Sri Anandamayi Ma, 20th Century Mystic The God-intoxicated Bengali saint spent her life absorbed in the Divine Six months before Sri Anandamayi Ma's Mahasamadhi at age 86, a young Chinese- American, Stephen Quong, had a private ‘meeting with her. He adopted the name Umananda, Now a Vedte Astrologer deeply Jmmorsed in Hinduism, he wrote the follow- ing account for Hinduism Today. ddamayi in 1970 in Autobiography of 4 Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda, ‘That initial contact with her words, her picture and her inspiring life story touched my soul deeply. Twas fase nated and wistfully yearned that someday I could meet someone like her. 64 winoutsa TooaY APRIL/Max/sUNE In the years following, I had many in- ner experiences which I attributed to unseen workings of Sri Ma Anand receiving guidance and inspiration in medi tation through darshan visions with specific instructions. While these experiences were of immense benefit, I yearned for an outer ‘confirmation of the inner guidance. 1 was still seeking the relationship with the incar nation of the satguru, which I felt was indis- pensable for spiritual progress. ‘Then one day in the summer of 1981, 1 heard from friends that Sri Ma Anandamayi ‘was still live in India, [ wrote to her imme- ely, not really expecting a reply. [asked her questions about my sadhana, my life 2008 direction, ete. To my great surprise, I soon received an aerogramme reply: “Your ques- tions are too personal to be answered by correspondence. If you ever have a chance to come to India, I will answer them in per- I was thrilled and elated to have received such a message from Sri Ma, but I felt un certain about financing a trip to India. How- ever, fate was about to help me—in a very ‘unusual way. In November, 1981, I was involved in a automobile accident. My car was crushed like an aluminum can in a head-on collision with a truck. The entire front end of the ‘car was smashed beyond recognition exceptGazing at nity ef) Ma inher mn: teentes, Though she leed fo be 86(riht the Bengal sant as force denied with her timeless Tue Sel. tty personalized license plate etre TAI MA" I wes knocked uncorseoes tnd almost ied on the spot While in a coma, [hod the vivid experience of Sei Ma blissful darshan eight), and clearly heard the volees of brakiin priests chanting in Sanskrit this fa Toots Yer for the Bhagwoad Gla lem sheranem aja. Abe hone sar copaapeblyo molsheylahyeaml moa Shuchaa. translates, "Abandoning allof your dite, take rege in Me lone Twill Hberate you frm all of your misdeeds; grieve nol!” Blsl receiving SF Mag darshan andthe wrod of Lord Krishna T wes totally Content and prepared io depart my ‘moral frame Instead, I reguined body conscious nis By Mab grace T bed a mracar Toul quick racovery from the tej nes. Off erutcher in only two weeks [vas son fying to Indi, with costs pal for by the insurance settiement. {cine facet five with rt Ma Anar dainyt in Febroary, 1984, in nda ‘en, atin ‘Our mecting confirmed a precog nitive vision which I ad had tn the summer of 1981, after receiving Sei Mths stan yn, weet nthe oof of her ashram shorty afer Sunset, On of her seer bralaache Fi dlsciples translated her Bengal into 4 nish for me. Two other women a tenants were present Sri Ma ad just 3 returned fe a Journey, and was tl ing re Iwas brought eto fr 2 short private Itervion, but was warned bat oad her for mantra initiation such a request ould only be made ater ane yea 1 tried to distil years of question into afew sential words Inthe process, I realized thet all of ey qustons onl be answeeed by acklng her jes one "This o the wter dismay and constr nation of the tranlator, ay rst and only Gestion to Sri Ma was “May Ihave mantra ihtlaton®” My reasoning was thatthe an wert this question would provide the en ver i the her coos, such Ex “Whe is my gar?” “What is my sadhana” and "What Should Ibe doing with my hie?” Sri Ma did not seem surprised ar perturbed by my re (quest. After afew question about my family Ureliground and spiritual practices, she cor sented to give me mantra initiation on the next auspiclous date, T waa stunned allthis. dream? How could it be so | physical frame. Did 1 really deserve to be her disciple? Sri Ma saw my transparent thoughts and with 2 gracious nod and smile, she indicated her complete, unconditional acceptance of me at that moment as I was. She confirmed our inner relationship, her wish to accept me as a disciple. I belonged to her and she belonged to me; until the end of time, we ‘would never be separate At that moment, Sri Ma was nearing ninety, in poor health and suffering from intestinal parasites. In fact, she left her body six months later, on August 28, 1982. Yet even at that age, her spiritual radiance was undiminished, immense, awesome, al ‘most mythical in proportion. It had almost no relationship to her joyous manners; in stead, it was the radiance of the light of the Atman shining through the illusion of her She had @ titanic spiritual presence about her that transformed every L/MAY/JUNE, 2008 ent thing within hundreds of yards into bli. Wherever she went, she carried a portable Devaloka. All who came near her felt the ocean currents of Satchidananda coursing. through her. Because of this, her foremost disciple, Bhaji, titled her Anandamayi Ma ‘bliss-permeated Mother: Sri Ma never appeared like an ordinary human being to me. I never related to her as an Indian woman, or even as a Hindu saint, or incarnation of the divine Mother for as a satguru. She was a personification of Absolute Reality, dwelling always in a state of cosmic consciousness, the natural state of sahaja samadhi. Many claim to have achieved that state, but in Anandamayi Ma its attainment was indisputable, MiNDUISM TopaY 65