Thursday, February 7, 2008

JILLELLAMUDI AMMA

'DEDICATED TO THE LOTUS FEET OF' MATHRUSRI ANASUYA DEVI

" JAYA HO MAATA SRI ANA SUYA RAJA RAJESWARI SRI PARAAT PARI"



Jillellamudi is a pilgrimage village in Andhra Pradesh, Situated Near 13km away from Bapatla,Guntur District, The place from where amma popularly known as Mathrusri Anasuyadevi spread the spiritual rays of love to the people.
Amma was born on March 28,1923 at Mannava, a small village in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, to a pious couple late Seethapathi Rao, the Village Officer of Mannava and his wife Rangamma . On 5th May 1936, Amma's wedding took place at Bapatla with Brahmandam Nageswara Rao and laid down the body on June 12, 1985 at Jillellamudi





IMPORTANT DATES:
28th March 1923 -AMMA BORN
5th May 1936 -
AMMA MARRIAGE
15th August, 1958- ANAPURNALAYAM FOUNDED
12th June 1985 -
AMMA LAYDOWN HIS PHYSICAL BODY
February 17th - Anasuyeswaralaya Aniversary Aradhana of Nanna garu
6 th day of the Dark half of lunar month Kartika - Jayanthi of Sri Hymavathi Devi

AMMA BIOGRAPHY

The holy Mother Anasuya Devi popularly called as "AMMA" Jillellamudi was born on 28th March 1923 at Mannava, a small village in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, to a pious couple late Seethapathi Rao, the Village Officer of Mannava and his wife Rangamma. Seethapathi and Rangamma lived in perfect harmony and devotion but what had weighed heavily in their hearts was the loss of as many as five children. A few months before Rangamma was again pregnant, Seethapathi had a dream in which he saw a middle-aged woman of great beauty seated in a chair in the middle of his house. Her most distinctive feature is the vermilion mark on her fore head which is larger and placed lower than is customary.
"Who are you?" he asked her in his dream.
"I am the mother". She replied.
"Whose mother? he again asked her.
"I am the Mother of All". She replied.
Days and months passed and Rangamma conceived a child. From the time of conception, Rangamma experienced unspeakable joy and exaltation. She experienced strange visions and moments of unparalleled bliss. The most significant of all was the feeling that She carried the entire creation in her womb. Occasionally, she felt momentary identification with the Infinite.
The child was born amidst miraculous experiences that every one present there had. Strangely enough, the exact moment of her birth coincided with a ceremonial function at the village temple. Flags were hoisted and bells, conches and other musical instruments were being sounded.
The child was named on the twenty-seventh day as Anasuya (one without envy). Amma exhibited the state of Perfection right from the birth. As a child barely four years old, she became stiff with suspended breath and stayed in that condition for as long as four days. And all this happened without any apparent crisis in the child's health. (Much later, in her married life, the most mysterious and lengthy of Amma's trances, apparently premeditated happened. Amma called Dr Seethachalam of Kommur village to Jillellamudi and told him that she was about to embark on an eleven days journey of sorts. During the interim, he was to look after the body. Thus charged, the doctor watched Amma lie down on her cot and lose consciousness. When he examined her, he found that her breath and heartbeat had ceased. Gradually Amma's joints stiffened and her complexion took on a blue-gray pallor. When Amma's husband and other relatives wanted to cremate the body, Dr.Seethachalam was placed in the rather curious position for one in his profession of insisting that, though clinically dead, the body would come back to life. The physician's faith was vindicated on the eleventh day of his vigil, when Amma awakened slowly and heavily,as if from a prolonged sleep. This is probably the longest Near-Death experience on record).
When Anasuya was completing her second year, she once sat under a pomegranate tree in "padmasana" (Lotus Posture) and attained a transcendental state of meditation, with her eyes half closed. Every one mistook it as a fit of epilepsy and not noticing the 'Yogasana' she had assumed. She returned to her normal consciousness in an hour. On yet another occasion, she was seen sitting in a strange posture with her breath suspended and the eyes turned completely inside. When someone asked her later as to what she was doing, she replied she was in 'Shambhavi Mudra'. Everyone was astounded at these words and deeds from a two year old child.
As a little girl, she never asked for food just as she never cried for milk as an infant. She accepted food if it was given, only to give to somebody else who was in need of it. She was treated by several doctors to no avail. In later life, Amma would frequently go for long periods without eating, even abandoning all liquids usually considered as essential for survival. It is a curious paradox of Amma's life that one who is indifferent to eating herself , spends a large portion of her time and energy in feeding others. And once Amma commented humorously "You grow weak if you don't eat, but I grow weak if I don't feed".
Since childhood, Amma always wanted to feed others and a number of 'miracles' such as multiplication of food were associated with this behavior. Some elders of the house used to reprimand her for giving food to the destitute and stray animals, feeding them with her own hands.
Mother never showed any distinction based on caste whatsoever once claiming " My caste is that of the sperm and the ovum". When young Amma once ran and rescued a child belonging to the scavenging community by lifting up and holding the child in her arms, the elders rebuked her. Amma declared " When I don't discriminate between qualities, where is the question of discrimination between castes?"
After Rangamma's death, little Amma was given almost unlimited freedom. She was kept in several towns like Bapatla, Guntur for different periods of stay with different relatives. She imparted experiences of various sorts to those she met in accordance with their diverse nature and spiritual tendency. She discarded no one. Even hard core criminals were won over by her transparent purity and a number of people completely transformed by their contact with Amma.
On 5th May 1936, Amma's wedding took place at Bapatla with Brahmandam Nageswara Rao who became later the village officer of Jillellamudi. When one of the few people who recognized her perfection and divinity asked her why she needs to get married, she told him that it was only to show that marriage need not be feared as an obstacle to one's spiritual progress. It is also to set an example of an ideal housewife by practice that she has married - to be able to look upon one's life partner as the embodiment of the Lord and thereby realize the ultimate reality - without having to suppress any of the material aspects of personal life. Just as a woman should worship her husband as God's manifestation, he should endeavor to see God in his wife. Amma says "God alone is the "Purusha" or Lord and that all Creation is "Prakriti" or his consort.
At Jillelamudi, as a young housewife, Amma seems to have hidden her spiritual grandeur. Instead, she looked after the needs of her family which came to include another son and a daughter. In addition to performing her household duties, Amma devised and organized a grain bank to help the poor and needy. Amma was often persecuted and harassed by the ignorant and jealous villagers who probably resented the only high-caste brahmin family in the village. A villager by name Subbaiah joined the house as a servant with sinister designs but was transformed. Another farm hand Mantrayi could see the form of Amma clearly wherever he might be.
The transformation of these individuals marked a change in the attitude of the other inhabitants of the village. Amma used to give food to every visitor to the village. Thus she came to be known as Mother and the number of visitors from the nearby villages and towns steadily increased.
The common dining hall "Annapurnalayam" came to be founded on 15th August, 1958. This place serves simple vegetarian food day and night to all who came. Two years later, the "House of All" was founded to provide lodging to the residents and visitors.
Amma established a Sanskrit school in 1966 (now the Matrusri Oriental College and High School) and within a relatively short time, one could hear the inmates speaking this ancient "Language of the Gods" fluently.
Though Amma always humbly maintained that she was not different from anyone else, several people coming to see her experienced visions of Gods and Goddesses in her presence. A number of people experienced Amma in visions, dreams and bi-locations, even when they have not met her before. In many cases, it happened that when a distressed person was crying out in need, Amma would suddenly appear out of nowhere and grant him/her relief. Once having met someone, Amma never forgot that person even if he or she didn't return for years.
Amma shunned miracles. Once Amma made an interesting distinction between the Siddha and Jnani. The Siddha attracts people to himself and the spiritual path by the conscious application of powers, while people are drawn to the Jnani by his/her natural radiation. (Amma also stated that an 'Avatar' is one who is a Jnani from the birth).










Amma saw only good in people and had no concept of "Sin" whatsoever. She treated all alike; all forgiving, and motherly. She transmuted her numerous children into noble souls. In many cases, people's chronic psychological problems, physical diseases, financial difficulties, bad habits, addictions and negative attitudes (pride, envy, shame, pettiness and so on) would be cleared by the simple look or utterance from Amma. Amma gave no discourses, but responded to people's questions regarding divine truth with short utterances full of meaning. She had not received any formal schooling and didn't read any scriptures. Yet her replies stunned highly respected philosophers and scholars. Everything Amma spoke revealed the ancient 'Vedanta Truth' - "Sarvam Khalvidam Brahman" meaning "All this is Brahman/God" . Amma laid her physical form on 12th June 1985. A temple "Anasuyeswaralayam" was built in which life size image of Amma has been installed in 1987. Jillellamudi has become a pilgrimage center where continuous sacred activities and chanting of Amma's Namam "Jaya ho Mata Sree Ana suya Raja rajeswari Sree Paratpari" goes on. Amma stated "Even without the body, my work continues". Today many people confirm this. "The Gods assume various forms and come as incarnations to meet various needs. But Mother exists forever and includes everything within herself. She who is everything and everywhere is Mother".- AMMA
Quotes By AMMA
There are no "good situations" or "bad situations" as such. Nor are there "good days" or "bad days" as such for anyone.

Good days, good situations, are those where you can just experience, without getting perturbed, whatever comes to you. When the fullness of your experiencing is more important to you than your usual likes and dislikes— that is what I call a good day, a good time, a good situation.

I want to tell you that both "good fortune" and "misfortune" are imaginary. They are just subjective attitudes of the mind. There is nothing objectively real about such descriptions.
I have all the same qualities which you have. I am just like you.They worship me because, owing to their purity of heart, they see thedivine in me. But I am in no way different from you. I experiencepain and pleasure, attachment and bereavement just as you do. Theonly difference is that I don't try to shun pain and sorrow. Iabandon myself to them without the least inhibition.
Naga Mathru Charan .A