This book explores devotional Hinduism in a modern context of high consumerism and revolutionised communications. It focuses on a fast-growing and high-profile contemporary Hindu guru faith originating in India and attracting a transnational following. The organisation is led by a vastly popular female guru, Mata Amritanandamayi, whom devotees worship as an avatar and a healer of the ills of the contemporary world. By drawing upon multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork among the mata's primarily urban, educated 'middle class' Indian devotees, the author provides crucial insights into new trends in popular Hinduism in a post-colonial and rapidly modernising Indian setting.

No One Is Going To Force Us Onto The Spiritual Path; It Is Up To Each Of Us To Decide What To Make Of Our Life. But After Reading The User’s Manual For An Appliance, We Find Ourselves Inspired To Try To Make It Run As Efficiently As Possible. Likewise, When We Sincerely Study The Life And Teachings Of The Great Masters, We Will Surely Want To Make The Most Of This Rare And Precious Blessing Of A Human Life. In The Blessed Life, Swami Ramakrishnananda Points Out That Amma’s Blessings And Grace Are Always There For Us. However, Just As A Room Will Remain Dark On The Brightest Of Summer Days If We Don’t Bother To Open The Windows, To Become Receptive, We May Have To Make Some Adjustments In The Way We Lead Our Life. With Characteristic Wit, Lively Examples And Profound Insights Gleaned From 28 Years Of Living With Amma, Swami Ramakrishnananda Explores The Kinds Of Actions And Attitudes That We Can Adopt In Order To Allow Divine Grace To Flow Into Us, Making Our Life Truly Blessed. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

Globally known as Amma, meaning "Mother," Mata Amritanandamayi has developed a massive transnational humanitarian organization based in hugs. She is familiar to millions as the "hugging saint," a moniker that derives from her elaborate darshan programs wherein nearly every day ten thousand people are embraced by the guru one at a time, events that routinely last ten to twenty hours without any rest for her. Although she was born in 1953 as a low-caste girl in a South Indian fishing village, today millions revere her as guru and goddess, a living embodiment of the divine on earth. Reflections of Amma focuses on communities of Amma’s devotees in the United States, showing how they endeavor to mirror their guru’s behaviors and transform themselves to emulate the ethos of the movement. This study argues that "inheritors" and "adopters" of Hindu traditions differently interpret Hindu goddesses, Amma, and her relation to feminism and women’s empowerment because of their inherited religious, cultural, and political dispositions. In this insightful ethnographic analysis, Amanda J. Lucia discovers how the politics of American multiculturalism reifies these cultural differences in "de facto congregations," despite the fact that Amma’s embrace attempts to erase communal boundaries in favor of global unity.

On The Road To Freedom Is The Autobiography Of Swami Paramatmananda Puri, Told With Innocence, Wry Humor And Genuine Insight. This Unusual Story Narrates The Archetypal Quest For Spiritual Realization, The Trials Of Personal Transformation, And Meetings With Some Of India’s Greatest Contemporary Masters, Including: Mata Amritanandamayi, Nisargadatta Maharaj And Disciples Of Ramana Maharshi. This Book Will Illumine And Inspire Seekers To Deepen Their Commitment To The Values Of Love, Wisdom And Selfless Service To Humanity. This Book Takes Up The Thread Where Volume One Left Off. This New Edition, With Many Never-Before Published Photos, Is A Rare And Revealing Account Of A Young Westerner's Heartfelt, 30 Year Spiritual Journey In Modern India. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

"Your heart is the real temple. It is there that you must install God. Good thoughts are the flowers to be offered to Him. Good actions are the worship. Good words are the hymns. Love is the divine offering." This Book Is In English. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.

A distinctive aspect of Hindu devotion is the veneration of a human guru, who is not only an exemplar and a teacher but is also understood to be an embodiment of the divine. Historically, the role of guru in the public domain has been exclusive to men. The new visibility of female gurus in India and the U.S. today, and indeed across the globe, has inspired this first-ever scholarly study of the origins, variety, and worldwide popularity of Hindu female gurus. In the Introduction, Karen Pechilis examines the historical emergence of Hindu female gurus with reference to the Hindu philosophy of the self, women spiritual exemplars as wives and saints, Tantric worship of the Goddess, and the internationalization of gurus in the U.S. in the twentieth century. Nine essays profile specific female gurus, presenting biographies of these remarkable women while highlighting overarching issues and themes concerning women's status as religious leaders; these themes are nuanced in the afterword to the volume. The essays explore how Hindu female gurus embody grace in both senses--as a feminine ideal and an attribute of the divine-and argue that their status as leaders is grounded in their negotiation of these two types of grace. This book provides biographical profiles of the following female gurus plus sensitive scholarly analysis of their spiritual paths: Ammachi, Anandamayi Ma, Gauri Ma, Gurumayi, Jayashri Ma, Karunamayi Ma, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, Mother Meera, Shree Maa and Sita Devi.

The Teachings Of Sanatana Dharma Are Imperishable Gems That The Selfless Rishis, Out Of Their Compassion, Have Given The World. Anyone Wishing To Stay Alive Cannot Avoid Air Or Water. Similarly, Anyone Seeking Peace Cannot Ignore The Principles Of Sanatana Dharma. This Book Contains The First Part Of A Collection Of Amma's Answers To Questions On The Principles Of Sanatana Dharma. Published By The Disciples Of Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Affectionately Known As Mother, Or Amma The Hugging Saint.