Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mata Amritanandamayi Devi

• Mata Amritanandamayi Devi is an Indian spiritual leader and humanitarian who is known among her devotees as “the hugging saint.” She is the founder of The Mata Amritanandamayi Math, a global nonprofit based in Amritapuri, Kerala (India). In 1993, she served as President of the Centenary Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, USA.

• When Sudhamani was five years old, she volunteered to aid the less fortunate on her way to school, which is why she was constantly late for school. When her mother became ill in 1962, the 9-year-old was pulled out of school to help with domestic duties and take care of her siblings. At the age of 15, Sudhamani began
  helping out with the household chores at her mother’s older sister’s home before being
  sent to live with her uncle in Karunagapally.

• Young Sudhamani used to go door-to-door collecting leftover food from neighbours for her family’s cattle during this time. At the age of 9, she decided to devote her time to charitable work. She used to search her
  home for food and clothing to give to those in need. She frequently received reprimands and punishment for doing so from her family, who were not wealthy either.

• Amritanandamayi has been hugging people to soothe them since she was 22 years old, earning her the title “hugging saint” among her followers. She spends about 10 to 14 hours a day greeting and cuddling visitors. She has welcomed more than 34 million individuals worldwide for more than 30 years, according to her official website.

  

• Amma refused to get married; however, she considers all her devotees as her own children and hence gave herself the title of Amma, which means mother in many Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi.

• The spiritual and material betterment of humanity is the primary goal of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MAM), which was established on 6 May 1981. Together with its sister organisation, the Mata Amritanandamayi Mission Trust, MAM manages charitable projects like providing healthcare for the needy, helping with natural disasters, promoting environmental initiatives, battling hunger, and providing educational scholarships for children from low-income families.

  

• The MAM also manages the 90 Amrita Vidyalayam chains of English medium CBSE schools, seven-campus Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham University, and yoga, meditation, and Sanskrit classes.

• A 47-year-old man named Pavithran, a native of Kerala’s Northern Palakkad area, attacked Amma in August 2005. He was participating in the prayer and bhajan gathering at the Mata’s Vallikkav Ashram in Kerala’s Kollam district by sitting among the devotees and singing and praying in front of Amma. He then charged her with a knife but was stopped by some of Amma’s followers. Pavithran was described as having an “unstable mind” by Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri, one of Amma’s followers. Later, it was revealed that the attacker was an RSS supporter. ^[4]YouTube – asianetnews

• A 23-year-old student named Satnam Singh Maan from Lucknow’s National Law University attacked Mata Amritanandamayi on 1 August 2012. When he shouted “Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem,” he was in a line waiting for Amma’s hugs. Unarmed Satnam attempted to attack Amma’s bodyguards but was defeated by the followers. After the attack, he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he was later pronounced
  dead. ^[5]The Times of India