Messages from Amma: In the Language of the Heart

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Wisdom From "The Hugging Saint"
Review: "Spiritual practice doesn't mean sitting in lotus position with your eyes closed, but also serving the suffering, offering a consoling smile and loving words." --Amma

For the past 30 years, Amma has dedicated her life to the uplifting of suffering humanity through the simplest of gestures - an embrace. In this intimate manner Amma had blessed and consoled more than 21 million people throughout the world. Over time, Amma's popularity has risen to the point where in India she has been known to individually hug over 18,000 people in one day, sitting sometimes for over 20 hours. She travels all around the world to receive all her children around the globe.

When asked, Amma says that her religion is love and service. Ever since she was a young girl, she would meditate and sing beautiful songs to the Lord, often slipping into God-intoxicated states. Because she was born with dark skin and acted "un-childlike" with her intense spiritual devotion, she was viewed by her parents as inferior to other children. Some villagers called her "crazy girl". She served the elderly, the poor and sick neighbors with love and care. Her parents were horrified to see her mingle with untouchables and forbade her to give away any more of their food, but she continued to do so despite their punishments.

As an adult, Amma has inspired innumerable humanitarian activities all over the world. Some of these outreaches include free food and clothing programs, charitable hospitals, hospices, disaster relief programs, free homes for the poor and the needy, medical camps, orphanages, schools, educational institutions, free legal advice, preservation of nature and so on. The list is long and growing everyday, and in 2002, Amma was awarded the Gandhi-King Award for Non-violence.

In 1990, psychiatrist Dr. Janine Canan met with Amma and, with Amma's blessing, began collecting quotations from Amma's public talks, personal dialogues and songs. Messages from Amma: In the Language of the Heart is the result of Dr. Canan's compilation and translation, and features the beautiful, inspiring, and healing words of this living saint. Photos of Amma are also shown throughout this 176-page book.

Here are some selected quotes from Messages From Amma:

Nurturing Energy

Man egotistically claims
he can push a button
and burn the world to ash
when he doesn't understand
the power that moves his own finger.
We must return to the world
the nurturing energy of the feminine.

Never Blame

If you fall into a hole,
you don't poke out your eyes
because they have failed you.
Why not tolerate other's faults as well?
When you hurt your hand
you don't reproach it,
you apply medicine and nurse it with care.
So too should we care for others
never blaming them for their faults.

Beloved Deity

Meditating on a divine form will help you
develop concentration and mental purity.
The pure aspect of your beloved divinity
will grow within you without your realizing it.
Love for a formless God rarely develops
as easily as for a God you can visualize.
Following the path of knowledge without love
and devotion is like eating stones.
Formless all-powerful God readily assumes a form
for the sake of the devotee.
With complete faith and confidence
in your beloved deity, you will reach the goal.

I found this 176-paged book uplifting, comforting, and profoundly insightful. If you enjoy meditative quotes, spiritual poems, and wise sayings, you'll enjoy Messages from Amma: In the Language of the Heart.

Review Originally Posted At http://NewAge.BellaOnline.com


Rating:
Summary: A moving book
Review: I first read about Amma in the book Daughters of the Goddess by Linda Johnsen. That wonderful book was primarily about the living female Saints of India.

Her story was amazing. There were two particular incidents that were incredibly touching to me. The first one was at her ashram in India where a leper presented himself to her to be healed. She cleaned all of his sores with her mouth but left one as a reminder. This was witnessed by people at the ashram. The second was; on her first trip to America she didn't speak, all she did was give her particular darsham. Amma's darshan is a hug. That's all, just a hug - a long 1 to 2 minute love filled hug. Her reasoning behind this was that she had heard that Americans love to do the egoic/debate thing and all she wanted to do was to have them experience the essence of love. Now I think she also slips you a hershey's kiss in addition to her hug.

She makes regular trips to the states and has a website with her schedule posted. It's well worth the time. I haven't had my hug yet but hope to catch her this year sometime.

This book is a jewel. Her words are timeless, profound and have been echoed throughout the ages. Her gift is her hug and her love. The pictures in this book are wonderful. In an age of attempted separatism it was hearting and wonderful to see so many little sweet European and American faces shining with love in her embrace.





Rating:
Summary: Treat yourself to a spiritual delight!
Review: MESSAGES FROM AMMA is stunning and powerful. Amma's words have given me new insight in looking at the world through the eyes of a modern-day saint. Vibrant photos, reflecting Amma's happiness, are sprinkled throughout the book. Janine Canan has given the world a wonderful gift!

Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Book
Review: This beautifully illustrated book introduces Ammachi, the "Hugging Saint" of South India. She's very accurately been described as "a supernova of spirituality" and "an incarnation of unconditional love." Messages from Amma is filled with wise and inspiring quotes from this remarkable woman, who may well be the greatest saint of our era. Very highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: A Powerfully Inspiring Book
Review: When reading Messages from Amma, one is compelled to believe that both the original words of Amma and the powerful, poetic translation of those words by Janine Canan are inspired. The book conveys so beautifully and succinctly the spiritual depths of Amma, an amazing 21st Century saint. Janine Canan has succeeded in collecting, translating, and organizing Amma's teachings in a way which does truly speak to the heart -- and the soul. The thematic organization makes this beautifully illustrated book useful for both spiritual nourishment and meditation. Especially powerful are the sections on Surrendering the Ego and Seeing the Good. Nowhere has Amma's message of love been presented more powerfully. No matter what your faith, if you have faith at all, you'll find this book inspirational.

Rating:
Summary: A Powerfully Inspiring Book
Review: When reading Messages from Amma, one is compelled to believe that both the original words of Amma and the powerful, poetic translation of those words by Janine Canan are inspired. The book conveys so beautifully and succinctly the spiritual depths of Amma, an amazing 21st Century saint. Janine Canan has succeeded in collecting, translating, and organizing Amma's teachings in a way which does truly speak to the heart -- and the soul. The thematic organization makes this beautifully illustrated book useful for both spiritual nourishment and meditation. Especially powerful are the sections on Surrendering the Ego and Seeing the Good. Nowhere has Amma's message of love been presented more powerfully. No matter what your faith, if you have faith at all, you'll find this book inspirational.