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Answers, Part I
Questions and answers from the Avatar of the Divine Mother, a young Indian woman living in Germany.
- GenresSpiritualityNonfiction
175 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 12, 2025
I came to this book on a recommendation that Mother Meera is a living avatar, and I was intrigued. HOWEVER...
The "answers" are a bizarre cocktail of tired gender tropes ("father is strict, mother is forgiving") and bafflingly specific spiritual edicts. We are instructed to "offer everything to God," including, apparently, the act of sex. The book doesn't elaborate on the "how," leaving one to ponder the spiritual mechanics of such an offering. It's the kind of advice that sounds deep until you think about it for more than three seconds.
This is overshadowed by the display of raw, HUMAN ego. It apparently upsets the divine mother when people think that she is faking it... Why would literal GOD be upset at being judged and accused of not being who she says she is? Seems like god is very dependent on external validation...
Later I discovered that she is also a homophobe. This was the nail in the coffin for me. When a supposed "avatar" who is meant to embody unconditional love and universal consciousness holds views that are less compassionate and evolved than those of a reasonably progressive human, the entire illusion shatters. It shows that the "divine" figure is, in fact, just a product of their specific, limited, and conservative cultural background.
God, it turns out, is a bigot from a small village.
The "answers" are a bizarre cocktail of tired gender tropes ("father is strict, mother is forgiving") and bafflingly specific spiritual edicts. We are instructed to "offer everything to God," including, apparently, the act of sex. The book doesn't elaborate on the "how," leaving one to ponder the spiritual mechanics of such an offering. It's the kind of advice that sounds deep until you think about it for more than three seconds.
This is overshadowed by the display of raw, HUMAN ego. It apparently upsets the divine mother when people think that she is faking it... Why would literal GOD be upset at being judged and accused of not being who she says she is? Seems like god is very dependent on external validation...
Later I discovered that she is also a homophobe. This was the nail in the coffin for me. When a supposed "avatar" who is meant to embody unconditional love and universal consciousness holds views that are less compassionate and evolved than those of a reasonably progressive human, the entire illusion shatters. It shows that the "divine" figure is, in fact, just a product of their specific, limited, and conservative cultural background.
God, it turns out, is a bigot from a small village.
July 10, 2023
THE INDIAN ‘AVATAR’ ANSWERS A WIDE VARIETY OF QUESTIONS
The back cover of this 1991 book explains, “Mother Meera was born in 1960 in a village in South India… by the age of three… the state of samadhi was constant for her… she lived for some time at the Aurobindo ashram where her extraordinary presence attracted considerable attention. She now lives in Germany where thousands of devotees from all over the world come to receive her darshan, her silent bestowal of grace and light. A radically direct new path to the Divine, a path that uses the transformative power of Divine Light itself, is presented here by Mother Meera, one of several incarnations of the Divine Mother on Earth today. Because the world is in crisis, Mother Meera, one of the most widely respected of these Avatars, offers this powerful new path. Working harmonically with any other day to the Divine, this path is one in which the Light itself works to effect the transformation and to change us, gently and protectively, from within.”
The Introduction states, “As an incarnation of the Divine Mother, Mother Meera stands above all dogmas and hierarchies. She asks no special allegiance, and offers her transformative power to all…”
She says of the Paramatman Light, “[It] is in everything. The work of transformation will be done much more quickly, providing people are open. Even if they are not open now the pressure and power of the Light are so great that they will become open… The Light was always there. I prayed to Paramatman, the Supreme Being, to be able to use it. The Light has never been USED before. Like electricity, it is everywhere, but one must know how to activate it.” (Pg. 11-12)
Of the difference between the Divine Mother and the Divine Father, she says, “The Father is stricter, the Mother is more loving and soft. She is more patient than the Father and more accepting.” (Pg. 15)
She asserts, “Before coming here I knew who I was. I knew that I would incarnate and what my work would be. The Mother is beyond time. G: Have you ever been a human being” MM: No. Q: Did you know who you were, even as a baby? MM: Yes, I always knew.” (Pg. 19-20)
“Q: Avatars are incarnations of the Divine come to Earth to help her creatures. Is each Avatar an incarnation of an aspect of the Divine, or of the total Divine? MM: God and the Avatar are in one way the same and another way different. The Avatar comes from God and has the power and light of God. But we can differentiate because the Avatar has a human body while God has no form and yet all forms.” (Pg. 28)
“Q: Should we follow gurus? MM: It depends on the guru. In exceptional circumstances, a guru might be necessary, even vital for spiritual development. Generally it is best to pray to the Supreme directly, or approach him through one of his divine incarnations… be clear about the limitations of all human gurus. They can only point the way, they cannot take you there.” (Pg.
35)
“Q: How important is it to come to Thalheim to receive darshan from you? MM: It is not necessary to come stay with me; I can help everywhere. People can come, but if this is not possible, it is unnecessary for them to become tense about it. The physical contact is one way of giving the Light, but it is not so important for me. However, when people come here, they feel the presence more concretely.” (Pg. 57)
“MM: People in real samadhi are above the five elements and do not need food, air and water. They are blissful, powerful and complete in themselves. For those who have attained samadhi it is easy to reach realization.” (Pg. 69)
“MM: Emotions such as anger do not arise in order to block our progress. They are there, within us and cannot always be controlled. They must come out so that we can understand them and offer them to the Divine. All that is inside will come out.” (Pg. 83)
“MM: The soul acts as a protector during our lives, and is always with us. It has no wishes of its own. It is not only a witness or a guide but also helps our development. Free from the influence of our actions, it remains permanently with us through our lives until we unite with the Divine.” (Pg. 89)
“MM: In general I recommend a balance between worldly life and spiritual life. One must love the world and its people, not feel a repulsion for them. There is nothing wrong with the world---the Divine is everywhere. It is just that usually we are not good enough truly to see the world.” (Pg. 93)_
“MM: To love a human being is an attachment; to love the Divine is also an attachment. Love is love. If we know how to love, we can love each other and may also love the Divine. Love comes spontaneously and has no rules and regulations; it should be allowed to grow.” (Pg. 96)
“MM: I do not ask devotees not to eat meat. If meat suits one’s body, helping it to be strong, then eating it is not wrong… To be spiritual it is not necessary to destroy al desire… Some paths say that cutting vegetables hurts them. We must eat in order to survive---it is a circle. If some people don’t eat meat they will suffer---so there is suffering in either case.” (Pg. 106)
“Q: How do you know there are critical situations? MM: I read the newspapers.” (Pg. 117)
“MM: … when you get to the top of the mountain, then you must go down again and help others up, according to their capacities and strength. There is no rest in this work: the highest serves most lovingly, the wisest listens best; the one who has seen gives his whole life to help others to see. This is the divine way.” (Pg. 119)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Mother Meera.
The back cover of this 1991 book explains, “Mother Meera was born in 1960 in a village in South India… by the age of three… the state of samadhi was constant for her… she lived for some time at the Aurobindo ashram where her extraordinary presence attracted considerable attention. She now lives in Germany where thousands of devotees from all over the world come to receive her darshan, her silent bestowal of grace and light. A radically direct new path to the Divine, a path that uses the transformative power of Divine Light itself, is presented here by Mother Meera, one of several incarnations of the Divine Mother on Earth today. Because the world is in crisis, Mother Meera, one of the most widely respected of these Avatars, offers this powerful new path. Working harmonically with any other day to the Divine, this path is one in which the Light itself works to effect the transformation and to change us, gently and protectively, from within.”
The Introduction states, “As an incarnation of the Divine Mother, Mother Meera stands above all dogmas and hierarchies. She asks no special allegiance, and offers her transformative power to all…”
She says of the Paramatman Light, “[It] is in everything. The work of transformation will be done much more quickly, providing people are open. Even if they are not open now the pressure and power of the Light are so great that they will become open… The Light was always there. I prayed to Paramatman, the Supreme Being, to be able to use it. The Light has never been USED before. Like electricity, it is everywhere, but one must know how to activate it.” (Pg. 11-12)
Of the difference between the Divine Mother and the Divine Father, she says, “The Father is stricter, the Mother is more loving and soft. She is more patient than the Father and more accepting.” (Pg. 15)
She asserts, “Before coming here I knew who I was. I knew that I would incarnate and what my work would be. The Mother is beyond time. G: Have you ever been a human being” MM: No. Q: Did you know who you were, even as a baby? MM: Yes, I always knew.” (Pg. 19-20)
“Q: Avatars are incarnations of the Divine come to Earth to help her creatures. Is each Avatar an incarnation of an aspect of the Divine, or of the total Divine? MM: God and the Avatar are in one way the same and another way different. The Avatar comes from God and has the power and light of God. But we can differentiate because the Avatar has a human body while God has no form and yet all forms.” (Pg. 28)
“Q: Should we follow gurus? MM: It depends on the guru. In exceptional circumstances, a guru might be necessary, even vital for spiritual development. Generally it is best to pray to the Supreme directly, or approach him through one of his divine incarnations… be clear about the limitations of all human gurus. They can only point the way, they cannot take you there.” (Pg.
35)
“Q: How important is it to come to Thalheim to receive darshan from you? MM: It is not necessary to come stay with me; I can help everywhere. People can come, but if this is not possible, it is unnecessary for them to become tense about it. The physical contact is one way of giving the Light, but it is not so important for me. However, when people come here, they feel the presence more concretely.” (Pg. 57)
“MM: People in real samadhi are above the five elements and do not need food, air and water. They are blissful, powerful and complete in themselves. For those who have attained samadhi it is easy to reach realization.” (Pg. 69)
“MM: Emotions such as anger do not arise in order to block our progress. They are there, within us and cannot always be controlled. They must come out so that we can understand them and offer them to the Divine. All that is inside will come out.” (Pg. 83)
“MM: The soul acts as a protector during our lives, and is always with us. It has no wishes of its own. It is not only a witness or a guide but also helps our development. Free from the influence of our actions, it remains permanently with us through our lives until we unite with the Divine.” (Pg. 89)
“MM: In general I recommend a balance between worldly life and spiritual life. One must love the world and its people, not feel a repulsion for them. There is nothing wrong with the world---the Divine is everywhere. It is just that usually we are not good enough truly to see the world.” (Pg. 93)_
“MM: To love a human being is an attachment; to love the Divine is also an attachment. Love is love. If we know how to love, we can love each other and may also love the Divine. Love comes spontaneously and has no rules and regulations; it should be allowed to grow.” (Pg. 96)
“MM: I do not ask devotees not to eat meat. If meat suits one’s body, helping it to be strong, then eating it is not wrong… To be spiritual it is not necessary to destroy al desire… Some paths say that cutting vegetables hurts them. We must eat in order to survive---it is a circle. If some people don’t eat meat they will suffer---so there is suffering in either case.” (Pg. 106)
“Q: How do you know there are critical situations? MM: I read the newspapers.” (Pg. 117)
“MM: … when you get to the top of the mountain, then you must go down again and help others up, according to their capacities and strength. There is no rest in this work: the highest serves most lovingly, the wisest listens best; the one who has seen gives his whole life to help others to see. This is the divine way.” (Pg. 119)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Mother Meera.
January 1, 2020
Beautiful and Thoughtful
An concise and easy to read as well as contemplative introduction to Mother Meera. An essential read to understand the Mother.Timely. As relevant now as when it was originally published. An essential read for everyone.
An concise and easy to read as well as contemplative introduction to Mother Meera. An essential read to understand the Mother.Timely. As relevant now as when it was originally published. An essential read for everyone.
August 11, 2018
Inspiring and accessible.
Profound wisdom in a presentation that can be grasped by anyone who is open hearted and humble enough to realize that God does the work.
Profound wisdom in a presentation that can be grasped by anyone who is open hearted and humble enough to realize that God does the work.
September 17, 2024
Very inspiring, interesting read. A must read for anyone wanting to grow spiritually.
Now to read Book 2.
Now to read Book 2.
February 4, 2014
As someone who has been on and off a spiritual search for decades, I found this little book of Mother Meera's wisdom interesting and helpful. The reason I picked up this book at the bookstore was because I have questions. While the answers to many of the questions I had were surprising, this book did do what a lot of books about spirituality do, in my experience: it left me formulating more questions. Although, to be honest, it answered more than it spawned for me. I am left feeling like I am on the right path in my search for greater meaning in life and I feel more at peace than I have in ages. Put it this way - I didn't realize I was that uneasy about my spirituality until I realized how much more at ease I am now. Go figure!
June 4, 2015
I received darshan from Mother Meera recently and had an amazing experience. I read this book to understand more. I have a long way to go on my spiritual journey!!!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews