Amma Mata Amritanandamayi Devi’s Biography (Timeline)
continued (Age 61 onwards)
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Amma Mata Amritanandamayi Devi’s Biography (Timeline)
continued (Age 35 to 60)
(Age 35)
May 1988 – Amma’s 2nd world tour.
28th April 1988 – First Brahmasthana temple consecrated by Amma at Kodungallur.
Firat Brhmasthanam temple at Kodungallur. Brahmasthanam temple is of unique design conceived and consecrated by Amma. It contains a 4-faced murti (Shiva, Ganesha, Devi and Rahu (Murugan) on each side.
1989(Age 36)
Ashram takes over an Orphanage with 400 children at Paripally (which faced a severe financial crunch) and engages in feeding the children, rebuilding the dilapidated buildings, facilities and poor hygienic conditions at considerable cost. Amma diverts the money planned for constructing the Ashram temple for this purpose.
(L) Paripally Orphanage those days (R) Brhmacharinis conducting prayer with orphan children.
With the takeover of the orphanage, Amma’s humanitarian activities for the poor and the needy (later christened “Embracing the World” begins). Embracing the World exists to help alleviate the burden of the world’s poor through helping to meet each of their five basic needs — food, shelter, healthcare, education, and livelihood — wherever and whenever possible. ETW is especially focused on helping to meet these needs in the aftermath of major disasters.
Amma’s first visit to Delhi and Kolkata.
May 1989 –Amma’s 3rd world tour. Amma’s San Ramon’s Ashram (MA Center) at the USA takes shape. (Amma’s world tours now become regular annual affairs).
Mata Amritanandamayi Center (MA Center) at San Ramon, USA.
August 1989 – Ottur Unni Nambudiripad passes away with his head on Amma’s lap.
October 1989 – Amma arranges Sanyasa Diksha to Swami Amritaswarupanandapuri (Br. Balu). To keep up with the Sanyasa parampara traditions, Swami Dhruvananda, a Sanyasin from Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam, did the formalities to initiate the Sanyas (as per Puri tradition).
Swami Dhruvananda of Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam with Amma in the preparation for Vraja Homa. (He is now a resident of Amritapuri Ashram since 2018)
Amma gives Sanyasa to Br. Balu – Swami Amritaswarupanandapuri.
1990(Age 37)
Amma reveals her vision about starting a Multispeciality Hospital with the most modern medical care for the the benefit of poor.
9th April 1990 – Consecration of Ashram Kali (Bhavatarini) Temple.
Front elevation of Amritapuri Ashram Kali temple. It took almost 5 years to complete the construction. The upper floors have residential quarters and rooms for other ashram activities. The presiding deity is Bhavatarini Kali (some what similar to Bhavatarini Kali of Dakshineswar Kali temple)
Kali Sannidhi and meditation Hall of the Amritapuri Kali temple.
4th May 1990 – Brahmasthana temple consecrated at Chennai
AICT (Amrita Institute of Computer Technology), Amma’s first higher education institution started in Amritapuri.
1991 (Age 38)
Amma gives sanyasa Diksha to Br. Madhusudhan (Swami Premananda Puri).
17th August 1991 – Amma’s first visit to Russia. It was one of the most crucial periods in Russian history. When Amma was there, there was an attempted coup to overthrow the communist rule and Gorbachev was kept on house arrest. Fortunately, everything ended peacefully without violence and Amma’s devotees felt that Amma’s divine presence was no coincidence that helped in return of peace in a way incomprehensible to the outer world.
1992 (Age 39)
July 1992 – Amma’s 2nd visit to Russia.
16th February 1992 –Brahmasthana temples at Thiruvananthapuram and on 15th Aprilat Pune consecrated.
Amrita Sanskrit Higher Secondary school at Paripally started – it is one of the largest schools in Kerala to teach Sanskrit as the first language
Land for proposed Engineering college at Ettimadai, Coimbatore bought. Br Abhayamrita sets out clearing the thorny bushes in the wildland.
1993 (Age 40)
18th January 1993 – Consecration of Brahmasthana temple at Kozhikode
Over the period of time, Lots of youngsters, both males and females get attracted, inspired and motivated by Amma and come forward to lead a life of celibacy, dedicated to serving the society selflessly and seeking spiritual progress under the shade of Amma as a Sadguru and Avatar. They come from all walks of life — engineers, nurses, businessmen, carpenters, artists, college students —most of them are young, some of them middle-aged. They join as Brahmacharis and Brahmacharinis in the ashram, leaving behind their homes and comforts. Those who came at earlier times were content to live in newly built huts (as the finances were meager at that time).
Huts for Brahmacharis – behind current Kali Temple (in the current big hall area).
Hinduism Today magazine selects and honors Amma as the ‘Hindu of the year’
September 1993 – Amma invited to The Centenary Celebration and 2nd Parliament of World Religions at Chicago USA. Amma participates and speaks on the occasion. She was appointed one of the 3 presidents to represent Hinduism in the assembly of 25 presidents representing all world religions.
1994 (Age 41)
23rd May – Foundation stone for AIMS (Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences) Hospital at Edapally, Cochin is laid.
Entrance to the A-Block of AIMS – Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Edappally, Eranakulam.
Started Amrita Kripa Sagar Hospice for terminally ill cancer patients, Mumbai
Amrita Kripa Hospice, Mumbai
August – Amma arranges Sanyasa diksha to Swamis Amritatmanandapuri (Ramesh Rao), Ramakrishnananda Puri (Ramakrishnan), Poornamritanandapuri (Srikumar), Pranavanandapuri (Venu) , Amritagitananda puri (Aneesh) and Swamini Atmaprana (Dr Leela).
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She hails from a little fishermen’s hamlet in Kerala, India. She is hardly educated up to primary school. She is now a world-renowned Hindu saint and a globally recognized philanthropist. She travels across the length and breadth of India and also across the globe every year to meet people. She is known as the Hugging Saint. She is a ceaseless fountainhead of divine love.
She embraces each and every individual who comes to her for her darshan. She spends 10-14 hours a day, at least 4 days a week in meeting and hugging people who come to see her in thousands. She has been doing it ceaselessly since the age of 22/23. (She is now 65 as in 2018). She has hugged more than 33 million people across the world.
She is an unconditional giver. All the people in this world are her sons and daughters. She gives pure love to the world suffering in scorching selfishness; she heals people both physically and mentally.
She spreads spirituality to earnest seekers as a Sadguru. There are several tens of Sanyasis and hundreds of Brahmachari / Brahmacharinis living in her Ashram at Amritapuri, along with hundreds of household devotees (both Indians and foreigners) who are doing spiritual sadhana (meditation, mantra japa, devotional singing, studying shastras like Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads etc) and also doing selfless service, leading a very frugal and simple life, under her guidance.
She serves the poor and the downtrodden. She runs hospitals, orphanages, schools, colleges, and research institutions. She is always there with a helping hand extended, whenever and wherever there is a natural calamity.
Here is an attempt to showcase, for the sake of historical records, what she has been doing year after year in her action-packed life ever since her birth. No wonder she is hailed as an Avatar of divine mother Parashakti; the power she radiates is immeasurable; what she has accomplished and what she has been doing is simply beyond the grasp and capacity of not only ordinary human beings but also scientists, rationalists, and agnostics.
[Foreword: In this part 1 of Amma’s biography, we have covered her life and activities up to her age of 34. In part-2, age 35 to 60, and in Part-3, age 61 onwards are covered. Links to Part-2 and Part-3 are given at the bottom of this article].
1953 – 27th September – Birth of Amma
Sunday, after 9 AM (in star Karthika) The Holy Avatar of Amma happens – The girl child, later named Sudhamani (Later Mata Amritanandamayi) was born to Dhamayanthi Amma and Sri Sugunanandan as their 3rd child at Parayakadavu, a fishermen’s hamlet in Alappad, Kerala. Her birthplace, in future, acquires the name Amtitapuri.
1957 (Age 4)
‘Kunju’ (Little) Sudhamani frequently turns inwards, forgetting the outer world and goes to a meditative state.
1958 (Age 5)
Sudhamani starts going to elementary school. She is soaked in Krishna bhakti most of the time even at such a tender age.
1960 (Age 7)
Sudhamani starts composing devotional songs on Lord Krishna. Most of the time her dress is wet with tears she sheds crying for her beloved Krishna.
1962(Age 9)
Sudhamani discontinues school (in a couple of months after joining 5th standard) and takes charge of doing all domestic chores since her mother falls sick. In all her free time, she is immersed in the devotion of Sri Krishna.
1966 (Age 13)
Sudhamani starts going to her Mother’s elder sisters’ house for doing their domestic chores. Sudhamani gives the families’ rice to the poor and gets the wrath of the relatives.
1968 (Age 15)
Sudhamani was sent to her uncle’s house in Karunagapally for doing their domestic chores. Here too she starts giving food and provisions from the house to the poor and needy and gets punished for her charity.
1969 (Age 16)
Sudhamani returns to her parents’ house and gets fully engaged in doing all domestic chores from 3 AM in the morning till 11 PM and also immerses herself in intense sadhana and Krishna Bhakthi. She also serves the poor people in the village and distributes food and provisions stealthily from her house. Gets punished frequently for this charity.
1970 (Age 17)
Sudhamani learns tailoring at a Christian Institution attached to a Church (for about 3 years) in her spare time. She goes into meditation at the graveyard next to the church. The old priest in the Church gets highly impressed by her character and devotion to God. He predicts she will come up as a great lady in the future.
Sudhamani loses sleep crying and singing for her beloved Krishna. Her family members get highly disturbed by her behavior. They think she is mentally deranged.
1975 (Age 22)
Sudhamani’s intense prema bhakti on Krishna ends up in a divine experience of Lord Krishna merging in her.
== Oil painting == Lord Krishna appears before Amma and merges in her. Amma realizes her oneness with Krishna.
5th March 1975 – Sudhamani first Krishna Bhava (involuntarily expressing the divine mood of Lord Krishna) at the courtyard of her neighbor Sri Ratnam’s house where Srimad Bhagavada parayanam was going on.
== Oil painting == Amma reveals her Krishna Bhava to people gathered to listen to Srimad Bhagavatam.
On the next Bhagavata Parayanam day, based on demands from people to prove her divine power, Sudhamani does a miracle by converting water to milk and also to panchamritam when she shows Krishna bhava again.
Soon regular Krishna Bhava darshan to devotees begins at the cowshed area next to her house.
Later a simple temple (Kalari) comes up in the cowshed area where her bhava darshan took place.
Soon after, Sudhamani gets Devi Parashakthi in a divine vision for a brief while. She immerses in deep Prema Bhakti to seek Devi’s vision again. Sudhamani’s behavior turns very weird bordering on madness.
Her family members could not understand her divine madness and get very disturbed. Her elder brother Subhakan, who could not accept Sudhamani’s bhava darshans and her divine moods, orders her to get out of the house. In order not to trouble the family members, sSudhamani opts to stay outdoors all the time, be rain or shine. She was out of body consciousness most of the time; animals and birds start giving her company with love and they bring food to her too.
== Oil painting == Sudhamani ordered out of the house; Animals and birds give her company in the open.
September1975 – After 6 months of intense longing, she gets the vision of Devi once again and Devi immerses inside her. Amma sang her experience and the divine commandment she received from Devi thus in her song ‘Ananda Veedhi’
. . . . . .
Smiling, She became a Divine Effulgence And merged in me. My mind blossomed, Bathed in the many-hued light of divinity And the events of millions of years gone by Rose up within me. Thenceforth, Seeing nothing as separate from my own Self And merging in the Divine mother I renounced all sense of enjoyment
Mother told me to ask people To fulfill their human birth. Therefore I proclaim to the whole world The sublime truth that She uttered ‘oh man, merge in your Self!” . . . . . . . . .
Sudhamani resolves to dedicate her life totally to mitigate the suffering of the people and serve one and all as embodiments of God.
Amma (Sudhamani) begins giving Devi Bhava Darshan too in addition to Krishna Bhava Darshan. She hugs each and everyone who comes to her for darshan, hears their woes and offers solace.
Amma starts facing lots of opposition from and harassment from The Rationalists Movement (‘Committee to remove blind beliefs’) who consider her bhava darshans as fake with an intent to fool people and make money.
By 1975 year-end – During one Krishna bhava, Amma predicts that she will be having lots of devotees coming to her from far and wide, including from abroad. She also predicts that she would travel all over the world many times.
Prabhakara Siddha Yogi, a famous avadhuta with extremely weird behavior, who was believed to be living across a couple of centuries, comes and visits Amma. He recognizes her as Kali Mata.
Amma with Prabhakara Siddha Yogi
1976 (Age 23)
Harassment, public ridicule, attempts of physical attack and attempts of murder happens to Amma from locals and members of the Rationalist movement. Amma’s family members feel highly disturbed about such happenings. Amma faces such opposition for the next couple of years with evenness of mind.
Based on Sugunananda’s prayer during Devi bhava to relieve her daughter from Devi’s possession, Amma falls into deep samadhi the next day and could not be revived to life despite all efforts. Conceding to intense prayers and inconsolable crying of her devotees and family, she comes back to life after 3 hours.
Unnikrishnan (Amma’s first resident brahmachari of the ashram, later Swami Turiyamritananda Puri) meets Amma and starts staying in the temple.
Swami Turiyamritananda Puri (Br. Unnikrishnan) was the earliest permanent resident of the ashram who came in 1976.
1977 (Age 24)
Amma visits Madurai Meenakshi temple with devotees. She goes into deep samadhi for about 1.5 hrs in front of Meenakshi sannadhi.
1978 (Age 25)
Dattan the leper starts visiting Amma during Bhava Darshan and his acute and deep wounds of leprosy gets cured over a period of time by Amma’s licking of his wounds.
> Click this picture to see the video clipping showing Amma licking the wounds in Dattan’s body and face
June 1978 – Amma’s elder brother Subhakan, who could not understand or accept Amma’s spiritual moods, and seemingly lunatic behavior, was strongly against his sisters’ divine bhavas and was extremely mentally disturbed. He commits suicide. Amma had to face negative propaganda and criticism from the rationalists and the public on account of this happening too.
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This website has been conceived and being developed by C.V.Rajan. He is a retired Engineer and an ex-design consultant, now living with his wife in Ashram at Amritapuri, Kerala, spending his retired life in quest of spirituality under the holy feet of Amma, Satguru Mata Amritanandamayi.
He is an avid reader and a writer. Writing as a hobby started in him at the age of 20. As his interest turned to spirituality in his late thirties, he became an avid reader on the lives and teachings of great Mahatmas like Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi and his satguru Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma).
In his early fifties, he wrote at various blog sites on variety of subjects like Hinduism, spirituality, life & living, healthy living, Indian culture and so on. Now through this website (Hinduism Way Of Life), C.V.Rajan is consolidating and sharing all his writings on Hinduism under a single umbrella.