Anandamayi Ma

Who is it that loves and who that suffers? He alone stages a play with Himself; who exists save Him? The individual suffers because he perceives duality. It is duality which causes all sorrow and grief. Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to pain and suffering.Anandamayi Ma

Anandamayi Ma (born Nirmala Sundari; 30 April 1896 – 27 August 1982) was an Indian saint and revered as incarnation of Hindu goddess Durga, described by Sivananda Saraswati (of the Divine Life Society) as “la fleur la plus parfaite que le sol de l’Inde ait produite” [the most perfect flower the Indian soil has produced].

Her life was suffused in Bhakti Yoga and herself was considered as the epitome of divine grace that inspired the societal cultural milieu to lead the path of service, love and constant remembrance of the divine. Precognition, faith healing and miracles were some of her attributes that were experienced by her followers. Paramahansa Yogananda translates the Sanskrit epithet Anandamayi as “Joy-permeated” in English. This name was given to her by her devotees in the 1920s to describe her perpetual state of divine joy.