Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Anandamayi Ma, fully Sri Anandamayi Ma, also Anandamayee Ma or Anandamoyi Ma

Hindu Spiritual Teacher and Guru from Bengal some considered a saint hailed as one of the prominent Mystics of the 20th century

"When one finds one’s Self, one has found God; and finding God one has found one’s Self."

"A saint is like a tree. He does not call anyone, neither does he send anyone away. He gives shelter to whoever cares to come, be it a man, woman, child or an animal. If you sit under a tree it will protect you from the weather, from the scorching sun as well as from the pouring rain, and it will give you flowers and fruit. Whether a human being enjoys them or a bird tastes of them matters little to the tree; its produce is there for anyone who comes and takes it."

"Who is it that loves and who that suffers? He alone stages a play with Himself. The individual suffers because he perceives duality. Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to pain and suffering."

"Joys and sorrows are time-born and cannot last. Therefore, do not be perturbed by these. The greater the difficulties and obstructions, the more intense will be your endeavour to cling to His feet and the more will your prayer increase from within. And when the time is ripe, you will gain mastery over this power."

"I find one vast garden spread out all over the universe. All plants, all human beings, all higher mind bodies are about in this garden in various ways , each has his own uniqueness and beauty. Their presence and variety give me great delight. Every one of you adds with his special feature to the glory of the garden."

"A worldly desire, if unfulfilled, makes you miserable; if fulfilled, it is almost invariably followed by some other desire and the chain of desire disturbs your peace of mind."

"A wealthy merchant went on a business trip. A thief in the disguise of a businessman joined him, intent on robbing him at the earliest suitable occasion. Every morning, before leaving the inn which they happened to have put up for the night, the merchant would count his money quite openly and then put it into his pocket. At night the merchant went to sleep seemingly without suspicion. While he was asleep the thief would frantically search through all the belongings of the merchant without being able to find the money. After several nights of frustrating searching, the thief finally in resignation confessed to the merchant his true intention and pleaded with him to tell him how he was able to hide his money so successfully. The merchant replied casually: I knew from the very beginning what you were up to. So, every night I placed the money under your pillow. I could safely sleep, knowing full well that that would be the one place where you would never look."

"According as worldly interests decrease, one progresses towards real joy."

"A spiritual traveler must not allow his mind to be distracted by anything. He should proceed with determination towards his goal."

"Acquire a firm will and the utmost patience."

"All sorrow is due to the fact that many are seen where there is only One."

"All creation is that. There is beauty in the birds and in the animals. They too eat and drink like us, mate and multiply; but there is this difference: we can realize our true nature, the Atman. Having been born as human beings, we must not waste this opportunity. At least for a few seconds every day, we must enquire as to who we are. It is no use taking a return ticket over and over again. From birth to death, and death to birth is samsara. But really we have no birth and death. We must realize that."

"All this, which is His creation, is under His dispensation, in His Presence, and is verily He Himself. In whatever state He keeps anyone at any time, it is all for the good, for verily everything is ordained by Him, and is of Him. Relative happiness, which is happiness depending on anything, must end in grief. It is man’s duty to meditate on God Who is peace itself. Without having recourse to that which aids the remembrance of God, there can be no peace. Have you not seen what life in this world is? The One to be loved is God. In Him is everything–Him you must try to find."

"Always bear this in mind: Everything is in God’s hands, and you are His tool to be used by Him as He pleases. Try to grasp the significance of ‘all is His’. and you will immediately feel free from all burdens. What will be the result of your surrender to Him? None will seem alien, all will be your very own Self."

"Among all creatures, man alone has been endowed with the capacity to realize God."

"At every breath try to be in communion with Him through His Name."

"Are you master even of a single breath? To whatever small degree He makes you feel that you have freedom of action, if you understand that this freedom has to be used to aspire after the realization of Him, it will be for your good."

"Begin here and now, it is never too late to begin."

"As you do not feel the weight of your head, of hands, and of feet ... so do I feel that these persons are all organic members of THIS BODY; so I don't feel their pressure or find their worries weighing on me. Their joys and sorrows, problems and their solutions, I feel to be vitally mine ... I have no ego sense nor conception of separateness."

"By ceaseless prayer He Who is Akhands (whole) is found. One’s own Self, the Life of one’s life, the Beloved of One’s heart is the One to be eagerly sought."

"As you love your own body, so regard everyone as equal to your own body. When the Supreme Experience supervenes, everyone's service is revealed as one's own service. Call it a bird, an insect, an animal or a man, call it by any name you please, one serves one's own Self in every one of them."

"Blame may be likened to cowdung. When it lies about just anywhere it is of no use. But when, mixed with earth and turned into manure, it is put under plants, what lovely flowers, fruits and grain will grow due to it. Similarly, if an aspirant can bear to be blamed and criticized, that is to say, if he uses it to improve his character, it will be beneficial – just as the soil is made fertile by manure."

"Control your mind for sense objects. Be moderate in eating, sleeping. As a pilgrim on the path to God, you should be content with such food and sleep as will help you to remain fit for the onward march."

"By God’s grace one is born as a human being. Try to make the best of this opportunity. Everything is possible for man."

"By saying I cannot one does not get far. One has to acquire capacity and achieve his end."

"Discipline of the tongue and other sense organs will help the mind to withdraw from outer things and will turn it inwards."

"Divine happiness, even the tiniest particle of a grain of it, never leaves one again; and when one attains to the essence of things and finds one's Self--this is supreme happiness. When it is found, nothing else remains to be found; the sense of want will not awaken anymore, and the heart's torment will be stilled forever. Do not be satisfied with fragmentary happiness, which is invariably interrupted by shocks and blows of fate; but become complete, and having attained to perfection, be YOURSELF."

"Do not allow your mind to wander here and there; endeavor to make it one-pointed; have one single end in view."

"Don’t indulge in cynical despair. Don’t say: Realization is not for me, not for me!. Resolve with determination I must attain Self-realization, I must. Doubt is sin."

"Even though you feel that your spiritual practice is mere tedious reiteration, it is this very practice that will clear the path for you within you."

"Duality is pain. So long as man does not wake up to his identity with the One, the cycle of birth and death continues for him."

"Don’t sit idle. Always be engaged in doing something useful. Either chant God’s Name in silence or read a good book, or discuss good topic. But don’t waste your valuable time in idle gossip."

"Enquire: 'Who am I?' and you will find the answer. Look at a tree: from one seed arises a huge tree; from it comes numerous seeds, each one of which in its turn grows into a tree. No two fruits are alike. Yet it is one life that throbs in every particle of the tree. So, it is the same Atman everywhere. All creation is That: There is beauty in the birds and in the animals. They too eat and drink like us, mate and multiply; but there is this difference: we can realize our true nature, the Atman. Having been born as human beings, we must not waste this opportunity. At least for a few seconds every day, we must enquire as to who we are. It is no use taking a return ticket over and over again. From birth to death, and death to birth is samsara. But really we have no birth and death. We must realize that."

"Endeavour to concentrate on the breath; this will provide a check on the mind preventing it from wandering away to outer objects."

"Everyone should start along the lines taught by his own religion."

"Even while living in the world, you can with a calm spirit attend to spiritual practices. Then only will that which is to be given up, falls away; and that which can never be relinquished, which does not go, that indeed will remain."

"Even though someone may slip and fall, he will not remain lying on the ground but will attempt to rise, stand up and walk again."

"Even though you may want to push God the Mother aside, She will never leave you. Are you not her offspring? A mother does what is good and beneficial for her child. She gives to her scion exactly what is needed, not more and not less. Her forgiveness knows no limits, this is why she is called MOTHER. If with deep faith, devotion and love you can exclaim: 'Mother, come to me, I cannot pass my days without you', rest assured, the Universal Mother will spread out Her arms and clasp you to Her heart. Don't look up to Her only as a mysterious refuge in your hour of distress. Keep in mind, She is always very, very near as the Force that guides your life. She Herself is the supreme refuge of every sentient being. With this conviction proceed. She will take the brunt of your burdens from your shoulders and make them light."

"Exert yourself to the limits of your power, however feeble. He is there to fulfill what has been left undone."

"Faith is always blind; but this blind faith may ultimately lead to firm belief."

"God Almighty is nameless and formless; yet all names and forms are His."

"Father, there is little to tell. She spread her graceful hands in a deprecatory gesture. My consciousness has never associated itself with this temporary body. Before I came on this earth, Father, 'I was the same.' As a little girl, 'I was the same.' I grew into womanhood, but still 'I was the same.' When the family in which I had been born made arrangements to have this body married, 'I was the same... And, Father, in front of you now, 'I am the same.' Ever afterward, though the dance of creation change[s] around me in the hall of eternity, 'I shall be the same.'"

"God Himself is revealed in some guise even in individuals supposed to be sinners, as also in Suffering seemingly unbearable."

"God Himself appears as the Guru. He has to be invokes, full of faith."

"God is without form, without quality as well as with form and quality. Watch and see with what endless variety of beautiful forms He plays the play of his maya with Himself alone. The lila of the all-pervading One goes on and on in this way in infinite diversity. He is without beginning and without end. He is the whole and also the part. The whole and part together make up real Perfection."

"God is within everyone, but man goes out in search of Him. This is what constitutes God's Play and God's Creation."

"He alone knows to whom He will reveal Himself under which form. By what path and in what manner He attracts any particular man to Himself with great force is incomprehensible to the human intellect. The Path differs indeed for different pilgrims."

"God’s name is He Himself – the Name and the Named are identical."

"Grace is all the time showering like the rain; one should do a little bit of spiritual practice just in order that one is able to grasp it. The little bit of power you have – employ that! Read the sacred texts, take his name, do chanting – as much as you have power to do, go on doing. After that, He is there to do all that is to be done. The stomach does not get filled if the morsel of food is only put into the mouth."

"He is the Father, Mother, Guru, Friend, Creator, Preserver, Destroyer – everything."