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Concept
Mata Amritanandamayi
Summary
Mātā Amritānandamayī (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), often known as Amma ("Mother"), is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, guru and humanitarian, who is revered as 'the hugging saint' by her followers. She is the chancellor of multi-campus research university Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
In 2018, she was felicitated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for largest contribution to the Government of India's Clean India Campaign Swachh Bharat Mission. She was the first recipient of Vishwaratna Puraskar (Gem of the World Award) by Hindu Parliament.
Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi is an Indian guru from Parayakadavu (now partially known as Amritapuri), Alappad Panchayat in Karunagappally, Kollam District, in the state of Kerala. Born to a family of lower-caste Malayali fishermen on 27 September 1953, she was the third child of Sugunanandan and Damayanti. Her mother Damayanti died on 19 September 2022. She has six siblings.
As part of her chores, Amṛtānandamayī gathered food scraps from neighbours for her family's cows and goats, through which she was confronted with the intense poverty and suffering of others. She would bring these people food and clothing from her own home. Her family, which was not wealthy, scolded and punished her. Amṛtānandamayī began to spontaneously embrace people to comfort them in their sorrow. Despite the reaction of her parents, Amṛtānandamayī continued. Regarding her desire to embrace others, Amṛtānandamayī commented, "I don't see if it is a man or a woman. I don't see anyone different from my own self. A continuous stream of love flows from me to all of creation. This is my inborn nature. The duty of a doctor is to treat patients. In the same way, my duty is to console those who are suffering."
Amṛtānandamayī rejected numerous attempts by her parents to arrange for her marriage. In 1981, after spiritual seekers had begun residing at her parents' property in Parayakadavu in the hopes of becoming Amṛtānandamayī's disciples, the Mātā Amṛtānandamayī Math (MAM), a worldwide foundation, was founded.
Official source
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