A newly released book by ex-Amma devotee Jovan Jones sheds light on the dark side of the hugging saint. Chasing The Avatar is the true story of one woman who spent two years living in the ashram, teetered on the edge of sanity, and went head to head with darkness. Through grace, she managed to get out of the ashram alive and with the strength to share her story with the world. There is little doubt that this book will be a blessing to ex-devotees, families of devotees struggling with their loved ones involvement with the group, and devotees who find themselves trapped in psychological, emotional, and spiritual darkness. Several ex-devotees are currently reading this new book and will return back with a full review. In the meantime, on behalf of everyone who has suffered due to direct or indirect involvement with the Amma group….THANK YOU JOVAN for finally giving a voice to those who live in fear of coming forward from the shadows.

BUY THE BOOK

Jovan reads Chapter 11, “A House Swept Clean”

“The reason why people feel Amma has so much spiritual power is precisely because she takes it from all the people worshiping her. She makes you feel good when you hug her, because you are feeling all that stolen life force emanating off of her.”  says a recent visitor to one of the Amma programs who gained insight into the darker aspects of the “hugging saint”.

Click Here For Full Article And Discussion by Stephanie Brail

The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power

by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad

The following quotes are taken from Part One of the Guru Papers
and are deemed by ex-members to be strikingly accurate in describing
the dynamics of a cult guru.

“If an authority not only expects to be obeyed without
question, but either punishes or refuses to deal with those who
do not, that authority is authoritarian.” (p.15)

“Gurus can arouse intense emotions as there is extraordinary
passion in surrendering to what one perceives as a living God.”
(p.33)

“In spiritual realms fear and desire can become
as extreme as they get.. When a living person becomes the focus
of such emotions, the possibility of manipulation is correspondingly
extreme.” (p.41)

“In the East a guru is more than a teacher. He is a doorway
that supposedly allows one to enter into a more profound relationship
with the spiritual. A necessary step becomes acknowledging the
gurus specialness and mastery over that which one wishes
to attain. The message is that to be a really serious student,
spiritual realization must be the primary concern. Therefore,
one’s relationship with the guru must, in time, become one’s
prime emotional bond, with all others viewed as secondary. In
fact, typically other relationships are pejoratively referred
to as attachments.(p..49)

“So although most gurus preach detachment, disciples become
attached to having the guru as their center, whereas the guru
becomes attached to having the power of being others center.”
(p.50)

“The ways people deny and justify are similar: Since
supposedly no one who is not enlightened can truly understand
the motives of one who is, any criticism can be discounted as
a limited perspective. Also, any behavior on the part of the guru,
no matter how base, can be imputed to be some secret teaching
or message that needs deciphering.”

By holding gurus as perfect and thus beyond ordinary explanations,
their presumed specialness can be used to justify anything. Some
deeper, occult reason can always be ascribed to anything a guru
does: The guru is said to take on the karma of others, and that
is why his body has whatever problems it has. The guru is obese
or unhealthy because he is too kind to turn down offerings: besides,
he gives so much that a little excess is understandable. He punishes
those who disobey him not out of anger but out of necessity, as
a good father would. He uses sex to teach about energy and detachment.
He lives an opulent life to break people’s simplistic preconceptions
of what ego-loss should look like; it also shows how detached
and unconcerned he is about what others think. For after all,
Once enlightened, one can do anything. Believing
this dictum makes any action justifiable.”

People justify and rationalize in gurus what in others would
be considered unacceptable because they have a huge emotional
investment in believing their guru is both pure and right.”
(p.52)

“That interest in one’s own salvation is totally
self-centered is a conundrum rarely explored.” (p.54)

“So disciples believe they are loved unconditionally, even
though this love is conditional on continued surrender. Disciples
in the throes of surrender feel they have given up their past,
and do not, consciously at least, fear the future. . . Feeling
totally cared for and accepted, at the universe’s center,
powerful, and seemingly unafraid of the future are all achieved
at the price of giving one’s power to another, thus remaining
essentially a child.” (p56)

“It is not at all unusual to be in an authoritarian relationship
and not know it. In fact, knowing it can interfere with surrender..
Any of the following are strong indications of belonging to an
authoritarian group:

1. No deviation from the party line is allowed. Anyone who has
thoughts or feelings contrary to the accepted perspective is made
to feel wrong or bad for having them.

2. Whatever the authority does is regarded as perfect or right.
Thus behaviors that would be questioned in others are made to
seem different and proper.

3. One trusts that the leader or others in the group know what’s
best.

4. It is difficult to communicate with anyone not in the group..

5. One finds oneself defending actions of the leader (or other
members) without having firsthand knowledge of what occurred.

6. At times one is confused and fearful without knowing why. This
is a sign that doubts are being repressed.” (p.57)

“The power of conversion experiences lies in the psychological
shift from confusion to certainty.” (p.65)

“People whose power is based on the surrender of others
develop a repertoire of techniques for deflecting and undermining
anything that questions or challenges their status, behavior,
or beliefs. They ridicule or try to confuse people who ask challenging
questions.” (p.66)

“Is experiencing intense energy a sign of spirituality,
or is the experience in the same vein as young ladies who swoon
in the presence of rock stars?” (p.68)

“To be thought enlightened, one must appear not only certain
that one is, but certain about most everything else, too.”
(p.70)

“Gurus undercut reason as a path to understanding. When
they do allow discursive inquiry, they often place the highest
value on paradox. Paradox easily lends itself to mental manipulation.
No matter what position you take, you are always shown to be missing
the point; the point being that the guru knows something you do
not.” (p.74)

“Their stance toward outsiders is of benign superiority.”
(p77)

“As long as the guru still sees the possibility of realizing
his ambitions, the way he exercises power is through rewarding
the enthusiasms of his followers with praise and positions in
his hierarchy. He also whets and manipulates desire by offering
carrots,and promising that through him the disciples
desires will be realized, possibly even in this lifetime. The
group itself becomes an echo of the guru, with the members filling
each other’s needs. Within the community there is a sense
of both intimacy and potency, and a celebratory, party-like atmosphere
often reigns. Everything seems perfect; everyone is moving along
the appropriate spiritual path. The guru is relatively accessible,
charming, even fun. All dreams are realizable-even wonderful possibilities
beyond one’s ken.” (p.78)

“People are especially vulnerable to charismatic leaders
during times of crisis or major life change.” (p.87)

“People don’t want a second-rate guru; they want the
one who seems the best. Since purity is the standard measurement
of  the gold or Greenwich meridian time of the guru world
each guru has to claim the most superlative traits. This
is naturally a breeding ground for hypocrisy, lies, and the cultivation
of false images of purity. Gurus are thus forced to assume the
role of the highest, best, the most enlightened, the most loving,
the most selfless, the purest representative of the most profound
truths; for if they did not, people would go to one who does.
Consequently, it is largely impossible for a guru to permit himself
real intimacy, which in adults requires a context of equality..
All his relationships must be hierarchical, since that is the
foundation of his attraction and power.” (p.88)

“Since adulation from any one person eventually becomes
boring, gurus do not need any specific disciple they need
lots of them. Gurus do give special attention to those with wealth
and power.” (p.89)

“Gurus likewise do many things to ensure that their disciples
prime emotional allegiance is toward them. In the realm of sexuality,
the two prevalent ways control is exerted are through promulgating
either celibacy or promiscuity. Although seemingly opposite, both
serve the same function: they minimize the possibilities of people
bonding deeply with each other, thus reducing factors that compete
with the guru for attention.” (p.92)

“Many gurus and spiritual authorities negate, make light
of, or even ridicule the use and value of Western psychotherapy
because its concepts of the unconscious undermine their authority
and power. To acknowledge that unconscious factors may be operative
in oneself means that one cannot be totally sure one is selfless.”
(p.102)

“A primary goal in therapy is to free clients from their
need to transfer unresolved issues onto others. This need makes
people particularly susceptible to authoritarian control. Good
therapists aim at being very conscious of how they deal with
transference.”

Because of the nature of the relationship which demands total
surrender, gurus do exactly the opposite. They cultivate and reward
transference, for a parental type of authority is at the very
core of the gurus power over disciples. The power to name,
arrange marriages, and dictate duties and behavior are ultimates
in parental authority, especially in traditional societies like
the East. To give someone the power to name or marry you is to
profoundly accept their parental role in defining who you are.
The ostensible motivation behind this has to do with an attempt
to break the ties of the past so the person can become new.
A deeper reason is that this aids the guru in becoming the center
of the persons emotional life, which facilitates surrender.”
(p.105)

“Successful gurus, rock stars, charismatic leaders of any
sort, experience the intensity of adulation amplified beyond most
peoples ken. This can make ordinary relationships pale
by comparison. Being the recipient of such adulation and devotion
is exceedingly addictive. Here addiction is used in its loose
sense to mean mechanically needing an on-going fix
of adulation to where it becomes the central focus of one’s
life. Adulation has powerful emotions for the sender as well,
and can be easily mistaken for love. It is likewise addicting
for the sender, as it is an easy route to feelings of passion.
Since adulation is totally a function of image, should the images
crack, adulation disappears, demonstrating that it is essentially
empty of real care.” (p.112)

What do stuffed dolls have to do with enlightenment? Lots, if you’re into the cult of Amma, known also as Ammachi, Mata Amritanandamayi, and “the hugging saint.”

Amma’s devotees talk to dolls made in her image that are sold on Amma retreats. They tell the doll their problems, seek its comfort, and listen in their minds for its advice. Amma calls the devotees her children, and clucks syllables like baby talk into their ear in her trademark ritual of lining people up, watching them kneel before her, then embracing them.

She tells them she is their mother and that she hears their prayers. She says she’d no more charge them for her darshan (i.e., being in her presence) than a mother would charge an infant for breast milk. Yet insiders have estimated Amma rakes in upwards of 3 million dollars in a 7-week tour, through donations and sales of items like her toothbrush, fragments of a garment she has sat on, Amma dolls, Amma posters, and books by devotees extolling her divinity.

Devotees believe Amma is a living incarnation of the being they consider the supreme God: Kali in Hindu religion, who is depicted in Indian art wearing a bloody necklace of human skulls but who somehow translates to devotees as a loving maternal figure. Amma events consist of childlike lectures on Hindu doctrines, Amma blessing water which devotees then drink, hymn singing, worship ceremonies, and the hugs. At some events, Amma wears a two-foot-high sparkling crown.

Amma marries people on stage, gives babies their first taste of solid food, tells couples to break up or to stay together, and ordains some of the faithful to abandon their family and live as monks in her ashram. Amma teaches that love is all we need, and it is her divine love that will save us.

In Seattle a couple of months ago, she predicted nuclear war and that no child younger than 5 will live to adulthood after the year 2012. After spreading fear and despair through such prophecies, she announced that only meditation and self-effacing acts of charity can possibly mitigate the sentence for humanity. “Meditation” means mantra/obeisance meditation to the divine mother. Self-effacing charity means donations to her organization and service to her cause.

At public sessions, devotees chant hymns to Amma that grow in volume and frenetic intensity, gesticulating in unison with their arms in the shape of an arc, from their midsection up and out towards Amma, who sits on a dais in front of them. The words of the chant are “Aum Parashaktyai Namah.” That translates to “I bow down/ pay homage to the Supreme Mother of the Universe.” The arm gesture is body language for surrendering one’s soul to Kali in the form Amma, her living embodiment.

I am one of the moderators of the Ex-Amma Forum, a place where people who’ve left the Amma cult come together to help each other heal from their ordeal. The group is open to ex-followers, questioning devotees, concerned family and friends of devotees, and people seeking more information. I became involved with the forum when I watched a close friend of mine grow farther and farther away from the person he once was, the deeper he sank into Amma’s hypnotic embrace. On the forum, I’ve read hundreds of first-person accounts of what people experience with Amma, the side of her no one wants to talk about.

I’ve seen an email from her former joint-secretary alleging she cooks the books, that the money she gathers for charity doesn’t go to the charities she claims. I’ve read accounts by her former monks of the unexplained wealth of Amma’s family, how her charity hospitals won’t take the very poor because the poor don’t have money enough for treatment. I’ve read about “suicides” and unexplained deaths of ashram devotees. So many dead bodies have appeared in the waters outside the ashram that The Indian Express, New Delhi’s daily newspaper, printed an account of local citizens demanding a police investigation into the matter.

I’ve read of organ selling and beatings. I saw a video of Amma performing a puja (worship ceremony) to a portrait of Sai Baba, the guru who gives penis massages to his favorite boy disciples. I read a letter from a former Amma monk alleging he was told by an Indian holy man not to share what he knows about Amma if he values his safety.

Amma’s website sells pujas performed on behalf of the paying devotee for prices ranging from $30 to $250. We read there an explanation of what happens in Kali puja, which is performed “on Amma’s birthstar”:

“The puja is offered to a lamp representing the Goddess… The puja starts with a worship of the Guru… The central aspect of the puja is the symbolic offering of the five elements of creation to God. Our body is composed from these five elements… The puja symbolizes the surrender of the devotee to God… Each element is represented by a material symbol, such as flowers, or fire… These are offered at the foot of the lighted lamp. The desire of the devotee to offer his or her surrender is effected by these symbolic offerings. During the entire puja the temple resonates with the continuous chanting of the holy names of Kali.” (emphasis mine)

Amma’s PR is impeccable. She presents as “the hugging saint,” a portrait of sweetness and universal love, and the media promotes her unquestioningly as such. There has never been an investigation into her movement, the dead bodies, where the money goes, or what is really happening in her hospitals and orphanages in India.

In July, 2005, the United Nations awarded Amma with “Special U.N. Consultative Status,” according to her website. She is one of 25 core leaders in the United Nations Parliament of World Religions. Her website contains over a dozen pages extolling the humanitarian work of the U.N. One page compares the U.N.’s “Millenium Goals” with Amma’s goals, which are word-for-word identical. (Click here to view both documents.)

The ashram is among 30 Indian NGO’s to receive formal U.N. affiliation, according to Amma’s website. “This will provide opportunities for joint collaboration” between the U.N. and her organization, it goes on to state. Amma’s website openly extols the U.N. for its advances toward global government:

“The United Nations has been in the forefront of tackling problems as they take on an international dimension, providing the legal framework for regulating the use of the oceans, protecting the environment, regulating migrant labor, curbing drug trafficking and combating terrorism, to mention a few. This work continues today, with the United Nations providing input into the trend towards a greater centrality of international law in governing interaction across a wide spectrum of issues.” (emphasis mine)

Pulling all this together, what are we seeing here? Amma is a globalist, working intimately with the U.N. to bring about its agenda. That agenda is world regulation and control – a wolf that hides in the sheep’s clothing of humanitarian ideals. The U.N.’s aim is a global Orweillian state held in place by a world bank, a centrally controlled media, a world “peace-keeping unit” (world army), technological surveillance, and control of the world’s water, food and other essential resources.

As one of the 25 core leaders in the U.N.’s religion parliament, Amma supports and promotes these “Big Brother” goals. For anyone wondering if the global conspiracy has a spiritual component, Amma provides strong evidence.

My earlier articles in the “Blowing the Whistle on Enlightenment” series expose the real meaning of the kind of surrender that Amma and other Indian gurus promote among their followers. It is surrender of the personal self to the gods, whom Amma calls “the Lord.” Amma’s hugs, her relics, her blessed water and food, are ways of infusing her energy signature and that of the beings that possess her into the bodies and minds of those who visit her, be they devotees or unsuspecting guests.

Such an energy transfer helps devotees entrain with her vibration and meld their minds and souls with the godhead – in other words, to become assimilated, or possessed, by the same “cosmic” forces that possess and work through Amma. This is called “attaining enlightenment” or “liberation” – a state where one no longer functions as an independent individual but as a unit or tentacle of “the Lord,” the astral entities posing as gods who live off the energy of mankind.

What makes Amma both so successful and so sinister is the loving image she hides behind. The media uses it to promote her far and wide. If it seems remarkable that no investigative reporting has been done, that no one from the mainstream media has questioned Amma’s PR, the mystery evaporates when we recall who the mainstream media is run by these days.

Large corporations have bought and own our press and television, and dictate the “news” that journalists are permitted to report. Behind the corporations, as behind our governments, lurk the ruling elite, controlling world events from the sidelines by means of the puppets they’ve put into power.

Why do I single out Amma among the dozens of gurus I could write about? Because she is so popular, and so unquestioned. Even that guru-busting website, Guruphiliac, seems to miss the shadiness of Amma, voting her the “least bad” of the gurus. But Amma is one of the worst. Powerful and successful, she ropes in new recruits by the thousands on her yearly worldwide tours. Amma’s movement claims that the “saint” has hugged over 26-million people – people who often return as devotees, singing her praises and donating to her coffers.

Amma’s brand of religion is a return to the infantile. She makes babies of grown men and women, giving them dolls to babble to and telling them she’s their mother. While speaking fine words about “the God within each of us,” her actions teach something different. Allowing people to pray to you, kneel to you, and worship you as God Incarnate is not the behavior of someone who wants people to recognize themselves as magnificent, powerful, incarnate expressions of God.

Amma’s disciples get their power from hugs, dolls, mantra obeisance, and the group euphoria of retreats, not from the core of their own being. They’re conditioned to believe that their inner self is less than the glorious entity before them. They’re told, in fact, that their inner self is flawed, selfish, proud, and must be destroyed. Every time they bow down to Amma and the gods who live in her, they close the door more tightly on the Infinite within themselves.

But then, that’s the whole idea now, isn’t it?

Bronte Baxter
© Bronte Baxter 2008

Anyone may republish this article on another website as long as they include the copyright and a back link to this site.

1ST QUARTER 2007, VOL 3, NO.1

FROM THE ARTICLE “SECRETS OF DHARMA” BY BR. SIVAMRITA CHAITANYA.

People like Carl Marx, Mahatma Ghandi, Leo Tolstoy and Albert Einstein
attained great goals in life but not peace within. Some of them were
theists, others were not. But what was common to them was that they
could not develop total faith in another human being, surrender their
egos, and seek a Masters advice in critical situations. Take the case
of Gandhi. He was totally committed to truth and non-violence
throughout his life and finally achieved his life mission of political
freedom for India from the British. During the freedom struggle he had
publicly declared that Britian could divide India into two countries
only over his dead body. But a sect of Muslims who wanted a separate
Islamic Nation instigated riots in some areas at the cost of many
innocent lives. Gandhi was in a great dilemma. If he upheld his
pledge, more people would be killed in riots, and his unyielding
principle of attaining freedom through non-violence would be a farce.
But if he consented to those Muslims, he would have to swallow his
words and give up truth for the sake of preventing a spread of
violence and death.

Gandhi was genuinely devoted to God. He led a pious life and inspired
millions to follow his path without ever holding any official post in
a political party, having no army or cadre under his command, not even
a permanent office structure or place of stay. He never assumed he had
any special or divine powers. He sought answers to problems in deep
prayer and meditation. But sadly, he failed to grasp the great
significance of seeking the guidance of a Self-Realized Master,
especially in a matter that would affect the lives of millions.

Though Gandhii used to read the Gita every day and had even penned a
commentary on it, he missed the fact that Arujna had, in a critical
situation, sought advice not from his consciousness but from his
brother-in-law and bosom friend.. He approached Krishna for the first
time as a disciple, and with all humility agrees to follow his advice
explicitly. Krishna convinces him to fight the war to maintain dharma
as an instrument in the hands of the Almighty, without hatred for or
attachment to anyone.

Gandhi, on the other hand, took the momentous decision to give up
truth for the sake of saving the innocent lives of a few, heeding the
small voice of his consciousness. But, when he consented to divide the
country, contrary to his wishes of gaining independence for India
through non-violent means, what happened surpassed any massacre in the
known history of the nation.. The tragic story did not end there. Even
today, the killing spree that started then goes on unchecked in the
form of wars and skirmishes between India and Pakistan, as
extermination of Hindus in Kashmir by militant groups, and as threats
of an atomic war loom ominously over the horizon..

Just imagine what would have been the course of history had Gandhi
consulted one of the contemporary Mahatmas who could have foreseen the
outcome of the historic decision. There were many, like Anandamayi
Ma, Maharshi, Nityananda, Narayana Guru, Chattambi Swami, Yogananda
and Mahayogi Aurobindo. He had met most of them and had great respect
for all of them.

The life of Gandhi is a clear example that however high a level of
morality we may maintain, or however sincerely we pray, the inner
voice can be the voice of the ego passing itself as God’s voice. The
knowledge that God is all-pervading cannot save us from sure sorrow
and death unless we drink from the fountain of wisdom…God’s living
human form, which is grace and compassion condensed.

(Article goes on to praise Amma and how blessed we are to have God in
a human body in the form of Amma)

Some questions this article raises:

#1: How do these views reflect in light of Amma having accepted the
Gandhi-King award for non-violence, for which there was much media
acclaim?

#2 The RSS was implicated in the assassination of Gandhi it has been suggested that Ammas
ashram may have ties to the RSS. Is there a connection?

I am extremely disturbed by what I read. No
parent should have to go through such a nightmare. I
hope you are successful in convincing your daughter to
leave this cult. Recently, I had an experience which
was much worse. This god woman runs a hospital in
Kochi in India which is yet another scam. The
following is a brief description of the course of
events …

My dad walked in for a routine health check
up on July 7,2007 at their health clinic and ended up
being convinced by their so called experts that he had
blocked arteries. The cult methodically isolated my
parents from myself and my sister who lives in Chicago
and much against our wishes my dad went in for an
angiogram and they screwed it up royally causing his
kidneys to go in to a shock. A routine test which
nearly proved fatal in his case. The doctor did not
perform a check to see whether he was allergic to the
dye used in the test. They covered this up and kept
telling my mother that it was his age (which was 70 by
the way). After he recovered from this my Dad wanted
to get out of there, but they would not release him
citing his purported heart condition.

Over the next week and half they systematically brainwashed my
mother into getting him to undergo the angioplasty on
August 2, 2007. His operation was scheduled for 2 AM
in the morning on Aug 2. At 10 PM in the night on Aug
5, my mother was urgently called in to the
administrator’s office to discuss my dad’s condition.
She is told he has a leaky valve and they need a
security deposit from her for $3500 to arrange for the
valve and a triple bypass. She was in no state to make
an informed decision, so she handed them the money.
The operation was completed as per schedule and then
the surgeon told her that everything was ‘o.k.’ and
that my dad should be awake in the next 24 to 48 hrs.
She asked him about the valve, and the surgeon
expressed surprise and said there was nothing wrong
with his valves, and went on state that my dad had
20%, 30% and 15% blockage in 3 arteries which did not
actually merit a bypass. An angioplasty would have
sufficed, but they performed a bypass anyway.

My mother then confronted him with the security deposit
bill she was charged for the heart valve replacement
and the surgeon got irritated and told her to pick up
the matter with the hospital accounts department in
the morning. She went their first thing in the morning
and was told that they figured out the error but she
would not get the refund as it had been donated to the
amrita hospital trust which performs free surgery for
needy patients. My mother says it is a noble cause but
does agree the manner in which the donation was made
on her behalf and that too by deceit. They told her
they will look into it once the final bill is settled.
In the meanwhile my dad’s condition worsened and he
died due to post surgical complications.

My sister and i were enroute to Kochi from San Jose and Chicago
respectively when the death occured. My sister had a
GSM phone with her so she got the news while in
transit in Gatwick airport, so she immediately
starting pressing the hospital for a post mortem. She
was told it would be done. They embalmed the body
instead of performing the postportem. My sister
expressed dismay that the post mortem was conveniently
skipped. I was oblivious of all this since i was
boarding a flight out of Singapore while all of this
transpired. My sister wanted to visually inspect the
body but found it impossible since the whole body was
covered in a tape, like a mummy. Due to Hindu
religious beliefs she could not convince our family
members to undo the covering. My sister was alerted by
a colleague of hers at Smalley Bearings in Chicago
about organ donation racket that was associated with
this cult’s hospital. Her colleague wanted her to
visually inspect his back for any signs of kidney
removal. We have been trying to uncover what actually
transpired which a sent a man visiting a health clinic
to his death. At every step of the way we are
continuously being stonewalled by this cult and the
hospital. The hospital staff is totally uncooperative.
We are yet to see the refund for the heart valve which
was never replaced. We did not even get a breakdown of
the procedures done and none of the medical records
have been made available to either to us till date.

We are planning to take legal action here in California
and Illinois since Amrita hospital trust has an arm
here in Pleasanton California. Again my sympathies are
with you and sincerely hope that you get your daughter
back soon where she belongs. I know how difficult it
is to cope with a loved one’s loss.

Sincerely,
S. R. Nathan
San Jose, California

I’m not aware if this book is still around. I have read this book and upon closer inspection have concluded some findings about Amma which I would like to pose to the readers. It is up to you to judge.

I am also aware of mayi’s marketing technique which shows her materializing water from milk. Apparently she is against doing miracles and does this to show her powers, that was back when she was still young. But the funny part is that she lets this marketing gimmick to be done by allowing a ‘remake documentary’ of this episode. Can she demonstrate this power today under scientific scrutiny? Anyway, there’s also another cheap gizmo which makes her to be the hinted as the mother of the universe.

Both of these videos can be seen at

Indians deify people who help out or who have done good towards them. This is a tendency in the people. Many also have revered siddhars and souls who have realized god. But many do not understand that realizing god/brahman is just a state, it is not becoming a god or a superman.

Let us now see what is written in her biography.

a) Sudhmani aka Ammachi’s parents are said to be initially non
understanding of the divine child’s spiritual fervour and said to
continually beat and torture the child.

But, in the autobiography though the above is presented there is
serious contradictions. For example, both of Sudhamani’s parents are
said to be highly spiritual nature. In page 20, chapter 1: From life
itself, it is written -

” Many pious souls had been born in the Idamannel family. Sri
Velayudham was such a man. He was a very compassionate, truthful and
generous person, who firmly held the ideal of ahimsa. He would not
allow even a little rat to be killed. Velayudhan was married to
Srimathi Mathavi, a chaste and pious woman, whose habit was to get up
early in the morning before dawn in order to make flower garlands for
all the deities in the family shrine room…….

Sugunandan was their eldest sone of five children. Inspired by the
devotional atmosphere of his family, he became an ardent devotee of
lord krishna. When he was nine or ten years old, he began studying
Kathakali, a classical dance drama of Kerala, which depicts games and
playful diversion of gods and goddesses. While the actors present the
story through dance and mudras, singers narrate the story through
songs.

The character Sugunanadan most loved to portray was Sri Krishna. Once
during a Kathakali performance he became so identified with his role
of Krishna that he fell unconscious on the stage”.

From here we know that both Sudhamani’s (future amritanandamayi)
paternal grandparents were pious, the grandpa would have been taken
in by gandhi’s ahimsa preaching.

Sugunandan, Sudhamani’s dad is also portrayed as pious. But there is
also a interesting twist here. Ramakrishna was a saint from bengal.
He was from the 19th century and his advent was much much earlier, he
was also quite popularized due to Vivekananda who sailed to the west
and opened up Hindu thought to the curious west. Ramakrishna’s
biography is well known, it was recorded by many people, but the most
famous was by Mahendra gupta, also known as M. In it the child
Ramakrishna is said to be fond of theaterics, much like Sugunandan
also. In one of these, Ramakrishna becomes so absorbed with the role
of Shiva that he becomes unconscious. Here this unconsciousness to
the external environment is due to samadhi. The samadhi is
Ramakrishna’s total absorption on Shiva. The crowd is said to be
overcome with awe and a feeling that Ramakrishna is Shiva himself.
Sugunandan also like Ramakrishna acts in one of this form of theatre
acting out puranas like Kathakali. Like Ramakrishna he also becomes
absorbed on Sri Krishna and becomes unconscious. It should be noted
that Sugunandan was also a child like Ramakrishna when this is said
to have occured.

However, the author stops short of calling Sugunanda’s absorption
samathi and we also do not know how the crowd reacted to this. No
reason is given for sugunanda’s unconsciousness, though this is said
to have occured due to becoming very identified with his role of Sri
Krishna.

It is not difficult to see that the child Sudhamani would have
learned this antics from her father and later on also portrays
herself to be Sri Krishna. However so unlike her father, she goes a
step further by saying she herself is the divine incarnation.

Let us now look at a description of her mother Damayananti. In page
21 of the same chapter:

“….Damayananti came from a devout family, which performed religious
practices daily without fail. Her family even had its own temple.
From childhood, Damayananti had led a virtuos life. Her father,
Punyan, and mother, Karutta Kunya, were exemplary devotees of god.
The whole family atmospehre supported her in leading a religious
life. Damayanti was so pious that she was reverently called by the
villagers, ‘pattathi amma’, or the ‘brahmana lady. As devotion to god
was her focus in life, she would observe various religious vows
almost every day of the weeek. She frequently undertook fasting and
would break her fast by drinking the water of tender coconuts which
mysteriously feel from the trees.”

So here too Damayananti, Sudhamani’s mother and paternal grandparents
are portrayed as being very pious and spiritual. Damayananti, though
belonging to the fisher-caste clan, even earns the nickname -
brahmana lady due to this. The family even has their own temple.

As such it is not difficult to see that Sudhamani is exposed to
religion from very young.

Let us see Damayanti’s reaction when Sudhamani was born, from page 23
of the same chapter:

” The babe had a beaming smile on her tiny face! The gaze of the
child penetrated Damayanti’s innermost heart and was never
forgotten.”

From here we can know that the child has had such an impact on
Damayananti from the day she was born. It pierced her innermost heart
and was never forgotten – these are very emotional claims. She
definitely remembered this long enough to be passed on.

In fact both parents have had visions of gods and goddesses before
Sudhamani was born, just like Ramakrishna’s parents too.

Page 22, Chapter 1:

” During her pregnancy, Damayanti began having strange visions.
Sometimes she had wonderful dreams of Lord Krishna; at other she
beheld the divine play of Lord Shiva and Devi, the Divine Mother. One
night Damayanti dreamt that a mysterious figure came to entrust her
with an idol of Sri Krishna cast in pure gold. Around the same time
Sugunandan had a dream of the divine mother. As he was a devotee of
Lord krishna, he was unable to understand why devi should suddenly
appear to him. Upon relating his story to damayanti, he found that
she had recently had may strange visions also…..

One night Damayanti had a wonderful dream that she had given birth to
Krishna, and he was lying on her lap drinking her breast milk. “

It is very rare that people dream of gods and goddesses during their
pregnancies and for their spouses to have likewise dream also. It is
surprising that Damayanti and Sugunandan couldn’t draw a conclusion
that the child might be divine. Unlike Ramakrishna’s parents,
Sudhamani’s parents however become barbaric later on.

It is said that the child had a dark blue color, due to this, it is
said in page 24 (chapter 1):

“….ironically, it was because of her blue-black complexion, that
Damayanti and the other family members would look upon the child with
great disdain. Their aversion for the dark child eventually led them
to treat her as the thankless servant of the family and relatives.”

The family is said to have consulted the doctors for this ailment of
dark skin when this child was born. Let us see what is written. In
page 23 & 24 of the chapter: ” The parents were puzzled by the babe’s
dark blue complexion and the fact that the child lay in padmasana
(lotus posture), holding her fingers in chinmudra (the mudra
symbolizing oneness with godhood). They feared this dark blue shade
might be a symptom of some strange disease and that the peculiar
posture might be due to abnormal bone structure. Various doctors were
consulted. The fear of bone abnormality was allayed when the doctors
confirmed that there was no such handicap. As for the skin color, it
could not be attributed to heredity, since both damayanti and
sugunanadan were light tan in skin tone. Hence the parents were
advised not to bathe the child for six months in the hope that the
mysterious ailment would disappear.”

This is quite strange that both parents were not aware of padmasana’s
and chinmudra, being from quite a religious and spiritual background.
Moreover, if it was true that the baby was dark blue, how did the
parents didn’t know of the color being associated with Krishna?

It also adds further doubt to the above story when doctors are
actually said to advise the parents to not bathe the child for six
months. I am not aware if this is the standard remedy practiced by
Keralite doctors for ‘mysterious skin ailments’. In fact this is
dubious only. By not bathing the child might most probably get skin
diseases like rashes, fungal infections and maybe other bacterial
infecions also.

Moreover, Sugunandan and Damayanti are both from the fishermen-caste.
These people go out in the sun to catch fish. We know that via
evolution, humans exposed to hot sun will finally assume a dark skin
color. This is because melanin which gives the tan blocks out harmful
sunrays. As such, most of these clanspeople are bound to be brown or
black only. In fact, there are many Indians who are pitch black. This
is not a rarity.Damayanti’s mom is known as Karutta Kunya which
translates to ‘black child’. Please do not misunderstand my intention
as being color discriminatory. No, it is not my intention. Nature has
made melanin to block out sun’s rays. In humans near the equator,
they have over a very large period of time acquire characteristics
which help them survive in their surroundings. This is basic
evolution. As such it is difficult to imagine Sugunanda’s uproar
seeing his daughter’s skin. There are many dark skinned woman in the
village also. Sugunandan, his wife, his elder son and some relatives
are portrayed as quite barbarous in their treatment of Sudhamani.
This is hard to believe for one who is entrenched in religious
virtue, has a wife of religious virtue, has family background of
religiousity and also attains samadhi while nine years old. It is
said that samadhi changes one’s perception towards things
permanently. Yet Sugunandan has reverted (or portrayed) to become a
monster.

Let us look at further contradicitions in the book. In chapter 25 of
the same chapter, it is written;
” The parents gave the name Sudhamani, “Ambriosal Jewel”, to their
remarkable baby daughter.” This hardly depicts someone who hates the
blue black baby.

Let us now look at the barbarous treatment of Sudhamani as given in
the book: ” At ten, Sudhamani was fored to abandon her schooling..
From early morning before dawn until late at night she labored….
(last paraghraph, page 37, chapter 2 – the divine servant)

…..sudhamani toiled from three o’clock in the morning, as she set
to work cleaning the house, sweeping the compoung, fetching water,
cooking the food, tending the cows, milking them, washing the clothes
and scrubbing the cooking vessels.” (2nd paragraph, page 37, chapter
2).

….when her crying continued, Sugunandan eventually lost his
patience and flung (the baby Sudhamani) on the cot. Page 28, chapter
1.

It is difficult to understand the reason for the parents stopping the
brilliant child Sudhamani compared to their other children. This is
illustrated in page 27 – chapter 1: ” Her older classmates, including
her brother and sister, sometimes received harsh punishment from the
teacher for being unable to learn verses of poetry by heart.
Meanwhile, little Sudhamani, who was studying in the lower grade,
would melodiously sing the peoems and dance to the melody like a
delicate butterfly. all the teachers admired her and were amazed by
Kunju’s (sudhamani) astonishing memory. She scored full marks in all
subjects and was ranked first in class, despite the fact that she was
often absent because of household responsibilities. “

In fact so harsh is the treatment that the child says the mother
treats her like a daughter-in-law and not a daughter. Traditionally
in some families, daughter-in-laws are maltreated for heavy dowry and
not bearing a male heir, this treatment passed on to generations just
like the ‘ragging’ tradition in the universities in the past.

Apart from this Sudhamani also claims many things which cannot be
observed now, nor which she has demonstrated. These include:

1) animals tendering her body during tapas, etc the garudas which
bring fish for her food.

2) miraculously lighting lamps without oil and with use of water.

3) changing water into milk.

4) giving endless supply of food from a small vessel, more like Jesus
Christ.

Apart from this Sudhamani has also caused griveous hurt to her cousin
by her own words. Let us look at the unfolding of events as it is
given.. Subhagan is Sudhamani’s cousin. He and another cousin are
irked with Sudhamani’s claims of being god. Apart from them there are
also others. These have formed a commitee called ‘Rationalist
movement’ and ‘commitee to stop blind beliefs’. We do not get any
account from this group, just swami amritasvarupananda’s comments as
recorded in the book. As such a honest look of events cannot be had
in this book. However so Subhagan and his cousin one day will try to
scare Sudhamani and which will end disastrously for the cousin.

Page 144 – chapter 8- dazzling like a million suns: ” One day,
subhagan and a few of his cousins called the Mother to a relative’s
house under a false pretext. When she arrived, they locked her in a
room and one cousins began threatening her, sudenly pulling out a
knife which he had hidden in his clothing. Subhagan announced, “This
behavior of yours has gone too far! You are bound to spoil the family
name. Since you cannot stop mixing freely with all sorts of people
and persist in your sining and dancing, it is better you die.” He was
enraged to hear the Mother laugh and retort, “I am not afraid of
death.The body must meet its end sooner or later, but it is
impossible for you to kill the Self. Now that you are determined to
kill me, let me meditate a while, then you can kill me”. “

The last utterance of Sudhamani is similar to Shankara’s when he
faces death at the hands of bandits. Seeing Sudhamani’s past in which
she would have been exposed to much of hindu literature, it is not
difficult to assume how she would have arrived to such a concoction
of a story, passed on by the faithful swami amrita, tsk!

What conspires later, (page 144, chapter 8): “…though they verbally
threatened the holy mother (sudhamani), none of them was courageous
enough to do anything to her after hearing her bold reply and seeing
her unperturbed. Suddenly the cousin who had brandished the knife
jumped forward and pressed the kinfe against her chest as if to stab
her. But he could not make another move, as he was immediately
stricken by an excruciating pain in his own chest at the exact point
where he pressed the knife against Holy Mother’s. He himself fell to
the floor in agony. Seeing this, the others in the room became filled
with dread. At this moment Damayanti arrived, having seen Sudhamani
leaving with Subhagan and his cousins. Hearing the uproar, she began
pounding on th door, shouting. When the door was opened, Damayanti
took the Holy Mother by the hand and led her home, taking the path by
the shore. On tbe way back, the Mother told Damayanti, “your people
dishonored me. This ocean is my mother as well. She will accept me
happily with outstretched arms. I am going to her lap”. Hearing this
Damayanti became mentally unbalanced and began screaming, ” don’t say
that, daughter!”……..succeeding in dissuading the Holy Mother, she
took her back to Idamannel. “

It is hard to imagine that for one who has claimed to cross the stage
of non-duality and attaining oneness with god (as stated throughout
the book), Sudhamani becomes angry at humiliation. This shows her
attachment to the body. She has not realized that which is not
destructible. It is false where she shouts she is not the body.
Actually, Shankara who said this thing after being confronted by the
bandits and saved by his disciple will not show any aversion to the
bandits. This is different to Sudhamnani’s reaction. This is because
the cousin brother who dared to point the knife to her mysteriously
dies. Though his death is not known to us, let us read Sudhamani’s
version via swami amrita.. Page 145, Chapter 8: ” The episode doesn’t
end here. The cousin who had raised the knife against the Mother to
stab her was taken in pain to the hospital. Though provided with
excellent medical treatment, he finally died, continuously vomiting
blood. As his disease was in its acute stages, the Holy Mother
visited him in the hospital. She lovingly consoled him and fed him
with her own hands. He was deeply repentant toward her for his grave
mistake, and burst into tears experiencing her compassion and
forgiveness.

The holy mother had no enmity toward her cousin who had attempted to
murder her, nor had she made any resolve to avenge his evil act. He
simply suffered the fruit of his action. The Mother explained, ” Just
as human beings have intense love for Mother, numerous subtle beings
love her as well. If somebody attempts to harm Mother, Mother does
not react. Mother faces such a person without any excitement and does
not even think any harmful thought regarding him who acts out of
ignorance. But these subtle beings get angry and take revenge. Do you
understand how this is? Suppose someone’s mother is attacked by a
man. Do the children sit back indifferent? Even if their mother tries
to stop them, they find that man and take revenge.” – page 145,
chapter 8.

Now let us pause and think. What is Sudhamani implying here. First of
all she claims to not react. Yet she initially wanted to drown
herself due to humiliation. Then she talks about visiting the cousin
who is also repentant. She forgives him and he wallows due to her
compassionate and forgiving nature. So this means that he has
repented and deeply regrets his actions. So why does this man has to
suffer anyway? He has not caused any hurt to Sudhamani except for
threatening.. For this has he got to die? Sudhamani cites karma or
divine retribution for this. But she does have weird ideas of how
karma works. She says that ’subtle beings’ have exacted their
revenge. We do not know who these are nor does she elaborate. We are
to assume that these are divine beings. Even as a human being I will
not punish somebody who has repented as seriously as these subtle
beings have done, here I mean in the context of the act that the
cousin brother carried out against Sudhamani. On top of this she even
claims that this subtle beings are likened to the children which seek
out revenge if someone slights their mom, even if the mother tries to
stop them. Quite disturbing conclusions can be made from here. First
of all even though Sudhamani has forgiven, the subtle beings killed
her cousin. Is Sudhamani implying that she has no control over these
subtle beings? I mean if god forgives, it can even override karma.
Even companies overwrite bad debts. That is the true meaning of
forgiving, don’t you think so? If I were to suffer my actions
regardless of being forgiven by god, what is the need of this? On top
of that, these subtle beings attacked him due to anger. This is
unbecoming of Sudhamani’s subtle children whom she has no control of,
they even don’t give a damn even though she has forgiven the cousin
and she was actually unhurt. Moreover the cousin repents and regrets
his actions.

Let me ask, if these ’subtle beings’ were in fact true human beings
and Sudhamani also acknowledges likewise, what would have happened?
If I go and kill a guy who threatens my mom with a knife, but who
couldn’t or didn’t do any harm, and also who was eventually forgiven
by my mother, what do you think will happen to me? I will go behind
bars only. What will happen to my mother who claims the grand law of
karma, thus justifying my act? At the same time she also acts
forgiving by saying that she has no anger towards the killed man.

This whole episode and Sudhamani’s response to it sounds like a big
drama only. Or is there any hidden truth? It also teaches false
paradoxes.. She acts humane, forgiving etc. She quotes Karma. She lets
subtle beings kill someone who has repented and who she has forgiven,
quoting the divine dispensation of Karma. She also says these subtle
beings reacted out of anger and she has no control over them. Aren’t
subtle beings supposed to have subtlety, I mean more forgiving than
human?

My dear readers, ponder on these truths for a while..I will get back
to you in my part two of my rendition of a critical look at mata
amritandamayi.

To be continued..

-Sashi

Kindly read my previous post, titled as above- part 1. This
is a continuation of it.

Okay,let us now look at the mysterious death of Subhagan. In page 152,
chapter 9, Sudhamani aka Holy Mother says,” It seems that brother
Subhagan is nearing the end of his life span. As a solution you can
take a vow of silence, but certain obstacles can be seen which will try
to break your vow. Therefore be careful when you take the vow.”

Let us look at how Damayanti breaks the vow, in page 157 of the same
chapter:

” Damayanti observed a vow of silence one day. However, when it was
halfway over, it so happened that a cow broke its rope and started
running from their cowshed. Damayanti started running from their
cowshed. Damayanti completely forgot her vow and shouted, “There goes
the cow! Catch it!”…….

The family took this as a bad omen, especially as forewarned by Mother.
This auspicious event filled the family with fear and anxiety.”

So there we have it… Sudhamani initially warns Damayanti of impending
death of Subhagan. Maybe we can say this is Karma. But the funny part
is- it is linked with observing a vow of silence. I don’t understand
the reason as how a vow of silence helps to appease Karma. So does this
mean the mute will escape death or law of Karma? This sounds more like
religious superstition and proves the fact that Sudhamani is basically
a girl steeped in religious superstition without much thought.
Damayanti just shouts after a cow which escapes from the cowshed. This
is just the most logical thing to do. Does death gets hastened due to
this? Without thinking what the factors which affect death are, we get
the superstitious Sudhamani dishing out irrational things to equally
superstitious family members.

However so, Subhagan’s death is directly proclaimed by Sudhamani
herself. Let us look at what is written in the page 153, chapter 9:
” One day Subhagan, in a fit of fury, severely harassed a Muslim woman
who had come to Idamannel for the Bhava Darshan. Unable to bear
Subhagan’s vicious remarks, the lady rushed to the temple, burst into
tears and began beating her head against the threshold of the shine
room. She was crying out, “O Mother..O Mother…is this the fate of
those who come to see You?”

Hearing the Muslim woman’s distraught cries, the Mother’s radiant and
smiling face underwent an immediate transformation. With a terrifying
appearance, she stood up from the sacred seat holding a trident in one
hand and a sword in the other. In a solemn and deep tone the Mother
said, “Whoever has caused this undue grief to this devotee will die
within seven days.”

When the Mother’s prediction reached the ears of Sugunanadaan, he
rushed to the temple seeking forgiveness for his son’s grievous
behavior. He pleaded to the Mother to spare Subhagan’s life and take
his instead. Mother calmly told, “I never punish anybody. If I am
abused or harassed I don’t care at all. But when a devotee suffers such
abuse even God will not forgive. Each one must enjoy the fruit of one’s
actions. There is no other way.”

Seven days had passed. It was nearly midinight on June 2, 1978 when
Subhagan, who had been informed of the Mother’s predicition, committed
suicide by hanging. He had written a suicide note giving the reason as
unbearable stress caused by his incurable disease (elephantitis).
Subhagan’s suicide created chaos and distress at Idammanel house. “

From the above we can see the utter stupidity of the whole story.
Harassing a devotee does not incur such a punishment as death. In
today’s standards, harassing and taunting a person does not amount to
punishment by death. Is god so stupid as to warrant this punishment to
someone who taunts his devotees? The muslim lady was not physically
hurt nor any of her belongings stolen. She did see the so called Holy
Mother and lamented Subhagan’s “vicious remarks” only. This “vicious
remarks” cannot be justified as warranting death punishment by god or
anyone else for that matter. Moreover hypersensitive people can even
classify a normal criticism as “vicious remarks”.

Sudhamani now actively interferes in the death of Subhagan by
proclaiming his forthcoming death due to the taunting of a devotee.
Though pleaded to by her dad, she does not lift this curse. Previously
it could be avoided by just following a vow of silence. That too got
destroyed due to the old lady’s shouting at a mere straying cow. Now it
is the ‘vicious remarks’ which justifies the death punishment to
Subhagan. If we look at the story it seems Subhangan was informed of
his sister’s predicition. He was said to hang himself. Was he forced to
hang himself to make his sister’s prediction come true or was he also
too superstitious to believe this prediction, thereby due to utmost
stress of this disturbing prediction hanged himself? In the book, his
disease -elephantitis, is quoted. But many people in India have lived
and are living with elephantitis without killing themselves. It is not
a psychotic or fatal disease as made out in the book; moreover the
medication diethylcarbamazine was available in India at that time, even
the generic.

In this chapter 9- the sword of truth, we have swami amrita mention
about the rationalists and how they tried to discredit mighty
Sudhamani. From what he has written, it seems that there were a group
of poor villagers who came to the bhava darshan. Sugunandan eventually
helps his daughter in carrying out these activities. Sudhamani becomes
the deity Krsna and Shakti in this bhava darshans. But there is also
another group which seeks actively to stop this activity of Sudhamani -
they are classified as the rationalists by Swami amrita. But we do not
know the real reason that they have done this. From what I can gather
through reading the book, they are portrayed as mere trouble makers who
try to become obstacles to Sudhamani and her quest without any apparent
reason. It is just out of hate. That is as stated by the swami. But I
think it is deeper than that.

Let us now shift our attention on Sudhamani’s bhavas. This bhavas are
also observed in devotional common Hindus during Thaipusam and other
events. It is more like trances or the Christian’s descending of holy
spirit in which some speak in tongues. Whatever it is we can only say
it is yet fully understood by science. There are also small scale
priests who also have this visitation of spirits and who are sought out
for healing and other purposes. The shamans of the pagans and the
priest of organized religion claim this divine power to be able to heal
and prophesize. However so let us look at Sudhamani’s explanation of
this bhavas as recorded by swami amrita.

Page 197 & 198, chapter eleven – The meaning of Divine Bhavas:

” The Great Masters of India have classified Divine Incarnations in
three main categories: 1) Purna Avatara (full or perfect), 2) Amsa
Avatara (partial manifestation) and 3) Avesa Avatara (temporary
overshadowing by divine powers)…

A purna avatara is the descent of the nameless, formless and immutable
supreme energy, assuming a human form and manifesting infinite power
without any limitations.

The incarnation of Vishnu as Vamana and Narashima are examples of Amsa
Avatara. Parasurama, as depicted by Srimad Bhagawatam is avesa avatar. “

Let us now see the elaboration of the purna avatar in the book. It is
said that Hanuman wanted to visit Krishna but insisted to only see the
form of Rama. Hanuman was a ardent devotee of Rama who is but an
incarnation of Vishnu just like Krishna. Yet Hanuman wishes to see Rama
alone. Only Krishna could assume the form of Rama for Hanuman since he
is a purna avatar. Let us read as stated in page 199, Chapter 11:

” While Garuda was fetching Hanuman, certain events were taking place
in Dwaraka. Lord Krishna, by His mere Will, assumed the form of Lord
Rama, who had lived many centuries earlier. Rukmini, Krishna’s consort,
became Sita. By this time, Hanuman had arrived in Dwaraka. Having seen
his beloved Sri Rama and Sita and having offered worship to Them, he
returned to his abode….

Only a Purna Avatara can easily become one with any other god or
goddess. Being such an Avatara, Krishna easily manifested Rama Bhava.
One day, Lord Krishna asked his wives including Satyabhama, one of His
dear ones, to assume Sita Bhava, but none were able to. Finally
Rukmini, an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, effortlessly assumed Sita
Bhava.

In the case of an Avesa Avasa Avatara, godly powers enter into a
particular person and withdraw after fulfilling the intended goal. This
was not the case with Sri Krishna and Rukmini. What Lord Krishna did
was to manifest Rama Bhava or the attributes of Rama which were already
potential in him”.

Okay, so we have read Sudhamani’s rendering of the meaning of avatars.

Let us see how she classifies her own self regarding this, whether an
amsa, avesa or purna avatar.

Page 200, chapter 11:

” Bhava Darshan is the manifestation of different Iswara Bhavas or
divine moods by an incarnation of God according to the wishes of
devotees.”

Let us see how Sudhamani compares herself with Anandamayi Ma, another
Ma who lived earlier in Bengal and manifested Krishna and Kali as
Sudhamani. Page 200, Chapter 11, last paragraph:

” Anandamayi Ma, who lived in Bengal, used to manifest Krishna and Kali
Bhavas while singing bhajans. These Bhavas manifested by Incarnations
took place only on certain occasions to fulfill a particular end,
especially in response to the ardent desire of devotees. Moreover, they
would last only for a short time. The Holy Mother Amritanandamayi (
note: Sudhamani) manifests the Divine Moods three nights a week lasting
for long periods of 10 to 12 hours depending on the number of devotees
present for Darshan. This is the Holy Mother’s way of serving humanity,
plunged as it is in the deep quagmire of worldliness.”

Page 201: ” During the Holy Mother’s Krishna and Devi Bhavas, she
brings out That which is within her and manifests those Divine Beings
in order to bless her devotees. The holy Mother once said regarding
these bhavas. ” Mother is not manifesting even an infinitesimal part of
her spiritual power during the Bhavas. If it were manifested as it is,
no one could come near!”

Page 202: “Even now some people believe that Lord Krishna and Devi
visit the Holy Mother’s body three nights a week, after which They
leave her body. This misconception springs from a lack of correct
understanding about the Holy Mother’s Divine Moods. These Divine Bhavas
are nothing but the external revelation of her incessant Oneness with
the Supreme. They have nothing to do with possession or Divine Grace as
it is commonly understood.”

So there we have it. Sudhamani is not a avesa avatar. She is not
possessed with divine grace but reveals what is an innermost part of
herself. More than that she is also an incarnation equal to Krishna and
Rama. She has even said that people can’t get near her if she were to
reveal her infinite glory. Perhaps it was some kind of vibration. It
sounds more like a cartoonish science fiction though. She even compares
herself superior to another person who has these bhavas also,
Anandamayi Ma.

Then there arises the question of Krishna and Rama as pertaining
Hanuman. If I were to know a person intimately, definitely I will know
the person’s form and could distinguish cheap imitations. Krsna is said
to assume the bhava of Rama for Hanuman. As Hanuman knew Rama
personally, we can only say that Hanuman wishes to see Rama exactly in
outward and inward form. If he just wants to see the inner core Rama,
Krishna could have assumed this personality for him. But the insistence
of Hanuman means Krishna would have changed his external form to Rama.
It is difficult for me to comment as I have seen neither Krsna nor
Rama. Definitely both men being male warriors would have exhibited
masculine form. But Sudhmani is just her physical self in this bhavas.
What she does is to assume costumes. This any actor could do, just like
her dad Sugunandan did in his earlier frolics during Kathakali. Even
today we have actors assuming historic roles. This is not something to
be called divine. It is just human capabilities of a good actor. I have
seen many darshan pictures of Sudhamani in the book but have not seen
any in which she looks like Krishna who is a male. She just looks
herself, an average Indian girl.

From all these, it can be seen that Sudhamani is just as deluded as
those who follow her. She has made a big hotchpotch of everything she
has learned and heard, which is not surprising considering her
background (refer my earlier post). She has mixed irrational
superstition, vedantam, bhakti and paganism into her show.

Many people believe that her success of acceptance is proof of her
godhood. I beg to differ though. Humans have a tendency to idolize
others regardless of race, religion and culture. Look at our pop divas,
Michael Jackson, sportsmen, actors and actress and other charismatic
personalities. These people are masters of portrayal and attract a huge
following amongst the masses. The Beatles also caused mass hysteria
amongst the people whenever they visited a town. But apart from this,
everyone is human, that is all. Being in power, the chances of abuse is
higher. Sudhamani is just a successful actor, just like any other. She
is idolized just like Michael Jackson. But that’s about it. She is no
more divine than you and me.

In the world we live, many impacting changes have been caused by
ordinary human beings. The amendments of law resulting in gender
equality and abolishing of slavery were caused by men without claiming
godhood. Read our history and you will realize. In science also, humans
like Edison, Wright brothers and others have discovered things changing
the life of mankind itself. Most, if any, never claimed divinity at all
and most didn’t make huge financial gains out of their discoveries
either. As such we can see men and women who have sacrificed their life
for others. The Red Cross, the nurses and many others were responses by
ordinary men and women to provide care for the needy. They don’t claim
divinity either. So we can see that for one spiritual organization
which claims to administer disaster relief and humanitarian work, many
other non-divine ordinary organizations can be touted to do the same.

Here is a proof of Sudhamani’s appropriation of Ramakrishna, just as
she earlier did with Shankara (read earlier post,no. 278).

Page 202 & 203, Chapter 11, Sudhamani says regarding her cross-dressing
habit (for Krishna) and assuming devi’s costumes:

” It will help the people to remember what Bhava is. Child, each attire
is important in its own way. We are naked when we are born. Later,
according to each country and social custom, people adopt different
kind of dress. Whatever the dress, the person is the same….

Mother will make this point clear through an anecdote. One man was
cutting a tree which was growing by the side of the road. Another man
who happened to see him doing this said,” Don’t cut down that tree! It
is wrong to do so, it is against the law.” The man not only refused to
stop cutting but also scolded him severely. The person who tried to
prevent the hooligan from cutting the tree was a policeman. He departed
but soon returned in his official dress. Even from a distance the mere
sight of the policeman was enough to make the hooligan flee without
looking back. See the different impact created when he came in ordinary
and official dress. Therefore, special attire is needed to teach
ignorant people. Likewise, the costumes of Krishna and Devi Bhavas.”

This proves the fact of Sudhamani to be well aware of Ramakrishna’s
biography. In it Ramakrishna will advise that realizing (god) is more
important. He says that without getting the mantle from god mere
preaching will not do. People will not be really benefited. This he
said regarding the Arya and Brahmo Samajs which were active in his
time. Ramakrishna stresses the importance of realizing god compared to
preaching work done by the Samajs. The mantle of god can only come if
one is realized. It is not necessary that god decrees us to instruct
others upon realizing it. This he makes known through a few anecdotes..
One of it is his comparing of a group of people who befoul the banks of
the bathing ghat/river even when warned by others. Only a government
sanction could stop this nuisance. And that too a mere notice of
warning put up near the bank is enough to act as a deterrent.
Ramakrishna compares this notice board as the mantle.

But here we have Sudhamani totally twisting the story and adding a new
meaning to it. Though the basic essence is the same, its underlying
reason is different. For Sudhamani, the uniform has taken the place of
the government notice board. The cutting of the tree substitutes the
act of befouling. And that too to teach ‘ignorant people’ who by the
way appear to be many, judging by her hours in Bhava Darshan.

It will do well to note that Indian people have noted many saints who
were partially and completely naked, not including many who were
dressed without much pomp and ado. Examples include Buddha, Trailanga
Swamigal etc. Many aghoris, natha and naga sadhus also are naked. They
occupy primal position in reverence as can be seen during Kumbha Mela
where these naked sadhus are given priority in taking the first dip. As
such Sudhamani’s excuse of making an impression on the people by
assuming colorful garbs and costumes is at best stupid. It is done to
delude the masses only. People understand genuineness regardless of its
outward form; hence we have the maxim “don’t judge the book by its
cover.” Sudhamani totally ignorant of this makes up her shortcomings by
masquerading as Krishna and Shakti which is why the so
called ‘rationalist movement’ might have riled up against her. That
explains her brother’s and cousins’ oppositions also.

Another thing we could ask here is Sudhamani’s claim of the almighty
itself. She claims that she is the supreme incarnation which could
manifest any divinity.. As such she is also the god come as human form,
this according to her also. Sudhamani claims to be accessing or rather
is the absolute. The world is contained in the absolute. By this
Sudhamani claims to be all-knowing even to the extent of being able to
exact death by mere willing. Throughout the book, numerous incidences are
given of Sudhamani’s capability of altering the outcomes of tragic
events for the better, healing diseases and thought-reading. All this
is child’s play to her. But supposedly if we were to ask her any
mathematical question, can she answer? Will she dare to take up this
challenge? By accessing the supreme which pervades all, she is able to
know all, and that includes mathematical or scientific knowledge also.
Even till now she needs an interpreter, she can’t speak fluent English.
This shows that like other humans she cannot have spontaneous knowledge
of a thing without learning, pondering or coming to contact with it.
Instinctual knowledge doesn’t give us any knowledge of understanding
Chinese or Tamil. It is just a small hint through which our intellect
works, more like thinking out of the box. But the things we think about
we have learned or pondered beforehand. This is how scientific
discoveries are made. Sudhamani cannot vouch for any such discovery
also, this is better to prove her godhood rather than changing water
into milk. At least the discovery might be beneficial to humans and
befits her motto of serving humanity. But rather than this we get cheap
and cheesy imitations of gods and goddesses thrown in with a heavy dose
of vedantam, puranam and bhakti teachings.. These can be had by reading
the books alone, just as Sudhamani might have done.

To be continued…

-SASHI

This (part 3) is my final rendition of ‘a critical look’.

Swami Amritasvarupananda is Sudhamani’s aka Amritanandamayi’s
disciple only. He is one of her chief disciples. His rendition of his
story of Sudhamani’s magnificence sounds more like Yogananda’s
(autobiography of a yogi) version in which he is helped through to
get a college degree.

The more I read this book of his, the more it occurs to me that all
this is just a cheap scam of imitation to attract fortunes and boy,
have they succeeded.

Let us now shift our attention to Chapter twelve, the cheesiest
section of the book. In it Sudhamani’s omnipresence, omniscience and
omni-whatever is presented to the readers. It is really mind boggling
though, coming to think of it.

a) claims of all-knowing, page 208, chapter 12:

” Sheeja is a seven year old girl to whom the Holy mother gave the
pet name ‘takali’ which means ‘tomato’. Once she cherished an intense
desire in her innocent young heart praying, “O God, if only I were
fortunate enough to wear the crown which Amma wears during Krishna
Bhava, I would be so happy!” But she knew that the fulfilment of her
wish was all but impossible.

That year during Lord Krishna’s birthday celebrations Takkali came to
the ashram. Ma who was waiting at the jetty, took her to the ashram.
There a group of children, dressed in colorful costumes, were
preparing for a folk dance portraying Krishna’s childhood sports in
Vrindavan. Mother took Takkali into the temple and dressed her in
beautiful clothes and finally put her Krishna crown on Takkali’s
head. Now she looked like Krishna when he was a child! Placing her in
the middle of the other children, Mother asked them to dance around
her. Takkali was thrilled at her good fortune. Her dreams have come
true. Even without being asked, Mother had understood her innocent
wish and fulfilled it. God knows and fulfills the longing of the pure
in heart. “

So there you have it. Sudhamani’s claim to godhood by being able to
grant the wish of a seven year old child.

b) claims to be even present in a photo:

” Nambisseri Bhargavi Amma was an ardent devotee of lord Krishna, who
had appeared to her one day in a dream saying, “You are burning me
up.” She hadn’t understood the meaning of the Lord’s statements.
Shortly after the vision, she came to Holy Mother’s ashram. During
Krishna Bhava the Mother told Bhargavi Amma, “You have locked Me in
the cupboard, so you are burning Me up.” Suddenly she realized the
meaning, the portrait of Sri Krishna which she had worshipped for a
long time was locked in the cupboard.. Some time ago, when she had
gone to stay with her daughter, she had locked the portrait in the
cupboard to protect it from insects. Bhargavi had forgotten to
retrieve it and to resume worship when she returned. Hearing these
words she had no doubts that the Holy Mother is Lord Krishna Himself.”

The irony is for such a forgetful one as Nambisseri Bhargavi Amma to
be called an ardent devotee..

c) claims to be all knowing including scientific knowledge, page 214,
chapter 12:

….after a short pause she (bindu’s mom) said, “Bindu’s experience
while taking her exams is still more wonderful.” The devotee’s
curiosity was aroused, and he begged Bindu to tell what happened.
“Of all the subjects I had to study,” she said, “chemistry and
physics were too difficult for me to grasp. I was really perplexed
when I received the exam on science. Sitting in the examination hall,
I sincerely prayed to the Holy Mother to help me. The next moment I
was startled to see the Mother to be sitting beside me. I thought
that my eyes were playing tricks, so I looked again; the Mother was
really sitting next to me… Nobody else in the examination hall seemed
to be able to see her. Again, I had the feeling that it must be a
hallucination or projection of my own mind. The next moment, as if to
convince me, Mother talked to me. She encouraged me and explained how
to answer the difficult questions. The same thing happened the next
day as well. The Mother came and sat beside me everyday, instructing
me how to answer the difficult questions from the first day of the
examinations until the last. When the results were announced, I was
even more surprised to see that I passed, scoring high marks than I
have expected.”

Truly this is the most damning evidence I have ever read. If
Sudhamani could explain physics and mathematics without ever going to
school, then for sure she could speak any language without being
taught, this as we know is naught, she needs an interpreter.

The irony which escapes swami amrita by writing this piece of mumbo
jumbo is the blatant cheating in public examinations. If this were to
happen with others noticing surely Bindu would have been kicked out..
This is the just plain cheating. Bindu by her own words can’t believe
it she passed, which goes to show that she is basically a dud head. By
allowing a person to cheat in exams Sudhamani is equally guilty of
this act. It does not become justified just because others did not
notice it. If this goes on at a higher level we will have less
qualified doctor, engineers and accountants in influential positions..
This is one of the biggest disservices which can be done.

Basically it shows the power crazed attitude of Sudhamani and lack of
ethics. This is what is portrayed of her in these concocted stories.

Initially Sudhamani talks about karmic retributions in which one
reaps according to what one sows; this applied to Subhagan her
brother- in a distorted context though. Now however, she allows her
stupid disciple to cheat though she deserves to fail by not putting
enough effort to master the subject of chemistry and physics.

This just goes on to show the dual nature of Sudhamani’s ‘justice’.

d) ability to bring back life, page 224, chapter 12:

“…..the child had suddenly become acutely ill and had died before
any medical aid could be summoned. An uproar had arisen in the
house….immediately a blaze of lightning flashed near the body of
Nalini’s son. Within a few seconds, the child had come back to life,
as if he were waking up after a deep sleep.

e) ability to transfer death to domestic animals. This happens to one
Kunjamma who is convinced of her son’s predestined death via snake
bite which was predicted through the horoscope. She seeks out
Sudhamani who merely assures the death will be transfered to one of
her domestic animals. Page 223, chapter 12:

“….though she felt sad about her dog’s death, she suddenly
remembered the Holy Mother’s words: “Your son’s death will be
transferred to one of your domestic animals.” Her heart was flooded
with gratitude to the Mother. This incident occured during the very
period when her son was supposed to die. Full of love and reverence,
Kunjamma saluted the Holy Mother mentally. Her faith in the Mother
was greatly strengthened by this gift of grace. Her son is still
alive and is leading a happy life with the blessing of the Holy
Mother.”

Apart from the above there are other stories of Sudhamani’s ability
of finding a long lost child, transporting herself in a multitude of
places, attacking troublemakers with ‘balls of fire’ and all the
other fantasy stories we read in fairy tales associated with her.
Even Harry Potter pales in comparison to her.

e) ability to grant children to barren women, this is termed
as ‘manasa putrans’ or children born out of mother’s sankalpa
(thought or will power). One Mr Vidyadharan and his wife Omana were
deeply grieved to have a child for nine years. Sudhamani grants
them ‘manasa putran’ and Omana carries. Let us read the rest, from
page 246, chapter 13:

” When she was four months pregnant, she saw a doctor who confirmed
the foetus was healthy. In nine months she was examined and was
astonished to hear the doctor report she was not pregnant! The most
surprising thing was that her belly had remained enormous.”

The couple we are told went to other doctors just to be confirmed the
same. But the inevitable happens, read on.

“At last one doctor, a specialist in gynecology, took an X-ray of
the mother’s womb and was surprised to see dense smoke on the film
instead of a fetus…..

Finally one day in the sixteenth month, the Holy Mother directed
Omana’s family to take her to the hospital….

After much discussion, they (the surgeons) decided on surgery. The C-
section revealed a fully grown healthy infant in the womb….

Named Shakti Prasad (Blessing of supreme energy), by the Holy Mother,
he began meditating and chanting mantras when he was barely three.”

Thus ends one of the biggest mysteries told by Sudhamani. Not only
she implies the blessing of supreme energy aka Sudhamani to beget
children, even gynecologists in Kerala have a most unheard practice.
That is using X-Ray, a harmful procedure for pregnant mothers (and
which according to medical ethics cannot be used on them). The
diagnostic procedure to rule out malignant and false pregnancies is
not by using X-ray. But swami amrita just got the stories screwed up.
This is because of the story itself is concocted.

There are a list of children which are born through Sudhamani’s
blessings. Let us hear her own rendering of this mysterious act. Page
253, chapter 13:

” During meditation, a power emits from me and enters into the
mother’s womb, and in this way they become pregnant. Some of these
children will become perfect sannyasins. Others will lead family
life. Whatever they may be, they all will turn to spirituality..”
Hearing this truth, many mothers of these children were dismayed to
think that after some years they would lose their sons to the service
of mankind. Therefore, Mother promised them another child who would
fulfill all the expectations that parents usually have for their
children, that they marry and lead a householder’s life. Within the
next few years, all of these mothers were blessed with another
child.. “

Thus Sudhamani’s sheds light on her mysterious ability which
unfortunately is not and will never get to be scrutinized by real
scientists, thus adding no value for human understanding of the
nature of life and death.

That is all my dear readers, to read the rest of the crap you have to
get the book itself.

The final conclusion of reading the book just shows Sudhamani the
actor who has fooled the world believing her to be god. But upon
close scrutiny, the truth stands to be revealed. And the truth
doesn’t give a damn whether its the next door average Joe or the so
called mighty Amritanandamayi.

Yours sincerely,

Sashi

“My son began to attribute everything that happened in his life to Amma, even the most mundane things. I remember once he had misplaced a file of important papers that he needed for school. He said, “It must be Amma trying to fool me.” While listening to him talk with others who were involved in this group, I realized that this type of thinking was common. Ammachi’s followers believed that everything that happened was being orchestrated by her alone.  -( anonymous letter)

This tendency seems to be closely tied into the bizarre phenomenon of the Amma doll. A doll made to resemble Amma, with the largest and most common size priced at $180. The doll is marketed primarily to adults, and many devotees carry them around like children, talking to them and believing that Amma can interact with them through the doll. This disturbing promotion of infantilism and image worship points to the underlying message of the group, which is to worship Amma while maintaining the fantasy that she is interacting with all facets of the devotees life.

“Sitting in the courtyard of the ashram, you can see older women walking to and fro, occasionally protectively clutching Amma dolls. Amma is clearly deified and idolized by her followers. She *IS* God to many of these people.”     -(A Blogger’s observation of ashram life)

The promotion of imaginary relationships is big business for the Amma organization, with an entire store inventory devoted to keeping people feeling close to Amma via dolls, trinkets and personal items that Amma has worn or touched. Amma’s saris, linens, hair, drinking vessels and various other items fetch several times their retail price if they have been touched or used by the guru. Devotees commonly express that these items make them feel “closer to Amma”, or help them to think of Amma more often.

“Beside me, a shrunken old woman sits whispering to a plastic Amma ring on her finger. Beside her, a young French girl sits rocking, her arms wrapped around an Amma gollywog in a sari that costs $180. The girl’s head lolls back, then jerks forward, her eyes roll and spin, her mouth flops open and she drools. She’s hysterically high on Amma love, drunk on desperation for divinity. An elderly English woman collapses, weeping, and is carried off stage.”    -(Sarah Macdonald, Holy Cow.)