Mata Amritanandamayi Quotes

The only way we can feel free is by feeling the pure love within.

We should serve others without any expectations whatsoever. When others throw thorns at us, we should be able to throw flowers back at them.

Surrender and living in the present are one and the same.

Love is our true essence.

You can only feel love by expressing it.

Writing a diary every evening before going to bed is a good habit. We can record in the diary how much time we have devoted to our spiritual practice. The diary should be written in a way that helps us see our mistakes and correct them. It should not be a mere document of other peoples' faults or our daily transactions.

Human beings are born to experience pure love, and they never get it. They are searching to experience it from birth until death.

If we have been able to give happiness to a soul-even for a minute-it makes our life blessed.

No one becomes pure and selfless overnight; it involves time and concentrated effort, coupled with tremendous patience and love.

The more you give, the more your heart is filled. Love is a never ending stream.

Children, don't waste a single second.
Serve others, above all the poor,
expecting nothing in return.
Just as the person who offers God flowers
is the first to enjoy their fragrance,
the person who offers compassion
is the first to receive its blessing.
Wherever a heart beats
with compassion:
God is there.

Most people are concerned only with what they can get from the world, but it is what we are able to give to others that determines the quality of our life

Spirituality, as expounded by the great saints and sages of the past, is a very broad path. It accommodates all types of belief systems. You need to satisfy everyone.

When thoughts are reduced, power of the mind and its subtlety increases, tunes with the Universe. Then you can see the realms beyond the common understanding. When the mind is pure and quiet it becomes one with the universal mind. That mind is like a mirror. The secrets of the Universe will be revealed there.

Children, we are told to make an offering at the temple or at the feet of the guru, not because the Lord or guru is in need of wealth or anything else. Real offering is the act of surrendering the mind and the intellect. How can it be done? We cannot offer our minds as they are, but only the things to which our minds are attached. Today our minds are greatly attached to money and other worldly things. By placing such thoughts at the feet of the Lord, we are offering Him our heart. This is the principle behind giving charities.

Smiling is one of the highest forms of meditation.

Many people meditate in order that a third eye may open. For that they feel they should close their two physical eyes. They thereby become blind to the world. But the fact is that the third eye will never open. We can never close our eyes to the world in the name of spirituality. Self-realization is the ability to see ourselves in all beings. This is the third eye through which you see, even while your two eyes are open. We should be able to love and serve others, seeing ourselves in them. This is the fulfillment of spiritual practice.

The intellect always cuts and divides like a pair of scissors. The heart sews things together and unites like a needle. The tailor uses both.

Children, we should visit homes of the poor, orphanages and hospitals from time to time. We should take our family members along and offer assistance and look after the welfare of inmates. A word spoken with love and concern will give them more comfort than any amount of money. That will lead to the expansion of our hearts as well.

After praying, and before eating anything, it is a good custom for everyone to feed one another a small portion of the food. This will help to cultivate mutual love and affection among the family members.

Pray for a peaceful and contented mind in all circumstances.

Where there is love, distance doesn't matter.

Education for livelihood alone will never make our life full and complete.

A sadhak (one who does spiritual practice) will not have time to indulge in gossip. They will not feel like talking to anyone in a harsh manner. Those who always indulge in faultfinding will never achieve spiritual progress. Do not harm anyone by thoughts, words or deeds. Be compassionate towards all beings. Ahimsa (nonviolence) is the highest dharma (duty).

Our educational system needs to give equal importance to the intellect and the heart.

Our ultimate dharma is self-realization. Thoughts and actions that support our spiritual evolution are real dharma.

Religion is the secret of life. It teaches us to love, to serve, to forgive, to endure, and to interact with our brothers and sisters with empathy and compassion. Advaita (non-duality) is a purely subjective experience. But in daily life it may be expressed as love and compassion. This is the great lesson taught by the great saints and sages of India, the exponents of Sanatana Dharma.

The essence of motherhood is not restricted to women who have given birth; it is a principle inherent in both women and men. It is an attitude of the mind. It is love - and that love is the very breath of life. No one would say, 'I will breathe only when I am with my family and friends; I won't breathe in front of my enemies.' Similarly, for those in whom motherhood has awakened, love and compassion for everyone are as much part of their being as breathing.

Pure love makes you feel as light as a flower. You won't feel any heaviness or burden. Ego creates the burden.

Loving words and deeds are the best alms.

We cannot change situations in life, but we can change our attitude towards them

Due to our preconceptions regarding education, we fail to inquire into the most obvious and wondrous field of study - ourselves.

When people live in accordance with Nature, the song of life becomes sweet.

If we have love and compassion in our hearts, then we will wholeheartedly serve those who suffer from lack of food, clothing and shelter.

Love is the only medicine that can heal the wounds of the world.

If you are unable to meditate, chant your mantra or sing bhajans.

Isn't it human beings who impart vitality to the image in the temple? If no one sculpts the stone, it doesn't become an image. If no one installs it in the temple, it does not acquire any sanctity. If no worship is done, it does not acquire any power. Without human effort there cannot be any temples. What is wrong then in saying that we should view great masters as equal to God? Temples installed by such spiritual masters have a special energy of their own.

Let our lives be firmly rooted in Truth. Abstain from lies. In this dark age of materialism, adherence to truth is the greatest austerity. We might have to tell lies now and then to protect somebody or to sustain dharma, but we must be careful not to speak lies for our own selfish purposes.

If you have patience, then you'll also have love. Patience leads to love. If you forcefully open the petals of a bud, you won't be able to enjoy its beauty and fragrance. Only when it blossoms by following its natural course, will the beauty and fragrance of a flower unfold.

The relation between husband and wife should turn into a love of the heart untouched by desire.

When someone is full of Love and Compassion, he cannot draw a line between two countries, two faiths or two religions.

Love and spiritual values received from parents are the strongest assets for a child to face the various trials of adulthood.

We have nothing to lose by trusting the infinite power of the Self, except the bondage of our own ignorance.

Children, we should consider every name as the name of our beloved deity. Imagine that He is the one that appears in all the different forms. If our beloved deity is Krishna, then while chanting the names of the Divine Mother, imagine that Krishna has come before us as Devi. We should not think that since we are chanting Devi's names, Krishna might not like it. These differences exist only in our world, not in His.

Children, not a grain of the food we eat is made purely by our own effort. What comes to us in the form of food is the work of others, the bounty of Nature and God's compassion. Even if we have millions of dollars, we still need food to satisfy our hunger. Can we eat dollars? Therefore, never eat anything without first praying with humility.

Meditation increases your vitality and strengthens your intelligence ... your mental clarity and health improve. You acquire the patience and fortitude to face any problem in life. So, meditate! Only through meditation will you find the treasure you are seeking.

We should fill the syllabuses of schools with lessons about love and compassion.

We should forgive and forget the faults of others. Anger is the enemy of every spiritual aspirant. Anger causes loss of power through every pore of our body. In circumstances when the mind is tempted to get angry, we should control ourselves and resolve firmly, 'No.' We can go to a secluded spot and chant our mantra. The mind will become quiet by itself.

When doing archana (daily prayers) as a group, one person should chant the mantra and the others should repeat it. Mantras should be chanted slowly, clearly and with devotion.

With the exception of very few who have gained higher spiritual tendencies in prior lives, Self-realization is not possible for anyone without the blessings of a guru. Think of the guru as the manifestation of God in this world. Take even the most insignificant word of the guru as an order and obey it. That is the real service to the guru. There is no greater austerity. The guru's blessings flow automatically to any obedient disciple. That is the real service to the guru.

Peace is not a product of an intellectual exercise. It is an inner blossoming that occurs with meditation.

We must remember that man is not an island, totally isolated and disconnected from others. We are all part of a universal chain, or the universal consciousness. What happens to one happens to all.

Don't be discouraged by your incapacity to dispel darkness from the world. Light your little candle and step forward.

Those that have an attitude of service towards others are the beauty of society.

Spiritual love is without limits or boundaries. Worldly love is superficial and fluctuating.

God realization and self-realization are one and the same. God-realization is nothing but the ability and expansiveness of heart to love everything equally.

There are thousands ready to die for their religion, but only are few willing to live by its principles. Because of their narrow vision and envy, they have missed the true essence and message of religion which is love and compassion.

Nobody likes to let go of the ego- it is so precious to everyone. However, once you have attained a state of egolessness, the world won't disappear, as you may think it will. The world will continue, but a change takes place within you. Something is uncovered. You start seeing everything with the wonder and innocence of a child.

Many of us may have watched the waves at sea. They rise, then fall, then rise again, then fall again ... and this cycle continues endlessly. It is the same with our experience of the world and its objects and relationships. We may find happiness, but this happiness will soon turn to sorrow. The sorrow that we feel will subsequently turn back to happiness but this oscillation continues endlessly. In order to maintain inner balance, we need to find peace within instead of depending on the external world.

The mental disposition of the one who prepares the food is transmitted to all those who consume it. Therefore, as far as possible the mothers should do the cooking for the entire family. If it is done while chanting the mantra, the food will benefit everyone in a spiritual way.

Meditation increases our vitality and strengthens our intelligence. Our beauty is enhanced and our mental accuracy and health are improved. We gain the mental fortitude and patience to face life's problems. Meditate! Only through meditation can we find the treasure we're looking for.

Don't get angry. Try not to speak roughly or use harsh words.

First, the human mind should be harmonized, then the harmony of Nature will spontaneously take place.

Renovating temples does not mean building great gate towers or receptacles for offerings. What we should focus on is the regular conduct of worship according to tradition, regular satsang, devotional singing, and so forth. Our devotion and faith give life to temples, not rituals and ceremonies. Children, we should remember this when we are involved in temple matters.

If we lose our money while traveling, think how frantically we search for it! In the same way, if we are unable to do japa even for a brief moment, we should grieve: 'Alas, Lord, I have lost so much time!' If there is such anguish, even the time we spend sleeping will not be wasted.

It is my children who have made all this possible. My children are my wealth; they are my strength.

We are all beads strung together on the same thread of love.

Real love is the complete absence of any negative feelings towards anyone.

At the end of the archana, prostrate, then get up and, remaining on the same spot, turn around clockwise 3 times just as if circling a temple, then bow to the Lord.

Go out and serve the suffering. Learn to place others in front of yourself.

Try to gather the strength to live as brother and sister after one or two children are born. This is essential for reaping the full benefit of spiritual practice and to make spiritual progress through mental restraint.

Whatever work we do, our mind should be centered on God.

Make use of radio, TV and films discriminatively; only for programs that will enhance our knowledge and culture. Television is tele-visham (tele-poison, in Malayalam). If we are not careful, it can corrupt our culture, damage our eyes and drain away our time.

Any action done with the right attitude, understanding and discrimination will take you closer to liberation. If however, the same action is done without the right attitude, it will bind you.

Children, we can grow spiritually only if we see the guru as the manifestation of God. We should not accept anyone as guru before we are fully convinced personally that he is authentic and truthful. Once we choose someone as guru, we should surrender completely to him. Only then will spiritual development be possible. Devotion to the guru means total surrender to him.

Be like the honeybee who gathers only nectar wherever it goes. Seek the goodness that is found in everyone.

Pray May all reach the shore of peace, spreading the sweet holy fragrance of Love and vibrations of unity and harmony.

Our compassion and acts of selflessness take us to the deeper truths.

Children, pray for the good of everyone. We should pray to God to give a good mind even to those who harm us. One cannot sleep peacefully when there is a theif in the neighborhood. Likewise, when we pray for the well-being of others, it is we who gain peace and quietude. Children, the mantra 'Loka samasta sukhino bhavantu' should be chanted at least once daily.

Each and every living being in nature is part of God's body.

Whether we laugh or cry, the days are going to pass by. So why not choose to laugh?

Too much concern about physical security and too little concern about spirituality is the hallmark of today's world.

Fighting the wounds of the past will only deepen those wounds. Relaxation is the method that heals the wounds of the mind, not reaction.

It should be for satsang that we go to spiritual centers. By going there, people who are involved in the world can attain peace and concentration. The concentration gained when one goes there cannot be achieved if one sits at home. Even though the breeze blows everywhere, coolness will be felt more if we sit in the shade of a tree. In the same way, although God is all-pervading, this presence will clearly shine in certain places more than others. That is the greatness of satsang. Satsang is the best thing for spiritual advancement.

The more intellectual you are, the more egoistic you are, and surrendering becomes more difficult.

Happiness depends on how you accept, understand and surrender to situations.

Understand this great truth: The happiness that comes from the pleasures of the world is but a minute reflection of the infinite bliss that comes from within your own Self.

The language of love is the language of humility or humbleness.

Society is made up of individuals. The thoughts and actions of each individual influence the culture of that society. Instead of waiting for others to improve, we should try to improve ourselves. Once our attitude has changed, we will be able to perceive goodness throughout world. If there is a positive change in us, it will also be reflected in others. It is only what we give that we can hope to get back.

Develop the ability to stand back as a witness to your thoughts. This will make your mind strong.

Changing the world is like trying to straighten a dog's tail. However much you may try, you won't succeed. But although the tail won't straighten, if you keep trying every day, at least you will put on some muscle. Similarly, even though it is difficult to make a change, our effort to do so in itself brings positive results. It will help us change. Without waiting for others to change,if we change ourselves first, that will make a difference. Instead of worrying about results, focus on doing our best in what we are engaged in.

Children, in the present dark age of materialism, chanting the mantra is the easiest way for us to obtain inner purification and concentration. Japa can be done at any time, anywhere, without observing any rule regarding the purity of mind and body. Japa can be done while engaged in any task.

In this universe it is Love that binds everything together.
Love is the very foundation, beauty and fulfillment of life.

The person who constantly studies without doing spiritual practice is like the fool who attempts to live in the blueprint of a house.

If we are not able to fix the Lord firmly in our hearts, even a lifetime of temple-going does not do us any good.

Learn to be thankful to everyone, to the entire creation, even to your enemy and also to those who insult, because they all help you to grow

It is a good practice to write at least on page of mantra daily. Many people get better concentration by writing than by chanting. Try also to inculcate in children the habit of chanting and neatly writing the mantra. This will help to improve their handwriting, too. The book in which the mantra is written should not be thrown around; it should be carefully kept in our meditation or shrine room.

Talking high philosophy often confuses people, but a look from an egoless person can lift the clouds of pain and despair.

There is the path of karma, selfless action, the path of love and devotion, the path of training the mind and the path of Yoga, mantra and tantra this is what the various saints advocated.

Do your actions in the world, without forgetting that your find goal in life is to break free from all bondage and limitations. Always 'remember that you have a higher goal to attain.