WOMEN+POWER: Amritanandamayi Devi

“Everyone in the world should be able to sleep without fear, at least for one night. Everyone should be able to eat to his fill, at least for one day. There should be at least one day when hospitals see no one admitted due to violence. By doing selfless service for at least one day, everyone should help those in need. It is Amma’s prayer that at least this small dream be realized.”

— Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Amma

Honored and received globally as Amritanadamayi Devi, Amma, which means “Mother,” is an inspiration for humanitarian advocates globally and a living testament to the power of human will and compassion to inspire a radical transformation in devotional living.

Born September 27, 1953, as Sudhamani, “Ambrosial Jewel,” she is known across the planet as the hugging saint, as she has hugged over 40 million people over the last 45 years, which she does sometimes for over 22 hours without a break. Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, stated, “The aura of Amma’s presence and her blessings is difficult to describe in words, we can only feel it.” In Amma’s presence, people pour out their hearts, share their hardships and seek guidance. Not only does she provide them with concrete solutions, but she also gains insight into the pressing problems of society’s sick and poor.

Now one of India’s richest saints, it is Amma’s compassion for the human rights that is the wealth that she has both given and received. Since 1981, her foundations have invested $1.68B in worldwide charitable activities, with 162 programs across 48 countries that have served 30M beneficiaries worldwide and inspired 17,000 volunteers of diverse backgrounds and age-groups.

Amma’s message of love and compassion is profound and branches into six key areas that are essential basic human needs: healthcare, shelter, food, education, livelihood and disaster relief. Since 1998, her foundation, Embracing the world, has provided $105 million worth of free healthcare to more than 5.9 million people. Over 47,000 homes in over 80 locations throughout India have been developed to shelter those in need. Annually, 10 million meals are provided for the homeless and hungry throughout India. Her foundation has provided 55,000 scholarships to children in at-risk communities, 200,000 jobs for women who never had one and 100,000 pensions for life for widows, people with disabilities and women in poverty.

Amma’s personal story is a lesson to us all to fully embody, in our highest conviction, the essence of our heart’s wisdom which ripples across the elemental fields of love, lifting souls from the lower realms of existence to find their way into the light of their own heart’s grace.

As a child, Amma was distraught by the severity of suffering she witnessed that others were blind to. As a young child, she could help but embrace every individual she witnessed in pain, giving all she had to those who hungered. Punished and disgraced by her own family, did not obscure Amma’s devotion and vision for service. By the late 1970s, hundreds of people were regularly coming for Amma’s embrace and realized the potential within Amma as a spiritual master who could lead them forward on the spiritual path.

By 1981, her ashram, the Mata Amritanandamayi Math was officially registered as an ashram. Now, spread over 100 acres of land, Amritapuri is the heart of Amma’s spiritual and humanitarian global network, home to her main ashram as well as of the seven campuses of Amrita University, housing 3,500 residents.

Information on Amma’s 2024 North American tour can be found at: https://us.amma.org/meeting-amma/ammas-north-america-tour. Beginning on July 4, the tour spans five cities: Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, New Mexico, Washington D.C., Boston, New York, Chicago.