Mata Amritanandamayi

amma, mata amritanandamayiIn Kollam district in Kerala, India, there is a sleepy village, Parayakadavu, that nestles between the Arabian Sea and the backwaters. Amma or Amritanandamayi (today, hugging saint to millions) was born there in 1953, the fourth child of Sugunananadan and Damayanti, poor fisher folk. The baby, named Sudhamani, is said to have had a dark blue complexion. By the age of five, she had started singing devotional songs in praise of Lord Krishna.




In 1975, during a religious reading in the neighborhood, Sudhamani had a vision and showed her 'Krishna Bhava'. From then onwards she completely devoted herself to serving humanity. Slowly people began to flock to the village and seek her blessings. But there was opposition from her family and outside. So she started a small seaside hamlet where some of her disciples left their families and came to live with her. The Vallikkavu ashram, now called Amritandanmayi Math started off in 1981 as a soul-soothing spiritual tourism spot. Amma would console her visitors by cradling them in her arms, listening to their problems, gently stroking their backs, and often whispering soothing words in their ears. The math is now the self contained headquarters of an international charity organization with towering quarters for devotees. It has branches in many Indian cities and has centers in several Asian countries, the US, Europe, Mauritius and Reunion Island.

Today her efforts has broadened worldwide with Mata Amritanandamayi Mission Trust being the headquarters to the various charitable projects such as Amrita Niketan (orphanage), Amrita Balamandiram (hostel for scheduled caste students), Amrita Bhavanam (hostel for tribal children), Amrita Kripa Sagar (hospice for the terminally ill cancer patients), Amrita Medical Centre and Amrita Medical Mission of Ayurveda etc. being some of them. The trust has built 25,000 houses for the poor in 12 Indian States. In 1993, Amma was one of the three people who represented Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago. In 2002, she won the Gandhi- King Award for Non-violence.

Mata Amritanandamayi mutt has donated $1 million in aid for victims of Hurricane Katrina that battered the US in August and Rs 2 billion in tsunami relief aid. She proclaims that "her only wealth is the happiness and well-being of her children."









Amma with her special aura of sanctity travels around the country and abroad, giving 'darshan', bringing solace and peace to an increasing number of devotees from every corner of earth with her divine hug.

Amritapuri Ashram

Mata Amritanandamayi Math
Amritapuri Post, Kollam, Kerala.
India - 690 525.
Tel : 91-476-2896179, 91-476-2896278.
Tel : 91-476-2896399, 91-476-2897578.
Fax : 91-476-2897678.
Email :