Her Teachings

The following quotes of Anandamayi Ma are from various sources, taken down by disciples. See www.anandamayi.org for more.

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Every moment belongs to God; Endeavour to keep your mind dedicated to His Feet. God, the Ocean of Mercy, who ever blesses the world, pours out His grace at all times. It is incumbent on man to consider every­thing that happens to be for the best: ‘For the best’ denoting what is most helpful towards the realization of the Divine, the realization of the fullness of Bliss.

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Nothing happens that is not an expression of God’s grace. Verily, all is His grace.

God’s mercy pours down everywhere and at all times. One becomes aware of this by making oneself receptive to it. To pray constantly for His grace is man’s duty.

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Do you want deliverance from the bonds of the world? Then weeping profusely, you will have to cry out from the bottom of your heart: “Deliver me, great Mother of the World, deliver me!” To obtain Her grace, you will have to shed tears much more abundantly than when you desire things of the world. 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 then the nearest, the very breath of life, the very core of every heart.

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The mind is its own friend or foe; the mind itself has to destroy its own ignorance.. The easiest and most effective means for purging the mind is to associate with saints and seekers after Truth and to ceaselessly invoke the Name of God.

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Question:       How to acquire the childlike state?

Ma:                 Seek the company of the pure and the God­like and obey the Guru and elders. This will lead to the spontaneous unfolding of the childlike state.

Question :      How shall we realise God?

Ma :                 Weep for Him and you will find Him.

Question:       I cannot weep at all, tears simply won’t come. What shall I do?

Ma:                 (laughing), Seek the company of those who weep. Keep the company of pure and God-minded persons.

Question:       What is the easiest way to God?

Ma:                 Profuse tears.

Question:       And if tears do not come?

Ma:                 Then you should seek the company of those who shed tears; namely, seek satsang. This is the easiest way to God through love and devotion.

Question :      The other day in Madras you said that if one has no tears to shed in the search for God, one should resort to satsang. I have had satsang for many years and yet I see no appreciable improve­ment in myself.

Ma :                 Your being here now and your asking the questions – are tears. By tears is meant perseverance in the search with devotion. How can you say that you have not bene­fited by those years of satsang? But for them, you might not have reached even so far.

Question:       Why does Realization not come even though one spends all the twenty-four hours at the feet of saints and sages?

Ma:                 Out of the twenty-four hours, how much time do you give to God? If someone stays day and night with saints, serving them, he will no doubt reap the fruit of it. If full Realization does not occur, it does mean that one has failed. The aspirant must be determined to accomplish his task at all costs, even unto death. This must be his attitude of mind. The spiritual path has to be pursued until complete Realization. So long as Rama has not been found how can one be at rest (arama)? A man who yearns desperately for God is actually lying prostrate at His lotus feet. He has no other interest at all.

Question:       Momentary glimpses of Light are experienced but they vanish. Why should this happen again and again?

Ma:                 Even though they vanish time after time, they will appear again.

Question:       What is the simplest method to make them permanent?

Ma:                 If you cannot do anything else, at least seek satsang; or if you are unable to secure the company of real saints and sages, read scriptures, meditate, worship, contem­plate God. In the measure as you exert yourself you will make progress on the spiritual path.

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Question:       What actually is the grace of the Guru ?

MA :                 When together with his instructions the Guru bestows the capacity to translate them into action, this is his grace. Grace is being poured out at all times. But it cannot enter because the receptacle is turned upside down. When one becomes receptive, one is able to receive grace. The means to turn the receptacle the right way up is to obey the Guru’s orders to the very letter. By virtue of the yoga of sustained practice the veil will be torn asunder and the Self stand revea­led – one will advance towards one’s real Home.

So long as there is craving one will be born again and again; in other words, physical existence continues due to the sense of want. Through sustained spiritual practice one may be released from it. In order that the fact of man’s eternal union with the One may be revealed, the commands of the Guru must be obeyed. Thereby one becomes worthy of his grace. The Guru in his mercy points out each one’s own path, the path that leads to Self-realization.

There are two kinds of grace: with and without cause or reason. The first is obtained as the result of one’s actions; but when it is understood that one cannot get any­where by one’s own effort, then grace without cause or reason (ahetuk kripa) is received. From the state of utter helpless­ness He lifts one up.

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How many hundreds of different kinds of karma have been accumulated life after life is unknown and in­comprehensible to man. Human birth is a great good fortune, the crown of evolution. By God’s grace alone can a human body be had, such birth is the result of good and virtuous deeds. Human birth is difficult to obtain; this is why a human being must aim at the awakening of true humanity.

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If you are able to love God really — this is the consummation of all love.

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The sovereign and universal remedy is the contemplation of the One. To think only of Him and to serve Him at all times is essential for every human being.

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It is desire that causes sorrow; but the will to realize God is itself felicity. Be certain that He will cleanse and comfort you and take you into His arms. Sorrow comes in order to lead you to happiness. At all times hold him in remembrance.

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In the field of His play even getting means losing. This is but the nature of its movement. Think of Him Who cannot be lost. Meditate on Him alone, on Him, the Fountain of Good­ness. Pray to Him; depend on Him. Try to give more time to japa and meditation. Sur­render your mind at His Feet. Endeavour to sustain japa and meditation without a break.

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Man may find himself in all kinds of surroundings, yet he must not allow himself to be driven hither and thither helplessly under their influence. It is his duty under all circumstances to preserve his individuality and strength of character intact. To drift with the current is easy enough, but to stand firm as a rock is difficult. He who is able to do this will keep his head without wave­ring even among a dozen people of different points of view and lines of approach. This surely is the attitude that befits a human being.

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Abide by your duty. To live in the home that he has created for himself is surely fitting for a householder. Do not, however, neglect the search for your real Home. Only when this is found has one truly come home.

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To dwell in the joy that springs from the mind’s constant occupation with things divine is man’s duty. Thinking of anything other than God is what creates sorrow. Be it mantra japa, be it meditation, worship, perusal of sacred texts, the simple awareness of God or a like device, be it kirtan or religious music — all these are different modes of being in the divine Presence. One should always remain engaged in one of them, in fact never be without Him. Bear in mind: This is what this little child requests from her friends and also from her fathers and mothers.*

* Mataji often speaks of Herself as a little child and ‘mother’,  calls children and unmarried people Her ‘friends’ and married people ‘father’.

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Regarding all beings as His forms, in a spirit of service and utter calm, serve the Lord; serve the Lord and only Him. In the measure as you grow more and more perfect in your capacity as a servant of the Lord, fondness, love and devotion for Him as well as implicit faith will awaken in you.

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Misfortune must not be looked upon as a disaster: It would be a sin to do so for who sends misfortune? What He does is all-beneficent. Under no circumstances, how­ever adverse, should man accept defeat. “Gurudeva, you do only what is for my real well-being” — keep this thought ever with you. In this world there are bound to be all sorts of troubles. If you have lost wealth and position, let them be gone. Pray to God only for the lives of your family.

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Where God may place you at any time and under whatever circumstances, recollect that it is all for the best. Endeavour to go through life leaving your burdens in His hands. He is the Preserver, He is the Guide, He is all in all.

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Who belongs to whom in this world? By exhausting one’s particular karma, everyone must endeavour to bring to completion his life’s pilgrimage. What you are experien­cing is the usual state of affairs on the journey through life; therefore do not allow yourself to be so very agitated! If, due to attachment to those with whom one has been united in this world of coming and going, one is utterly immersed in the sorrow of bereavement, how can the pilgrimage along one’s own Path become fruitful? With unbounded vigour and energy one must forge ahead towards the revelation of one’s true Self. Travellers on the Supreme Path must strive to complete their journey; Self-realization is its purpose and goal.

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God’s Holy Name is Itself the rite for exorcising undesirable influences. In the pre­sence of God’s Name ghosts and evil spirits cannot remain.

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Day and night should be spent in the quest for God (sadhana bhajana). The desire to find Him has to be specially fostered. To be a human being means to place first and foremost the desire to know One’s Self. Except for the little time necessary for the service of the family, all the rest must be devoted to japa, medita­tion, the reading of scriptures, worship, prayer, self-dedication. Yearn and cry for Him for His own sake. If opportunity arises, seek satsang. Whenever this is not possible strive to keep the constant awareness of God’s presence enshrined in your heart.

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To frequent the company of saints, sages and seekers after Truth is incumbent on man. Association of this kind will help to awaken his interest in That which is Real. The more consistently one seeks the fellowship of the spiritually-minded the greater will be the benefit.

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In one form or another grace of the Guru must be obtained. Until the Guru is found it is man’s duty to invoke and try to realize God by looking upon all forms as His Form, all names as His Name, and all modes of being as His.

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It is only natural that ever more bliss should be experienced while practising yoga. So long as the One has not been revealed, distractions will come. But the Guru alone can point out whether one is proceeding in exactly the right manner. Transformation means that worldly interests have lost their hold. To the extent to which one becomes indifferent to worldly pursuits will one progress towards real Bliss.

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 Silent japa should be engaged in at all times. One must not waste breath uselessly: whenever one has nothing special to do one should silently practise japa in rhythm with one’s breathing —-in fact this exercise should go on continually until doing japa  has become as natural as breathing.