Mata Amritanandamayi: Use

“If world peace is to become a reality, peace and harmony first have to fill the heart of every individual. Love for humanity has to be awakened within us. Love and unity are not alien to human nature—they are our most fundamental instincts, the very foundation of our existence.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Living in Harmony (2000)

Love , World , Peace , Nature

“The truth “I exist” is self-evident. You may deny God by saying, “God is just a belief,” but existence cannot be refuted. That existence, that Cosmic Power, is God. God has no separate hands, legs, eyes, or body, other than our own. He moves through our hands, He walks with our legs, He sees through our eyes, and it is He who beats within the heart of each one of us.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Unity is Peace (1995)

God , Truth , Heart

“The problem arises when we say, “Our religion is right; yours is wrong!” This is like saying, “My mother is good; yours is a prostitute!” Love and compassion are the very essence of all religions. What, then, is the need for us to compete?”

Mata Amritanandamayi

May Peace & Happiness Prevail (2004)

Love , Religion , Problem

“There are two types of education: education for livelihood and education for life. When we study in college, it helps us to get a job so that we can earn a living. We can become a doctor, a scientist, an engineer or whatever we want. We may go on to attain wealth, possession and fame. All of this comes from education for livelihood. But this alone will never make our life full and complete. Education is not only to help us live a comfortable life of plenty. When our plans fall apart, when we face failure and loss, when we are knocked down, education should help us get back on our feet. Education should help us regain our mental equipoise, self-confidence and positive attitude, so that we can continue forward. This is why education for life is as important as education for livelihood. Education for life is spirituality.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Amritanandamayi's Address Upon Receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the State University of New York (2010)

Life , Education , Confidence , Failure

“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.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

May Your Hearts Blossom (1993)

Love , Life , Secret , Religion

“Although we may see 1,000 suns reflected in 1,000 pots of water, there is only one sun. When we see the consciousness within all of us as one and the same, we will be able to develop a mind that considers the needs of others before our own.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Practice Spiritual Values & Save the World (2013)

Water , Sun

“May the tree of our life be firmly rooted in the soil of love. Let good deeds be the leaves on that tree; May words of kindness form its flowers; May peace be its fruit. Let us grow and unfold as one family, united in love.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Understanding & Collaboration Between Religions (2006)

Love , Life , Family , Peace

“The life force that pulsates in the trees, plants, and animals is the same life force that pulsates within us. The same life energy that gives us the power to speak and to sing, is the power behind the song of the bird and the roar of the lion. The same consciousness that flows in and through every human being, lends its power to the movement of the wind, to the flow of the river, and to the light of the sun. How can there be any sense of difference once this subtle principle is understood? When we evaluate our growth and development in the light of this great Truth, we may wonder whether we human beings have really developed or grown at all. The progress that we see today is divided growth. Only some parts are growing—the world as a whole remains unhealthy. We cannot call this real progress.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Unity is Peace (1995)

Life , Truth , World , Bird

“Amma sees the whole world as a flower. Each petal represents a nation. If one petal is infested with pests, it will affect the other petals as well. The beauty of the whole flower suffers. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to protect and nurture this flower. Therefore all the nations of the world should advance together, hand in hand, sharing and adopting each others’ worthy contributions and examples.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Cultivating Strength & Vitality (2009)

World , Beauty , Flowers , Suffering

“Sanatana dharma does not ask us to believe in a God seated on a golden throne, high above the clouds. God is not a limited being. God is all pervasive, omnipotent and omniscient. God is the Principle of Life and the Light of Consciousness within us. God, who is pure Bliss, is verily our own Self.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

May Your Hearts Blossom (1993)

Life , God , Light

“Today, universities and their researchers are ranked mainly based on the amount of funding they receive, the number of papers they publish and their intellectual caliber. … Along with this, we should take into consideration how much we have been able to use their research to serve the lowest and most vulnerable strata of society.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

From Amritanandamayi's Address at the United Nations Academic Impact Conference on Technology for Sustainable Development (2015)

Universe

“God has given us the necessary faculties to become like him. Love, beauty and all divine qualities exist within us. We should make use of our faculties to express these divine qualities in our lives.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

The Timeless Path (2009)

Love , God , Beauty

“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.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Conversation in Helsinki (2000)

World , Dogs , Effort , Change

“When fire breaks out in a ten-story building, the person living on the first floor cries out for help. The person living on the tenth floor says that it is not his problem. But it soon will become his problem too. He does not realize that. Amma always says that there is harmony in the universe. Everything in the universe is interconnected. The universe is a net held by each of us. When there is movement in the corner of a net held by four people, it will reflect everywhere. All actions we perform knowingly or unknowingly, alone or as a group is being reflected in the corners of the universe. It will not work if we wait for others to change. Even if they do not change, we should be willing to change. We should see what we can do.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

From Amritanandamayi's Message for Summit of Conscience for Climate (2015)

People , Problem , Universe , Change

“The light of the guru’s grace helps us to see and remove the obstacles in our path. An ashram is not a mere cluster of inanimate buildings, temples and trees; rather it is the very embodiment of the sadguru’s grace. It is a vital, dynamic and living institution that stimulates the aspiration of the sincere student to attain the state of oneness.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

The Timeless Path (2009)

Tree , Light , Help , Sincerity

“When God’s power shines through us, it manifests as truth, auspiciousness and beauty. When God manifests through the intellect, truth shines forth. When God manifests through actions, it does so as goodness and auspiciousness. And when God manifests through the heart, beauty is the result. When truth, auspiciousness and beauty blend in our life, true strength awakens.”

Mata Amritanandamayi

Cultivating Strength & Vitality (2009)

Life , God , Truth , Beauty