Saint Sketch - Anandamayi Ma - Part 1

[Ravishankar.G]

Dear All,

Since time immemorial Mother India has been giving birth to Liberated beings (Jivan Muktas). Not only has she produced countless such sons but also daughters. Devahuti, Gargi, Maitreyi, Chudala, Madalasa, Akka Mahadevi, Mirabai, Sarada Devi, Aavudayakkal, Aandavan pitchai, Janaki Mata are but few of several women Saints. Their lives illustrate that a woman is no weakling but has the capability to reach the highest state. These women saints have been from various walks of life. Some of them were unmarried while others have been wives and mothers. Neither their marital status nor their responsibilities in the society as a woman has in any way obstructed their spiritual blooming.

Aanandamayi Ma is yet another star in the spiritual horizon.

Anandamayi Ma was born to Bipin Behari Bhattacharya and Mokshada Sundari Devi on 30th April 1896 in village Kheora in East Bengal [which is now Bangladesh]. She was named Nirmala Sundari Devi. Her father was a devout Vaishavite singer. Once, while he was singing the roof of the house was blown out in the torrential rains but he continued to sing being unaware of it. This incident brings out his deep devotion. About ten months prior to the birth of this extraordinary child, Bipin Behari Bhattacharya took to the ochre robe and remained in solitude, constantly chanting the Divine Name of the Lord. Her mother Mokshada Sundari Devi was also spiritually inclined. The mother experienced several visions of Sages when Nirmala was in her womb and also after her birth; and, during the delivery of the child the mother did not experience labour pain.

Even as a child Nirmala was attracted to divine chanting. She saw the deities emerge from their idols when she visited Temples. When she was about ten months old a man in ochre robe appeared near her and she crawled up to him as if she knew him well. He fondled her and worshipped her. He remarked to the grandmother who stood close by that she was the Mother and could not be confined to this home. The man then disappeared.

Nirmala had very little education. Even as a child she had an amazing relationship with plants and animals. She could hear the call of a young mango tree; she could hear the fruits speak. There is a popular incident in the life of Anandamayi Ma. She once ordered her disciples to dig up the pathway in the ashram because she heard a plant that was buried under calling for help. When the disciples carried out her order they found a young pepper plant and saved it from suffocation.
 
In 1908, at the young age of 13 she was married to Ramani Mohan Chakraborty of Vikrampura. He later came to be known as Bholanaath. The marriage was never consummated, as most of the time she was in a trance-like state. Her husband soon realized that this was no ordinary marriage and later became her disciple. Nirmala, however, served her husband with all care and concern. Soon after her marriage she spent about four years in her husband’s elder brother’s home while her husband was in Atpara and in Dhaka. She served the household – cooking, cleaning and caring for the children – as her sister-in-law was quite often sick. She did all these cheerfully.

Later, she moved to live with her husband when he was at Ashtagram. When they later moved to Bajitpur, Nirmala began to practice intense sadhana. At the same time she took care of her husband’s needs, even preparing his ‘hookah’ that he smoked after dinner. Having learnt to chant ‘Hari! Hari!’ from her father as a child she used to chant this Divine Name of the Lord. She began to sit in Yogic aasanaas and at the same time hold her hands in ‘mudraas’. One day, Bholanath questioned her about chanting ‘Hari!’ while they were not Vaishnavaas. She asked him if she could chant ‘Siva! Siva!’ and began to chant this Divine Name of the Lord which pleased her husband. However, this change did not affect her in anyway. Nirmala was lost in spiritual ecstasy even while engaged in household duties. Many a time her husband Bholanath found her in this state on return home from his office. On hearing religious chanting she would fall in a faint. Ma has said that sadhanas for self-realization are many and each has several features; that all these were revealed to her as a part of herself.

Nirmala did not undergo formal initiation through a Guru. She performed her own initiation. The day prior to this her face held peculiar expressions and the tongue experienced rapid movement. The whole day she was in deep meditation. That night she had the strange experience of her body being an instrument and she herself the player. The next day she uttered the Mantras and was lost in deep meditation unaware of the happenings around her. In the evening she underwent the process of initiation by herself. She underwent several spiritual experiences after this. After this occurrence, Bholanath accepted initiation from Ma and from that day their relationship changed to that of a Guru and Sishya.

Ma and Bholanath then moved to Dhaka where the latter took up the position of the Manager of Shanbagh Gardens. This was part of the estate of Nawabzadi Pyari Bano. Ma’s fame began to spread here and crowds began to gather for her darshan. When she went into spiritual ecstasy during kirtans her body would sway to the rhythm of the kirtan. She would enter into deep Samadhi for long hours after this. It was her husband Bholanath who would try to bring her out of this state by calling to her. When she responded, he advised the lady devotees to rub her hands and feet and keep talking to her so that it would bring her back to the worldly plane. She would roll on the ground; shed profuse tears. She would sometimes dance for a long period. Sometimes she would talk rapidly. Her smiling countenance earned her the name ‘Kushir Maa’ [Mother of Bliss].

Ma lived like an ascetic. She would fast for many days; some times she would eat food meant for eight or nine people. Once, for nearly six months she ate only a few grains of rice daily and two ripe fruits that had fallen from the tree. To the complaint that she did not eat sufficiently, Ma explained that food was not at all essential to preserve the body; she ate only to show normal behaviour so that those around her did not feel uncomfortable with her.

!!! Will Continue !!!

Regards & Please Chant
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
and be happy
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