his friend sitting at the seat of the master. He felt guilty, and confessed to Ramakrishna what he had done instead of receiving his darśana.
Ramakrishna looked at the two and replied that actually the man who had gone to the house of pleasure had received his darśana, whereas his friend had not. He explained that all the while the fellow enjoying himself in the house of pleasure was thinking intently of Ramakrishna, whereas the other fellow, sitting at the feet of Ramakrishna, was thinking about the house of pleasure and regretting that he had not stopped by there first.
Anandamayi ma was one of the great Indian saints of the twentieth century. A saint's presence is in his or her teachings.
Even meditating on a photo of a saint is a form of darśana. It is said that photos of Anandamayi Ma lend themselves especially well to that pursuit.
There are a couple of stories about darśana that reveal how it is revered in Indian culture.
The first story concerns a disciple who was studying at the feet of his guru. Although he was in close proximity to the teacher, he nevertheless felt moved to ask him the value of darśana.
The guru instructed him to walk hundreds of miles to the coast, to find a sailing ship, to sail around the world to a distant land, to walk to the ruling city of that foreign land, to locate the castle of the king of that land, and to knock on the front door.
At that moment, to the disciple's astonishment, a bird, which had been singing delightfully on a branch of a tree, fell to the ground, dead.
Nevertheless, the disciple picked up his gear, walked to the coast, boarded a ship, sailed to the foreign land, walked inland, located the castle of the king, and, years after having departed on his journey, knocked on the front door.
The king opened the door. "O, King," declared the disciple, "what is the value of darśana?"
The king look intently at the disciple and replied, "I was the bird."
The second story concerns two disciples who were going to the ashram of Shri Ramakrishna. As they walked along, they passed through a red-light district of town, and one of the men said, "Why don't we enjoy ourselves here for a while, and then go on to the ashram?" His friend did not think that was a good, idea. And so while the one friend continued on to the ashram, the other man entered a house of pleasure and enjoyed congress of the flesh.
When he had finished, he hurried to Ramakrishna's ashram, where he found his friend sitting at the seat of the master. He felt guilty, and confessed to Ramakrishna what he had done instead of receiving his darśana.
Ramakrishna looked at the two and replied that actually the man who had gone to the house of pleasure had received his darśana, whereas his friend had not. He explained that all the while the fellow enjoying himself in the house of pleasure was thinking intently of Ramakrishna, whereas the other fellow, sitting at the feet of Ramakrishna, was thinking about the house of pleasure and regretting that he had not stopped by there first.
Anandamayi ma was one of the great Indian saints of the twentieth century. A saint's presence is in his or her teachings.
May 10, 2021
I LOVE Anandamayi Ma!!!!!!!
Fantastic book!
Divided into 2 parts, the first being a bit of a biography/history of Ma's life and the second being some of Her discourses.
The teachings were recorded by a close disciple over time from various question answer sessions.
For anyone who follows Sadhguru, you will find Ma says the same things as He does with regards to the Truth of Ultimate reality.
Luckily, I was somewhat familiar with some of the Hindu terms mentioned in the book. The author gives some definitions, and Google is a blessing! So don't be discourage by this!
I will read this many times, as Her way of explaining the nature of the true Self opened my heart and mind in ways unexplainable.
I truly felt Her with me as I read this, and still feel Her with me now. I know She will remain in my heart forever.
Fantastic book!
Divided into 2 parts, the first being a bit of a biography/history of Ma's life and the second being some of Her discourses.
The teachings were recorded by a close disciple over time from various question answer sessions.
For anyone who follows Sadhguru, you will find Ma says the same things as He does with regards to the Truth of Ultimate reality.
Luckily, I was somewhat familiar with some of the Hindu terms mentioned in the book. The author gives some definitions, and Google is a blessing! So don't be discourage by this!
I will read this many times, as Her way of explaining the nature of the true Self opened my heart and mind in ways unexplainable.
I truly felt Her with me as I read this, and still feel Her with me now. I know She will remain in my heart forever.
December 3, 2014
A beautiful account of the great woman saints life and teachings. I learned so much from this book, and I have been deeply moved and inspired. This is a must read for spiritual minded people.
March 27, 2022
Loved it although I struggled with chapter 2
If you want biographical research focus on part 1; if you want an interpretation of Anandamayi ma’s life focus on part 2; if you want her actual words focus on part 3.
I particularly enjoyed part 3 and the multitude of photos through the book. I didn’t enjoy part 1 or 2.
What i wrote below I wrote while reading part 2; my opinion of the book changed after reading part 3:
There is the issue of the poor formatting mentioned in other reviews. However my review is based on the content. While Anandamayi Ma is clearly a being beyond the material game, I feel the author doesn’t do her justice. The few times she was quoted showed a being at the highest level of awareness. I wish he quoted her more often instead of trying to decipher her teachings, and smearing them with his material narrative. Many times I felt i was reading something written by a priest or clergyman. The author often says things like “Amandamayi ma has this or that opinion regarding this or that social issue” I am sure a being like her would recognize God’s plan in everything and not take a position in what food to eat, or how a marriage should be, divorce, etc. Even the author at some points recognize she would not care that much about it, so it’s contradictory. This is my first book about her, so I may be wrong in thinking she is beyond all those issues. But based on her quotes I can feel an incredibly high being. I will quote one example of all this contradiction from page 133. “Caste restrictions are enforced in the asrams of Anandamayi ma. The bliss permeated mother herself is beyond caste” Then the author explains that Amandamayi ma was trying to simply attract more orthodox Hindus by allowing caste restrictions. If the author would quote her direct words it’ll make it easier to the reader. It just doesn’t make sense to me that a being like her needs to attract anyone to God when everyone arrives at the perfect time.
If you want biographical research focus on part 1; if you want an interpretation of Anandamayi ma’s life focus on part 2; if you want her actual words focus on part 3.
I particularly enjoyed part 3 and the multitude of photos through the book. I didn’t enjoy part 1 or 2.
What i wrote below I wrote while reading part 2; my opinion of the book changed after reading part 3:
There is the issue of the poor formatting mentioned in other reviews. However my review is based on the content. While Anandamayi Ma is clearly a being beyond the material game, I feel the author doesn’t do her justice. The few times she was quoted showed a being at the highest level of awareness. I wish he quoted her more often instead of trying to decipher her teachings, and smearing them with his material narrative. Many times I felt i was reading something written by a priest or clergyman. The author often says things like “Amandamayi ma has this or that opinion regarding this or that social issue” I am sure a being like her would recognize God’s plan in everything and not take a position in what food to eat, or how a marriage should be, divorce, etc. Even the author at some points recognize she would not care that much about it, so it’s contradictory. This is my first book about her, so I may be wrong in thinking she is beyond all those issues. But based on her quotes I can feel an incredibly high being. I will quote one example of all this contradiction from page 133. “Caste restrictions are enforced in the asrams of Anandamayi ma. The bliss permeated mother herself is beyond caste” Then the author explains that Amandamayi ma was trying to simply attract more orthodox Hindus by allowing caste restrictions. If the author would quote her direct words it’ll make it easier to the reader. It just doesn’t make sense to me that a being like her needs to attract anyone to God when everyone arrives at the perfect time.
May 30, 2021
“The Essential Sri Anandamayi Ma: Life and Teachings of a 20th Century Indian Saint”, written by Alexander Lipski, seemed to lack "heart" in the reading of it: except of course for the direct quotes of Sri Anandamayi Ma. The front half of the book has long blocks of text covering the general life of "Ma" (a term used here most affectionately by this reviewer). The back half of the book has some quotes of Sri Anandamayi Ma (as the ‘teachings’ that the title promises). There is in the text of Mr. Lipski, general Hindu philosophy throughout. The photographs are absolutely wonderful and presented in such a loving manner. The Darsana and Dhyana value of this book could be a Blessing. The book, all and all, is very high quality in paper, and page layout: lovingly so.
The author Mr Lipski was born in Berlin, Germany in 1919, received his PhD in Russian History in 1953 at UC Berkeley, taught history at Michigan State University, and later taught religious studies at Cal State Long Beach. He was a devout Christian, served as a Deacon of the St. Cornelius Catholic Church, and (in accordance with Christian doctrine) was peacefully reborn to eternal life on April 22, 2009.
I gave this book 3 stars. I would give it 3.5 if that was available. “I liked this book” no doubt about it. namaste
Looking forward to reading “As the Flower Sheds its Fragrance: Diary Leaves of a Devotee”
The author Mr Lipski was born in Berlin, Germany in 1919, received his PhD in Russian History in 1953 at UC Berkeley, taught history at Michigan State University, and later taught religious studies at Cal State Long Beach. He was a devout Christian, served as a Deacon of the St. Cornelius Catholic Church, and (in accordance with Christian doctrine) was peacefully reborn to eternal life on April 22, 2009.
I gave this book 3 stars. I would give it 3.5 if that was available. “I liked this book” no doubt about it. namaste
Looking forward to reading “As the Flower Sheds its Fragrance: Diary Leaves of a Devotee”
February 8, 2023
I think it is a very basic book. It has two parts: the biographical and the teachings. The first part is informative, with beautiful pictures of the young Anandamayi. It is clear that the book is written by one of her disciples. You can feel the respect and how the author tries to excuse the woman from some controversial positions on the caste system and the widow's suicide. The second part is a recollection of questions and answers. To me not really engaging and full of sanskrit terms. However, there are some teaching which is worthed to read. In general, the book is very basic, Anandamayi is an exceptional being but is not good enough at portraying all the dimensions of the character.
January 30, 2019
Clear concise biography and teachings of Ananadamayi Ma !
Read
July 16, 2022Part 2!
Read
September 25, 2022One of my favorites. And the book has stunning pictures!
February 5, 2023
An inspirational book of a great saint
July 18, 2012
COORECTION :_ Sri Anandamayi Ma never wrote any book.This book is by Alexander Lipski. very good book in English for seekers of truth specially from western hemisphere.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews